First impressions of Monarch Plus on Trek Slash?

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First impressions of Monarch Plus on Trek Slash?
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flag AAronCPhoto
O+
Posted: Jul 25, 2014 at 9:26 Quote
Has anyone mounted up the Monarch Plus that Rockshox just released to their Trek Slash? Im wondering how much of a change in feel it has compared to the drcv, what its ride characteristics are with the full floater suspension, and also what the pedaling platform is like compared to the drcv. Thanks!!
flag loamydog
Posted: Jul 26, 2014 at 23:56 Quote
I can't wait to hear about it. If I get some extra money I might test it out. I've been pretty happy with the drcv though. Does the trek drcv fit on other bikes? I.e. could I sell it easily?
flag Arneto
Posted: Oct 5, 2014 at 13:32 Quote
Old post, but anyway....

I just upgraded my 2014 Slash 9 with the Monarch. Had to get some extra hardware to mount it. A generic titan bolt and nut that i cut to the right lenght, and a new bushing for the upper mount.

I have just tested it, and I really like the feel of it. The bike comes more alive with the monarch. It's plush at the beginning of the stroke, and not as linear as the DRCV.

The RS Pike in the front is a bigger upgrade, but going for both has definetly upped the ride.
flag Sevan
Posted: Oct 10, 2014 at 22:34 Quote
Arneto, you have PM. I just bought the monarch plus RC3 for my slash 8 2014 but the shock came with 2 8x40mm bushing kit, great for the bottom mount but the top mount takes a 10mm part number 11.4115.012.620 from rockshox, I just want to confirm with Arneto? Also you need the new 10mm adaptor bolt off the 2015 slash upper mount or a diy 10mmx80mm bolt and simply cut it down.
flag mattpatt
O+
Posted: Jan 5, 2015 at 12:28 Quote
Sevan wrote:
Arneto, you have PM. I just bought the monarch plus RC3 for my slash 8 2014 but the shock came with 2 8x40mm bushing kit, great for the bottom mount but the top mount takes a 10mm part number 11.4115.012.620 from rockshox, I just want to confirm with Arneto? Also you need the new 10mm adaptor bolt off the 2015 slash upper mount or a diy 10mmx80mm bolt and simply cut it down.

I'm thinking about this upgrade and wanted to know, now that you've been on the shock for a while, your thoughts on the performance?

Also, was it hard to source all the mounting h/w? I have a '12 Slash 9, so what would I need, and who to ask???

thanks!

--matt
flag Giladgu
O+
Posted: Jan 5, 2015 at 13:04 Quote
my lbs recently let me ride a new slash 9.8 2015 that had a monarch plus rc3 in the back and i can honestly say it blew me away. my main ride is a 27.5 trek remedy which has a drcv and the monarch just killed it in terms of performance. it was super supple on the bottom of its travel which is grat for the small rocks and roots while still feeling like a big bike on the bigger hits. this is probably also the suspension design at play but it is probably the closest feeling to being a coil shock out of all the bikes iv tried. and on top of that the bike was still an amazing climber with almost no pedal bob even while running the shock wide open. this is my personal opinion about it even though i cant say how the drcv feels on a slash as i havent tried it
flag mattpatt
O+
Posted: Jan 5, 2015 at 15:55 Quote
Giladgu wrote:
my lbs recently let me ride a new slash 9.8 2015 that had a monarch plus rc3 in the back and i can honestly say it blew me away. my main ride is a 27.5 trek remedy which has a drcv and the monarch just killed it in terms of performance. it was super supple on the bottom of its travel which is grat for the small rocks and roots while still feeling like a big bike on the bigger hits. this is probably also the suspension design at play but it is probably the closest feeling to being a coil shock out of all the bikes iv tried. and on top of that the bike was still an amazing climber with almost no pedal bob even while running the shock wide open. this is my personal opinion about it even though i cant say how the drcv feels on a slash as i havent tried it

That's good to hear. So this sounds like a really solid upgrade to an already great suspension design. Looking forward to giving the Slash 9 a new lease on life, and having this bike setup up for my son to ride with me more...
flag Sevan
Posted: Jan 6, 2015 at 23:11 Quote
mattpatt wrote:
Sevan wrote:
Arneto, you have PM. I just bought the monarch plus RC3 for my slash 8 2014 but the shock came with 2 8x40mm bushing kit, great for the bottom mount but the top mount takes a 10mm part number 11.4115.012.620 from rockshox, I just want to confirm with Arneto? Also you need the new 10mm adaptor bolt off the 2015 slash upper mount or a diy 10mmx80mm bolt and simply cut it down.

I'm thinking about this upgrade and wanted to know, now that you've been on the shock for a while, your thoughts on the performance?

Also, was it hard to source all the mounting h/w? I have a '12 Slash 9, so what would I need, and who to ask???

thanks!

--matt

Matt

First ride right out of the box was amazing and the shock wasn't even dialed in. Now that I have a ridden on it more and have it dialed in it is fantastic. I weigh 185 lbs and with the shock switch on firm 30% sag it is at 230psi. Now this shock isn't like the other shocks with lock out it is simply firm/medium and soft compression that's all. Pedal bob is not a major issue although there is some but this shock was made for the down. tracks like a mofo!

To mount this to my slash 7 650B 2014 I only had to purchase the 10x40mm bushing kit that goes on the upper mount and when you order the shock for the Trek it comes with two 8x40mm bushing sets, you will end up using only one of them on the lower and on the upper you will need this bushing kit 11.4115.012.620 i got mine from here http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=19939 it is the last one on the page, they are currently out of stock, they were the only ones that had it in the USA other then Europe they are all over.

You will also re-use the spacers that are in between the DRVC and the EVO link, to fill the gap on the new 10x40mm bushing you put on the upper eyelet. This will make the shock drop right in then the new 10mm bolt that will go through and tighten the top I re-used the lower bolt off the current shock.

Call rock shock and see if they can graciously mail you the upper bolt needed. If not then call Trek and they will sell you one or send you one, there is maybe $30.00 in bolts and bushings needed to make the monarchr plus rc3 work on the older slash's. But having upgraded my front fork to the new 160mm pike RC3 and the Monarch plus RC3 the bike has come to life and is much smoother on the decent.

Hope this helps you out.

Sevan
flag Srnunez
O+
Posted: Jan 13, 2015 at 8:43 Quote
Sevan wrote:
mattpatt wrote:
Sevan wrote:
Arneto, you have PM. I just bought the monarch plus RC3 for my slash 8 2014 but the shock came with 2 8x40mm bushing kit, great for the bottom mount but the top mount takes a 10mm part number 11.4115.012.620 from rockshox, I just want to confirm with Arneto? Also you need the new 10mm adaptor bolt off the 2015 slash upper mount or a diy 10mmx80mm bolt and simply cut it down.

I'm thinking about this upgrade and wanted to know, now that you've been on the shock for a while, your thoughts on the performance?

Also, was it hard to source all the mounting h/w? I have a '12 Slash 9, so what would I need, and who to ask???

thanks!

--matt

Matt



First ride right out of the box was amazing and the shock wasn't even dialed in. Now that I have a ridden on it more and have it dialed in it is fantastic. I weigh 185 lbs and with the shock switch on firm 30% sag it is at 230psi. Now this shock isn't like the other shocks with lock out it is simply firm/medium and soft compression that's all. Pedal bob is not a major issue although there is some but this shock was made for the down. tracks like a mofo!

To mount this to my slash 7 650B 2014 I only had to purchase the 10x40mm bushing kit that goes on the upper mount and when you order the shock for the Trek it comes with two 8x40mm bushing sets, you will end up using only one of them on the lower and on the upper you will need this bushing kit 11.4115.012.620 i got mine from here http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=19939 it is the last one on the page, they are currently out of stock, they were the only ones that had it in the USA other then Europe they are all over.

You will also re-use the spacers that are in between the DRVC and the EVO link, to fill the gap on the new 10x40mm bushing you put on the upper eyelet. This will make the shock drop right in then the new 10mm bolt that will go through and tighten the top I re-used the lower bolt off the current shock.

Call rock shock and see if they can graciously mail you the upper bolt needed. If not then call Trek and they will sell you one or send you one, there is maybe $30.00 in bolts and bushings needed to make the monarchr plus rc3 work on the older slash's. But having upgraded my front fork to the new 160mm pike RC3 and the Monarch plus RC3 the bike has come to life and is much smoother on the decent.

Hope this helps you out.

Sevan


Sevan, Your shock is the 210x60 mm?? Any idea how to fit a 216x63mm in the slash?

thanks,
Sergio
flag Sevan
Posted: Jan 13, 2015 at 15:07 Quote
Srnunez wrote:
Sevan wrote:
mattpatt wrote:


I'm thinking about this upgrade and wanted to know, now that you've been on the shock for a while, your thoughts on the performance?

Also, was it hard to source all the mounting h/w? I have a '12 Slash 9, so what would I need, and who to ask???

thanks!

--matt

Matt



First ride right out of the box was amazing and the shock wasn't even dialed in. Now that I have a ridden on it more and have it dialed in it is fantastic. I weigh 185 lbs and with the shock switch on firm 30% sag it is at 230psi. Now this shock isn't like the other shocks with lock out it is simply firm/medium and soft compression that's all. Pedal bob is not a major issue although there is some but this shock was made for the down. tracks like a mofo!

To mount this to my slash 7 650B 2014 I only had to purchase the 10x40mm bushing kit that goes on the upper mount and when you order the shock for the Trek it comes with two 8x40mm bushing sets, you will end up using only one of them on the lower and on the upper you will need this bushing kit 11.4115.012.620 i got mine from here http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=19939 it is the last one on the page, they are currently out of stock, they were the only ones that had it in the USA other then Europe they are all over.

You will also re-use the spacers that are in between the DRVC and the EVO link, to fill the gap on the new 10x40mm bushing you put on the upper eyelet. This will make the shock drop right in then the new 10mm bolt that will go through and tighten the top I re-used the lower bolt off the current shock.

Call rock shock and see if they can graciously mail you the upper bolt needed. If not then call Trek and they will sell you one or send you one, there is maybe $30.00 in bolts and bushings needed to make the monarchr plus rc3 work on the older slash's. But having upgraded my front fork to the new 160mm pike RC3 and the Monarch plus RC3 the bike has come to life and is much smoother on the decent.

Hope this helps you out.

Sevan


Sevan, Your shock is the 210x60 mm?? Any idea how to fit a 216x63mm in the slash?

thanks,
Sergio

Sergio

The rear shock is the same size as the manufacturer DRVC shock 210-60. I didn't up it in size. I wouldn't increase nor decrease shock size due to the change in geometry which can lead to injury and void of warranty. The monarch can be ordered in the exact same size.

Sevan
flag pikls94
Posted: Jan 14, 2015 at 15:13 Quote
Right my monarch plus rc3 didn't come with the correct upper bolt (yes it definitely is the slash specific version) however it did come with both correct bushings.
A call to sram tech centre showed that no one has the correct bolt assembly in stock anywhere and there is no lead time on new stock.
On the other hand it's very easy to make it work with standard fittings. I got hold of a standard M10 80mm partially threaded stainless bolt from a local fitment store for around £2. I had it cut to 75mm exactly in length, with the end tapered so it wouldn't just punch out the nylon on a nylock nut and had 2 aluminium (so they don't wear out the bearing) washers machined with a 14mm ext. diameter and obviously 10mm inner diameter. This means they'll sit nicely on the inner race of the bearings. I just reused the black spacers from the standard drcv setup between the shock and the link. So that's it, everything fits perfectly and the shock rotates nice and smooth within the linkage.
If you don't have the bushings I was provided with you just need 2x 40mm bushings, one with a 10mm inner diameter for the top, and 8 mm diameter for the bottom as well as obviously the bushing spacers (the standard lower hardware will work fine with just this setup).
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flag Sevan
Posted: Jan 15, 2015 at 23:04 Quote
Nice, no one here in the states has the 10x40mm bushing kit, back ordered everywhere. I must of gotten one a many that where left in stock. As for the upper bolt you will be fine. Sram mailed me one on top of the one I ordered from Trek. Just check it once in a while to make sure that it is still tight. Dial that bad boy in and enjoy!
flag pikls94
Posted: Jan 16, 2015 at 1:55 Quote
Yeah I noticed the bushings are a pain to get hold of, and I guess us is better there's no upper bolts anywhere in Europe Frown
flag Colk45
Posted: Jan 16, 2015 at 14:07 Quote
Great thread. Would like to hear a comparison between the drcv with push spacers, and te monarch.
flag pikls94
Posted: Jan 17, 2015 at 11:24 Quote
Went for a local xc ride today with the new monarch plus rc3 debonair and it's already a massive improvement
Sensitivity is through the roof and I make much more use of the travel without bottoming it out whereas with the drcv I either didn't use enough oor just blew through it all
the climb switch isn't as drastic as on the drcv but I personally see this as a good thing as I might now actually use all 3 settings instead of just climb and trail like I did on the drcv
my drcv never had the push upgrade but the monarc plus is mlies better than the standard drcv so far
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