Quote:
Originally Posted by SpudRider
My Zongsen ZS200GY-2 has 6.5 inches of fork travel. The XT225 shock absorber I installed on it has 7.5 inches of travel. I have ridden this bike over 69,000 miles, and traveled on it for many multi-day trips to Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. Of course, I have also ridden it extensively throughout East and Central Idaho.
I don't race my Zongshen Sierra. I enjoy riding it at a slow pace, just as you do with your TW200.  The suspension in my Zongshen ZS200GY-2 is much superior to the stock suspension of the RX3, at all speeds. Perhaps after you receive your RX3, and start riding it, you might get a different impression of the bike's suspension. However, I certainly do plan to experiment with a stiffer spring on the stock shock absorber before I start looking for alternative shocks.
Indeed, if you are a lighter rider, the stock shock absorber might work perfectly for you. |
I'm not a light rider, and I'm not saying the ride can't be improved. Every bike I've ever owned has needed some help in the suspension department, doesn't matter if it was new, old, big, little, fast, or slow. That's just part of the personalization process every rider could do to maximize satisfaction with any bike. All I'm saying is 5.5 inches is enough travel for the bike's intended use and that 5.5 inches needs to be well controlled. Of course, your definition of "adventure" may be quite different from mine, and that's okay, too.
Nor do I always ride slow. Plenty of other riders have commented on even Tdub's ability to keep up with bigger bikes.
The shock will have to be really bad for me to spend the money to replace it. I'll get it the best I can without spending a ton of money and ride within its limits, which shouldn't be a problem because my Cyclone rides will demand significantly less of the bike than yours. We are not blessed with the plethora of beautiful back roads you enjoy. Our back roads are paved, and what isn't paved is pretty much in a fenced park where you ride in circles or reserved for horses and hikers. Yes, it sucks.
I didn't buy an inexpensive bike to spend more than it cost to turn it into a Strom or BMW. That's what I did with Tdub2 and CSC comes out with the Cyclone for 1/3 the price and pretty much the same mission objective. If I'd have known, I would have made Tdub2 into a really gnarly offroader with the stock TW34 tire on the front and some ATV meat on the back. I'm going to build one of those next.
Zong on!