I built the coolest Mountain Bike, but how does it ride?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2024
- Use code EVANSMTB50 to get 50% OFF First Box and free wellness shots for life with any active subscription at bit.ly/3HTTzdh!
Bikes seen in the video:
White/Orange - Polygon D7 SE - bikesonline-usa.sjv.io/Polygo...
Yellow D7 - Polygon - bikesonline-usa.sjv.io/b3Bv3k
I wrote a detailed review of Polygon Siskiu D7 & D7SE - www.sagamtb.com/PolygonSiskiuD7/
Parts in the video:
Cane Creek Coil shock - collabs.shop/6tw0gs
Cane Creek coil fork - amzn.to/4buVEtI
Orange Handguards - amzn.to/49wvuVQ
Orange Ergon grips - collabs.shop/6qvdih
Orange Flo Motorsports Pedals - bit.ly/FloMotorsportsPedals
Hope rotors orange - collabs.shop/2krwdq
165mm cranks - collabs.shop/5dopdn (Code SAGAMTB for 10% off)
OneUp dropper - collabs.shop/axbqea
Red/Black Seat Spank Oozy - collabs.shop/6swlns
Orange Deity seatpost clamp - collabs.shop/sryks1
PNW Loam dropper lever - collabs.shop/nv3qzk
Tools:
Headset cup press - amzn.to/42z7rD7
Bike Repair stand with scale in arm - amzn.to/3ioCsXR
Rubber Mallet - amzn.to/3uVP2R6
Bottom Bracket Removal tool - amzn.to/3X0JIYl
Breaker bar - amzn.to/3YuKoGB
Chain Whip - amzn.to/3vKJAAR
Cassette Lockring Tool - amzn.to/3WQZOnT - Спорт
6:30 i wanna leave a warning for any amateur wanting to do something a bit jank like this: DO NOT use springs with a larger diameter than intended, if your shock has a piggyback bottle (wich most coils do) there's a chance that the wiggle room on the coil will allow it to smack it on compression. I have destroyed my Fox DHX5.0 like this using a 3.0 spring on a 2.75 shock, it was a great excuse to upgrade to a shock 10 years newer, but it wasn't convenient as i ended up needing custom mounting hardware. Safe to say my christmas plans got OBLITERATED by said problem
I cant lie, the spring part was so damn jank, this is something else man 💀💀💀
I am as jank as most, and I was 😮😮😮 No thanks bruh. My face and fingers are fine in the shape they are.
If you went over the front its rebound speed on the shock, not the fork. You were on the right track going with checking rebound speed, but at the wrong end of the bike!
I was confused by his claim as well… I really don’t understand how a fast rebound on the fork would cause his rear end to buck … it makes no sense.
And I mean - it was full fast
Having rebound set to the fastest setting on the fork can definitely throw your motion off and then end up nose diving. I had the exact same issue as Evan with an older Fox 36 where the +/- means the opposite of what it should mean, and on a specific kicky jump, I was nose diving every time. And I ride multiple bikes, had no issues with my other bike and no issues now that I fixed this odd rebound setting with the fork. It might be counter intuitive, but fork rebound is definitely a factor and both suspensions must be set in some kind of proper balance to avoid nose diving.
Also, if you're getting bucked, it's often not the rebound but the preload that is causing it. Because air shocks are progressive (inverse curve rather than linear for the nerds) you have too much sag, the suspension can approach the steeper part of the curve and harden unpredictably off lips and in g-outs.
So, often the right thing to do is add air and leave the rebound alone. You typically will need to add a bit of damping after you add preload, but that is secondary. And if you are getting bucked on rock gardens or similar, you may even need to take some rebound damping away to avoid the suspension packing up.
Hey even
Id highly suggest to get the right coil for this bike as now there is way to much preload on the shock which is damaging to the internals and can lead to worse small bump compliance
Yeah, I agree. It's fine to use spring compression to install a spring, but I cringed when he released the zip ties while sitting on the bike. If you can't completely deload the spring using the shock preload adjuster, the spring is too long for the shock.
Exactly my thoughts, ik cane creek makes a damn good shock, but they are NOT meant to handle that much preload. It's a ticking time bomb at that point
As a bike mechanic I agree with everyone that you shouldn’t have a that spring in that coil shock, it could really be damaging and could be really costly down the line, I know it may be annoying having to go out and spend money on another spring but in the long run it will save you a lot of money and headaches So just use the right size spring for the shock. I also agree if your getting bucked over the front it will be the rebound of the shock and not the fork
This guy has some good videos but he does just love to spend money. He doesn’t care about buying a new bike
Having recently purchased a bike with a coil, I will say it’s a game changer! The small bump compliance is awesome. Less stiction than an air shock and if the spring weight is tuned correctly the linear travel really keeps the bike planted. Keep up the great work Evan!
I agree I love coil shocks.
It's worth noting that not all frames work well with coil shocks. Some suspension is tuned for air or coil only and will behave weirdly with the other type of shock.
I'm back Mr. Evans...to tell you I'm STILL diggin' my Green D7 after 3000 miles of rocks with nothing more than 3 spoke nipples broke! It was a deal at $1599 so at $1299 I say to everyone looking for the best bang for the Buck...BUY IT!
Awesome vid as always!! I love these videos, can’t wait to see what else you have going.
From Montreal Canada! Evan, this is by far my favorite mountain bike channel. Keep up the good work, can't wait for the next video 😊
I like it just not sure about hand guards on mtb
In Bentonville is doesn't make much sense, but if you ride in woods where you're doing a lot of tree dodging I can definitely see the benefit.
You just made a whole new category of bike just watch all the big bike brands out there start making miniduro bikes keep up the great work man
Haha that'd be funny! Thanks for watching and commenting dude!
It’s called a trail bike, lol..even I ride my trail bikes with 35 or 36mm stanchons. I have an aluminum specialized stumpy with A Helm and a marzochii air piggy back shock..
This guys spot on! Who needs skill when you can buy a bunch of bike parts instead.
What do you mean
Evan you should totally do a dirt jump bike series or video! I think you would love a dirt jumper based off of your bmx racing background. Some railyard clips would be awesome too!
Always love watching you build super interesting bikes evan!!
Thanks Bob!!
Maybe it climbs better because of the smaller wheel on the rear? Remember that torque is force over a distance, and now with the smaller wheel you are applying the same force over a smaller distance, meaning that you get more torque. Maybe the suspension plays a role too on how efficient the bike is while climbing
While you're right, it's probably not the main factor as you have a "feel" for the speed you have, such a thing wouldn't just increase speed but rather increase leverage. From personal experience i can tell you that swapping a shock changes DRASTICALLY how a bike rides, my previous one wasn't restrictive enough for my 2009 Demo 8 and now that i have my new one climbs are just a joke compared to before considering it's a DH bike, jumps are a lot easyer and larger with the extra support making the bike feel livelyer than ever before and i have even better bump absorption than before. Wich is annoyng because now i can feel how bad my fork actually is compared to my rear shock :(
Yeah and because he's now running a smaller wheel in the back the seat tube angle changed so it's a more comfortable pedaling position
The easier climbing on the basically paved climbing trails of Bentonville is 100% the 27.5 back wheel, it changed the effective gearing of the bike making it slightly easier to pedal, the trade off is it will not track as smooth up chunky tech climbs. You should try it in full 29er as well, I bet it will handle chunk even better as a full 29er. This is also not the first short travel coil I've seen, my usual LBS recently built a coil shocked Transition Spur for a customer.
I appreciate the comment about everything besides the paved climb bit. That's just ignorance. You should come ride before you cast judgment
There was no judgement.
@@EvansMTBSaga I think what he's saying is a 27.5" wheel changes the effective gearing to be easier to pedal. Which is why you felt it was easier to pedal. The part about "paved" is probably something to do with the "easier to pedal" nature of the 27.5" wheel is negated a bit when the surface is a little more chunky where a 29" might do better.
I didn't hear it as a judgement, more as a qualification for what he was saying.
But you don't need me telling you how to feel. I was just going to say something similar also with no judgement.
The new rift zone looks fun. Lower standover, slacker. Probably perfect for the trails there
Love the parts you re-use from previous episiodes
Nice way to explain the story with pictures, too risky with the rear shock set up, and nice to see changes to the bike.
Thank you for the video Evan 👍
I went through a few airshocks on my Evel Wreckoning and finally gave the coil a try. on that bike its one of my favorite setups
That really did look like a fun bike to ride. I've wanted to pick up a Polygon full suspension bike for a while now. I can just never find someone selling just the frame, kind of like Nuke Proof frames. They just don't seem to go on sale a whole lot.
two minutes into the vid I ALREADY LOVE IT
every time evan crashes or nearly crashes: "whats wrong with my bike?" as if he never makes mistakes
I was right too. Rebound was all the way fast. Made my bike deflect hard to the side. I've been riding and racing bikes for 30 years
Quit tour yapping @jethrolindqvst
mullet bikes always climb better because of the smaller wheel. I'm on a transition spire that i recently put a small back wheel on and oh man it climbs so well, even with the slacker headtube and seat tube
I recently installed a vorsprung smashpot in my 140mm fox 36 on my v4 ripley,,,, my hands used to be thrashed after a couple hours on the bike, but with the smashpot coil kit my hands still felt fresh after 100 miles of the chunky dragonslayer race... coil is KING. End of story
Reliability, comfort and ease of maintenance all in one neat package. As someone who likes to tinker with suspension tho, air is FAR more convenient for setup adjustment, would love to see someone just swapping spings mid trail XD.
Overall as long as it works well for me i don't care that much TBH, and coil really is that much smoother
@@Ferrari255GTO I did the same with a 140 Pike with the Push kit on sale and even the firmer spring (I was between sizes based on weight) I’m not feeling like I would need to adjust too much on trail. My hands thank me for it especially on the smaller repetitive hits and washboard. Way less pain and a more linear fee in the forks.
@@dimimtb for me it depends on what i wanna do, because my one bike is my all in one so i really wanna be able to do just about anything with it, that's why i went with a downhill bike (2009 Demo 8) and why i really like air suspension. I wasn't able to swap my dead DHX5.0 with a correctly sized air one so i just bought a DHX2.0 Factory Series and to be honest i didn't regret it
Love comparing old vs new geo numbers!
I did the exact same thing with the rebound when I had a suntour fork. 😂
The handguards look a bit cheese, but the bike looks fantastic. You got great style. I've been subbed since you had 2K subs & it's gnarly to see how big this channel has grown!
The ghetto coil install was awesome! Love it.
Thanks man I thought it was UA-cam gold lol
everything so cool. i have a coil too on my trail bike and its so good.
Slaughter pen!!! Howdy neighbor lol
THAT IS SUCH A COOL BIKE!!!
The white coil is just perfect
This was fun. I also loved the commentary on standover height. I've been feeing like my 2015 Norco Fluid 7 is putting me too forward, and I've had some OTB crashes. Now to check out my standover height and see what I can do... Probably just need a new ride though.😅
Aw man! 2015 bikes are in a weird spot where the industry couldn't decide on standards. So swapping to a new frame would mean wheels wouldn't work. Dang new standards
@@EvansMTBSagaYeah, good point. Given where prices are on bikes/frames right now, I think a new frame is my best way forward anyway.
I need your state of the art crash animation software, can I get a licence?
Let's go miniduro!
😂🤘
Really sick bike!
Great video! From experience though, faster rebound on the front wouldn't normally cause you to get bucked OTB. Usually it causes the opposite effect. I know when I'm hitting big jumps for the first time I often speed up front rebound and slow down the rear just a little to stop me getting bucked and it usually works a charm
Ah I wish I would've explained it better. The bike deflected hard off the lip so I got bucked and flew off to the side
@@EvansMTBSaga ahh that makes a lot more sense!
The Rebound is + If you want it to be slower at all suspension brands
Rockshox has a turtle and rabbit instead of + -
FYI, that spring might get binded (bound?) up because its too long and way too much pre load... maybe lol
I still had to add preload. It was so bouncy without like 2 turns of preload
@@EvansMTBSaga oh wow lol... I still think it could get bound up at some point but the biggest thing is that it feels good 👍
@@EvansMTBSagaI would still definitely be worried about the spring binding. (aka the spring contacting itself) Adding preload isn't the same as changing spring rate. You need to get the correct spring weight for your body weight. Check out the sprindex coil spring, which has an adjustable spring rate!
@@pwn3d_d1rtfrom the footage on the video it looks fine to me honestly
@@SpencerBaum i gotta look up how thoose "adjustable coils" work because i'm crazy curious RN, never seen anything like it before
So what you made is a trail bike not a “miniduro”
Make a buget enduro bike please
Love ur videos
Lol loving the upgrade 👍
That is way too much preload on that spring to make it work as intended.
I had to add some preload cuz it was just wayyyy to bouncy
Manual? More like suggestion XD
It almost looks like coil is binding
This build has me itching to do more to my d7se and the idea of miniduro is exactly what I've been working toward on my bike I've went with bigger rotors and a set of bigger 2.6 wide tires so far
Nice dude! Just remember it's a short travel trail bike and needs to be treated lightly! Not an Enduro bike
@@EvansMTBSaga yea for sure I just feel like a bit more grip and maybe a touch more front travel and better braking have really helped unlock the full potential of the bike so far
Oh yeah with my first D7 I increased the travel by 10mm and that's was a super natural feeling upgrade
I should come to Walden’s ridge in Chattanooga Tn!!! That would be the perfect bike for that place
I meant u
Getting experimental!
The Helm MKII coil is my FAVORITE fork of all time. I’ve ridden basically every high end fork (38 factory grip2, 36 factory grip2, Zeb ultimate, lyrik ultimate, ohlins rxf36 m.2 coil and air, DVO diamond, DVO onyx SC, manitou mezzer pro, etc.) and nothing came close to the coil helm. I wish they would make it in a 29” 170mm version because I’d buy one again today.
Any advice on setting it up? It didn't feel particularly special
@@EvansMTBSaga how much do you weigh and which spring weight did it come with? Coil forks won’t feel great without the right coil weight. The cane creek springs come in 10lb/in increments, but you can order ohlins coils for the rxf36 from northwestbicycle and they come in 5lb/in increments for finer tuning. I ended up running a much lighter spring than CC recommended and adding HSC more than I normally do. I also found you can run the rebound a bit faster than air without hurting your hands. This is from the coil having much less friction than air.
If you are lighter than 185ish lbs the damping will feel a tad on the heavy side. If that’s the case, definitely go with a lighter coil weight than you would think. Aim to have the least amount of preload possible as well.
It’s got a very similar damper to Ohlins forks (CC licensed their damper tech for forks and shocks from ohlins). I know you had an ohlins fork years ago. You sort of need to set it up similarly to that, at least damper wise.
@@EvansMTBSaga you shouldn't give too much thought onto it, each one of us has their own preferences and maybe it just doesn't work for you
Good heads up about the suntour fork... im sure youre not the only one that couldnt figure out the +/- rebound
Evan, I think its time to try some light dh bike?Btw such a good video❤
You are so cool Evan🤟🏻 Project Monster Bike was by far my Favorit 😎🤝🏻
This build is the best kind of stupid. 🤘 Absolutely love it! Bravo sir. 💪
My mans was holding a live bomb with that spring😂
You should get a Mezzer Pro fork, you will never need another, it's the most adjustable and tune-able fork out there.
Short travel bikes can be awesome. My Optic rips and I went coil in my Pike with a Push kit and love the coil fork. I have a RS Super Deluxe in the same size and always wonder what a coil would feel like. Why do you have to do this to me 😂.
Rockshox makes a coil SD in the same size, 190x45 and now the one you’re using. Seems like a fun excitement. It’s calling to me…..
Who says short travel bike can be awesome? It is awesome do a side by side trail ride on short vs long travel on trails you will find short travel more awesome than longer travel bike. But of course if we go pure downhill enduro or downhill bike is the way to go. But if you have 60% climb 20% trail features and 10% downhill which is the usual trails we have. Honestly i keep short and enduro bike. As i get old im starting to think of gettibg emtb with 150m rear travel in between enduro and trail
It's just preference, @@marklouieadame i myself prefer longer travel, i like the stability and comfort an enduro or DH brings, you can bash them and not worry even a bit. I know i would've broken stuff in another bike if i did some of the things i have done with my bike because most of the mid or low travel bikes just aren't ment to plow through stuff. No bike is invalid, but they each have their own advantages. Well, except the fancy gravel bikes, thoose tyres are a joke honestly...
Those suntour forks are really good bang for the buck
You should try the jg bike wheels. 114 Poe hubs and super loud for only $224! (145 usd)
wish i could ride bikes in the winter but it's snow and ice everywhere here
What ratchet sets do you use with the Allen keys?
What does the SE stand for?
I have an old one from 2017, back then it didn't even have a bottle cage mount. The bike was probably a rushed replacement for the plateau and Vander with breaking linkages lol.
But it looks good, no paint so it's the colour of the aluminium.
But we did get a rockshox silver solo air instead of a suntour.
Btw which shock brands use - to denote max damping? Wanna know just in case my friends get one.
Because rockshox uses a turtle and fox also uses + as the damped side.
Dude complete the build with a dirt bike looking fender up front. I saw one that fits in above the fork, beneath the steerer tube
Structure Works cycles seems like that would be a freak build
Minduro😅
Interesting stuff 🤔
Greetings from Croatia from Kris 😎
Almost 2 years ago now I got bucked on a jump I rode a hundred times and broke my wrist in 3 places, multiple surgeries and it's just starting to feel ok again now. Funny enough I think it was my damper too because at the top of the trail I noticed that there was a small bit of oil leaking from the damper. Then I made the dreaded "last lap" call. (Since I knew I needed to take a better look at that leak.) But I should have just packed it in then.... Been paying for it ever since
Try hope tech 3 or 4 anodised orange brakes and rotors 😮
Great vid, man! Excellent content…very informative. One question: How tall are you? I’m looking at both the Polygon D7 and T7 as my first full suspension and was considering a size Large. I’m currently riding a Scott hardtail size Medium and it sometimes feels smaller on me. I’m 5’7” but have long arms and a 29/30 inseam. Should I just play it safe and order a Medium? A lot of the info on bike sizes is contradictory. One brand’s Medium is another brand’s Large.
I'm 5'9". The D7 Large feels pretty big. The large T7 feels pretty good (but I currently have a medium T6). What kind of riding do you do? Maybe I can help with the D vs T decision
@@EvansMTBSaga Cool! I appreciate your quick reply. Thank you! I’m kind of new to the sport. Been hitting up some flowy trails with some small to medium hills and semi technical terrain. I live in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas so there aren’t many trail options around here. I don’t see too many full suspension bikes around here, mostly hard tails, but I have it in my head that I need a full suspension and after much back and forth I’m close to pulling the trigger on a Polygon. I appreciate your help.
Watching you compress that coil with the zip ties was way too exciting 😅
Haha that was a fun one!
the better uphill performance could be because of the 27.5 in the rear, compared to a 29er you have increased torque
Super nice build, really like these type of videos 😍. Those hand guards gotta go dude awful
Trailduro SS build for a road to proline series at railyard. New playful bike with stiffer front and rear suspension than it would normally be on trails.
Do a Marin Rift Zone. It's a way better mini-duro than a D7 SE.
Made in the same factory
the ziptied coil was scary af 🤣
I got the double barrel coil and it is awesome for my stump jumper
Nice! I really wanna try some specialized bikes
I have the cane creek helm mk2 air version on my Giant trance X 29, the quality of travel is excellent, probably the best air fork I ever owned.
I'd like to try a coil version but I already have a RST stitch coil. Thing is RST service parts are scarcely distributed among shady online dealers... Currently looking for seals, I'm due for a change 🙈
Good luck with that! I had to order a custom mounting adapter for my new shock because the trunnion diameter was different to the original one, there's not a lot of compatibility for 2009 bikes in 2018 components...
Actually the best looking bike on this channel, and by far !
Contrats ! But that rear coil shocking really is thé best and most beautifull part
Berm Peak, BCPOV, and imo, Evan have the 3 best MTB channels on UA-cam ... I like Phil, Brian and Alex too, but aside from the 2 listed above, nobody is making more quality and original content across the genre. Phenomenal editing, and criminally underrated. Evan would be at 500k easy right now if UA-cam had their older algorithm.
I agree but i would also maybe put matty active too he makes some quality content
Thanks man! I tried real hard on this video with almost an entire week devoted to redoing the footage I had and then doing some graphics & music selection
Evan, is that a 5Dev 7075-T6 aluminum crank, with possibly a 6/4 Titanium chainring?
Don’t worry, many reasons to change that fork even if the damper isn’t blown 😂
such an underrated channel
Who says.
He's like number 2 !
i agree
@@stephenscering1776he's underrated because he doesn't get enough attention
I appreciate Evan’s effort and energy, he seems very genuine
@@Whyusadd Yes he is. He even offered me to send a dropper post because of a story i left a year or so ago as long as i was inside the US, wich i'm not (basically silly missmeasurement wich took longer than it should to realize gone wrong) wich i'm not, so i had to decline (Shipping costs too high). Do not ask him for stuff tho, i hadn't asked for anything and he has no obligation to give anyone anything.
which rear mudguard did you use?
Coil is very different on a bike and has a lot of positives, people just don't like the weight and PITA to find the right springs.
Coil forks can change a lot with the oil weight you use as well as the spring. You can tune those to oh so good, but then the bike is setup only for you.
I didn't mention in the video, but I'm using a progressive coil so 500-610lbs which could help with set up and might be used for a wider range of riders 🤷 not sure though
170/180 hardcore hard tail build 🤌
I swapped to a rear coil. Have the RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate coil with their Hydraulic Bottom Out system and use a Sprindex adjustable coil. I will never go back to a rear air shock again!
personally i think it would be really fun for you to make a budget dirt jumper so we can get your opinion on whether or not its worth it to spend money on a separate bike rather than jumping your current one
Oh good idea!
@@EvansMTBSaga thanks lol i liked this video it reminds me of sad to rad or high vs low
you can do a dirt jumper with rockShox boxxer
All except for those hand guards, nice upgrades! But the hand guards got to go! I mean, do you go through a lot of overgrown trails?
I don't. It's for aesthetics 😂 they are already off
Evan how exactly are you going to get the spring off the rear shock?
I'd have to buy a spring compressor specific to MTB
@@EvansMTBSaga that’s fair! Either way awesome video!!! I really enjoy seeing you build new bikes and try different things! 🦄
When I bought my Rock Shox Judy XC shocks way.....back....in 2000 for
💰471.00🍁 I also had to buy slightly heavier springs. The springs that were in the shocks were only for someone that weighed 160lbs,
; I was about 200 lbs. at the time. So in total there was over 💰500.00🍁😳. I'm ok at math😄. Evan, have you ever worked on rather old suspension forks? These Judy's siezed up. I thought over the years, I thought about having them looked at. I can't now, though, ah well
Have you seen my S-Works retro build? I restored an old Sid in a video. The damper oil was perfect and I could've just left it 😂
@EvansMTBSaga I've seen quite a few of your videos👍👍. I've missed quite a few also. Congrats on your channel growing to what it has🤘🤘. I'm going to quote the Metallica Chairman here "YEAH❗️
A Titanium frame build would be cool. Perhaps one of the BIG Ti frame manufacturers could even sponsor it👍👍; say like MOOTS😏🤘🤘
Hi Scott!😂 (I’m sorry for that Evan) Heard you speak about high vs low season 2 on b1ker bar pod. Is that coming soon?
Btw loved this video, perhaps might try a coil for myself on the canyon neuron
Yeah that is in the late stages of planning. I hope to get that going by April
@@EvansMTBSaga sick!, can’t wait for that😆😆
Hey Evans! can you give an underrated entry level bike some love ? Its the Rockrider St530s a full suspension trail bike with 120mm fork and 120mm shock its been my bike for 2 years and im curious to know what other people think about it and how it performs as stock vs fully upgraded
Good idea splitting the screen for sponsors
I can imagine removing that coil could be a bit dangerous 😂
Haha I removed the one it came with with some pliers. To compress like 5mm isn't a crazy amount of force. I could get it with just grip strength
With all the talk about the rear spring/shock, did anyone else notice that the bike is way under braked? Those brakes are not enough to cope with this bike's intended use.
Agreed, but in Bentonville, we don't have any really steep sections
Meanwhile me with a $350 amazon bike that falls apart as i ride and has a fork that doesnt do fork stuff but hasn’t left me on the trail
Idea: drop bar vs flat bar short-travel trail full suspension.
Oh dang! Thats a crazy idea!. Thanks man I'll look into that
Do a dirt jumper quest series
Zip tie manufacturer: *_- Excellent..._*
Hopefully that fork will be more predicable
That coil shock bodge is not just janky - its just a bad idea. At best it is always preloaded so it will negate small bump sensitivity benefits of the coil shock. At worst may also bind and cause damage or safety issues. The stock airshock likely wins in performance, durability and safety. While the + and - on the raidon is not intuitive, its pretty common MTB knowledge that it is referring to more or less rebound compression. Fox is similar as far as I am aware. Bikes looks cool with coil shocks though. I said it on a previous comment and I'll say it again, I think a size M would suit you better if u can handle the reduced reach. It just seems like ur chasing ur tail with your mods.
It was still too soft off the top so I had to add preload
I meant that it already is in a state of preload as it had to be squashed to fit in the shock. If you added more preload to it thats even worse for small bump sensitivity. Not too sure what you mean by "soft off the top". Coil springs are meant to have low stiction and feel supple. If the sag was too high then a higher spring rate in the form of a different spring is the technically best solution. In the words of Ben cathro " preload is the devil and should be avoided at all costs"
Nice
Have you riden on any rims/wheels from Mavic?
Only some old 26ers
@EvansMTBSaga Cool. The Best wheels/rims I've owned were a set of "used" Mavic 517 SUPs with XT parallax hubs. And Mavic 719s🤘🤘
@EvansMTBSaga S🍁rry if I'm putting you on the spot, do you have a favorite (favourite) rim/wheel manufacturer?