I saw some dude at a bike shop with an average 5 spot but with an air shock.

Does this really lighten it up and help climbing?

What are the pro and cons of an air shock with an lockout?

Would any of you consider this.

Buy 5 spot with an coil shock, what it comes with.

Buy and air shock for your xc rides and switch to the coil for your technical downhill days.

That sounds sweet!

Short answer - yes, you can run an air shock on a 5S. It will certainly take weight off vs. a coilover. The 5S' design doesn't necessitate a "platform" shock like some other designs but it can be enhanced by one IMO. It should be a good pedaler/climber with either type of shock.

Fox now has ProPedal air shocks and Manitou the Swinger line. I believe some RFX/5S/XCE owners have had a chance to try them so I'll defer to them. Mine is a Cane Creek Cloud 9 - zero trail time, street only. Need time to break/dial it in to post a meaningful review.

Sean

I saw some dude at a bike shop with an average 5 spot but with an air shock.

Does this really lighten it up and help climbing?

What are the pro and cons of an air shock with an lockout?

Would any of you consider this.

Buy 5 spot with an coil shock, what it comes with.

Buy and air shock for your xc rides and switch to the coil for your technical downhill days.

That sounds sweet!

I asked the same question in the Turner forum about the Swinger 4 Way, and got some pretty good answers. Check out the posts there.

I saw some dude at a bike shop with an average 5 spot but with an air shock.

Does this really lighten it up and help climbing?

What are the pro and cons of an air shock with an lockout?

Would any of you consider this.

Buy 5 spot with an coil shock, what it comes with.

Buy and air shock for your xc rides and switch to the coil for your technical downhill days.

That sounds sweet!

The Romic has all the pedal efficiency you will need. If you want it lighter, a Ti spring can save close to 1/2 pound and keep the coil performance the same as it was intended for that bike. I have run Fox AVA in pro pedal, as well as non pro pedal, a Manitou Swinger 4 way air, and a few others. NONE will give the performance of the Romic does decending, what i will be doing is having my non pro pedal AVA custom valved the way i want it, basically not as heavy valving as stock Fox. The air shocks require more force to get the shock moving-and are just not quite as responsive, giving a less plush or active ride vs. coil, and air shocks run linear to the end part of the stroke where they ramp up real fast. The Romic has a more gradual progressive feel-matching coil forks better, you can run an air shock no problem, but it depends on your riding weather you want the difference in performance.

I guess what i wana know is....

Is it worth for my rides where its strictly xc or LOTS of climbing to buy and air shock with sp or an lockout.
then for big bear, downhill days, throw on the romic!

How much would an air shock cost me?

Thank you!

I guess what i wana know is....

Is it worth for my rides where its strictly xc or LOTS of climbing to buy and air shock with sp or an lockout.
then for big bear, downhill days, throw on the romic!

How much would an air shock cost me?

Thank you!
I think since you have some doubt or in-decision, I would try to find someone who has an air shock that fits, give it an xc ride as you would with the air shock, and see what you think. It does make sense to run an air shock based on your description of use, but it also depends on the rider. Some just dont put much emphasis on weight savings when they are just out riding and care less about a little more weight. I mean some are just that way about a bike, and thats just fine too. Everyone is different in what they want or care about in a bike reguardless of the amount paid for the bike. Only thing I like about this, is you get a second shock for backup so if your main shock blows or something, you have a backup to keep riding. A Fox Float AVA pro pedal should cost around $350 or a little more depending on who you buy it from, the lockout version is much less needed with pro pedal on it, so the non lock out R version should be low $3's or about $300. For the Turner 5 Spot/RFX you will need to have an air shock with a 7.5" eye to eye shock length by 2.0" stroke.

DGC
was your propedal/ava from Turner, i.e., one of the ones he had valved for the 5 spot or a stock one?

One of my riding buds has one on his 5 spot we got directly from Dave that was valved for the 5 spot and he loves it
he did try the 4 way swinger on the bike for a bit and put the propedal/ava back on
he also has a romic for it

DGC
was your propedal/ava from Turner, i.e., one of the ones he had valved for the 5 spot or a stock one?

One of my riding buds has one on his 5 spot we got directly from Dave that was valved for the 5 spot and he loves it
he did try the 4 way swinger on the bike for a bit and put the propedal/ava back on
he also has a romic for it

Mine came direct from Fox, I had someone over there valve it according to Turner specs, so I would hope it was the same as the valving Turner has done with the pro pedal ava, It did feel lighter valving than a stock one has. I did like it, not as much as my Romic which also has a slightly lighter valving on it, this allows me to use the compression clicker more rather than running all the way open as many riders do. With the Float pro pedal ava, the wallow was reduced over my non pro pedal ava but still has some, blows through the travel a bit still on rollers and small woops, but all in all much better than the non pro pedal ava. I tried the 4 way swinger air, it would need a re valve for sure as i had to run 50% sag to just get it to soak up some of the small stuff, just felt bad as a stock valve job from Manitou so I will get the chance to try one out valved correctly when I go down to Manitou in a few weeks. Since I have a Ti spring on my Romic, the weight is now close enough to the air shock to stay with the Romic. I could run the re valved ava but for pure xc stuff only, but for the rougher technical Tahoe trail up here, the Romic is still gonna be the choice on that bike.

If you are light enough to find a Ti spring that works for you, you probably don't "need" a coilover in the classical sense that coils, in the context of XC/trail, have been for clyde-oriented use or those just preferring a "plush" feel and willing to incur the weight penalty.

I tried finding a Ti spring for clydes but it didn't work - a) it didn't fit, and b) it was not a whole lot lighter than my steel spring in that spring rate (750).

I chose the CC as it picked it up for $200 and it appeared to the be the lightest/simplest system. No knocks against Fox - the air shocks I've had from them for other bikes never failed under my large carcass.

Sean

If you are light enough to find a Ti spring that works for you, you probably don't "need" a coilover in the classical sense that coils, in the context of XC/trail, have been for clyde-oriented use or those just preferring a "plush" feel and willing to incur the weight penalty.

I tried finding a Ti spring for clydes but it didn't work - a) it didn't fit, and b) it was not a whole lot lighter than my steel spring in that spring rate (750).

I chose the CC as it picked it up for $200 and it appeared to the be the lightest/simplest system. No knocks against Fox - the air shocks I've had from them for other bikes never failed under my large carcass.

Sean

First off, nobody "needs" Ti, it is a chi chi thing, Romic Ti springs give only 2 advantages: a weight advantage over steel, the feel is so close it might as well be a wash(Ti more resilient??? maybe you can feel that), and durability.....Romic fit Ti springs are said to have 2-4 times more life than steel. Thats a serious durability consideration.
With coil it is plushness yes, but the faster you go and charge, the more you need to have traction and control, not a choppy ride, coil does that situation better than any air shock on the 5 Spot. But.....everyone rides different and has a different agenda. The rider does change all this enough to consider air shocks on any xc or trail bike including the 5 Spot.
With Ti- its like anything you buy, justifying the cost, for some its the "I want it" or "cool" factor and also "is there any performance advantage", for some looking good is important. Its all fine with me as long as everyone is having fun riding.
I had been given the chance to get the Ti spring for testing with minimal cost to me-and at that time they were very hard to get ahold of and still are, hard to pass up at the time. At the same time I was trying to come up with a custom valved air shock that worked well enough. I am not against air shocks, just not thrilled with them on a 5 inch travel bike. The CC as you mention is simple and should do fine for you, other shocks might have done good too, many different shocks will work. Sometimes we all have to try things to just find out what works for us.
I feel the coil shock gives a more gradual progressive feel, which IMO, gives more control throughout the compression stroke vs. air shocks, more noticeable while agressive trail riding. If you spend a wad on a custom or high end bike, I think suspension balance is important enough to try and match air to air, or coil to coil but not soley true on some suspension designs. In the bicycle industry, so many options exist making it interesting all the time.

DGC,

Agreed, nobody needs Ti, but please don't shoot holes in the core investment thesis I offer to my wife! If I could find a Ti spring that worked for my Romic I'd buy it in an heartbeat. Air is getting better, but still not on par with coil feel. You're a lucky dog to have sourced one for your 5S.

Personally, I've never seen or heard of a steel spring wearing out - you'll kill yourself, the bike or the particular damper long before you ever "wear out" a steel spring making the the life span comparo vs. Ti meaningless.

Weight and looks are the only reason for Ti...and are perfectly good enough reasons for me.

I want a Ti-bodied air shock that rides like a full-blown coilover Romic.

Sean

I saw some dude at a bike shop with an average 5 spot but with an air shock.

Does this really lighten it up and help climbing?

What are the pro and cons of an air shock with an lockout?

Would any of you consider this.

Buy 5 spot with an coil shock, what it comes with.

Buy and air shock for your xc rides and switch to the coil for your technical downhill days.

That sounds sweet!

If you're interested in one, its the right size.

DGC,

Agreed, nobody needs Ti, but please don't shoot holes in the core investment thesis I offer to my wife! If I could find a Ti spring that worked for my Romic I'd buy it in an heartbeat. Air is getting better, but still not on par with coil feel. You're a lucky dog to have sourced one for your 5S.

Personally, I've never seen or heard of a steel spring wearing out - you'll kill yourself, the bike or the particular damper long before you ever "wear out" a steel spring making the the life span comparo vs. Ti meaningless.

Weight and looks are the only reason for Ti...and are perfectly good enough reasons for me.

I want a Ti-bodied air shock that rides like a full-blown coilover Romic.

Sean

There was at one time in the works a composite bodied Romic damper, I never heard if it was going to be produced. I will be visiting the Romic factory in a few weeks and that is on my list of questions for them. Also, the test i was told about of steel vs. Ti coils, was from the actual manufacturer of the Romic fitting Ti spring. The test showed the steel spring had lost as much as 1/8 of an inch in length, basically getting tired after 100,000 cycles. It did not break at that point, but had lost its spring so to speak and was shorter, kind of what elastomers did. Now, on the Titanium spring, at double that amount, 200,000 cycles, the Ti had shown basically no shortening and was still about the same liveliness so they just turned the machine off !!!!
Problem is how do you relate 100,000 cycles to actual riding??? I guess thats the tough one to figure, it must be based on a said riders miles and tipical trail that rider is on most often. Dunno, but it sure did sound interesting when I was told this from one of the guys at this spring manufacturing plant in Washington.....Renton springs to be exact, Thought you would find that one interesting.