Coil vs Air shock

Posted by: Ouch

Posted by: RAHrider

I've got a 150mm evil with air and a 155 Knolly with coil. Can't say I notice a huge difference. I was told the coil is 100g heavier. I chose it for maintenance. Weighing >200lbs, the air shock needs service every year with new parts needed due to wear. This is expensive in the long run. If the stupid thing would hold air for 24 months, you could just replace the shock every two years for about the same price as the annual service x 2. Unfortunately it doesn't last that long for me.

My last service on my DPX2 cost me over $400(aircan was scored and needed to be replaced). Had I known how much it was going to cost, buying new would've been a better option.

So other than less maintenance, you found the ride comparison the same between the two?

just got back into biking from a 10-year break but things keep going in circles... as usual. coil coil coil, then awww too heavy... k air then... air air air... Nah I like the feel of coil etc.. the last shock I had was a DHX5 coil with on the fly adjustable bottom out with air assist. kinda the best of both worlds.. coil feel with air support. And 10 years before that... Stratos Helix pro on a Mountain Cycle - now I'm dating myself lol - but it's the same deal - coil with air assist - and it had lockout! 20 years ago! I mean.... air only is all good but even my old Marzocchi 66 with Ti spring was air-assist and was a killer fork - felt great, at least at the time... anyways.. hard to beat a coil, don't think they are going anywhere. I feel like in the last 10 years, bike-related things have kind of reached a plateau, wheel size, and carbon stuff aside. Just get out there and ride.. you don't need a 6k bike to do it... 2-3k buys enough bike to have a great time on...

I was so disappointed with the Rockshox unit in my Devinci Spartan (27.5) that I decided to go coil. No one could get trunnion at the time easily so I ended up with a sweet discount on a Push 11.6. It's incredible, totally transformed the bike and it was the first time that I noticed my air sprung 36  couldn't keep up with the rear.

The bike got stolen, I was gutted. I replaced it with a 29" spartan but couldn't justify the extra $$ on a coil at the time. Luckily, my stolen bike was recovered and I transferred the Push over, even though the 29" spartan isn't a supported bike for the Push tunes. 

Long story short, I sent the push for a service and it came back with a little note saying it had a secret sauce tune for the 29. The whole service was $250 or so and included new parts throughout. The improvement in what was already an awesome ride is sweet. When I factor in that kind of service, service cost, and performance it feels like a bargain. The thing works so well I ended up putting a Smashpot  coil in my fork so it would keep up better.

I think I'd probably run coil on anything 120mm or more now.

My next shock will be an EXT Storia.

Posted UFO

I had a quick look at the leverage curve charts. The Range is actually quite progressive and should work well with a coil.  The Patrol is less so, around the same ball park as the Stump evo.

Although leverage curve is very important,  the shock's compression tunes now also add another variable.  

So at the end you need to look at the overall sum of the parts and how they all play together. 

I trust Transition have gone coil because of a defined performance benefit, they as a company are pretty good with not following the trends generally speaking.  I mean at the end of the day they gave us modern slack geo with decreased offset forks which they pretty much cobbled together in their garage to R&D

The new Norco Sights look like perfect candidates for a coil swap. The new Transition Scout too

I have a coil fork and shock on my FS biker [Guerrilla Gravity Smash] they are great. I just sold my older FS bike which was dual air and it had great suspension as well. I have no immediate plans to buy another FS bike, but if you threw a bunch of money at me today I'd get a short travel 29er built up light with dual air suspension. Both types of springs are found in excellent suspension products today. I don't see a clear winner. I'd pick air or coil as I considered the overall package every time I got a new bike.

Posted by: Vikb

I have a coil fork and shock on my FS biker [Guerrilla Gravity Smash] they are great. I just sold my older FS bike which was dual air and it had great suspension as well. I have no immediate plans to buy another FS bike, but if you threw a bunch of money at me today I'd get a short travel 29er built up light with dual air suspension. Both types of springs are found in excellent suspension products today. I don't see a clear winner. I'd pick air or coil as I considered the overall package every time I got a new bike.

Air still leaks over time I find. Coil set-it and leave it. If you need a climb switch for your air shock. IMO one should just go coil. I still prefer the coil on my 120mm bike. Ya it could be lighter . But so could I hahaha :)

Posted by: DemonMike

Air still leaks over time I find. Coil set-it and leave it. If you need a climb switch for your air shock. IMO one should just go coil. I still prefer the coil on my 120mm bike. Ya it could be lighter . But so could I hahaha :)

I can go months with no air pressure adjustments on my air suspension. So yes it does require more attention/effort than coil, but it's pretty minimal.

Posted by: Vikb

I have a coil fork and shock on my FS biker [Guerrilla Gravity Smash] they are great. I just sold my older FS bike which was dual air and it had great suspension as well. I have no immediate plans to buy another FS bike, but if you threw a bunch of money at me today I'd get a short travel 29er built up light with dual air suspension. Both types of springs are found in excellent suspension products today. I don't see a clear winner. I'd pick air or coil as I considered the overall package every time I got a new bike.

I agree with this. I have started to do my own shock service and clean so I can reduce wear by doing more frequent service on my air shock. I really like the suspension design on my evil and my knolly and really can't tell a huge difference between the air on the evil and coil on the knolly. The knolly is arguably a bit better on the small stuff but it's pretty close. The evil has a monarch shock with a big air can which I think makes them a bit more supple. Also, it runs at 240 psi which helps reduce stiction and is probably part of the reason it feels so supple on the small stuff as well.

Posted by: DemonMike

Posted by: Vikb

I have a coil fork and shock on my FS biker [Guerrilla Gravity Smash] they are great. I just sold my older FS bike which was dual air and it had great suspension as well. I have no immediate plans to buy another FS bike, but if you threw a bunch of money at me today I'd get a short travel 29er built up light with dual air suspension. Both types of springs are found in excellent suspension products today. I don't see a clear winner. I'd pick air or coil as I considered the overall package every time I got a new bike.

Air still leaks over time I find. Coil set-it and leave it. If you need a climb switch for your air shock. IMO one should just go coil. I still prefer the coil on my 120mm bike. Ya it could be lighter . But so could I hahaha :)

Springs fatigue too. 

I see the main advantage of coil being vastly less friction - I know modern air is getting really good, but the ability to have such low break away changes how I can set up a bike. With the exception of my BOS Kirk a few years ago, I've not ridden a shock that really felt like it had coil levels of break away sticktion.

Posted by: heathen

Posted UFO

I had a quick look at the leverage curve charts. The Range is actually quite progressive and should work well with a coil.  The Patrol is less so, around the same ball park as the Stump evo.

Although leverage curve is very important,  the shock's compression tunes now also add another variable.  

So at the end you need to look at the overall sum of the parts and how they all play together. 

I trust Transition have gone coil because of a defined performance benefit, they as a company are pretty good with not following the trends generally speaking.  I mean at the end of the day they gave us modern slack geo with decreased offset forks which they pretty much cobbled together in their garage to R&D

The new Norco Sights look like perfect candidates for a coil swap. The new Transition Scout too

I read that the Norco Sights need a custom tune due to the high leverage rate, is this true? Why would the Sight be a good candidate for a coil?

Posted by: Ouch

Posted by: heathen

Posted UFO

I had a quick look at the leverage curve charts. The Range is actually quite progressive and should work well with a coil.  The Patrol is less so, around the same ball park as the Stump evo.

Although leverage curve is very important,  the shock's compression tunes now also add another variable.  

So at the end you need to look at the overall sum of the parts and how they all play together. 

I trust Transition have gone coil because of a defined performance benefit, they as a company are pretty good with not following the trends generally speaking.  I mean at the end of the day they gave us modern slack geo with decreased offset forks which they pretty much cobbled together in their garage to R&D

The new Norco Sights look like perfect candidates for a coil swap. The new Transition Scout too

I read that the Norco Sights need a custom tune due to the high leverage rate, is this true? Why would the Sight be a good candidate for a coil?

FYI Norco team uses a coil sprung Sight. Check the other site . Some info there.

Posted by: DemonMike

Posted by: Ouch

Posted by: heathen

Posted UFO

I had a quick look at the leverage curve charts. The Range is actually quite progressive and should work well with a coil.  The Patrol is less so, around the same ball park as the Stump evo.

Although leverage curve is very important,  the shock's compression tunes now also add another variable.  

So at the end you need to look at the overall sum of the parts and how they all play together. 

I trust Transition have gone coil because of a defined performance benefit, they as a company are pretty good with not following the trends generally speaking.  I mean at the end of the day they gave us modern slack geo with decreased offset forks which they pretty much cobbled together in their garage to R&D

The new Norco Sights look like perfect candidates for a coil swap. The new Transition Scout too

I read that the Norco Sights need a custom tune due to the high leverage rate, is this true? Why would the Sight be a good candidate for a coil?

FYI Norco team uses a coil sprung Sight. Check the other site . Some info there.

That's where I read in the comment section that they have custom tune coil shock because of the leverage rate,

Posted by: Heinous

I was so disappointed with the Rockshox unit in my Devinci Spartan (27.5) that I decided to go coil. No one could get trunnion at the time easily so I ended up with a sweet discount on a Push 11.6. It's incredible, totally transformed the bike and it was the first time that I noticed my air sprung 36  couldn't keep up with the rear.

The bike got stolen, I was gutted. I replaced it with a 29" spartan but couldn't justify the extra $$ on a coil at the time. Luckily, my stolen bike was recovered and I transferred the Push over, even though the 29" spartan isn't a supported bike for the Push tunes. 

Long story short, I sent the push for a service and it came back with a little note saying it had a secret sauce tune for the 29. The whole service was $250 or so and included new parts throughout. The improvement in what was already an awesome ride is sweet. When I factor in that kind of service, service cost, and performance it feels like a bargain. The thing works so well I ended up putting a Smashpot  coil in my fork so it would keep up better.

I think I'd probably run coil on anything 120mm or more now.

I went almost the same route on my knolly warden.

I had a complete BOS set with Deville FCV and KIRK 2. 

After some creaking csu that was very hard and long to get fixed, i bought a durolux and swapped the inside for custom cartridge and coil spring.

After some time on the fork I decided to go full coil and ordered a fast fenix shock.

There is a weight penalty, but first impressions are incredible !

I will ride it over he winter and decide if I keep it or go back to previous bos package to save almost 2 pounds.

Also, it is fair to say BOS suspensions are, in my opinion, the best performers on the market. If only their customer service was as good as their engineering ...

That seems to be the complaint with BOS. Looked promising with YT and Rocky spec’ed builds and SWerx for service/support. 

Are they still in Mtn biking? Seemed like it was a side project after rally and moto. Maybe they need to team up with Commencal again? 🤔

I have their Void Air on my DH. Really like the shock. No issues with it