soft shocks, adjustable?

[TJ Poseno]

Is there any way to get my POS wal mart dual suspension (single pivot)
shock to take more? If I come off curbing I can bottom it out no
problem, I cranked up my preload spring, but it isnt enough, it is
still too soft. Can i buy stiffer srpings, I have a 750LB/in i only
weigh 150lbs. But the shock is at a near 45 degree angle. Please help.

[Michael Dart]

"TJ Poseno" > wrote in message
om...
> Is there any way to get my POS wal mart dual suspension (single pivot)
> shock to take more? If I come off curbing I can bottom it out no
> problem, I cranked up my preload spring, but it isnt enough, it is
> still too soft. Can i buy stiffer srpings, I have a 750LB/in i only
> weigh 150lbs. But the shock is at a near 45 degree angle. Please help.


You might be able to find a Mountain Speed spring in a heavier weight
ordered at your LBS. You should find two numbers on the coil, you already
found one, the 750lb/in and X 2.0 for example after it shows the total
travel of the spring in inches. Be careful cranking down on the preload as
you will find the coils of the spring crashing into each other when the
shock is compressed. Which could severely damage the shock or the frame.
Shock angle doesn't have anything to do with spring size just the leverage
ratio of the suspension.

Mike

[TJ Poseno]

>
> You might be able to find a Mountain Speed spring in a heavier weight
> ordered at your LBS. You should find two numbers on the coil, you already
> found one, the 750lb/in and X 2.0 for example after it shows the total
> travel of the spring in inches. Be careful cranking down on the preload as
> you will find the coils of the spring crashing into each other when the
> shock is compressed. Which could severely damage the shock or the frame.
> Shock angle doesn't have anything to do with spring size just the leverage
> ratio of the suspension.
>
> Mike

I have had it up to when the springs hit. Its not pretty. So i can
goto the LBS and get new springs. What would they go for.

[Michael Dart]

"TJ Poseno" > wrote in message
om...
> >
> > You might be able to find a Mountain Speed spring in a heavier weight
> > ordered at your LBS. You should find two numbers on the coil, you
already
> > found one, the 750lb/in and X 2.0 for example after it shows the total
> > travel of the spring in inches. Be careful cranking down on the preload
as
> > you will find the coils of the spring crashing into each other when the
> > shock is compressed. Which could severely damage the shock or the
frame.
> > Shock angle doesn't have anything to do with spring size just the
leverage
> > ratio of the suspension.
> >
> > Mike
>
> I have had it up to when the springs hit. Its not pretty. So i can
> goto the LBS and get new springs. What would they go for.

Somewhere around $35-45 bucks.

Mike

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> I have had it up to when the springs hit. Its not pretty. So i can
> goto the LBS and get new springs. What would they go for.

Don't bother if your bike is crap in the first place.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

[TJ Poseno]

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" > wrote in message >...
> > I have had it up to when the springs hit. Its not pretty. So i can
> > goto the LBS and get new springs. What would they go for.
>
> Don't bother if your bike is crap in the first place.

Yeah, the bike was $100 new, im going to maybe see if I can find some
other way to stiffen it up, or maybe modify the swingarm. Because if i
go in the driveway and pedal hard for say a wheelie, the rear sinks
almost to the bottoming out point. Any ideas on how to stiffen it for
cheao, since the bike really isnt worth it.

Yesterday i pulled out the bolts that hold the shock to the frame, the
were both bent to the point i had to use a hammer to get them out.

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> Yesterday i pulled out the bolts that hold the shock to the frame, the
> were both bent to the point i had to use a hammer to get them out.

Judging by the way you ride, you deserve better. It seems that you may be
short on cash, so you might want to invest in a low-end dual suspension that
costs around $500-600. (Religious "must spend no less than $1500 on a DS"
people shut up) When shopping retail for a bike, the price definitely
reflects the quality.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

[TJ Poseno]

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" > wrote in message >...
> > Yesterday i pulled out the bolts that hold the shock to the frame, the
> > were both bent to the point i had to use a hammer to get them out.
>
> Judging by the way you ride, you deserve better. It seems that you may be
> short on cash, so you might want to invest in a low-end dual suspension that
> costs around $500-600. (Religious "must spend no less than $1500 on a DS"
> people shut up) When shopping retail for a bike, the price definitely
> reflects the quality.

thats what i am planning on, i have been eyeing the Mongoose Wing
Elite, with disc brakes, i want disk brakes very badly. Even if there
mechanical, theyre better than walmart v brakes!

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> thats what i am planning on, i have been eyeing the Mongoose Wing
> Elite, with disc brakes, i want disk brakes very badly. Even if there
> mechanical, theyre better than walmart v brakes!

About those disc brakes... Beware.

I wanted discs really badly too a while back, so when I built my old bike up
with a new disc system, I thought I had it made. But I had 500 piece of
**** miles before the pads disappeared. Plus, there was no auto-adjustment
for pad wear so I would have to add stupid shims underneath the pads every
100 miles. I couldn't even do stoppies with those brakes!!! I sold them for
$2. Rotors and all.

I now run V-brakes on my MTB. They are SO much better than the discs I had,
and they've scared the **** out of some of my experienced riding friends
who've ridden it. Given good rims and good pad material, V-brakes are
comparable to good discs.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

[Chris B.]

On 19 Jul 2003 16:45:20 -0700, (TJ Poseno) wrote:

>"Phil, Squid-in-Training" > wrote in message >...
>> > Yesterday i pulled out the bolts that hold the shock to the frame, the
>> > were both bent to the point i had to use a hammer to get them out.
>>
>> Judging by the way you ride, you deserve better. It seems that you may be
>> short on cash, so you might want to invest in a low-end dual suspension that
>> costs around $500-600. (Religious "must spend no less than $1500 on a DS"
>> people shut up) When shopping retail for a bike, the price definitely
>> reflects the quality.
>
>thats what i am planning on, i have been eyeing the Mongoose Wing
>Elite, with disc brakes, i want disk brakes very badly. Even if there
>mechanical, theyre better than walmart v brakes!

Just like linear pull (V-) brakes, disc brakes can be both really good
or downright terrible. In fact lousy discs will probably need more
fiddling than lousy V-brakes. I'd strongly suggest getting a Shimano
Deore or Avid Single Digit 3 or 5 linear pull brake for your current
bike - at least for the front - and perhaps a nicer set of levers too
(Avid Speed Dials offer adjustment for a decent entry level price
though I like the ergonomics of my Shimano LX's better).

I'm going to ignore Phil here and suggest that if you are going to
spring for a new bike in the $500 price range that you get a hardtail
or possibly a used full suspension (the wear complicates matters).
It's not a question of snobbery on my part (my hardtail cost about
$500 in good used parts), it's just that it really is better to have a
good/great fork on a good frame than a full suspension with so-so
shocks loaded with the so-so performing goodies that have to be spec'd
on the bike in order for it to meet that price point.

--

Chris Bird

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> I'm going to ignore Phil here and suggest that if you are going to
> spring for a new bike in the $500 price range that you get a hardtail
> or possibly a used full suspension (the wear complicates matters).
> It's not a question of snobbery on my part (my hardtail cost about
> $500 in good used parts), it's just that it really is better to have a
> good/great fork on a good frame than a full suspension with so-so
> shocks loaded with the so-so performing goodies that have to be spec'd
> on the bike in order for it to meet that price point.

I recommended a low-end dual-susp because it appears that the OP was VERY
tight on money, due both to the bike being ridden and the fact that the OP
was looking for a tweak on his crapo bike to ride on urban assaults. A
hardtail wouldn't be appropriate, and an expensive DS might be too valuable
to huck around concrete curbs and metal signposts.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

[Chris B.]

On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:12:55 GMT, "Phil, Squid-in-Training" >
wrote:

>> I'm going to ignore Phil here and suggest that if you are going to
>> spring for a new bike in the $500 price range that you get a hardtail
>> or possibly a used full suspension (the wear complicates matters).
>> It's not a question of snobbery on my part (my hardtail cost about
>> $500 in good used parts), it's just that it really is better to have a
>> good/great fork on a good frame than a full suspension with so-so
>> shocks loaded with the so-so performing goodies that have to be spec'd
>> on the bike in order for it to meet that price point.
>
>I recommended a low-end dual-susp because it appears that the OP was VERY
>tight on money, due both to the bike being ridden and the fact that the OP
>was looking for a tweak on his crapo bike to ride on urban assaults.

But doesn't he already have a low end dual suspension bike and isnt
that what's causing him problems in the first place? We must be
imaging entirely different scenarios here. If he is throwing the
thing around then buying a new or used dual slalom/dirt jump frame
(rather than a 3.5 lb XC frame) and sticking as large a tire as
possible (pumped to a reasonable pressure) on it would allow him to
shell out plenty of abuse. If money is super tight he can get dig up
a department store rigid frame and save his money for a decent fork, I
can't imagine the fork that would come on a $500 FS would cope with
BMX style riding anyway. With the exception of the goofball riding
his 8" travel downhill bike off a curb, proper technique will have to
be learned regardless.

>A hardtail wouldn't be appropriate, and an expensive DS might be too valuable
>to huck around concrete curbs and metal signposts.

No hardtail would be appropriate to replace a frame with a
nonadjustable shock which nearly bottoms out when he wheelies and
which has bent bolts where the shock mounts to the frame? Instead he
should use a 2 or 3 inch travel $500 full suspension bike (equipped
with discs of course!) which will have what quality of shock
absorber???

--

Chris Bird

[TJ Poseno]

Heres what ive got:
I have a Roadmaster steel dual suspension with a junk fornt fork, and
junk rear shock, I ride it every once in a while when going off road,
mostly trails and some hardcore with friends, its held up ok. 39LBS

I have a huffy aluminum hardtail with a ok front fork. Thats my daily
rider, its got slicks in the middle and knobs on the outside, so its
mostly road. 34LBS

And a skinny tired road bike, mostly for long rides with no trails.

I want the wing elite for a much more reliable bike. I assume its more
reliable then a wal-mart bike. Something i can ride road (for
training. sinice its DS and knobbies) and for trail riding.

If i did get teh bike, i might invest in a rear shock with lockouts.
Its basicly a biek i can buy for cheap, with a fairly nice frame, that
in the future i can slowly buy better parts.

anyone knwo what the weight is on that bike

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

"Chris B." > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:12:55 GMT, "Phil, Squid-in-Training" >
> wrote:
>
> >> I'm going to ignore Phil here and suggest that if you are going to
> >> spring for a new bike in the $500 price range that you get a hardtail
> >> or possibly a used full suspension (the wear complicates matters).
> >> It's not a question of snobbery on my part (my hardtail cost about
> >> $500 in good used parts), it's just that it really is better to have a
> >> good/great fork on a good frame than a full suspension with so-so
> >> shocks loaded with the so-so performing goodies that have to be spec'd
> >> on the bike in order for it to meet that price point.
> >
> >I recommended a low-end dual-susp because it appears that the OP was VERY
> >tight on money, due both to the bike being ridden and the fact that the
OP
> >was looking for a tweak on his crapo bike to ride on urban assaults.
>
> But doesn't he already have a low end dual suspension bike and isnt
> that what's causing him problems in the first place? We must be
> imaging entirely different scenarios here. If he is throwing the
> thing around then buying a new or used dual slalom/dirt jump frame
> (rather than a 3.5 lb XC frame) and sticking as large a tire as
> possible (pumped to a reasonable pressure) on it would allow him to
> shell out plenty of abuse. If money is super tight he can get dig up
> a department store rigid frame and save his money for a decent fork, I
> can't imagine the fork that would come on a $500 FS would cope with
> BMX style riding anyway. With the exception of the goofball riding
> his 8" travel downhill bike off a curb, proper technique will have to
> be learned regardless.
>
> >A hardtail wouldn't be appropriate, and an expensive DS might be too
valuable
> >to huck around concrete curbs and metal signposts.
>
> No hardtail would be appropriate to replace a frame with a
> nonadjustable shock which nearly bottoms out when he wheelies and
> which has bent bolts where the shock mounts to the frame? Instead he
> should use a 2 or 3 inch travel $500 full suspension bike (equipped
> with discs of course!) which will have what quality of shock
> absorber???

Decent quality isn't the issue here. Well it doesn't SEEM to be the issue
to me. I think that the price really is the limiting factor at this point.
It seems that TJ wants another DS to replace the current DS. And he let us
know that he's got a HT too.

TJ, if you have the money, by all means go out and buy a DECENT bike from a
bike shop. They will have quality much higher than what you've ridden so
far, and you will take it and not look back.

If you don't have the money, then by all means, keep your stable current
with a new DS and your HT and RB. Just be careful. But don't settle for
Walmart bikes for your entire life. I was in your position just a year ago.
I decided to build up my first non-walmart bike out of parts from eBay.
When I was done, I said, "Holy ****, I can't keep the front end down because
it's so light! It spins a bit faster and it's much plusher and I can do a
few more tricks on it now that it's lighter."

Think about it. We all urge you not to dump money into superstore crap,
when it can be used towards something that's pretty damn good. Ask a local
bike shop if you can put a full-value deposit (in the form of a personal
check) down while you ride it for a day. Most won't let you do that, but at
least a ride in the parking lot will let you know what's available.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

[TJ Poseno]

The wal mart bikes i have now will definatly be the last. The road
bike is a mid range (well i think so anyway) road bike from a while
ago, so its plently reliable, so i will keep that. But i will be
really happy when I finally get a real bike.