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NRS Shock upgrade survey

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  mtbcyclist 
#1 ·
I have a 2001 Giant NRS and am curious about upgrading the shock to get a little more plushness and maybe the SGF Rockers for a little more travel. I like the rides of other frames re: suppleness, but cash flow is an issue right now. I have read all of the posts here about going to a new shock and the SGF rocker arms. I am interested in either of these options. What is lacking from the posts I have seen is long-term results of either upgrading the shock or the SGF rocker arms - the posts comment on the first few rides only. If I am going to spend $175 on a new AD-12 I would like to know that people REALLY found a difference that after months of riding continued to be worth the money. (especially when you can buy many new 4-bar frames for only $600.00. )

The SGF rocker arms are another issue. It seems that many people put them on, tried them, then took them off. Any long-term users here? (Long-term = several months and hundreds of miles of riding in my mind). Any comparisons to other long-travel 4-bar bikes (Trek Liquid, etc) would be helpful. I just hate to spend $175 for the shock and $65 for the rocker arms, only then to buy a new frame a year from now.

Cheers
 
#2 ·
What I would do.....

bugger said:
I have a 2001 Giant NRS and am curious about upgrading the shock to get a little more plushness and maybe the SGF Rockers for a little more travel. I like the rides of other frames re: suppleness, but cash flow is an issue right now. I have read all of the posts here about going to a new shock and the SGF rocker arms. I am interested in either of these options. What is lacking from the posts I have seen is long-term results of either upgrading the shock or the SGF rocker arms - the posts comment on the first few rides only. If I am going to spend $175 on a new AD-12 I would like to know that people REALLY found a difference that after months of riding continued to be worth the money. (especially when you can buy many new 4-bar frames for only $600.00. )

The SGF rocker arms are another issue. It seems that many people put them on, tried them, then took them off. Any long-term users here? (Long-term = several months and hundreds of miles of riding in my mind). Any comparisons to other long-travel 4-bar bikes (Trek Liquid, etc) would be helpful. I just hate to spend $175 for the shock and $65 for the rocker arms, only then to buy a new frame a year from now.

Cheers
If I was you, I would NOT make the changes, cause it voids the manf. warranty. Sell your current NRS, and get something along the lines of what you really want....Trance, Faith, Reign, etc. The NRS is not designed to be a plush bike. It's a hardcore race bike with the options to help take a bit of the edge off. Save you money and put it toward something along the lines you want. Just my 2 cents worth

Jeff
 
#3 ·
I have the rocker arms... have not upgraded the shock though.

Howdy. I have the rocker arms and really like them. It makes the bike feel very trail bikeish. More compliant and plush, but still very light when compared to other trail bikes. I have been running them for several months now and really like them.

As far as the frame warranty it does break the warranty, but who would know if you swapped them out? Anways I don't think you are going to break a frame unless you think you can start hucking big stuff and doing lots of big jumps with the sgf arms. Remember it it is still a cross country frame so if you keep that in mind you should be good.

As far as the chock. Go for the cloud 9. They have a trade in program where you can trade in your old POS (piece of sh*t) shock and get it for $100 off which cuts the cost down to $225. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I just have not done it yet but I plan on it some day which I hope will be soon as my POS sid cannot hold high pressure anymore.

By the way the rocker arms are only $49.99 even though the web says $65. Just email the fellas over there to confirm. Sergio, the guy who runs the biz, is very cool and will hook you up. I told them they should up date there web site and they would get more business. I think they are more iterested in making parts and riding bikes then keeping their web site up to date.

I myself love my bike, and would not suggest doing what the other fella said but everybody has their own opinions (and I respect that by the way). I would not do it because you probably won't get what you want out of the NRS and for not much money you can get a better ride with a suspension upgrade.

Hope this info helps.
 
#4 ·
I have a 2002 NRS1 and have been looking into upgrading the shock and/or adding the SGF rocker arms. Coming from a hardtail 2 years ago, the NRS felt pretty nice, but after riding a lot of other FS bikes, I now realize that it really is designed for racing (duh). When I bought it I thought I would be doing more racing, but I just ended up getting fat and lazy and now just ride for fun. After doing some reading on this site I decided to do this.... I assume you have a SID rear shock. Pump the positive chamber to your body weight +5-10 pounds, pump the negative up to about 75% of your weight. (I know, Giant recommends 50, Rock Shox says up to, but not over the positive). You'll be amazed at the difference. Better small bump compliance, but still climbs good when you stand and hammer. Does it lose some efficiency?...yes. Whould you race it that way?...no. Will it satisfy you for the next 6 months while you save up for a Trance frame?...YES! Save your money, buy a Trance, sell your NRS frame to someone that's currently riding a hardtail. That's what I'm doing.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I agree with purchasing a new frame if you have a money tree in your back yard. Unfortuantly if you are low on fundage (like me) the links and shock is the way to go. If I were you I would just buy the rocker arms first and see how the performance is. Then if you still want a plusher ride or have issues with the SID buy the shock.
 
#6 ·
Like mtbcyclist said if you're really low on budget just got with the rocker arms. I've had them on my nrs since June and it still works great. I was surprise how plush the SID felt with the arms. Took me time to get used to the plushness. By putting on the rocker arms, it pretty much has the same travel as the new Trance (I personally think the NRS looks better than the trance... not too fond of the decals). If theres nothing wrong with your SID then just go with the rocker arms until it shock breaks then swap it out for a cane creek.
 
#7 ·
What about the fork?

I was thinking of buying the rocker arms, but then I thought I may have to buy another fork. Raising the rear would make the bike a little twitchy...right? Mine is a Black 80mm. Wouldn't you recommend a 100mm or even 120mm on an NRS with 4.5 inchs rear travel? It would be more than a $50 upgrade.
 
#8 ·
Mag20 said:
I was thinking of buying the rocker arms, but then I thought I may have to buy another fork. Raising the rear would make the bike a little twitchy...right? Mine is a Black 80mm. Wouldn't you recommend a 100mm or even 120mm on an NRS with 4.5 inchs rear travel? It would be more than a $50 upgrade.
You are right! My bike came with a black comp 80/100 and as you probably guessed I run it in 100 mm mode. The rocker arms balance out a 100 mm fork nicely. I like the fork so I recently rebuilt it (blown hydraulic seal) and bought a stiffer spring. Cheaper then a new fork plus I have money for a cloud 9 shock upgrade since my shock is slowley dying. .
 
#9 ·
How can you tell when the rear SID shock is dying? Does it not hold air? Mine is 2 years old and seems to always hold air. I've read reviews where people say theirs quit on them, but mine seem to keep on going without problems. Maybe I'm just lucky...or not, because I've had no excuse to go out and buy a Cloud 9.
 
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