Agreed. I don’t know if most people have the means to get custom tuned suspension. Would be amazing if it was easier to find. Dialing in your setup is the next best thing.

@@bikersedge I think just knowing where to look is the hard part. I work with Revolution Factory Suspension in NW Arkansas. Fluid Focus is a great option on the west coast. The cost is certainly cheaper than new suspension and makes the bike feel much better. I really appreciate your reviews! You’re one of the best for sure!

@@andersonsridebikes thanks for the tips! I fully agree that’s the way to go.

Hey thanks for the kind words. Stoked you like the videos!

In my opinion it’s tough to beat the Vivid right now for gravity lovers.

Hey thanks for the kind words! In the case of the vivid the marketing hype was justified. I love that thing.

Any comparison between the super deluxe and the vivid? Currently running super deluxe on same bike.

@@MrChadLedford Unfortunately no. Just the stock Float X. I've heard the SDU has a better tune on it than the Float X. I think if you 're considering the Vivid on your bike there's two important questions I think you should answer. Do you wish your bike would calm down when you blast through rough terrain? And how much do you value your bike having lots of pop? If you don't notice your bike getting squirrelly at speed then there's no reason to put a Vivid on your bike. If you do but value having a really poppy bike then you may still want to stick to the SDU. Effectively what the Vivid does to the stumpy is you trade a little bit of pop for a huge amount of confidence over chunky terrain. It is also worth mentioning you can put up to 6 volume spacer in the Stumpy Vivid so you could theoretically make it as progressive as the SDU (The air spring will still feel different but that's a different discussion). I ride a lot of rocky terrain so this was a worthwhile upgrade for me but I don't feel like someone who rides mellower stuff or values a lot of pop would benefit from it.

The X2 or Vivis should be fine on an Evo, the Ripmo has less travel than the Evo and the X2 is the default rear shock for most Ripmo builds.

Glad you liked it. The Vivid is solid.

Big fan of the Zeb and now the Vivid!

Glad you liked it. Love doing timed testing. It’s fun stuff.

Hey thanks! Megneg is a cool concept that should help a SD feel a bit more like the vivid.

Very nice! The smuggler is rad.

Hey thanks! Glad you liked it!

Tough to go too wrong with either these days.

A lot of the same reasons why I prefer air.

Thanks! Yeah the setup on a coil is a bit of a turn off for me. The ride quality can be nice on the right bike though!

Unless you put a sprindex!

@@maximerobillard4790 sure. That’s why I mentioned that in the video.

I don’t know if the plush and grounded argument still holds true today. The vivid felt as plush as the super deluxe. Might depend on your bike.

I have a feeling it’s going to be what dreams are made of.

Thanks!

I mean I try to bottom out multiple times every ride. I want to make sure I use all the travel I have. Harsh bottom outs are a different story though. The Ripmo is almost regressive at the end of the stroke. Paired with a coil harsh bottom outs are frequent.

@@bikersedge that's very interesting. I understand the idea of wanting to use all of your travel, that makes a lot of sense, but I have always felt like I might damage something if I bottom out and clap it all the time. I have a Ripmo V2 and a yeti SB 150. Both have the DVO Jade Coil X. Both bikes perform incredibly well and chew up the bumps effectively, but The yeti feels a little bit "stiffer". That might be because it is running a 38 fork, where the ibis has the 36. But it might also be because of the way that the rear swing arm moves. They have very different rear suspension styles, and I bet it makes a bit of difference. But they both climb like Mountain goats on crack, and they descend incredibly well.

@@SpokesmanMTB I guess there’s a difference between a harsh clang and a gentle bottom out. I bottom out frequently. Maybe once or twice a ride on the bigger hits I’ll clang into the bottom. Suspension is designed to handle it. Bikes are pretty tough.

Thanks. It’s a handful of trails in the park city area.

One step ahead of you! Working with some suspension geniuses on a “suspension for dummies” series. I totally agree that proper setup is the most important part.

It could work. I had a Wild that I was trying to get dialed. Felt rather firm to begin with. I tried a coil and an air shock. Ended up preferring the air shock because I was able to run more sag but pack it full of spacers to help with the bottom out. Was the happy spot for me. I liked that more than the coil. With the coil I couldn’t run as soft of a spring as I wanted without bottom out/wallow problems.

@@bikersedge thanks a lot 🙏🙏

Totally agree. I usually end up running my air shocks with slightly less pressure and then pack them full of spacers.

Yup. Totally agree.

Hey thanks! A heavier rider could potentially benefit from a coil for heat dissipation. I’m 200lb and ride some long and rough descents. I don’t notice heat issues with modern air shocks. A bigger rider or a rider with really long descents might enjoy a coil. Otherwise I don’t think it’s too big of an issue. The performance won’t inherently be better on a coil for a bigger rider.

They’ll be coming out of the woodwork soon enough. Ha. To be honest I know negative 4 things about cars. Couldn’t even begin to speculate why they use coil suspension.

For cars, the predictable behavior and reliability are the reasons why coil springs have been the dominant choice.

I would still argue the majority of how your rear suspension feels will be dictated by the frame kinematics. A shock can make a small difference in the big picture.

What issues are you having with the X2?

@@bikersedge It feels really good should I just keep it or do you think a vivid would feel more like a coil. The bike is pretty new. Maybe I can just play with the tune?

Not sure what to tell you without knowing what you’re trying to accomplish. Again a coil isn’t “better” so it’s not always the right move to try to make your shock feel more like one. If you feel the bike isn’t plush enough I’d start with setup and tune on your X2 and then go from there.

@@bikersedge Right on I will try that first. My bike is already pretty plush being 180 front and 175 rear. It is an e bike too. I think I will stick with air front and rear and work on tuning the bikes suspension. I ride trail this time of year and summer I am at Northstar ski resort on the weekends too. I think I need to wait until I hit the bike park chunck in the summer and then I will have a better idea. 🤘

Yeah proper setup is a good place to start. Enjoy northstar! I miss that place. Used to live in south lake.

In my mind it makes perfect sense those folks would ride coils - better traction and the cons of coils don’t really apply to their demands or situation.

I hate constantly checking on pressure with air shock, ambient temperature changes pressure, heat build up in damper increases pressure, just don't want that trouble

I ran the 160 with the X2 for quite a while. I prefer the vivid or super deluxe. I’ll be running it with the vivid from here on out. If you like the thought of coil go for it. I really don’t think it makes the bike climb any worse.

@@bikersedge Well, it sounds like you like it with the Vivid. I like a poppier bike. The only advantage I see of coil is that no matter the temps, the bike will perform the same.

The stock Pike and Super Deluxe

GoPro 12

GoPro 12

I did it to prove a point. Rampage is quite possibly the burliest MTB event in the world. Goes to show that coil isn’t necessarily burlier than air like a lot of people think. Comparing the two events shows different demands require different setup.

For the price it’s really tempting. It’s not the fanciest or highest performing, but in the big picture your actual suspension components (given they’re not complete trash - which marzocchi is solid) make up a pretty small percentage of your ride quality.

@@bikersedge Ill be honest Ive had Fox Grip 2 and Pike Ultimate that I never got working for myself as well as the Fit 4 or plain Grip stuff. Also like I can get a Marz Z1, 36 mm stanchions in 140mm travel fork. That combo isnt out of the box available in normal Fox stuff.

@@flyingnorseman I mean the marzocchi will basically be the exact same as the Fit 4 Fox stuff.

I think they’re good in certain applications. PNW roots are one of those applications.

HBO is only going to affect the end stroke. Compression will affect the entire stroke. If you’re diving into the mid stroke too easily add some compression damping. If you like the off the top and kid stroke but only want some bottom out resistance then add HBO.

@@bikersedge awesome, thank you!

Agreed. Once it’s set up you’re golden. That part is nice.

Not something I’ve experienced too much. It frequently gets over 100f here and our descents can be on the longer side at 5-10 minutes. Weight, bike and terrain could make that vary though.

Not with back to back laps. I’ve ridden the same ebike with coil and air shocks though.

Nice! For me the large volume air shock is the perfect option.

@@bikersedge I think the Hugene is borderline not progressive enough for the large volume Manitou King can (X2 and Vivid don't fit), but I found the stock fox Float X to be too progressive. I just put the smaller volume can on (right before getting sick) but haven't ridden it yet. Initial impression is that the smaller volume/ more progressive can better matches the fox 36 up front though.

@@BryanHoefer have you played with volume spacers on the larger can shocks? That might be the move.

@@bikersedge yep, with the larger can and max volume spacers it works pretty well with LSC almost closed (2 clicks from closed), and HSC around the middle. I could close HSC more and I may end up there. The smaller can is still less progressive than a float x, and they went on sale so I picked one up to play with.

Nope. I’m still running it on the SB160.

@@bikersedge thanks a lot for your quick respone!!!have a nice weekend 🤘

I’ve done them before in the past.

I didn’t get the same effect from the X2. Even after a bunch of tweaking with settings and spacers.

That’s a pretty solid idea. Honestly might be more difference between those than vivid and SD coil. I’ll see if I can make it happen.

This would be great. I had the ultimate air on my 2018 altitude and loved it, I now have the ultimate coil on my Banshee and love it too. About to buy the 2022 altitude and really want the vivid.

Homemade

If it answers your question I sold the X2. The vivid suits my style of riding much better. Softer off the top, better traction, better end stroke control.

The Vivid air can is able to be serviced without opening the damper so that alone is a big advantage.

Not saying sprindex is a negative. It’s a good alternative to multiple springs. It’s also and additional cost.

@@bikersedgei appreciate you didnt say sprindex is bad but you mention it as an alternative then say its just one more thing to set up, in a way which sort of comes across as a negative. having just bought the super delux and a sprindex i agree sprindex comes at a cost compared to buying one standard spring, in the case of a standard rockshox spring, a srindex is tripple the cost, with a coil shock there is still going to be atleast one spring to buy and a quick look online, the vivid air shock would have cost me more than my coil plus the sprindex combined. i dont ride at a level where i could tell people who choose coil that the sprindex is the way forward, for me it was. as one spring manufacturers spring calculator advised a 550lb spring and a leading suspension specialist advised 600lb. my guess is both are probably wrong and optimum is somewhere inbetween the two, meaning the quick adjustability in 5lb increments of the sprindex is ideal. im not trying to argue the pros and cons of coil over air, youve done that informativley, knowledgably and elequently. i think people will do like me and take your information onboard and make an informed choice based on your information, personal research and ultimately personal preferance. 😁

Not sure thats the direction I'd go for a smuggler. Could be good, but at some point you're going to be better served by a Sentinel if you're looking for DH capability.

You’d be surprised at how many people wouldn’t agree.

Oooof. Sounds like it’s time for a new bike. Ha.

​@@bikersedge you guys should do a review of the dvo 38

That would be great!

Don’t know too much about it. Haven’t been able to ride one.

Hero 12 max lens hyperview

It would probably be great.

@@bikersedge I have a SB140 LR (29er) and the back end is great but it feels a bit too light if that's the right word. Actually what i feel on harder hits is that the back end gets a but unsettled perhaps under dampened somehow so was thinking the Vivid air would provide a bit more control to an otherwise great bike.

@@BogdanMiliu part of that is going to be the suspension kinematics. Changing the shock could potentially help but it’s not going to completely overcome how the bike was designed.

@@bikersedge ah ... so you're thinking that because it has a lower progression rate and less kick at the end it won't really be as settled a enduro bike would be ... interesting. I was hoping the Vivid with the HBO would handle that better and make it a bit more linear (the shock) while running a bit higher pressure and count on the HBO for the bottom out. I should say that most of the time the bike feels great. It's just on some g-out events at the end of a rock face for example it gets squirly ... i was thinking perhaps the highspeed rebound is not high enough for the PSI i'm running.

I don't think it's necessarily the progression but rather overall kinematics and where the progression comes in the curve. If you feel the bike isn't progressive enough, the last thing you'd want to do would be to make the shock more linear. Instead, you'd want to use spacers and add progression.

Big pro for the coil right there.

They sure do look badass. I wonder if that’s a big part of the appeal?

@@bikersedge the super deluxe looks like a Twizzler and that appeals to my candy addiction

@@Jake-wb8wd 😂

Yup. That’s why I gave coil the win in the maintenance section.

To each their own

I also have an SST but with a Cane Creek IL coil. I am pretty militant on Team Coil though.

😂

Agreed. That will make a big difference. At the end of the day your frame kinematics, not the shock you run, will determine the lions share of your suspension feel.

Not necessarily. Enduro racers have different demands than DH racers. Diving deeper, even within a single discipline, individual riders will have different demands based on their bike, riding style and terrain.

@@bikersedgei see so we may see more vivid shocks on enduro as it is half downhill and uphill, for me Enduro Bikes is a relatable bike that can do day to day trail, does downhill and climb too. And relatable on consumer like me as it showcase capability and how strong the parts is i really wish they add some jumps aside from the usual single track

@@marklouieadame I would imagine we start seeing vivids on a lot of bikes across multiple disciplines.

Different bikes will handle them better or worse.

Yeah I loved my mega with air. Kept it lively and like you said the small bump on that bike is amazing to begin with.

Sure. That would have been far more accurate. That said I did a few days pre-riding both trails and over the years I’ve ridden these trails over 100 times each. Certainly didn’t learn them by riding the coil first.

Haha. That’s exactly what I think.

Got it. More marker.

@@bikersedge nooooooooooooooo

This is to help people decide what they like….

Fightin' words.