Had an issue this morning, my rear on the G-160 felt too squat. I then noticed even when just at it's own weight it was 40% + on sag, with me on there it was 60% or more.
Checked the pressure and still had 210psi in there, so should have been OK.
WHen i let let all the pressure out it was unable to extend. I could pull it out about 25% max.
So i wipped the big O-ring off (after dropping the pressure out of course) and got a decent 'whoosh' when i removed the air can outer. THen all was good.
Pumped it back up and all seems fine now...
Just one of those things ?
Welcome to the world of Monarchs.
My mate's did similar. Twice. But his didn't return. I think the third warranty replacement is reasonably stable at the moment.
I think yours sounds more like gunk in the transfer port though tbh
Probably just an issue with the negative air spring not equalising properly
YEah hmmmm
I went outside and it did the same again...
Holding pressure but won't rebound, then eventually after a minute it just squats completely.
Had a chat with TFTuned who were exceptionally helpful, however it seems it's 90% likely it's one of a couple of issues that actually end up being more expensive that replacing the shock with a new one.
So all in all, a bit daft and pointless.
So with that in mind, this is now winging it's way over from Germany.
[img] 
[/img]
Is it too late to cancel? Unless it was very cheap...
If be looking seriously at a Suntour TriAir if on a budget
I've got a DVO Topaz, which is suspiciously similar in many ways, and I'm seriously impressed by it. Every Monarch I've ever ridden feels a bit wooden tbh.
It was £250 new from Germany. It's not shipped yet though
Other opinions appreicated though guys, before the other one ships .
How long have you had the G-160? Mine did the same, Whyte replaced the Monarch with a Plus for free.
I bought it used, so no-go there.
I'm confused how to the the 'yoke' off the bottom of the shock though.
Shock is on the table, but i don't want to start smacking things 😀
pass extension bar through the 2 holes
Gently persuade with rubber mallet.
Is it too late to cancel?
It's too late now, it's shipped.
Same happened to me last year when I had a weekend planned in Afan with some mates. I pulled off the sleeve where the travel reducing bands go but couldn't get into the rest of the shock so put the sleeve back on. Think I must have blocked the transfer port, I was being careful not to get grease near it. Serviced Fox shocks in the past with no problems. On the trail the shock just slowly sank through it's travel and didn't rebound. Had to sit out the first day and second day hired a bike that I kept hitting me knees on the top tube and the dropper hardly worked. So frustrating.
Sent it off to get a proper service and it's been good since then.
Y:eah TFTuned said "maybe... tough to say" feeling was, if it's just seals etc, it's £100 give or take... but if anything more, then either the parts can't be found or they're more than the value of the shock to replace. Added to the fact they're currently booking for the 2nd Dec... So that simply wasn't an option for me to wait that long. I did think about a cheap Ebay shock in the short term, but bit the bullet and went for the RC3+ in the end.
Bikester often don’t deliver particularly quickly just to warn you. Took over 2 weeks to get some tubeless tape and a cable kit that they listed as being in stock. Dpd are normally really efficient but it sat with them in Germany (or wherever Bikester are based) for days and days. It wasn’t clear but maybe they were waiting for the items from Bikester.
That Suntour Triair looked pretty interesting in the review I saw of it. Don’t think it’s got an lsc adjustment thought which if I were changing shock I’d be wanting.
the Triair was also in Germany, so i think i'm in the hole with the Germans either way.
New shock arrives tomorrow, which you can't argue with that for service from Germany 🙂
I do have a question about bands/spacers though guys.
On the air can chamber there's a 'split' with a large ridge, does that split between the positive and negative chambers? So if that's the case, do i just need to put the bends in 1 half, not both ?
Do i need to rotate them so they're not covering that little hole or does that not matter ?
[img] 
[/img]
SO this is the separator between positive and negative air chambers it seems, i just need to work out which is which and which one i want how many bands in 🙂
BAsic and strange colours, but shows the answer well
[img] 
[/img]
If it’s like the deluxe with a Megneg you out the bands between the 2 ridges - up to 4. The less you have in, the bigger the negative air chamber is. There is a hole (or maybe 2) you have to avoid putting the bands over.
I found getting the megneg can off after I’d used the shock for a while quite hard due to it being sucked on. I’d assume the older style shock you’ve gone for is similar.
In theory/according to the manual you can only put bands (up to 9) in the positive side (The bigger side), but in reality you can do both if you so desire.
Thanks fellas, I'll see what the Shockwiz reports after testing. Will hopefully arrive early enough in the day to give me time to fit and test in morning.
Shock arrived in great time from Germany.
Came with mounting hardware in both ends, but i only needed the top set. So pressed out the bottom hardware/bushing
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50621553542_62aec3612d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50621553542_62aec3612d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k8fGeU ]2020-11-19_05-30-45[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Then a quick fitting of the G-160 yoke
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620707218_217e44cd97_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50620707218_217e44cd97_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k8bmE7 ]2020-11-19_05-30-34[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Then shock in.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50621449326_bb6a5e59c4_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50621449326_bb6a5e59c4_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k8fag5 ]2020-11-19_05-30-21[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Problem now is that i either need a shock without an external reservoir or i need a lower mounting process for the water bottle. I've got a side mount bottle cage but the 500ml bottle is too large... So maybe a smaller one... or maybe a lower mount?
[img] 
[/img]
I have one of those topeak things on my hard tail so I can get a 750ml bottle in. They work well.
Cheers Robbo, it's on the way
Had the same issue with my T130 when I had the normal Monarch replaced under warranty with a Plus, sadly I couldn't mine any lower as an adaptor wouldn't have helped, so was stuck with a 600ml rather than 750ml bottle. Did you check the tune was the same from one to the next? I got sent a slightly firmer tune to stock and even though theoretically the Plus should have felt a little plusher, it felt a fair bit firmer.
Shockwiz was fitted. Put up to the right sort of pressure and went for a play in the woods.
Instantly jumped off the bike and set the rebound with a LOT of tortoise. I had 18 clicks of rebound to maximum hare, stuck it in the middle of that, so 9 clicks of tortoise 🙂 Felt miles better straight away.
Then played in the woods on the jumps for a while to dial it in.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50624001227_c4293aaf0c_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50624001227_c4293aaf0c_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k8teRn ]G160rc3+[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Did you check the tune was the same from one to the next? I got sent a slightly firmer tune to stock and even though theoretically the Plus should have felt a little plusher, it felt a fair bit firmer.
I must admit i didn't... but i don't think i'm a good enough rider for it to matter if i'm honest.
I must admit i didn’t… but i don’t think i’m a good enough rider for it to matter if i’m honest.
there was a big difference on my T-130 from ML to ML3.... despite the ML3 being the more basic shock.
As Steve said, makes a difference regardless of level, I'm no pro by any stretch and it tallies with your shockwiz too, as it says you need to make the compression a little softer, which makes sense as the shock likely has a harder tune as above.
Not sure apart from pressure i can do that... Although i've not looked into all the settings on it yet.
I assume compression is only air pressure ?
Nope, compression is controlled by oil flow through the shim stacks, you can technically adjust the low-speed compression, but it is just the 3-position "lockout" switch. A shock can have different tunes, the Whyte's have a really light tune to give them a plusher feel, so a regular tune from another bike, as the new shock you have will be, will feel firmer. You can get around it a bit by running lower pressure, but it's a compromise and not ideal.
OK, that's interesting... I guess i'll be running it like it is then 🙂
The shock i bought seems to be Tune M/L3
The shock i bought seems to be Tune M/L3
Unless things changed that should be the correct tune ... the ML3 I got came off a G-160 or similar.
Excellent bit of luck then. As long as the world plays nice, i'll be taking it for some fun with WCA at Southampton Bike park tomorrow 🙂
So the bottle cage relocator doesn't quite work. Even my Decathlon bottles at 500mm at too big.
Evans have some 400ml Hoy bottles in that may work, but not sure.
I've tried 3 different cages and 4 different bottles and we're still not there.
I thought about the Fidlock one but the bit that sits on the downtube seems bulky which i think will push it up too high still.
Struggling for ideas now.
Well that didn't exactly go well. Out today and same issue with the new shock
This one is the Monarch plus RC3 this time. Was bought new from Germany so have pinged them a message but think I'll be going more for a different shock even if they want this back etc.
So my options, 216*63 and ideally without external reservoir as it makes bottle cage crazy hard.
This Suntour is looking like the likely option?
There's also this refurbished Fox, but does that bring us issues with the top mount.
Daft question but if you’d mounted the shock the other way round with the air can on the yoke would that have put the external reservoir in the space above the bottle instead of in front of it?
Might be a moot point, might give you other options on shocks.
Don't think it's actually possible matey... the shaft at the bottom goes into that Yoke further than it would be possible at the top end.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114670157768?ul_noapp=true
So i've got an option of this for the short term solution anyway.
Fox RP23 Rear shock Boost Valve
Fox RP23 with boost valve and extra volume air can 216 x 63
Now i recall back when i was thinking about a DPX2 that the G160 frame may need a slight modification, but never really looked into what and why and how, but now i'm thinking that moving away from the Monarchs may be the best option, so maybe it's better to suck it up and if it needs something altering, then just do it. But wouldn't mind some pointers please.
Sorry Weeksy I’ve been racking my brains on this as I did a lot of research when I had my 160, since as you say shock fitting is a bit fiddly. But I sold it over 2 years ago now and the old grey matter is not what it was!!
No worries matey. I've ordered that rp23 as a short term fix while I have a bit of a dance about with the German retailer and/or SRAM regarding warranty. But if the rp23 fits fine I expect I'll simply leave it on and either see if Germany give me a refund or flog it when repaired/replaced.
I've seen a couple of coils, would be ace if I can find out more on which coils fit and what modification needed.
Spoke to what's technically my LBS, they're not that Local but they're the closest SRAM dealer. They're happy to start the warranty process on my behalf.
Still not sure what I'll do as the longer term option though.sybe the RP23 will do the job fine though
Welcome to the world of Monarchs.
My mate’s did similar. Twice. But his didn’t return. I think the third warranty replacement is reasonably stable at the moment.
I went through 4, yes 4 warranty replacement Monarchs on my Enduro within the lifetime of the original chain and cassette. Utterly crazy. In the end I asked for an Ohlins and promptly sold the bike.
I won't be fitting an RS again, even if they send me a new one. It's not a massive issue as it's cold today, so wouldn't be out... but if this drags one weeks and weeks, it's a proper inconvenience at times.
I don't really have a preference in what i'll fit, the RP23 was just something that was on Ebay and the right size, it also helps that it's a non-ext reservoir version so i can also use a normal water bottle again when i'm out, so i'm hoping the RP23 is OK and does a decent job. I don't need perfection, i'm not good enough. But i do need 'working' rather than broken.
AS this is a new shock but not a new bike my warranty is only likely to be to replace the RS with another RS, but i'd happily take anything at the moment.
There's a Cane Creek DB on Pinkbike, but as with most shocks, i'm not actually sure it'd fit my frame, plus it's also got the issue of water bottle clearance then
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2941406/
[img] 
[/img]
@thegeneralist that's a shame you sold it. I kept mine with the Ohlins shock, and have upgraded the front shock mount to a spherical bearing to reduce the side loading on the shock. Works a treat. A friend who has the exact same bike who has been running the Ohlins shock without the bearing upgrade recently sent his shock away for servicing- not a sign of any wear on it despite not having the spherical bearing in place.
@weeksy the monarch has not a lot of overlap between the chambers and fails easily if the shock gets side loads from the bike- often on bikes with a solid yoke mount at one end- like my specialized. I went coil on the bike as it was and has proved to be reliable.
Which coil and any mods needed please?
I could go a cane creek dB coil quite easily, they're pretty
