Have looked at falcons and rockshocks, anybody got any thoughts on whats best?

Greetings,

I have alloy Betors fitted to my 156 Fantic, I got them from TOR and at the time were the cheapest place to go. I have ridden many trials this year, highland 2 day, Nostalgia etc and many club trials with no problemo's. So I cannot fault em!! I got the 50lb springs initially , then changed them to the 40lb's and up'd the pre-load, this gives softer damping.....hope this of help in these difficult financial times....sorry forgot to add they were around £140.00 posted.....put them on your list to santa

Edited November 12, 201312 yr by fantic200

Tried Rockshocks, good service from John who makes them, but couldn't get on with the shock action.

Ended up with alloy betors

I have used Alloy Betors Alloy Falcons and currently use Rock shocks on my Majesty. All of them are very good and much better than anything that was available in the day.

I have Falcons on my HT5,they give a really good action,very pleased with them.The standard TY250 I use has Betors which leaked from about 6 months old.... I'll be replacing them with Falcons when I rebuild it into a Majesty frame in the near future.Lots of mates use Rockshocks and are very happy with them too,its going to be down to personal preference on this....

Tried Rockshocks, good service from John who makes them, but couldn't get on with the shock action.

Ended up with alloy betors

Can you elaborate on what you didn't like about the action and compare it to your Betors? I'm currently having a hard time coming to terms with my Falcons.

Regarding the Rockshocks, mine felt strange when riding. When I tried them on the bench with no spring the rebound damping was not consistently there.

Laying them down there was no rebound, it may have just been my pair?

Nice looking shock but variable in its performance

might sound a bit obvious, but some shocks only have damping when they are the one way up, while other shocks work either way up.

For example, standard spec Falcons only have damping when the shaft is at the bottom. I've not had Rockshocks to know if they have to be a certain way up to work.

I have had a terrific run with four pairs of Falcons since about 2003, and find the action to be extremely good in competition trials sections. All four pairs still work as well as when they were new, and they have only needed oil, seal and bump stop rubber changes to keep them going.

For general (trail and play) riding however, I find that Falcons have too little compression damping and would recommend Betors for that, because Betors have more high-speed compression damping.

Tried Rockshocks, good service from John who makes them, but couldn't get on with the shock action.

Ended up with alloy betors

Damping can easily be changed on rockshocks (without special tooks)by adding or removing shims on either side of the piston. John B is really helpfull and will send a diagram, or do it for you.

If anybody has any questions about their Rockshocks or would like more information then please get in touch with Gary or John. We can supply all the parts for a rebuild and we can alter or advise to suit individual requirements.

The shocks are designed to work with the body at the top.

If there is any variation or loss of damping it will most probably be due to having air in them which can be easily bled out.

Hi Mollie, can you outline the way to bleed air please.