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The old shock just gave up its life in my old single-pivot all-mountain frame. I'd like to replace it with something tough and maintenance-free, so that I don't have to worry about air pressure, oil leaks and other things to check before I ride. It should also be mud-proof as much as possible. Weight, price, performance and all others are secondary. Does anybody have a good recommendation? 160 or 165 mm length.

Also, is there more than one standard of mounting rear shocks? I vaguely remember some sort of ball joints being promoted for this a few years ago, but I don't know if this caught.

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  • The point about mounting rear shocks seems only distantly related, it could probably be its own question. You'll probably get more answers with a more focused question!
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Commented Sep 16, 2010 at 18:49
  • The only maintenance-free shock would be a solid link, with no moving parts. Even then it will be subject to fretting at the mounts.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 21:47

2 Answers 2

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At least in my experience, Risse Racing shocks require relatively minimal maintenance. A quick glance shows that their Jupiter 5 (and 5R) are definitely available in/around the length you've asked about (though I should add that those are both coil shocks, and my own experience has all been with their air shocks).

They don't list lengths for the air shocks, but do claim that the Genesis (for one) fits most FS frames. I can speak about this one from experience -- I've been riding a Santa Cruz Tazmon with a Genesis damper for a long time now (mine is a pre-production frame with no serial number that I got before the Tazmon officially started production in 1993, and it's had the same shock on it ever since, and required only extremely minimal maintenance).

Most rear shocks are mounted pretty similarly -- though the Tazmon is one that actually does have a rather unusual mounting system.

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  • Thanks for the answer, and I feel bound to accept it because it's probably correct, although I ended up buying an air shock because the shocks you recommend are so much more expensive, not to mention unavailable where I live.
    – ttarchala
    Commented Oct 3, 2010 at 8:37
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All shocks require a little bit of love from time to time. A coil rear shock will require less maintenance than an air shock. The simpler the shock, the less maintenance you will need to do. I have only ridden fox in the back, but have never had any issues. I would recommend looking at the Fox Van R Coil. The Rock Shox Vivid would also work really well.

If you want to be able to pedal well, you should look at the higher end coils that have propedal, or airshocks.

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  • Thanks for your answer, but I cannot mark it as accepted since neither of the coil shocks you recommend is manufactured in 160-165 mm length.
    – ttarchala
    Commented Sep 19, 2010 at 19:50
  • Sorry about that, forgot to check the length of the shocks. While coils will work best for you, you're going to have to go with an airshock. I would look into the Fox DHX Air or the Rock Shox Monarch RT, but these will require that you periodically check the air pressure and have them serviced about once a year (depending on how much you ride)
    – Geoff
    Commented Sep 21, 2010 at 5:55

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