While discussing our shock-swapping experiment, Chris9702I and I both came to the conclusion that the Roco TST-R might potentially be the shock we were both wanting, feature wise.... enter BikerBob, who had a great price. Twist my arm!
Only one problem- Marzocchi currently only offers the Roco in a 7.785x2.25" size, despite what their website shows. Apparently thats the size all the MFG's want. No problem, I've dealt with this before- the stroke is easily limited using plumbing gaskets. In this case I found that "lavatory pop-up gaskets", stock #34621-B at Ace Hardware, were perfect- they are 1/8" thick each so I used two of them.
I've only had time to mount the shock up and will be busy until sunday, so no test ride yet. The weather here has been crazy- 60mph wind gusts and inches of rain daily- so who knows how good of a test ride I'll get, but I'll definately report back. So far, it seems like the strongest TST setting is not quite lock-out, but definately firmer than any of fox's PP settings.
I shipped them from Ohio Wednesday afternoon. Yours to Seattle by mail and Chris' to Memphis with FedEx 2nd Day, and they both arrived at the same time-even with the storm out there.
Looks great on your bike with the Marzocchi up front. If it performs as well, you made a good choice.
Bob
I am chomping at the bit to ride the Roco I am suffering through a cold and the weather in Colorado Springs on Monday is iffy but the Moto will be ridden on Monday.
Great pics FM. I'm especially glad to see that you can mount it with the reservoir/TST lever to the front of the shock (the DHX always has the reservoir towards the aft). This should make using the TST lever a breeze just like the RP3/RP23.
That sucks you can't do much riding though bro. Mabye you can get get in a little climbing or something? your in the PNW right? I hear Mnt Hood's off the hook right now.
Thanks BA! Actually our weather is just bizzare right now, it's rain and crazy winds. Some lady drowned in her own basement last night, less than 5 miles from my house.... half the city is without power... I went to ride today and got stuck in traffic since all the signals were out so I bailed... did get up to whistler for some boarding last weekend though.
Chris, Make sure to remove the adjusters and put 'em back on with lock-tite!
Sounds like desperation to me . If the SB is anything like the motolite, you don't need propedal. Pick up a used Vanilla coil sans can, PUSH it and live happily ever after.
Thanks BA! Actually our weather is just bizzare right now, it's rain and crazy winds. Some lady drowned in her own basement last night, less than 5 miles from my house.... half the city is without power... I went to ride today and got stuck in traffic since all the signals were out so I bailed...
FM, I flew out of Seattle the day of the big storm on my way to Alaska for work and missed the excitement western Washington went through that night. FWIW, that was the bumpiest ride to Anchorage I've ever had .
I'm really bummed about the wind. I spent four full back-breaking days up at Galbraith last week doing trail-work and removing trees from the previous wind/snow storms. Ughh! Hopefully people will have the trails rideable when I get back in a week.
Oh BTW, the ROCO looks sweet!
__________________
Sometimes I get the menstrual cramps real hard.
I'm really bummed about the wind. I spent four full back-breaking days up at Galbraith last week doing trail-work and removing trees from the previous wind/snow storms. Ughh! Hopefully people will have the trails rideable when I get back in a week.
Oh BTW, the ROCO looks sweet!
Hey Barry- well thanks for working anyways! We did a full day of work with Bill Hawk &co last year on "mullet"... probably be in for some more building time up there again this year.
Sometime when you're down this way, we can give you a tour of our local stash... some great new stuff coming together!
I'm curious about the TST too. I never had much more than a few demo rides on the TST AM forks, but I liked the system on those. Not sure I saw the point to the bladder cartridge exactly as the open bath systems seemed to work so well on other Zokes and servicing the bladder is a bother, but anyway...
The Zoke rear shocks seem quite reasonably priced. Makes me wonder what the catch is. A 7.875 x 2.25 would suit my 7-Pack beautifully.
Hey tscheezy! Props again for coming up with the hose bib gasket trick.
I've got TST on my all-mountain 1 fork and treat it more like a set-and-forget compression adjuster... one click to tune out brake-dive.... but I think it's a great concept for a rear shock. I do mainly climb&drop riding, the settings I like on the DHX for flat & downhill trails aren't so hot for climbing. So an easy-to-flip switch sounds awesome... I'll report back tomorrow!
who's complaining? my bike's been dirty for a long time, I don't know when was the last time I gave it a good cleaning.... just lubbing the chain and making sure everything runs smoothly..
__________________
... is this where we're supposed to write something smart?
If you want, I can post again that pic with my wheels.......
Good gawd man, we've seen enough !~! But your moto is going to look very special when you get the new parts fixed in place.... I dare say it will be most likely my favourite ....
I'm not sure, maybe 1.5 or 2 full turns of the coil. Somehow, I think I still need to do some tweaking on it, but probably will wait for my fork to show up, and see how both play together to tune them out. Probably will take me a fun while to dial them perfectly
__________________
... is this where we're supposed to write something smart?
I'm not sure, maybe 1.5 or 2 full turns of the coil. Somehow, I think I still need to do some tweaking on it, but probably will wait for my fork to show up, and see how both play together to tune them out. Probably will take me a fun while to dial them perfectly
The bad news is, the recent windstorms really did a number on our local trails. We knew today would be mostly trailwork, but on the climb up we found huge trees down every few hundred feet. In the end, we probably got only an hour or so of riding in; and about 5hrs of trailwork. That time was split evenly between clearing existing trail and working on a new one. Two chainsaws with us today! So, I'd say these are only first impressions of the roco, I didn't really get enough quality saddle time to really get to know it.
The good news is, I did like it a lot! It's got some quirks... here are my observations:
TST rocks! Every bit as cool as I hoped it would be. The most "+" setting is basically lock-out. The plushest "-" setting was really too plush- more on that in a moment. The three settings in between were perfect for climbing, flat and DH trails.
I thought it was interesting that the same spring I took off the DHX felt WAY softer on the roco, when using the "-" setting. I might go up 50lbs (to 500lbs- I weigh 175) to see if this makes the most "-" setting usable. Otherwise it's really just too soft. this is compared to the DHX set up as plush as I could get it.
Like my other roco, the range of rebound adjustment is fairly narrow and fast. Somewhat opposite of my PUSH'd RP3, where the fastest setting feels too slow. I started to get the rebound tuned in towards the end of the ride and found that 4-6 clicks from full-slow felt just about right. But the slowest setting is not super slow. I would say the extreme settings are usable, unlike fox shocks where the slowest rebound setting is nearly lock-down. Seems really weird at first but I think it's just a different approach. I wish there were a few slower click settings, just for peace of mind.
The TST lever is easy to reach down and flip, even with winter gloves on. It has stops at the extremes, so you can't really throw it into no-mans land like you can with an RP3. The detents are fairly vage but the shock works prefectly between indexed settings.
I didn't really get a feel for if the TST settings affect rebound- this is something I'm curious to play with. I was using the plushest two settings when adjusting rebound so perhaps that's why the adjustment range was fast? Not sure, I'll be checking into this further.
So overall, I am digging it! The TST feature is eactly what I wanted out of a rear shock, with the plushness of coil. I like the feel of the roco's rebound better than my push'd RP3, but not as much as the DHX coil. However, the DHX coil doesn't offer anything like TST, which I really like for our climb&drop style rides.
PS- I got some pictures, maybe I can get them up tomorrow- we had one 18" diameter tree across a trail, we cut it into 6' lengths with a chainsaw and used it to frame in a huge sweeper downhill berm. Good stuff on the trailwork front!
No problem... actually, no. I just swapped the stock one (500 lbs) with this one (recomended by someone at Titus for my weight) and I find it very good. I want to play a little with the bottom out control and the air thingie to see what differences I see in performance, but I think that I will leave the 600 lbs coil in it.
__________________
... is this where we're supposed to write something smart?
The bad news is, the recent windstorms really did a number on our local trails. We knew today would be mostly trailwork, but on the climb up we found huge trees down every few hundred feet. In the end, we probably got only an hour or so of riding in; and about 5hrs of trailwork. That time was split evenly between clearing existing trail and working on a new one. Two chainsaws with us today! So, I'd say these are only first impressions of the roco, I didn't really get enough quality saddle time to really get to know it.
The good news is, I did like it a lot! It's got some quirks... here are my observations:
TST rocks! Every bit as cool as I hoped it would be. The most "+" setting is basically lock-out. The plushest "-" setting was really too plush- more on that in a moment. The three settings in between were perfect for climbing, flat and DH trails.
I thought it was interesting that the same spring I took off the DHX felt WAY softer on the roco, when using the "-" setting. I might go up 50lbs (to 500lbs- I weigh 175) to see if this makes the most "-" setting usable. Otherwise it's really just too soft. this is compared to the DHX set up as plush as I could get it.
Like my other roco, the range of rebound adjustment is fairly narrow and fast. Somewhat opposite of my PUSH'd RP3, where the fastest setting feels too slow. I started to get the rebound tuned in towards the end of the ride and found that 4-6 clicks from full-slow felt just about right. But the slowest setting is not super slow. I would say the extreme settings are usable, unlike fox shocks where the slowest rebound setting is nearly lock-down. Seems really weird at first but I think it's just a different approach. I wish there were a few slower click settings, just for peace of mind.
The TST lever is easy to reach down and flip, even with winter gloves on. It has stops at the extremes, so you can't really throw it into no-mans land like you can with an RP3. The detents are fairly vage but the shock works prefectly between indexed settings.
I didn't really get a feel for if the TST settings affect rebound- this is something I'm curious to play with. I was using the plushest two settings when adjusting rebound so perhaps that's why the adjustment range was fast? Not sure, I'll be checking into this further.
So overall, I am digging it! The TST feature is eactly what I wanted out of a rear shock, with the plushness of coil. I like the feel of the roco's rebound better than my push'd RP3, but not as much as the DHX coil. However, the DHX coil doesn't offer anything like TST, which I really like for our climb&drop style rides.
PS- I got some pictures, maybe I can get them up tomorrow- we had one 18" diameter tree across a trail, we cut it into 6' lengths with a chainsaw and used it to frame in a huge sweeper downhill berm. Good stuff on the trailwork front!
You have a dedicated crew including yourself. It is inspiring to say the least. Are these tracks on private land (i.e. someone who rides with you)?
I will be interested to hear how the Roco TST performs at high speeds in the rough, and how it feels with the AM fork compared to how the fox coil feels compared to the fork. Thanks for the write-up, looking forward to the photos.
You have a dedicated crew including yourself. It is inspiring to say the least. Are these tracks on private land (i.e. someone who rides with you)?
EBxtreme gets much of the credit for rallying the troops. (I see you lurkin' brutha! ) Without giving too much away about the trails, it is an existing multi-use trail system (mostly horses and bikers). Like a lot of our local trail areas, owned by timber compaines who will eventuially harvest. They generally seem to be cool with building as long as it's done properly- with safety and drainage in mind.
Without giving too much away about the trails, it is an existing multi-use trail system (mostly horses and bikers). Like a lot of our local trail areas, owned by timber compaines who will eventuially harvest. They generally seem to be cool with building as long as it's done properly- with safety and drainage in mind.
FM
Can't wait to come down and get a ride on your crews trail. It sounds like fun. How far of a drive is it for me?
I should be home around xmas and I'll be off work until mid-January...so I'll be lookin for places to ride.
__________________
Sometimes I get the menstrual cramps real hard.
FM
Can't wait to come down and get a ride on your crews trail. It sounds like fun. How far of a drive is it for me?
they're about :40 outside of Seattle. The area needs a lot of work before it is really ridable (again). Let's hook up though- I'd love to come up north for a galby/blanchard fix. Spring will be better for our local stuff.
Great stuff FM. What a treat for me to wake up too! You and your crew have had a heck of a time lately. Storms power outages trying to test ride the Roco through the after math, and ending up breakig your backs with chainsaw's instead. Yet still finding the time to post a few pics for us loungers. Thanks man!!! I for one appreciate it!
So overall, I am digging it! The TST feature is eactly what I wanted out of a rear shock, with the plushness of coil. I like the feel of the roco's rebound better than my push'd RP3, but not as much as the DHX coil. However, the DHX coil doesn't offer anything like TST, which I really like for our climb&drop style rides.
Great!!
Keep giving us your impressions as time goes by, FM!
I gotta love your reports...
BA nailed it... What can get better than MTB riding throught storms and with chainsaws involved?!
Nice assessment of the shock and the trails. Jeesh, what a mess......blowdown EVERYWHERE. Of course, the good news is we now have infinite lumber for log rides, cribbing in berms, etc. FYI, the Dakine Apex is the perfect pack for hauling a chainsaw.....it fits in the helmet pouch perfectly and the straps work great for securing it on descents.
A few more pics.... Jump pics were taken pre-berm building so carrying speed into the jump was a bit dicey still.
- FM airing out the motolite.
- FM working on bermage after the jump. Berm framed in with blowdown.
Even with all the blowdown to clear, it ended up being a really fun day in the woods. A good crew and nice weather and decent temps.....first dry trailday I've had in a month+
Cheers,
EB
__________________ Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
FM, Great review of the Roco. And very cool to hear about your trails. How do you carry your chain saws and tools?
Hey Funkle-
EBX and I have both carried chainsaws with no problem- he uses a Dakine Apex pack I think, and I use a camleback mayhem. It's really not too bad, just lash 'em down well. Climbing is fine. really technical stuff isn't so hot with the tools, but not bad once in a while.
Good stuff EB... hard yakka shifting those logs around.
Yo FM, does the moto feel too top heavy with the coil up high ?~?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebxtreme
Nice assessment of the shock and the trails. Jeesh, what a mess......blowdown EVERYWHERE. Of course, the good news is we now have infinite lumber for log rides, cribbing in berms, etc. FYI, the Dakine Apex is the perfect pack for hauling a chainsaw.....it fits in the helmet pouch perfectly and the straps work great for securing it on descents.
A few more pics.... Jump pics were taken pre-berm building so carrying speed into the jump was a bit dicey still.
- FM airing out the motolite.
- FM working on bermage after the jump. Berm framed in with blowdown.
Even with all the blowdown to clear, it ended up being a really fun day in the woods. A good crew and nice weather and decent temps.....first dry trailday I've had in a month+
see everybody? even in the dirt the zocchi stuff on FM bike looks clean.. I bet that he takes a karcher or something in his camelback to clean them up before the photos!
__________________
... is this where we're supposed to write something smart?
Sorry to dig up this thread, jut wanted to post an update.Last night I was screwing around in my garage, and I found the range of rebound adjustment went much slower than I had thought based on my first ride. Not sure why it seemed so fast then- the conditions were really not ideal for fine-tuning (limited light, cold & wet, guys waiting, etc). It's also possible that the rebound speeds up once the shock is warm? I will post further thoughts as I get more riding time in. For now take my comments below about the roco rebound with a grain of salt!
It's also possible that the rebound speeds up once the shock is warm? I will post further thoughts as I get more riding time in. For now take my comments below about the roco rebound with a grain of salt!
With the weather you have up there? Yeah, perfectly possible!
You've seriously got one of THE BEST looking ML's I've seen! I can't get over how cool it looks with the red rocco, along with the red and black fork, and gold headset.... ugh NICE!
Am I mistaken or did you have a gravity retarder on there before? If so I'm curiouse as to why it went? Looks better with the Thomson though... eh? yeah.
I've had three day's in a row of riding in the rain myself. It's been preetty dry here so it took me a while to get my sea legs back, but hey riding's riding! Looks like today may be nice though the suns out and with the trail drying should be nice and tacky... I can't wieght to hear your further report on the ROCK!....
Merry Christmas man! And thanks for all the cool stuff you've laid down for us all year!!!
You've seriously got one of THE BEST looking ML's I've seen!
Am I mistaken or did you have a gravity retarder on there before?
Thanks man! Yeah I think it's a very sexy bike, great lines and the colors really came together which is funny since it was mostly accidental.
Yeah I have a dropper, I sent it back in for a $15 overhaul to tighten it up a bit. It's already back- turn-around time was less than a week! But I am saving it for better times, I don't miss it much at the moment since our rides are so short, I just drop the saddle at the summit and stand up on the climbs. I've also ditched SPD's for a while and am riding flats to hopefully improve my technique and fitness.
PS- just got back from a few hours and more work on the trails. The Roco is awesome, I love the TST feature. The rebound feels great, somehow I had it set too slow before and it was packing down. Definately a different feel from Fox, plusher and more active, the TST is crucial to firm the bike up for climbs. loving it! Feels like a perfect match too the All Mountain 1.
Have you effectively lowered your leverage ratio from 2.5 to 2.2? If so, how should this fact affect things?
Good question...
I don't think the leverage is lower... he still has the 50mm shaft travel and hence same travel at the wheel. The leverage is given by how the linkage works, not by the shock I think.
Would he be able to drop the leverage, things only get better as damping is more effective and easier to tune, longer lasting shock fluid, yada, yada, yada... Foes is onto something with their 2:1. Put your ML in 4" mode and you'll see.
Have you effectively lowered your leverage ratio from 2.5 to 2.2? If so, how should this fact affect things?
Chris and I were discussing this- He had an excellent question- could you use a 2.25" stroke shock with the 4" hole to get 4.5" of travel with a 2:1 leverage ratio? This could mean a lighter spring and better small bump compliance.
I haven't taken the measurements to see if it would work...But actually I think mainly the 4" holes change the ratio, as they cause the shock to ramp up more (by compressing the shock at an angle) causing the last inch of travel to be pretty much impossible. But I coud be wrong.
Anyways I agree with Warp, the leverage ratio is determined by the length of the rocker, not the shock. So using a longer stroke shock has nothing to do with the leverage ration.
FM, I'm loving the idea of that Roco shock. I called up a reseller, and they seemed to think the 2" version should be available mid-january. Do you think there will be a big difference between this in the one you shimmed? Also, did you use a titanium spring? That would be a great way to save some weight.
FM, I'm loving the idea of that Roco shock. I called up a reseller, and they seemed to think the 2" version should be available mid-january. Do you think there will be a big difference between this in the one you shimmed? Also, did you use a titanium spring? That would be a great way to save some weight.
I don't know... thats a great question. I have wondered if the damping characteristics might be different on a 2" stroke shock, at the end of stroke. I can say that the 2.25" stroke feels fine with the thickened-up BO bumper, and I like the idea of having extra stroke just for resale value and compatibility with other frames. Word has it PUSH may offer some services for the roco this year, and I am sure they could reduce the travel of the 2.25 stroke as well. So based on all that the 2.25 woud be fine.
OTOH, using the 2.25 (even with reducers) may void your warranty, so wait for the 2.0" if you want to play it safe.
Also, did you use a titanium spring? That would be a great way to save some weight.
Sorry, bro... Not to dismiss your opinion, but IMHO a coil over with a Ti Spring is like going to your Pizza Hut, asking the biggest size for yourself only and then ask Diet-Coke for beverage.
If you want light.. go full monty and ask Air. If you want coils, save the 200 and plus bucks and get a steel one.
Those 200 may go better in a lighter (or better) set of wheels, a lighter set of tyres, etc.
A shock spring is not a place where the weight savings are significant.
As I said, I respect your opinion and not trying to diss you... but If you're not racing, those 200 would be better spent somewhere else.
Yeah the best way to save weight is to run as short of spring as possible. I.E. a 450x2.0 instead of a 450x2.75. The difference in length weighs a lot more than the difference in material. Sine it's nearly impossible to find 2.0 or 2.25"stroke Ti springs, I'll stick with steel.
Speaking of which, I haven't yet found a 450 spring.... if anybodies got one let me know!
Speaking of which, I haven't yet found a 450 spring.... if anybodies got one let me know!
Must surely you have tried it, but what the heck... Have you tried Fox?
Progressive should be another source as the 5th's use crazy low spring rates and they fit the DHX series and similar.
I had one in that weight. 450 X 2.00 (or was it 2.25??)... I sold it away with the Warp. I can ask the new owner if he still has it as he got the 600 installed instead of the 450 I was using.
Sorry, bro... Not to dismiss your opinion, but IMHO a coil over with a Ti Spring is like going to your Pizza Hut, asking the biggest size for yourself only and then ask Diet-Coke for beverage.
If you want light.. go full monty and ask Air. If you want coils, save the 200 and plus bucks and get a steel one.
Those 200 may go better in a lighter (or better) set of wheels, a lighter set of tyres, etc.
A shock spring is not a place where the weight savings are significant.
As I said, I respect your opinion and not trying to diss you... but If you're not racing, those 200 would be better spent somewhere else.
No worries. You-de-man, Warp Let me be totally clear in that I've never even tried a coil over rear shock. It's not my opinion as much as me just trying to milk some useful information from you guys The RP3s have been a little uninspiring to me, so I am excited about experimenting, and you guys have been awesome with some of the options you've posted, it's just a matter of deciding which one!
The good news is, I did like it a lot! It's got some quirks... here are my observations:
TST rocks! Every bit as cool as I hoped it would be. The most "+" setting is basically lock-out. The plushest "-" setting was really too plush- more on that in a moment. The three settings in between were perfect for climbing, flat and DH trails.
I thought it was interesting that the same spring I took off the DHX felt WAY softer on the roco, when using the "-" setting. I might go up 50lbs (to 500lbs- I weigh 175) to see if this makes the most "-" setting usable. Otherwise it's really just too soft. this is compared to the DHX set up as plush as I could get it.
Like my other roco, the range of rebound adjustment is fairly narrow and fast. Somewhat opposite of my PUSH'd RP3, where the fastest setting feels too slow. I started to get the rebound tuned in towards the end of the ride and found that 4-6 clicks from full-slow felt just about right. But the slowest setting is not super slow. I would say the extreme settings are usable, unlike fox shocks where the slowest rebound setting is nearly lock-down. Seems really weird at first but I think it's just a different approach. I wish there were a few slower click settings, just for peace of mind.
The TST lever is easy to reach down and flip, even with winter gloves on. It has stops at the extremes, so you can't really throw it into no-mans land like you can with an RP3. The detents are fairly vage but the shock works prefectly between indexed settings.
I didn't really get a feel for if the TST settings affect rebound- this is something I'm curious to play with. I was using the plushest two settings when adjusting rebound so perhaps that's why the adjustment range was fast? Not sure, I'll be checking into this further.
So overall, I am digging it! The TST feature is eactly what I wanted out of a rear shock, with the plushness of coil. I like the feel of the roco's rebound better than my push'd RP3, but not as much as the DHX coil. However, the DHX coil doesn't offer anything like TST, which I really like for our climb&drop style rides.
FM
Do you feel the TST-R version would be a good fit for your Highline? In other words, if you didn't have the Roco WC already, which shock would you put on the highline?
__________________
Sometimes I get the menstrual cramps real hard.
FM
Do you feel the TST-R version would be a good fit for your Highline? In other words, if you didn't have the Roco WC already, which shock would you put on the highline?
Thats a tough question since I still have limited time on both shocks due to the weather, but I would totally lean towards the TST-R!
Part of the reason is, all my favorite FR rides require some climbing (i.e. Mt. Fromme, Galby, and other spots that shall not be mentioned). The Roco RC climbs well, but the TST-R is about the best climbing shock ever imho... not light, but the ability to lock-out or use the "+ AM" setting (which is like %80 lock-out) is ideal for fire-road or double-track climbs. As far as I can tell, the shocks feel identical in the plusher settings, the only difference being that the WC/RC allow you to really fine-tune the compression damping, where as the TST gives you sort of "pre-sets". If you are doing tons of whistler days, then the WC/RC might be a better bet.
Just a few more quick updates-
I found a killer thread on ridemonkey about the home roco rebuild. Apparently all you need is a phillips head screw driver, oil, and a shock pump. Let the air out, remove spring, drain oil, re-fill & cycle till full, add air. Lost of guys doing it at home.
Turns out the rebound adjusters are sticky when new, there is a screw on the backside that you can use to break the adjuster in so you have access to the full range of adjustment. After doing this on my RC, the slowest rebound setting is pretty much full lock-down.
According to 'Zocchi, the TST guts can be retro-fitted into RC & WC models. No word yet on pricing / availability.
Rumour has it that Push will be offerering their services for the rocos this year.
Bottom bumpers are easy to put on. When you slice them don't make a straight cut from outer to inner. Make curved cut through the washer so they stay on better. Still waiting for the snow to melt so I can try mine out.
Just got my Roco TST and I am having trouble getting the spring on. I removed the rebound knob and when I slide it on I do not have enough room to slide the bottom spring support piece on. We're talking about 2 to 3mm to get it in there. Any similar problems? The spring is a gray marzocchi, 700 x 2.25. I weigh 200 lbs. Any ideas? Do you think they send the wrong spring? Should I try to compress it in a table vise, zip tie it down, then fit the spring?
Also, Fox Vanilla R springs will not work on this shock, won't fit over the top part of the damper. The zoke spring dwarfs my vanilla spring.
That is weird that marzocchi springs are so long- the spring on my roco RC was like that. I'm running a manitou 2.25 spring now, and it's like an inch shorter than the 'zocchi 2.25 spring.
Anyways, I was able to get mine on by kind of "scooping" the collar into the coil, underneath the shock end.... you might also give 'zocchi USA a call, they're usually very helpful.
BTW, springs that will work:
'Zocchi
Fox DHX
5th Element
Manitou swinger
EDIT... TS, I honestly didn't know you were not going there anymore. My bad and my apologies... I was honestly not aware and I remember FM posted the link there a while back when he got the Roco for his HL.
I am suffering through a cold and the weather in Colorado Springs on Monday is iffy but the Moto will be ridden on Monday. 
I'm especially glad to see that you can mount it with the reservoir/TST lever to the front of the shock (the DHX always has the reservoir towards the aft). This should make using the TST lever a breeze just like the RP3/RP23. 
....really not much to say 
...
.
Linear Mode
