I just upgraded my Haibike SDURO Full Seven LT 4.0 with a 2018 Fox Float DPS Factory shock (DHG2 tune) with very good results. I weigh 202 pounds and carry 10 pounds of gear; the shock tune matches my weight and the bike almost perfectly. My original intent with this shock was just to buy a shell that Avalanche Downhill Racing could modify, but since this works so well I'll defer the modification until I need the first tune.
Small bumps are handled a lot better than with the stock Suntour Duair; the OEM shock didn't move when pedaling but the Kashima-coated factory does give a bit of pedal bob; the OEM shock probably had more stiction.
Pedal strikes are much less frequent; the self-adjusting negative air chamber on the Fox lets me run more pressure; around 195 PSI for 25 percent sag instead of 175 psi and 15 percent sag; I was previously running low sag in order to get enough support on rocky climbs to avoid pedal strikes and wallow.
The bike no longer briefly loses traction over small bumps when climbing and stays much more balanced when cornering.
On high speed rocky downhills the bike no longer feels like a hardtail; the shock opens up more at high speeds. One negative; my test section is pretty short; about 3/4 mile; I felt the shaft of the shock and it was pretty warm (no hot) so if you like to shred maybe consider an external reservoir shock for better cooling.
It's now much easier to lift the front end of the bike because the rear end doesn't squash down when I compress before unweighting the front.
Overall the bike is much more fun to ride, especially because my bad SI Joint is sensitive to shock and the new shock isolates me better but also because I'm more confident and naturally going faster.
I used 2.0 inches of shock travel on a 20 inch drop to flat fully open; might need to go up one air volume spacer size or keep the wheels on the ground; but the Suntour Duair that came stock on the bike bottomed out on the same drop.
To be fair to Suntour, Suntour USA will tune your shock for you if you send it in. Also, if you are lighter weight the atmospheric-pressure negative air chamber is probably good for you; I suspect that my higher weight is an issue with the Duair; there's just not enough ooompf in the negative chamber to let me run high pressure and low sag.
The shock size for the Haibike SDURO Fullseven LT is 7.875 x 2.25 with 22.2 x 8 mm hardware both top and bottom; the Fox bushing kit was easy to install; just push the steel bushing into the polymer bushing already installed on the stock, add O-rings and spacers, a little blue locktite on the bolts and done. (Be careful to follow Fox's instructions when airing the shock or down; the negative chamber needs to stay equalized.
When the shock needs its first service I'll send this in to Avalanche Downhill Racing to get their High-Speed blow-off feature and a custom tune, but the Fox shock was pretty good right out of the box so I'm not as motivated to get that next-level performance.
Small bumps are handled a lot better than with the stock Suntour Duair; the OEM shock didn't move when pedaling but the Kashima-coated factory does give a bit of pedal bob; the OEM shock probably had more stiction.
Pedal strikes are much less frequent; the self-adjusting negative air chamber on the Fox lets me run more pressure; around 195 PSI for 25 percent sag instead of 175 psi and 15 percent sag; I was previously running low sag in order to get enough support on rocky climbs to avoid pedal strikes and wallow.
The bike no longer briefly loses traction over small bumps when climbing and stays much more balanced when cornering.
On high speed rocky downhills the bike no longer feels like a hardtail; the shock opens up more at high speeds. One negative; my test section is pretty short; about 3/4 mile; I felt the shaft of the shock and it was pretty warm (no hot) so if you like to shred maybe consider an external reservoir shock for better cooling.
It's now much easier to lift the front end of the bike because the rear end doesn't squash down when I compress before unweighting the front.
Overall the bike is much more fun to ride, especially because my bad SI Joint is sensitive to shock and the new shock isolates me better but also because I'm more confident and naturally going faster.
I used 2.0 inches of shock travel on a 20 inch drop to flat fully open; might need to go up one air volume spacer size or keep the wheels on the ground; but the Suntour Duair that came stock on the bike bottomed out on the same drop.
To be fair to Suntour, Suntour USA will tune your shock for you if you send it in. Also, if you are lighter weight the atmospheric-pressure negative air chamber is probably good for you; I suspect that my higher weight is an issue with the Duair; there's just not enough ooompf in the negative chamber to let me run high pressure and low sag.
The shock size for the Haibike SDURO Fullseven LT is 7.875 x 2.25 with 22.2 x 8 mm hardware both top and bottom; the Fox bushing kit was easy to install; just push the steel bushing into the polymer bushing already installed on the stock, add O-rings and spacers, a little blue locktite on the bolts and done. (Be careful to follow Fox's instructions when airing the shock or down; the negative chamber needs to stay equalized.
When the shock needs its first service I'll send this in to Avalanche Downhill Racing to get their High-Speed blow-off feature and a custom tune, but the Fox shock was pretty good right out of the box so I'm not as motivated to get that next-level performance.
