Pivot Mach 6 + Push Industries ElevenSix Coil over shock

[EsPeGe]

So I've done a bit more time on the bike and all I can say is believe the hype!!!! This shock is ridiculous. I haven't had a chance to really bomb somewhere like Thredbo yet to see what the descend mode is really like but the climb/trail mode is awesome. It climbs way better than the Fox and I can feel the tyre biting into the dirt. For those that know the royal National park I have no worries climbing out of temptation creek on either side with it. There is no bob that I can feel but man is it supple. Whilst the fox felt jittery at times this thing just smoothes out the bumps. The other thing I love is that I can tweak it on the fly without tools. Each turn of the HSC or LSC makes a noticeable difference. I haven't messed with the rebound yet.

The only thing I am not sure on is the coil. I can't quite get the full sag range, best I can get is about 20-25% I should be able to get up to 33%. I suspect this is because my riding weight of 80kgs is right on the edge of this coils range I can't wind it out any further. The other thing is that my riding weight varies by about 6kgs. If I'm riding Thredbo I am backpack free which is about 6kg's with 3lt of water and all the other crap you take on a trail ride. I can't imagine how plush it will feel with the full sag range.

Push no questions asked is sending me the next coil down to see which I prefer and told me to continue using this one until the new one arrives. That's insanely good service if you ask me.

I'll check back in when I have had day at Thredbo to test out the descend mode but so far this thing is the real deal.

 

[Zaf]

Probably worth having a few coils to play around with anyway depending on what kind of terrain you're hitting.

Out of curiosity what spring rate are you using at the moment? How is it handling the end stroke (is there enough ramp up in the damping controls to stop harsh bottoming)? And how many turns of preload you got on it?

 

[EsPeGe]

Probably worth having a few coils to play around with anyway depending on what kind of terrain you're hitting.

Good call.

Out of curiosity what spring rate are you using at the moment? How is it handling the end stroke (is there enough ramp up in the damping controls to stop harsh bottoming)? And how many turns of preload you got on it?

425in/lb sound right? I only have one turn of preload which is why I think I need the new spring. It's pretty much wound all the way out and I can't quite get the full sag range. At this point I haven't really hit anything big enough to be able to report on the ramp up a few 3 foot drops but nothing big enough to know for sure. I'm going to try to head to Stromlo or Thredbo again soon now that my arm is getting better and really push the thing (no pun intended) to see how it goes.

 

[Zaf]

I've just grabbed a Vivid R2C for my Yeti and have got a few springs for that, admittedly, they're not quite as costly as the springs on your shock, so an easy enough expense to swallow. But from the what I've heard from others running coils, it's worth having options, you don't get the fine tune adjustments that air shocks get, always worth having a higher spring for hucking and such.
Any idea how they calculated the spring pressure for your tune?
I just went with the fox calculator that asks for stroke and travel length, rider weight etc, and then recommends +/-50lbs depending on regrrssive/progressive suspension curve.

Notice any noise from it? Can you hear the oil moving through the damper as it cycles? How does it pedal left wide open (silly question given that you actually have the PUSH capabilities, but curious all the same).

I imagine, given how much they cost, it makes Mario coin pangs on every hit noise wise to remind you of how well you spent your dosh!

 

[EsPeGe]

I've just grabbed a Vivid R2C for my Yeti and have got a few springs for that, admittedly, they're not quite as costly as the springs on your shock, so an easy enough expense to swallow. But from the what I've heard from others running coils, it's worth having options, you don't get the fine tune adjustments that air shocks get, always worth having a higher spring for hucking and such.

Yep I think I might hang onto it, can't hurt.

Any idea how they calculated the spring pressure for your tune?

They wanted to know rider weight, riding style (pretty hard to quantify/qualify) and what sort of trails I tend to ride and the type of bike of course. The rest is Voodoo to me. I'm guessing they then plug the weight into some sort of program/calculator that takes into account the leverage of the type of bike(????) and spits out a recommendation.

I just went with the fox calculator that asks for stroke and travel length, rider weight etc, and then recommends +/-50lbs depending on regrrssive/progressive suspension curve.

The Push springs come in 25lb increments so the next one down will be on the money I think.

Notice any noise from it? Can you hear the oil moving through the damper as it cycles?

Very faint oil squelch on the bigger hits other than that it's a stealth fighter.

How does it pedal left wide open (silly question given that you actually have the PUSH capabilities, but curious all the same).

Haven't tested it yet. It feels so good at this point I haven't had the desire to mess with it. I will at some point though and report back.

I imagine, given how much they cost, it makes Mario coin pangs on every hit noise wise to remind you of how well you spent your dosh!

I thought that noise was only in my head!!!!

 

[Zaf]

Jesus, re reading my posts. Gotta start proof reading my phone posts a little better, surprised you could make sense of half of that!

The 25lbs increments are nice for fine tuning! Actually curious to know how you know you've bottomed the shock out when you do. It's easy enough to spot with o-rings on an air shaft, even if it's damped it so you don't "feel" the bottom out after, I imagine those end stroke bumpers hide a bottoming stroke from the sense pretty convincingly unless you're running a light spring and slapping it off jumps/drops.

Actually is there any good indicator that you use to measure how much travel you've used at the end of a given ride? It's a handy tool to have when tuning,or is there an o-ring on coil shafts that's usually just obscured by the coil?

 

[EsPeGe]

The 25lbs increments are nice for fine tuning!

Yeah I think so.

Actually curious to know how you know you've bottomed the shock out when you do.

Was wondering that myself. Cracked frame??? I have no idea how much travel I am using. Although I reckon there is one way I could find out. When the bike gets dusty I can spray on some Juice Lubes fork juice then go ride. When I get back there will be a black ring of dirt at the fullest extent of travel. That's the way I can do it with forks as well when the rubber ring perishes. I could use the cable tie method but it would be a dick around with the coils in the way.

I imagine those end stroke bumpers hide a bottoming stroke from the sense pretty convincingly unless you're running a light spring and slapping it off jumps/drops.

I hope so.

Actually is there any good indicator that you use to measure how much travel you've used at the end of a given ride? It's a handy tool to have when tuning,or is there an o-ring on coil shafts that's usually just obscured by the coil?

Any Dh'ers out there want to field this one?

 

[MARKL]

They wanted to know rider weight, riding style (pretty hard to quantify/qualify) and what sort of trails I tend to ride and the type of bike of course. The rest is Voodoo to me. I'm guessing they then plug the weight into some sort of program/calculator that takes into account the leverage of the type of bike(????) and spits out a recommendation.

Give me your riding weight and the sag you want and I can plug it into Linkage to get a reccomendation/validation on the springs that you are playing with.

Edit: 80kg - 33% sag - I'm getting 390lbs/in.

Leverage ratio at 33% is 2.5 if you want to play around and calculate yourself.

 

[EsPeGe]

So I got out today and rode the national park again. I went to a particular section of trail that could happily be on a DH trail just not quite as steep. It's a rock garden maybe 70m long with all sorts of different surfaces, erosion gullies and bumps. There is nothing really big on it but it's 70ish metres of burly junk. I hit it a number of times as fast as I could aiming at the roughest sections. Each time I was amazed at how well this shock smoothed it all out. The rear end tracked exactly where I expected and I never felt like I was out of control. In the end I reckon it was the fastest I have been through this section of trail.

Another interesting thing was when I forgot to flick it back to trail/climb mode I didn't notice until I got out of the saddle to accelerate. Only then did I notice the extra suppleness but otherwise it was still really nice with no bob which was really impressive.

Overall I am extremely happy with this shock. As I mentioned earlier I was concerned about the mass hysteria involved with so many unbelievable reviews that it couldn't live up to it. In the end I can only say that this thing lives up to the hype. It climbs really well and descends the rough stuff superbly. There is no bob that I could notice yet it smoothes the trail out so well that it would seem impossible not to bob a little. The tracking is excellent and I'm yet to feel out of control although I still haven't given it the full treatment in that regard. The traction it provides is ridiculous and I'm not kidding I can feel the tyre biting on those tough climbs. Yes it's a pricey bit of kit but I must say that for the service I have had from Both NS Dynamics (Aust distributor) and Push Industries themselves and how my bike now feels I'd say it's worth it.

The other thing to think about to maybe make the cost seem a little less painful is that a new Fox Float X2 or a DHX2 is about $800-$900 at my LBS. The service schedule for those shocks according to the fox site is every 100-125 hours or 12 months whichever comes first and the cost for the big service on both of those shocks is $214 at my LBS. Personally I generally ride 125 hours every few months I'd reckon technically I should be getting my shock serviced 2-3 times a year so $400-$600 worth. The Eleven six is a once a year service. I'm not sure of the price but I think it's roughly the same. So the cost of the Push is $1650 plus $200ish for a service once a year. The cost of a fox is $850 plus up to $600 for the servicing per year if you ride a lot so around $1450ish. Food for thought.

So if you have the coin and are in the market for a coil shock then I definitely recommend checking out to see if Push does the ElevenSix for your rig. It's built like a tank, looks the bomb and rides insane. I love it.

Oh and by the way I have zero relationship with either NS or Push. I am just a very very happy punter.

Cheers Scott.

 

[EsPeGe]

Give me your riding weight and the sag you want and I can plug it into Linkage to get a reccomendation/validation on the springs that you are playing with.

Edit: 80kg - 33% sag - I'm getting 390lbs/in.

Leverage ratio at 33% is 2.5 if you want to play around and calculate yourself.

They are sending me a 400lbs/in spring so I'm guessing that'll work? Their springs come in 25lb increments so I reckon the 375 will be too soft.

 

[MARKL]

With the 400lbs/in with 0mm preload I get 32%. Add 1.0mm preload and that brings you to 30% sag. Given how plush you say everything is, I reckon between these numbers would be close to perfect.

The 375 i get 34% rear sag with 0 preload. Adding 0.3mm to 0.9mm preload gives me 33%.

I reckon either is pretty close and final figures will depend on the accuracy of the info the model that was put into Linkage (I trust the guy that did this model) and your final weight distribution on the bike.

I think 33% is a lot of sag for this bike so I would personally be happy playing in that 30% range but up to you.

 

[EsPeGe]

With the 400lbs/in with 0mm preload I get 32%. Add 1.0mm preload and that brings you to 30% sag. Given how plush you say everything is, I reckon between these numbers would be close to perfect.

Thanks for that. Nice to know given my lack of experience in this area that what I thought was right.

I think 33% is a lot of sag for this bike so I would personally be happy playing in that 30% range but up to you.

I tend to agree that 33% is probably a little too much but given I can't achieve that at the moment I don't know for sure. I think what I'll do is for normal national park type stuff keep it a little firmer. But for bombing the bigger stuff I will start at about 27-28% then soften from there to find the sweet spot.

 

[Ky1e]

Saw this rig today! Looking fast! Would love to sample one on my bronson sometime

 

[EsPeGe]

Saw this rig today! Looking fast! Would love to sample one on my bronson sometime

I've still got nothing bad to say about it that's for sure.

 

[B Rabbit]

Have you had this thing down at Thredbo yet? If so how'd it go?
Thinking about one for the Nomad, but having trouble swallowing the price and, even though it's less its less of a concern, the weight increase. But I'm sure the performance increase will offset this.

What to do.....

 

[teK--]

While on the topic of price can anyone chime on on whether this shock would justify the 3x price of say an RS Vivid Coil? Even if the vivid only gives 90% of the performance I'd say it's worthwhile.

 

[Warp]

I just came here to drool and beat my old drum lamenting that nobody produces a decent shock in 6.5X1.5.
I would happily run a coil over in that size.

 

[Knuckles]

Just a quick question, had a look at the order details they require, why da fuk is stem cap colour a required field? Is this some sort of obscure cannuk humour, or does purple really affect your bikes performance?

 

[creaky]

Just a quick question, had a look at the order details they require, why da fuk is stem cap colour a required field? Is this some sort of obscure cannuk humour, or does purple really affect your bikes performance?

They must base your damping setup on stem cap colour i.e. if it isn't black then they assume you ride like a pansy and setup the shock accordingly.

 

[B Rabbit]

While on the topic of price can anyone chime on on whether this shock would justify the 3x price of say an RS Vivid Coil? Even if the vivid only gives 90% of the performance I'd say it's worthwhile.

Whilst I can't help answer your question I have decided to go DHX2 on my nomad, I figure for 1/3 the price (if I get a usedy) it can't be 2/3 worse then a 11/6.
I don't know if that maths adds up, but whatever, you get he idea