2008 RockShox Vivid 5.1
One thing that RockShox really focused on when developing the Vivid is durability!! Everything was build around making a highly durable damper that is going to last a long time under aggressive downhill racing and freeriding. The Vivid should only require one yearly service and considering the damper is shop serviceable – should be a piece of cake.
First off the shock is a thing of beauty! Mostly hard anodized black with a shade of blue compression knob and highlight of red beginning stroke knob – the Vivid’s finish is not just for looks, but durability.
Some riders barely grasp the concept of rebound damping, let along all the other adjustments by shock manufactures. The Vivid was build around a streamlined feature set so the rider only has the adjustments that he/she really need to make their bike feel better. The goal is to avoid confusion when setting up your shock thus making it simple to dial-in your suspension.
The Vivid is offered in two flavors – Vivid 5.1 sand Vivid 4.1, the 5.1 having compression damping adjustment.
Adjustments:
• Low Speed compression adjustment located on the back of the reservoir (only on Vivid 5.1).
• The bottom the red knob controls the beginning stroke rebound. This controls approx the first 20% of rebound. This adjustment will affect smaller bump performance.
• Using a 2.5mm Hex wrench, you can adjust the ending stroke rebound that controls the last 25% to 100% of the rebound stroke(e.g. deep stroke and large hits). If you’re getting bucked when hitting mid size jumps at speed – simply slow down the ending stroke rebound. If the back end feels like it’s packing under consecutive hard hits, speed it up a bit.
Recommended initial setting:
For the Vivid 5.1, RockShox suggest starting off with 3-3-6
• +3 clicks compression (from all the way open counterclockwise go three clicks in)
• -3 clicks ending stroke rebound (from all the way clockwise turn three clicks counterclockwise)
• -6 beginning stroke rebound (from all the way clockwise turn 6 clicks counterclockwise)
The Vivid is available in three size and three different tunes.
Sizes:
• 240 x 76 mm (9.5 x 3.0)
• 229 x 70 mm (9 x 2.75)
• 222 x 70 mm (8.75 x 2.75)
• 216 x 63.5 mm (8.5 x 2.5)
Tunes:
• Tune A: 2.0 - 2.4 Leverage Ratio
• Tune B: 2.4 - 2.85 Leverage Ratio
• Tune C: 2.85 - 3.3 Leverage Ratio
For falling rate deduct 0.1 from the range. For rising rate add 0.1 to the range.
Disclaimer: The tunes to leverage ratios are merely suggestions to get customers into the ballpark. A lot of the tune depends on how you want the bike to ride. They are great starting point, but they are not the answer for all riders.
The shock length, shaft travel and tune specification are engraved near the red rebound knob on the shaft eyelet.
The Vivid uses new 3 piece mounting hardware. Any hardware with a through hole over 8mm will uses a steel pin for strength (like pictured here). Anything smaller than 8mm will be made of lightweight hard anodized aluminum pins. The end spacers have self contained O-Rings, so when you take the shock off the bike they don’t go falling off. Pretty nice feature is you often take your shock off the bike. At some point you will probably have to switch or replace bushings. With RockShox's rear shock bushing tool it's a piece of cake. Great tool to carry with you in your tool box.
The Vivid also feature a new bottom out system that they call DropStop. DropStop is a series of interchangeable bottom out bumpers that you can change by merely popping them off by hand. They use a 2-piece system (e.g. bumper and retaining middle spring). The Vivid will ship with 3 different rates of DropStop. The shock comes stock with the Med, but supplied with the shock you’ll also get softer and firmer ones. This really allows you to customize the bottom out feel of the shock without having any inverse affect on the damper. DropStop is effective in the last 20% of the shocks travel.
In order to increase durability, the overall shock dimensions were increased to utilize strong and fat o-rings. During testing it proved out to have a significant effect on the overall life of the shock – again adding to RochShox’s number one goal.
The Vivid uses a one piece body which allows RockShox to reduce the amount of o-rings by eliminating a major seal that other manufacturers have up in the upper body. They also went with a large seal head bushing that maintains stiffness and allows for larger side loads.
RockShox uses their own "shock specific" damping fluid. Their fluid is specifically designed for working under the high temperatures and pressures of rear shocks. But when servicing the Vivid, you can use any high grade 2.5 wt oil. The Vivid are shop serviceable - but it's pretty involved!! All you need is SRAM’s Vivid pin spanner wrench, Shaft clamp tool and some oil. The Air adapter is used to to charge the IFP chamber with a regular shock pump. For detail service instructions (all 80+ steps) you can download RockShox's 2008 Technical Manual off their web site.
Pricing:
• Damper: $388 USD
• Mountain Hardware: $12 USD ($6 per side)
• Steel Spring: $30 USD
$430 USD for the total package
All parts are sold separately so you can get the hardware and spring that's correct for your bike.
Weight:
• 9.5 x 30 damper: 486g
• 300# steel spring: 468g
954g for full shock
SRAM Tools:
Worth mentioning is SRAM's extensive line of tools. From pin spanner wrenches to seal installation tools; SRAM offers a wide variety of purpose-built tools to help perform routine maintenance on your SRAM products.
Impressions:
To test on my Iron Horse Sunday, I was given the lightest Tune available, which is Tune “A”. Fitting the shock on the bike required some modifications. The new 08 Iron Horse Sunday links have been modified to clear the ending stroke knob under full compression. My Sunday is a 2005 with 2007 links, so I had to do a bit of filling to make sure the Vivid didn’t make contact during full bottom out. I’ve been told some pre-08 links need filing while some others don’t. To be on the safe side, you should double check for clearance.
I’m a pretty light rider @ 155 lbs, with the 300# I’m getting about 30% sag. Ideally I would want around 33% or 35% on the Sunday. Perhaps a sign that I need to eat a few more burritos
or try a 275# - but for now the 300# spring feels pretty good.
The Vivid feels really good on the Sunday. A good way to set the ending stroke rebound is to find a mid size jump and hit it repeatedly while increasing your speed with each run. Start with faster ending stroke rebound and keep adding clicks until you don’t get bucked and feel comfortable hitting it at top speed.
With the Vivid 5.1 you have the option of adjusting low speed compression. Depending on what bike you're riding, you might need to run low speed compression damping to control and overly active suspension - like when pedaling. On the Iron Horse Sunday I don’t feel the need to run and additional compression damping - so I just left this setting at full counter-clockwise. Just play with it and see what feels best to you. Sames goes for the beginning rebound, set to your preference. On the Sunday I run it a little bit on the slow side.
Being able to set the beginning and ending rebound independently is a pretty nice feature. This way the bike can stay active on the rougher stuff while acting in a more controlled manner in those g-out type scenarios that sometimes cause you to be bucked over the bars. If you’re still unsure a to how these two controls work, simply mount the shock on your bike without the spring and go through the full range of settings while cycling the shock through it’s travel. This will give you a good idea of how these two independent settings work.
I’ll be putting it through its paces throughout the summer and cannot wait for my local lift assisted resort to open. It’s still too early to comment on durability, but at the very competitive price of $430 US, you’ll bee seeing many of these mounted on a DH bike near you.
WWW.ROCKSHOX.COM
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But i guess now Sram is controlling RS, we can some some quality products from them, like Boxxer WC (needless to say is bad ass!).
We'll see what happens! :-)
If you drunk enough the suspension could be crap and you wouldn't notice!
437g for the shock body + sunday mounting hardware.