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My 09 314 has the standard Float R on. Its due another service soon, and instead of spending nearly £100 on it again to keep it sweet, I was wondering whether changing it out to a RP23 or similar would gain any better performance. Has anyone changed the standard Float R to a higher spec and seen an improvement ? The bike pedals pretty well so the shocks not wallowy or bobby so i have no complaints there, but is there improvements to be made in its bump sensitivity. Just a thought.
No point upgrading unless you fancy lockout (which is nice).
I've always found the shocks a little underdamped on rebound, so a service with a proper tune would be a good shout.
If you DO fancy shiney, then get a kashima can upgrade at the same time - think TFT do them for £50 on top of the service cost.
I have an 09 314 to, changed it a while back to a DHX Air 4 which I found (despite the shock getting a fair amount of criticism) helped the ride, mostly by making the bottom out a lot more controlled, it was hard to do much with the mid-stroke though (although I'm also pants at playing about with suspension). Recently changed it again to a 2013 CTD trail (BV) and it's a fair bit plusher. The shock seems a lot more progressive to but still with a much better bottom-out than the original RP2 had. I'm not entirely sure it was worth the £380 over the DHX Air but no regrets so far...
Has anyone changed the standard Float R to a higher spec and seen an improvement ?
Yes definitely worth swapping for an rp23 or (probably cheaper and easier) getting your shock PUSHed or re-tuned.
I had the 2010 zesty with Float R, which was taut and OK on single hits - but felt wooden and stiff over repeated bumps like rocks and roots.
When I swapped it for a high volume RP23 it transformed the bike and really let the suspension work properly. Giving loads more grip and composure over rocks. I remember being astonished when I took it down the Ice Cream Run at Rivington.
The design is quite taut anyway, so I found it worked best with all the propedal off.
I changed the shock in my 09 Zesty 514 to a RP23 at it made a difference in the rougher stuff. The std tune of the RP provides a decent compromise of sensitive v bob but the RP23 with PP off is noticeably better on the way down and with max PP a little better on the way up.
If you can get one cheap (as I did) then do it, if not consider getting it tuned or Pushed with your service.
my missus had jtech do a custom tune on the rp2 from her zesty, maily because pp on was too firm for tech climbs/xc and pp off too wallowly. they brought the two settings closer together and now she's a happy bunny.