Any advice on replacement air rear shock

[M400 NBL]

Fially after 7 years, my rear shock is not holding pressure.

Considering it's age I don't really want to have the seals replaced (if it's possible) so any idea on what to replace it with.

I've tried bikes wuth spring type rear shocks but I prefer air so that's the one thing I do want. Is there an alternative to Fox Vanilla? The shock on there at the moment is roughly 5" when relaxed and 6 1/2" when fully pressurised.

Any tips on where to buy also welcome. I've checked ebay but there's not much on there at the moment.

It's for a Cannondale SV700 but i'm not entirely sure of the bush requirements.

[White_van_man]

what frame is it going on and do you know the eye to eye length of the shock. What type of riding do you do?

I would say stick with fox they are tried and tested

[beyond rational]

Sounds like 165mm eye to eye, Fox Float (air) is an alternitive to Vanilla (coil).

Chainreactioncycles or wiggle not often beatable on price but helps to know what you are after

[M400 NBL]

It's going on my Cannondale Super V700. The 5" & 6 1/2" is what the shock measures when fitted to the bike. I guess the 5" is important to get the same movement but if it's slightly longer than 6 1/2" on the forward stroke that shouldn't be a problem...to a certain extent.

I am mainly riding on the road atm following a fractured shoulder (got cut up riding on the road and fell off) but will be offroading later in the year.

I think it's getting to the point where it needs everything bar the frame replacing. I might just take it to my local bike shop and ask them to replace everything. Even the front Fatty Head shock isn't that brilliant any more. I made a decision to ride to wok and back following a few rides at the weekend, and would you believe i've had nothing but problems ever since this morning.

The current groupset is XT and have served me very well considering I try my hardest to accellerate as hard as possible. Any point in paying more for XTR? Sorry for so many questions but I love my Dale and want to get it back to it's former glory.

[beyond rational]

still sounds like a 165mm, the 5 inches you describe will be 38mm of travel so nearly ever shock with a 165mm eye to eye will be suitable, if you ride road often, make sure it has lockout (this is a good thing anyway). Head shock will be expensive.

[M400 NBL]

Thanks for all your help so far. It sounds as though it's going to be expensive

[White_van_man]

I dont know wher eyour located in berkshire but if you are within a reasonable distance of crothorne drop your bike in to I-bike and speak to dave he is very experiance in cannondale bikes i believe he can still do in house servicing on cannondale head shocks and he will be able to give you good advice on the rear shocks.

As for the upgrade to XTR... Personally i wouldnt bother i would stick with XT Unless you are really worried about the weight of the bike.

[M400 NBL]

White_van_man said:

I dont know wher eyour located in berkshire but if you are within a reasonable distance of crothorne drop your bike in to I-bike and speak to dave he is very experiance in cannondale bikes i believe he can still do in house servicing on cannondale head shocks and he will be able to give you good advice on the rear shocks.

As for the upgrade to XTR... Personally i wouldnt bother i would stick with XT Unless you are really worried about the weight of the bike.

Thanks. I bought the bike from Mountain Trax (I think it was called that) but I will probably give Dave a call.

If they can service my head shock that would be ideal. Thanks again. If I need to take it over can I borrow your white van

[White_van_man]

M400 NBL said:

White_van_man said:

I dont know wher eyour located in berkshire but if you are within a reasonable distance of crothorne drop your bike in to I-bike and speak to dave he is very experiance in cannondale bikes i believe he can still do in house servicing on cannondale head shocks and he will be able to give you good advice on the rear shocks.

As for the upgrade to XTR... Personally i wouldnt bother i would stick with XT Unless you are really worried about the weight of the bike.

Thanks. I bought the bike from Mountain Trax (I think it was called that) but I will probably give Dave a call.

If they can service my head shock that would be ideal. Thanks again. If I need to take it over can I borrow your white van

Im pretty sure mountain trax have lost their cannondale licence to i-bike. And dave used to work at mountain trax but moved to i-bike. I spoke to him a couple of hours ago about some bits for my bike. They definatly service cannondale stuff so they will be your best bet.

[M400 NBL]

I discovered the leak is coming from the valve and not the piston as I first suspected.

If anyone sees a fella riding a Cannondale with a suspension pumped taped to the frame, it's me. My car was at Autoglass so I had no choice but to ride to commute today. With the pump screwed on, I can get 3/4 of teh way to work before having to pump an extra 50 psi or so to get me there. I think it's got to th point where I should chnage the rear shock

Still checking ebay but not been around much lately so haven't seen many air shocks.

[Neil_Bolton]

They are hard to find on Ebay, I managed to get a 165mm at a sensible price - however you may consider two options:

1. Get it serviced and repaired, as this will give you a shock ten times better than any you had before (TFTuning are wizards with this sort of thing)

2. Buy new, as then you know what you are getting - you never know really until you push the shock properly whether you have brought a lemon or not.

If you buy new, the dogs danglies at the moment is the Fox RP23 - I really really want one of these however I'll make do with my lower Fox Float shock

[White_van_man]

sounds like www.tftunedshox.com/ is going to be your best bet for the shock. Its amazing what he can do to it!!

[M400 NBL]

Thanks all for youe advice. I will remove the shock from my bike this weekend to measure it. I will probably buy a new one as I can imagine servicing one is quite expensive. Besides, there are some marks on the piston where I have been riding it (recently) while the pressure has been quite low.

I will let you know what I do. Thanks again. I could be tempted to buy an expensive shock but is there much difference in the Fox range except length of travel and whetheror not they lock out?

[pdV6]

If you're going to buy a new one anyway then you probably want to go for one with a rebound adjuster on it.

[Neil_Bolton]

White_van_man said:

sounds like www.tftunedshox.com/ is going to be your best bet for the shock. Its amazing what he can do to it!!

Yep, can vouch for that - did wonders with my basic Fox rear shock, and upgraded it at the same time.

A well serviced shock, with correct weight oils and valving will make a shock seem amazing, I would even consider sending a brand new shock to them to sort it before riding it...

A very big thumbs up

[Neil_Bolton]

M400 NBL said:

Thanks all for youe advice. I will remove the shock from my bike this weekend to measure it. I will probably buy a new one as I can imagine servicing one is quite expensive. Besides, there are some marks on the piston where I have been riding it (recently) while the pressure has been quite low.

I will let you know what I do. Thanks again. I could be tempted to buy an expensive shock but is there much difference in the Fox range except length of travel and whetheror not they lock out?

Cheaper than you'd think but still £70 plus... Worth finding out if anything, and speaking to the guys to see what they can advise.