2014 RC4 vs Older Models

Odissius

Likes Dirt
Interested to hear from anyone who has ridden a 2014 RC4 and who has also spent time on the earlier versions. Curious to know if the list of improvements for the 2014 shock are actually noticeable and not just marketing bs.

Cheers.
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
I haven't ridden the new one but he changes seem fairly significant.

Reworked dampening to be more linear and going back to. 1/2 shaft rather than the 5/8 should be pretty good on the friction size of things. I think its about a 21% decrease in surface area.

Obviously I'm in the same boat as you I'd like to hear some reviews, but the changes seem more than just marketing for this generation, the combination of the damper adjustments and the smaller shaft should make for a noticably sensitive shock. However every year Its the same New dampening, lower friction.

I think like always though these things will be noticeable but like most things riding parts ussually don't matter/hold you back until your at the top end and pushing thier limits.

Try pinkbike too, there's probably a very good chance some guys have been riding it for sometime OS.

Ill be following this threat though I'm interested in the feedback too :)
 

Dymalla

Likes Dirt
Is there a way of visibly identifying a 2014 model?
2014 RC4 has the 1/2inch shaft
The new shock is a way more tuneable and stable shock than the previous units.
FOX spent 4 years polishing the old turd no one seems interested in a potentially good upgrade.
i'm puzzled
 

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I know Tekin put their sponsored riders onto them as soon as they were available, maybe worth a call to hear what they have to say.
 

Odissius

Likes Dirt
2014 RC4 has the 1/2inch shaft
The new shock is a way more tuneable and stable shock than the previous units.
FOX spent 4 years polishing the old turd no one seems interested in a potentially good upgrade.
i'm puzzled
Guess this is what I was kinda getting at as I found my 2010 RC4 performed beautifully on my old Glory. Also, can't say I ever really heard of many people complaining that the RC4 lacked enough tuning or that it was unstable. Seems to me that some of the supposed 'issues' with the old shock seem somewhat imaginary...
 

dunndog

Eats Squid
Guess this is what I was kinda getting at as I found my 2010 RC4 performed beautifully on my old Glory. Also, can't say I ever really heard of many people complaining that the RC4 lacked enough tuning or that it was unstable. Seems to me that some of the supposed 'issues' with the old shock seem somewhat imaginary...
From what I understand they've done away with the boost valve and added air assist to allow better damping deep into the travel. Unnoticeable unless you're a wc racer I reckon.. like most incremental product improvements.
 

wertmewert

Likes Dirt
From what I understand they've done away with the boost valve and added air assist to allow better damping deep into the travel. Unnoticeable unless you're a wc racer I reckon.. like most incremental product improvements.
Have you actually ridden one???

I've been running a small shaft RC4 for well over a year now (before I knew Fox were going to come out with one) and the difference is far from unnoticeable. The 2010 RC4 shocks have HUGE AMOUNTS of ramp in them. By having the smaller shaft and eliminating the boost valve the ramp is greatly reduced.

As for adjustment on the RC4 its not about how many times the knob clicks its about what the clicks actually do.
For example the tuneability of an RC4 is no way near as good as the CCDB, one of the many areas that the CCDB has nailed.
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
Have you actually ridden one???

I've been running a small shaft RC4 for well over a year now (before I knew Fox were going to come out with one) and the difference is far from unnoticeable. The 2010 RC4 shocks have HUGE AMOUNTS of ramp in them. By having the smaller shaft and eliminating the boost valve the ramp is greatly reduced.

As for adjustment on the RC4 its not about how many times the knob clicks its about what the clicks actually do.
For example the tuneability of an RC4 is no way near as good as the CCDB, one of the many areas that the CCDB has nailed.
How did you put a smaller shaft in your older rc4?

And I agree. The shock has had a major overhaul shocks tended to handle lots of the stress and were built more progressively, however with modern bikes the progressiveness is built into the leverage curve and this has allows fox to create a much more linear shock.

The dampening change like this should greatly increase deep stroke sensitivity and reactivity and the smaller shaft will reduce overall friction further improving he shock sensitivity. Without hurting the shocks support.

I have a 2011 rc4 and while I enjoy the shock I feel Its not very sensitive and suffers from quite a bit of striction and can feel a little unreactive at times. To the support I like out of the shock it greatly reduces the sensitivity which is really frustrating.
It sounds like the new one has made pretty big changes this year. Most notably the new internal set up.
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
So theoretically the new RC4 should be way better than the old ones on my 2013 Demo?
Theoretically the new shock should be much better than its predecessors.
Its bad pretty decent changes. Rather than just tuning they seem to have really overhauled this model.
 

Odissius

Likes Dirt
But in particular, the changes made to the shock should mean it will suit the characteristics of the Demo frame more so than the previous models right?
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
On that front I have no idea, never ridden and don't know much about the demos leverage. Hopefully someone else can jump in on that one.
 
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