Shocks...... Evol 2 or 3 ....$1000.... Really?

I hear ya about the justification... POST purchase. Regardless of outcome. This is true for inexpensive stuff and really expensive stuff... Hard to tell your spouse that you can't take the kids on a vacation this year because you bought a turbo or set of shocks... or a new sled for that matter.... Even harder to tell them that the item you bought doesn't work... Hard to tell yourself you've been foolish with your money, and if you have friends like mine, they'll tell you just HOW foolish you were if you don't justify it.

I have used the Float3 on my PRO last season... and really liked the adjustably of spring pressure.

A lot of people may chime in and say that they had an issue with floats... but may have used them over 10 years ago and base it on that... the shocks are incredible and I would be hard pressed to tell them from a coil shock in terms of durability... and the ride, with the adjustable air-spring, I can dial that in to a "T" and still have top notch performance. Tons of successful snowcross racers on the Floats and loving them. IMO, a good dual-rate spring or triple rate coilover will have similar character to an EVOL... and the EVOL will weigh a bit less.

FLOAT3, FLOAT3-EVOL, FLOAT EVOL-R... FLOAT2 .

The EVOL R's are in the $1000 range... These offer high tech coatings and, what I like to call, a compliance adjuster. It is called "R" for rebound, but in actuality, it is an adjuster that affects both Rebound AND Compression as it is a valve-stack-bypass-adjuster... Which is VERY cool in my opinion.... one knob allows you soften or firm up your shock.


FLOAT3 EVOL is not adjustable in terms of valving...but IS adjustable in terms of spring rates and bottom resistance (EVOL chamber) AND has the Kashima coat like the R. Those Shocks are in the $850/pair range.


Float3's are a monotube shock... They have the Kashima coat, but no EVOL chamber...Those are in the $650 range.


ALL of the "3" series shocks feature the Bleed-Shim pistons in them for better damping control.

Float2's are very similar to the Float3's minus the Kashima coat and Bleed-Shim pistions... These are in the $500 range (street price)
Float2 shocks are not a current model offering.










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Air shocks are nice and light but IMHO don't measure up to triple rate springs (elka's or raptors) with rebound and dampening adjustment.
I have raptors and Elka stage 5 both are wicked shocks but I prefer the Elkas

I have a 13 std rmk with about 2100 miles and the orig shocks. Im in the same dilemma but with my summer rzr ride also eating into my budget ( I know first world probs) wondering if reg walker evans will be a noticeable upgrade, float 2s or exits? If i can afford only fronts or rears which first?


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14 570LE BlueFire

On a budget?
Read this post

http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274661&highlight=Holz+shock+upgrade

And
http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315596&highlight=Holz+shock+upgrade

http://www.holzracingproducts.com/s...ro-rmk?zenid=78324bd46e0f0ed9627ea2d2a8f10312

If i was on a budget, I'd go rear shocks first every time. IMO, you get what you pay for when it comes to suspension upgrades and I would agree that 80% of people will not notice the difference from a 600 pair of shocks versus the 1500 set. It takes a very experienced and knowledgeable rider to be able to read and understand how the sled is reacting and apply the necessary adjustments on the fully adjustable $1500 set to improve upon the sleds handling. Although the stock WE shocks that come on the pro's are garbage and any upgrade will definitely be noticeable. I have raptors on my pro and have zero regrets, best upgrade i have made so far!

It's funny how people say the WE are garbage and raptors or fox are the best when their internals will fit the WE. It's all about setup.

IMO I would just re valve!! Send them to a reputable shock builder.. have them valved to your specs, have a conversation with the builder... good valving makes a HUGE difference on a set of shocks, no matter the brand and MUCH cheaper then changing them out for sure.

I do prefer the coiled shocks for sure, but rebuild and valve what you have and go from there. Having done both, I prefer the revalve for the price.

bradburck said:

IMO I would just re valve!! Send them to a reputable shock builder.. have them valved to your specs, have a conversation with the builder... good valving makes a HUGE difference on a set of shocks, no matter the brand and MUCH cheaper then changing them out for sure.

I do prefer the coiled shocks for sure, but rebuild and valve what you have and go from there. Having done both, I prefer the revalve for the price.

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Very True! Before even the first ride on a new sled, i remove all the shocks and take them to Carls Cycles to be re-valved. Best bang for your buck - in my opinion. There are other companies that do the re-valve too, but Carls is local and they do an amazing job at a very affordable price.

Cheers!!

Hey Freak, trade you a set of walker evans piggy backs for your DH mountain bike? :face-icon-small-hap

The way you ride you will notice a difference with better shocks. The stock walker evans are absolute junk. the springs wear out in 50 miles and the shafts bend on stutter bumps on groomed trails. In short its not hard to feel the improvement with better shocks.

And I will insert my plug for zbroz. local utah company, great service and lots of options for you!

Another take on it all, is it competition, or is it just bouncing around in fresh snow, maybe a noticeable difference when compared next to each other, but if you don't ride like you've stolen the sled in the bumps and moguls, and not bottoming out in every other bump, you are probably not going to notice that much difference. It's kind of like carbon wheels on a motorcycle, single best improvement you can do, but when not doing timed laps, after a while you will not notice that much of a difference, before you jump on a equal bike without... But bling that works makes you go faster...

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For me, it isn't the sweet backcountry pow where you need good shocks. It's the trails that are beat to piss to and from the backcountry. Great shocks make a huge difference there especially at the end of the day.

likkerpig said:

For me, it isn't the sweet backcountry pow where you need good shocks. It's the trails that are beat to piss to and from the backcountry. Great shocks make a huge difference there especially at the end of the day.

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That is where a revalve shines, high speed compression and rebound changes. For boondocking you change your low speed valving and bypass. You can have it all if you revalve.
PI set up is for the "average Joe". We change our clutching,gearing, handlebars, ect. to fit our riding style. A revalve adds that extra touch and personalizes our sleds even further. Save yourself some coin and revalve.

im holding out for the new $2000 a shock chuck norris kung fu editions

I can definitely tell the difference between the stock Pro shocks and Exit ARS FX X-1's. Having 2 sleds that you ride regularly makes it easier to notice the difference. The stock sled bottoms out a lot and the whoops suck even more. I put several hundred miles on each sled last year and when swapping back and forth during the entire season, it's a big difference.

ok, so for us east coasters who unfortunately have to sometimes run trails or watch the dust settle on sleds, whats the "best" option for shocks?

I was never a believer in good shocks being worth the $$ until i got to ride a few sleds with Z broz, raptors, and float 3 evols. You dont realize how much energy you waste getting thrashed by the "trails" or whooped out pathes up into the local honey holes. even just jumping around of bumps and humps. instead of getting thrown around when landing, smooth landings are much easier on your body, much less tense and less energy exerted.

Getting off of stock shocks feels like getting out of an 80's one ton pickup into a new sports car. the bumps just seem to go away, they aren't amplified through your body. LOL.

My vote goes

1 - Raptor for best combo of weight and ride quality
2 - Zbroz for equal ride quality, just a little heavier then the raptors
3 - Float 3 variants, a little lesser ride quality(still miles ahead of stock) and lightest option.

It took a '12 Cat with raptors/KMOD to change my mind in about 3 minutes.

Hurry up Kevin, get my KMOD/Raptors shipped out please!! :face-icon-small-hap

And i just got the email from Kevin that my suspension shipped today!!!!!

The tricky part is getting a shock to take the big bumps, holes and drops but not ride harsh or beat you to death on the smaller or medium sized bumps, or stutter bumps. This is not as noticeable in the powder but once on the trail very noticeable. Speaking of harsh, I had a REV 440X racer once that I trail converted. I revalved those shocks 2 times before I finally got it to ride ok over the medium and stutter bumps. My knees still hurt from the stock setting.


Any rebuildable shock can be revalved and also the springs should be changed for your weight if your heavier than what the stock springs were set-up for. One thing nice about the expensive aftermarket shocks is the clicker settings for fine tuning and the remote reservoirs which help to keep the shocks from fading as they heat up.