as i wrote last time i now have a vivid r2c instead of the vivid air i was running with great success for more than a year.
it’s easy to change the spring rate on an air shock: attach a pump and add more pressure to increase the rate. that takes a few seconds and a decent pump. coil shocks on the other hand require a different spring. there are calculators helping to work out what the correct spring rate needs to be given the bike suspension & the rider weight but there is still a bit of guess work involved. add to that the fact that coil springs are not offered in infinitely small weight increments and it’s definitely more difficult to find the right coil than it is to adjust the air shock to just the right pressure.
ok, on the other hand, as the air pressure increases in an air shock due to the shock being compressed the spring rate changes as well which makes air shocks naturally progressive. confused?
back to the coils, there is also the choice of the material. remember i complained that the vivid weighs a ton?
in case you are wondering why, this photo should solve the mystery: the spring alone weighs more than the vivid air.
a titanium or a lightweight steel spring would probably shave a quarter to half off that, but those things cost three to four times as much as a steel spring. that’s definitely a ‘try before you buy’ kind of question.
as of now i am unsure if i have the right spring, it does seem a bit soft and i managed to bottom it out already but i am not keen to increase the compression damping to compensate for the spring. i found a cheap used slightly heavier spring on the internet. we’ll see how that works out and maybe after that it’s time for a ti spring …