@Neil Price - You've been holding out on us! Witholding critical information! Shame on you. ;-) After spending yet another $500 on my daughter's horse food last weekend I thought "bugger it, if I'm going to spend her inheritance on horse food I might as well spend some on my bike too." So today I installed a shiny new TRP rear shock. Wow. I mean really WOW! I had no idea a half decent shock could make so much difference!! & a few more !!!! At the last event I spent some time talking to an ex A-grade (trial 2) rider who used to ride Beta. He said the TRP transformed the bike. Better than a Reiger (which he used for a while then sold on) because you can't make a mess of the settings (there's only one knob). The price in Australia is pretty good, so I lashed out. I am absolutely stunned by how much different everything feels. It feels softer but doesn't bottom. When I put the bike on the back wheel it just sits there. If I slam it into an obstacle there's no kickback, the bike just rides up and over, no fuss. When I splat, the back wheel simply sticks to the face and drives up it. Double logs get so much drive off the first I just about looped out first attempt! And then again on the second log, I hopped from one to the other like never before. The traction nearly everwhere has increased noticeably. And this is absolutely as it came out of the box, I didn't even measure the spring compression or check the clicker setting. I've obviously never had a bike with a decent shock before (an '07 GG, a '13 Sherco, a '17 Beta and now my '20 Beta). I'm generally not a believer in using bling to compensate for lack of ability, but this might have converted me! A true epiphany.

Posted by Peter Mack at 2022-05-25 08:37:50 UTC