Air shock - RP23 vs...
 

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[Closed] Air shock - RP23 vs Monarch. Any opinions?

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 wl
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Anyone got any experience of both? How do they compare on a single pivot Orange (particularly Patriot or Alpine, but maybe Five too)? Only really interested in DH performance and reliability. What about the effect of heat build-up on Alpine descents? Considering a second shock for my bike, for when the CCDB is heavy overkill. Ta.


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 11:45 am
 wl
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Ok, what about just the RP23 then?


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 2:01 pm
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Funnily enough, yes, I had both on my Nomad.

It came with the current 2012 RP23 Kashima, blah blah etc. I had a previous version before & couldn't really tell the difference the gold coating made. Felt fine, seemed to work well on the bike, like most air shocks on the VPP2 platform it got a bit overwhelmed on repeated mid sized hits, otherwise just did it's job.

I sold it as I wanted a Vivid Air for the bike, but neglected to actually order before I sold the other shock (doh). I bought the Monarch as a stop gap until the Vivid arrived as it was only the basic one (3.1?) and cost me £100.

If you covered them up, I probably could tell the difference between the two. The bike still rode just as well with it. It may have felt a little more active on the initial stroke, but that could be due to running less pressure in it to get the required sag.


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 2:17 pm
 wl
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Hob Nob - cheers for that. And the obvious follow-up question...how does the Vivid compare to the other two, assuming you now have it?


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 3:04 pm
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Chalk & cheese to be fair.

I looked at the DBAir, but read/heard a lot of conflicting info about it not working well on the Nomad platform, and to stick with the coil, but I didn't want the weight that brings, this was the only other real choice...

Its been on there a while now, and i've used the bike for most things bar boring pedalfest XC which I don't do anyway. I don't know if its the shock, the tune, the way the suspension works or a combination of all, but it's really very good indeed. As cliche as it sounds, it really does feel like a coil shock on it. It seems on the Nomad to work best around 25% sag on trail riding, but i've raced DH on it too while my DH bike was in bits, just ran a bit more sag & it was spot on.

Very impressive, I have to say 🙂


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 3:27 pm
 wl
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Interesting that, Hob Nob, thanks. Will have to have a think. Vivid sounds ace, but it's a pile more dosh. Possibly it wouldn't give the same level of improvement on a different frame, too. Sounds like your Nomad's really making the most of it. Cheers.


 
Posted : 15/06/2012 3:49 pm

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