Shock Absorber Guidance For A 3Ta

[bpilgrim]

Hello,

Further to the other 3TA thread, I have a question about shocks. I've had a read of all the other threads, and Falcon shocks are the ones I'm looking at getting, since they're made in England too, but what 'type' should I be looking at? Do I go for the pre-75 shock designed for limited suspension travel, or actual trials shocks? I'm looking at just the steel ones too.

I also don't have a clue about what spring rate and length I should get. I assume it goes on rider weight etc, so I weight about 165lbs in trials gear.

A quick google tells me a 3TA weighed originally 340lbs, original shocks were 11.9" long and spring rate 135lbs/in. Wild guess here, but imagine the bike will weigh, in trials trim, maybe 300lbs?

Falcon's website recommends a 14.15/50/3/8 shock for the Tiger Cub, I'm assuming that's 14.15" long, 50lbs/in and 3/8" attachment? What would you recommend for a this 3TA project? (I imagine many answers will say it depends on the rider's preference, so my preference is on the hard side, since I tend to treat trials bikes like scramblers in between sections, and my Cota 348 bottoms out quite a lot even on small jumps, I do however plan to be a bit more gentle on a 53 year old bike!)

Thanks in advance,

Ben

[big_red_bike]

Hi not sure on length as my twin is in an enfield frame but i use 50 lb springs i weigh a lot more than you plus the shocks are more laid down on my frame than they will be in your 3ta, so i would think 50 lb would be plenty stiff enough.