This topic keeps coming up on a nearly monthly basis by the same quality posters that either like posting LOL, or have agendas and have lots of time frequenting multiple forums. I composed this information to help the genuine readers, rather than seeking a confrontation with the experts above. I have set a bit of time aside to help form an opinion. . I have been involved in my capacity as R+D technician for nearly 30 years working and /or designing products for Techno Flex, WP, YSS and Promax. I have designed and improved a quiet few new products over those years.
http://store.suspensionshop.org/information/ let me say this, it’s easy to knock products anomalously, but it takes knowledge to create a better product in function and price. I formed this philosophy over the many years in my job:
It’s unwise to pay too much
But it is worse to pay to little
When you pay too much, you
Loose a little money
When you pay too little, you
Sometimes lose everything
Because the thing you have bought
Was incapable of doing the things
It was bought to do
The common law of business balance,
Prohibits paying a little and
Getting a lot, it cannot be done
If you deal with the lowest bidder,
It is well to add something
For the risk you run
And if you do that, you will have
Enough money to pay
For the something better.
This is how we create a product:
First we need to know the demand and trend in that market. Then we can look at numbers that could be sold on an ongoing basis . (There is no point creating a YZ B/C shock in multiple numbers for stock ) .
What is needed to improve that model bike? What is the customer prepared to pay and what does the opposition offer .
Then we can choose from different materials and dimensions.
As a sample we use Evo twin shocks. The materials that we have today to choose from are Aluminium verses steel body, Chrome Silicon verses Piano wire, bladder verses dividing piston, ceramic verses sinter and titanium verses steel or aluminium .
For 80% of long twin shocks 12.5 mm hardened shafts work the best. If you go bigger, you get too much friction on the seals and if you go less they can bend the shafts. In order to make a shock externally adjustable, the shaft needs to be drilled all the way through and that adds considerable cost. Not also are adjustable shocks dearer to produce, you also loose valuable stroke and more things can go wrong So it’s a bit of a trade-off and at the moment adjusters are the inn thing. The most important adjuster is the rebound. That can be done in various ways. The most proven one is a needle and seat with different needle options. You should have at least 30-60 clicks of adjustment to warrant a big enough window. Unless it’s a self-adjusting high-low speed set up, compression adjusters can add a lot of confusion in setting up a bike. For simplicity reasons they are not always great and necessary. But the market wants them sometimes. Correct rebound damping and the spring to suit the rider’s weight are more important to the average user. The best solution for spring preload adjustment is a lock ring on a thread that gives you seamless choices. A fair bit dearer to produce than clips or cams, but much more user-friendly. Now to the old debate of Alum verses steel bore. Aluminium bodies are far cheaper to produce than steel bores with Alum ends. Aluminium bodies weigh a bit less than steel and can be colored with many options for bling reasons. The downside is they have much more friction and wear out in a shorter period. So for long life and better performance a polished steel bore is the answer. Of course the people that can only offer alum shocks, will deny that. We offer both type, but for the right application and price range. But when you do the Dyno test, you can’t argue with the curve. The Dyno curve on a steel body shock is so much better, they fade much later (because with less friction you get less heat and unnecessary wear) Also the oil on a steel body does not get contaminated (no contamination > no wear> longer life)
“What shocks to buy? “
As customer I would look for
Good quality steel body
Hyme joints both ends (bearings)
Pricing verses features and finishing quality
