Shock advise!

[jkiserracing]

Heres a quick rundown of whats going on.

I have a JB lt front end. I am going to replace my Elkas with Fox (I hope) I am looking at a set from a guy who is selling his (Gen 2)

I ask the normal questions....length, what a arms were they set up for etc.

Heres the reply: Length is 19.5" He currently also has JB a arms. Bought new directly from Fox in 2011. Not set up for any particular brand, just long travel designed for mx 175lb rider.

JB usually requires a 20" shock (which he could have measured wrong) but seeing that they were not set up for any particular brand doesn't seem correct does it?

Would there be a serial # or something that Fox could use to see what shocks these actually are?

Thanks.

[jason_david1]

there will be a part number on the bottom of the shock by the evol chamber (thats where is was on the gen 1). let fox know the part number and they can tell you the specs and what arms they were built for

[jkiserracing]

perfect. Thanks

[jkiserracing]

The guy at Fox looked it up for me. He said these were actually for the Houser a arms. However according to him they should work on the JB arms because the length was the same and the compression travel was a little longer on the Houser than the JB by just .3 of an inch. Therefore should work.....:eek:

[3leggeddog]

heres the thing with Fox, they build shocks to fit a wide range of applications. SO if the extended and compressed lengths are close, there tends to be a grey area there. .3 is around 3/8" of an inch longer. What can really mess with the shock is the mounting point on the a arm, which is what creates the leverage ratio on the valving. If that is off, the shocks can always be revalved.

Point is, if they are close, and you don't have to get into longer, or shorter shafts, the valving isn't too bad to change if it's off.

Hope that helps a little.

I think you just buy this sick Gibson front end I got tho ;-)

[dustin_j]

Originally posted by jkiserracing
The guy at Fox looked it up for me. He said these were actually for the Houser a arms. However according to him they should work on the JB arms because the length was the same and the compression travel was a little longer on the Houser than the JB by just .3 of an inch. Therefore should work.....:eek:

Do you mean the extended length is the same between the two shocks, but the Houser uses a shorter compressed length? Meaning, the Houser shock is shorter when bottomed out.

The .3" could be enough difference to cause you to frame out before the shock bottoms out. This can be corrected by adding a spacer on the air side to correct the compressed length. From what I've heard about FOX, they probably have the same valving between the two setups, so the only difference is the compressed length.

[jkiserracing]

No. The compressed length is actually longer (says Fox) on these shocks (built for Houser arms) than the JB shocks. So in essence the frame may bottom before the shock does.

[jkiserracing]

Originally posted by 3leggeddog
heres the thing with Fox, they build shocks to fit a wide range of applications. SO if the extended and compressed lengths are close, there tends to be a grey area there. .3 is around 3/8" of an inch longer. What can really mess with the shock is the mounting point on the a arm, which is what creates the leverage ratio on the valving. If that is off, the shocks can always be revalved.

Point is, if they are close, and you don't have to get into longer, or shorter shafts, the valving isn't too bad to change if it's off.

Hope that helps a little.

I think you just buy this sick Gibson front end I got tho ;-)

Yes that is helpful....however tell me about this sick gibson front you got?? lol. By the way I run the 04/05 front end.

[McCrillis]

I personally run the fox floats, and they are seriously untouchable once their setup correctly. I had the elka dune edition shocks before I got the floats and they were great, but once I got the floats and dialed em' in to my preferences, they were like clouds compared to my elkas. I still run the rear elka dune shock, planning on getting the podium x, here are what my floats look like and I have the decals for the podium x as well just don't have it yet. http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/camilleandmicah/IMAG0222-1.jpg

[jkiserracing]

Are those in fact 20"?

[McCrillis]

Yes they measure 20" eye to eye, maybe the guy messed up on measuring lol. If the guy at fox told you they will work, you should run them. If you haven't ran air shocks yet, you should at least give em a try they are a bit expensive but completely worth it in my eyes. I don't think I will ever switch back to spring again haha, I would like to try some axis as well.

[dustin_j]

Originally posted by jkiserracing
No. The compressed length is actually longer (says Fox) on these shocks (built for Houser arms) than the JB shocks. So in essence the frame may bottom before the shock does.

I think you stated this backwards. If your shocks are longer compressed than the A-arms require, then the shocks bottom out at a higher frame height than the JB shocks would. Meaning, your shocks would bottom out at 2.1" frame height instead of 1.5", for example. It's your decision if you are happy with this difference. I haven't serviced any floats, only seen one apart, but talk to a shock who services them often. FOX may use the same length bodies for both setups, but use a bottom out spacer on the Housers to get the taller compressed length. If this is the case, you could get the shorter compressed length without spending too much. Just a thought, not necessarily reality, haha.

FOX uses a top out spring on the floats. If the guy measured extended length with no, or low, main chamber air pressure, then the extended length would measure short.

[jkiserracing]

Ok. well I understand what you mean...I may have explained it backwards though. We'll see. If I can get the price right I think it will be worth it.

[jkiserracing]

Originally posted by McCrillis
I personally run the fox floats, and they are seriously untouchable once their setup correctly. I had the elka dune edition shocks before I got the floats and they were great, but once I got the floats and dialed em' in to my preferences, they were like clouds compared to my elkas. I still run the rear elka dune shock, planning on getting the podium x, here are what my floats look like and I have the decals for the podium x as well just don't have it yet. http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/camilleandmicah/IMAG0222-1.jpg

Where did you get your Fox shox decals that match your quad. Those are nice!!