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How long/rowdy do descents have to be to notice benefits of piggyback shock?

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How long/rowdy do descents have to be to notice benefits of piggyback shock?

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flag angryhiker
Posted: Apr 9, 2017 at 12:42 Quote
Curious how crazy descents have to be for one to notice an improvement in ride quality with a double-barrel/"piggyback" air shock with more oil volume. Asking because I've noticed a lot of them speced on shorter travel 120ish bikes lately (while some 140mm bikes, like the stumpjumper lack them), and I'm wondering if they would give a normal trail bike a more coil-like feel as apposed to a single-canister air-shock. Descents I ride are usually between 1000-2500 feet, ranging in technicality; from relatively smooth to frequent gnarly root/rock sections with a max 40% grade.
flag TheRaven
Posted: Apr 10, 2017 at 7:38 Quote
bridgermurray wrote:
Curious how crazy descents have to be for one to notice an improvement in ride quality with a double-barrel/"piggyback" air shock with more oil volume. Asking because I've noticed a lot of them speced on shorter travel 120ish bikes lately (while some 140mm bikes, like the stumpjumper lack them), and I'm wondering if they would give a normal trail bike a more coil-like feel as apposed to a single-canister air-shock. Descents I ride are usually between 1000-2500 feet, ranging in technicality; from relatively smooth to frequent gnarly root/rock sections with a max 40% grade.

Depends on how much you weigh. Piggyback shocks are really only advantageous for heavy, aggressive riders. Sure it also has to do with trail difficulty, but in my experience weight is a bigger factor. If you are 150lbs it doesn't really matter what kind of trails you ride, an inline is going to be just fine. I'm 195lbs and I still use an inline on my "trail" bike and have never found a need for something beefier. However on my AM bike I need a piggyback shock or high speed technical trails are a struggle for survival.
flag TrailWerksCyclery
O+
Posted: Apr 12, 2017 at 9:18 Quote
The remote reservoir shocks do handle heat better. If you are cooking dampers during your descending, you need better heat management. I've cooked inline dampers in 1/2 day of park riding on my Stumpjumper 2 different times.

Both types of rear shocks can handle either high or low volume air cans. That's a different story.

If you don't feel like you have great traction, comfort or control in the rear, you should look at a different damper. I have coil and three different air rear shocks for my various bikes. Inline Fox rear shocks are probably the worst in terms of durability and ride feel. Float X or X2, Monarch Plus, Ohlins STX are all probably better dampers for riding crazy stuff at top speeds.

On my stump, my favorite is the Ohlins STX right now. Endless traction, subtle damper adjustments, firm enough when I need it to be. The Monarch plus and inline Fox tend to wallow a bit and feel harsh in comparison.

mk
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