|   5th Element : Air or Coil | fca
May 18, 2003 2:23 PM | | I ordered a SC Heckler and just found out that I can substitute the 5th Element coil for the new 5th Element air shock. Does anyone have any experience with the air version? If it performs the same as the coil and is a 1/4 pound lighter than the Fox it would seem to be a no-brainer. |
| re: 5th Element : Air or Coil | Low_bias
May 18, 2003 8:11 PM | | I'm in exactly the same delima right now, though I haven't quite ordered my Heckler yet. Air saves a whole pound over the 5th element coil!
I don't know, but it probably won't be quite as supple on the small stuff. But isn't the 5th element a little stiff on the small stuff anyway to resist bobbing anyway? Or am I misunderstanding how it works? |
| It can be set like that, yes. | Twilight Error®
May 19, 2003 5:26 PM | | The benefit of the 5th is that you can set it to perform exactly the way you want - it can mimic an airspring, a coil or anything between. My 5th is set with just a touch of beginning stroke damping to control the bob on my Stinky and I've still got all 6" available when I need it. |
| just repeating what i've read about it... | Jordan
May 19, 2003 10:17 PM | | it is less tuneable than the coil shock (only 3 adjustments instead of 5) and designed to be more active over small bumps. i'm interested. |
| yep | benno
May 20, 2003 11:13 AM | | Thats what I've read too, much lighter but fewer adjustments. I rarely do anything to my coil 5th other than adjust the preload and the air chamber pressure, so fewer adjustments would probably be fine with me. I think the 5th element air would be an excellent choice with a superlight, and for the heckler too depending on what you're going to use the bike for. Probably not the best for big drops I'm guessing, but good for XC.
I'm really interested in hearing how the 5th air does on the superlight - or for that matter a bike like the scott strike. A simple light weight single pivot frame coupled with the 5th element air might be pretty close to the performance of more complicated linkage bikes like the XVP. |
| yep | bmadau
May 30, 2003 12:30 PM | | I too work at progressive, I actually designed the air shock so you know who to blame (or praise).. anyway, I've been riding a SL with the air shock on there for a few months now and I love it. Super plush travel and no bob that I can tell at all. I weigh about 190 (riding weight) and I only put 100 psi in the air spring, and I've been running the IFP (Platform) pressure on the low side, 60-65 psi which is below the recommended pressures and it still doesn't really bob and rides super smooth. |
| sounds good... what about some other frame types? | benno
May 31, 2003 10:14 AM | | I heard that the 5th will be valved differently depending on the frame choice. Has it been tried on an NRS frame? I'm kind of curious what the interaction between the NRS semi-lockout feature and the 5th element shock would be like. I've got an NRS now that I'm going to be selling, but I had thought about upgrading it to a 5th element if that would allow it to be plusher without bobbing. |
| sounds good... what about some other frame types? | bmadau
Jun 2, 2003 8:51 AM | | Technically it's not valved differently like conventional shocks, but they are tuned for diffrent bike's travels and linkage ratio's, and whether the ratio is progressive or regressive. We tune bikes as manufacturers send them for spec'ing on their bikes. A Giant NRS hasn't come through the door yet, but many come and go day by day. |
| One more question... | benno
Jun 6, 2003 1:06 PM | | I'm looking forward to seeing the list of supported bikes! Will we buy our shocks from progressive, tuned to the specific bike?
Have you guys done a tune for the yeti AS-R?
Thanks for the info! |
| re: 5th Element : Air or Coil | suspensionguy
May 21, 2003 2:06 PM | | FYI, we have been shipping the new 5th Element air shocks to Intense and Santa Cruz for OE applications. Aftermarket sales are planned for the end of this month, just a week away.
Air shocks will be available in three lengths.
6.5" x 1.5"
7.5" x 2.0"
7.785" x 2.0"
which will cover the majority of bikes.
Larry/Progressive |
| re: 5th Element : Air or Coil | Low_bias
May 21, 2003 3:33 PM | | Cool! You work at progressive?
Well tell me then...what is the tradeoff with the 5th element air vs. coil on a bike like a Heckler? |
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