That's a sensitive question. And you'll get mixed replies.
All I can say is that I've been a long time Fox rear shock person. Just because there really wasn't anyone in the market space that had a decent product at the time. And since I'm much more familiar with the Fox I will tend to favor it more.
Manitou, however, was worth looking at when they first came out with their rear shocks and in a short amount of time they've produced a pretty good rear shock.
Same with the brakes - I'm a long time Hayes user but have had others but for serious braking it was always Hayes. Just last year I went to Avid's. This is not to say I think Hayes s*ck, I just found the Avid's to perform better at a price that was attractive. I still believe in Hayes and in all honestly I'd love to get a set of Hope brakes.
I digress...
So this comes down to personal preference one again. My riding buddy runs the Manitou swinger on his '04 Giant AC (I want to say it's the AC-1) and he's never had a complaint with it and he's never had a problem with it. If anything he will swap out the spring to something stiffer.
That shock is a good shock and as mentioned, you'll get people that say they're junk and to upgrade it right away - and they may be right or it could be that the shock was not the right shock for them.
Ride it, see how you like it, and then decide later. It's a good shock and just about all LBS can service it. Springs for it are available so no worries there.
Well, I've not had any experience with rear shocks so I'm pretty sure anything would be better than my hardtail at the moment. My friend has a pair of Hayes Sole (same as the Faiths I think) and they're pretty good. I can certainly tell the difference over my cable breaks.
I'm sure if it doesn't feel right for any reason, I'll figure out what I can do with the money I've saved.
i'd go glory, but im a dh only man. not the rmx though, sooooo heavy soooooo high up and unstable. i rode an rmx for a day and that was a terrible day. faith is nice but a lil ugly (just my opinion) glory is a winner, sooooo fast soooo fun soooooo nice.
Not trying to bash you, Although the Glory was easily the better option.
Agreed, but it was also ALL my money and for £700, I don't think the Faith was a bad option at all. I'm pleased with it, it's my first long travel bike.
Not trying to bash you, Although the Glory was easily the better option.
Agreed, but it was also ALL my money and for £700, I don't think the Faith was a bad option at all. I'm pleased with it, it's my first long travel bike.
Whats the full spec list on the Faith?
I presume you have the money you saved by buying this to upgrade it?