Am I the only one who can’t get along with coils?

[Arron M]

Sorry if this has been covered, but I’ve tried a coil on all 3 of my last bikes, and they just a bit dead to start with and then harsh deeper in the travel.
This completely goes against how I understand they work but each time I tried a coil, I went back to air and preferred it.

Riding: Bike park/DH, from fast and rough to slow and tech and jump lines.

Bikes:
2021 Trek rail 7 - push 11-6. Preferred it with a cheap marzocchi bomber air.
2022 KSL - push 11-6. Prefer it with the factory X2.
2022 Kenevo Came with RS super deluxe select + coil. Prefer it with the same factory X2.

My X2 leaks air and I’ve had enough of fox, do I try one more time and spend money on the 11-6 for the Kenevo ( it needs a service and repair) or do I start fresh with an air shock and admit I just can’t get along with coils even though they should make the bike act they way I want in theory?

 

[Paulquattro]

Hi
for a start Trek rails in that vintage are not progressive enough for coils if your riding hard , i know i have one and do your sort of riding by the sounds of it , i would get the poundage right and it was supple off the top but i would blow through the travel i ran that bike and still do on an ohlins air shock afterthe coil and its great .
I ran a coil on my orbea wild on the other hand and it was a perfect allrounder for me as the orbea was more progressive in its rear suspension design
But if your having a harsh start to travel may i suggest its a set up thing more than the coils fault as springs by nature are more supple especially at the start of there stroke
You may have had too high a poundage spring or your low compression setting were to high not allowing the spring to do it thing
With out more details of rider weight and setting etc we can only guess really thou

 

[calnearlyebike]

Sorry if this has been covered, but I’ve tried a coil on all 3 of my last bikes, and they just a bit dead to start with and then harsh deeper in the travel.
This completely goes against how I understand they work but each time I tried a coil, I went back to air and preferred it.

Riding: Bike park/DH, from fast and rough to slow and tech and jump lines.

Bikes:
2021 Trek rail 7 - push 11-6. Preferred it with a cheap marzocchi bomber air.
2022 KSL - push 11-6. Prefer it with the factory X2.
2022 Kenevo Came with RS super deluxe select + coil. Prefer it with the same factory X2.

My X2 leaks air and I’ve had enough of fox, do I try one more time and spend money on the 11-6 for the Kenevo ( it needs a service and repair) or do I start fresh with an air shock and admit I just can’t get along with coils even though they should make the bike act they way I want in theory?

It can be a real pain to get the sag right. Im on my first coil . Not sure they are worth the headache tbh.

 

[Arron M]

..
But if your having a harsh start to travel may i suggest its a set up thing more than the coils fault as springs by nature are more supple especially at the start of there stroke …

Thanks Paulquattro, perhaps dead was the wrong word to use, the 11-6 felt very supple over the small bumps, also I had a progressive spring in it in the rail, and then chose a push hypercoil (which are linear) when it went into the KSL. The part of the travel i wasn’t happy with was after 60% or thereabouts. I would also conclude that setup would be an issue given the info I have provided but I can assure you that’s not the case. 3 different springs, multiple preload settings on each and 10’s of HSC and LSC changes, but never quite got there.
Maybe there’s something in the way the steel spring rebounds its energy when there’s a change of direction compared to air.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I have what I consider the best of the best for a coil and it's very good, but spring rate is just always an issue as my weight varies often.

I totally understand why manufacturers choose air shocks.

I will only run a coil shock an e-bike with a highly progressive leverage ratio, personally.

 

[Jamo]

I think you have to watch with ebikes in particular because of the weight of the bike. On heavier ebikes i’ve had a coil has sometimes felt how you’ve described and hard to get right. Personally i think air works best with ebikes as more support and the ebikes have inherent grip anyway (the thing i’d typicallly be searching for when using a coil on a non-ebike).

 

[Zero cool]

I’ve preferred coil shocks over air shocks for years, but with my ebike I’d quite like an air shock as I’m currently on my 3rd spring (500, 525 and 550) trying to get the sag right (and that’s not including the 450 spring that came with the bike!). I guess I had better start saving my pennies.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

I had a coil on my old analogue bike and loved it for its "set and forget" nature, but to be honest, I am really enjoying the more adjustable and different feeling nature of the air shock on my eBike.

I understand that the best of both worlds is the Vivid Air by Rockshox. It's supposed to give that Freeride/DH/Enduro feel with a large air chamber and strong, stable construction, without the famous Fox issues that the X2 has given so many people (Personally I haven't had issues with any Fox suspension components I have used over the years but I might just be lucky).
I have always found getting the right spring for a coil is the hardest part, but once you have that, and you have compression and rebound set up, it's done forever (more or less) - at least thaht's always been my experience). The only thing I have ever really had an issue with is the lack of progression, but with a long enough travel bike it doesn’t really become that much of an issue and I don't do massive features anymore anyway.

 

[Plummet]

I have 11-6, ext Arma and suspension tech custom tuned coils and they are fantastic.

The suspension tech is the best of the lot. Freaken awesome.

 

[Svarun]

Since trying coils I could never go back to air. Have an Ohlins in the rear on my 2nd bike now and Smashpot coil conversion for both my old F36 and current Zeb. It probably depends on your weight and ride style, as an aggressive heavier rider around 100-110kg it was very hard for me to get an agreeable performance from air springs...

 

[GeorgesEBike]

I just installed a Vivid Coil on my Crestline and couldn't be happier! I'm 135lbs and could not use full travel on the Air. Running a 350lb spring I'm able to bottom out the Coil. Set the HBO 2 clicks out of 5 and it ramps up perfectly without the bottom out. The Air felt like it was skipping along vs the Coil actually sticking to the ground. I want to put a Coil in my Zeb now.