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Hi folks, can anyone point me in the right direction here? I'm on an alloy stumpy evo that I like, but without a ton of recent full suspension experience, feels like the rear suspension could be lacking. I'm on the stock float X, and weigh about 220 (S5 at 6'4") so pretty much have the shock maxed out pressure wise. Would upgrading to the cascade be a good idea? or would I not be able to get to necessary pressure (I don't remember what pressure exactly it took to get to the 15.? mm of sag, but it was a lot, and doubt the reads on my pump as its at the top end. EDIT: I forget which size, but I have the second from biggest volume spacer in there currently.
Would a better option be a new shock? if I went with a SDU or a Vivid, would I be able to run slightly lower pressures?
I've been racing enduros on it, and like I said, its "fine", but could imagine a bit more composed/predictable. I find it plenty of fun and poppy, which I wouldn't want to lose, but obviously a compromise I'm willing to make.
I have a Carbon Evo S4 weigh similarly and the Cascade link made the bike ride alot better on downhill/enduro terrain. I did have to increase pressure in the shock to get to a good sag point. With stock link I was never close to the shock max pressure with a 2 step larger reducer from stock installed, but the stock link did have a tendency to bottom out on bigger hits when set to 25-30% sag which i just dealt with, I don't race anymore. This is not the case with the Cascade it has a nice progression at end of travel to soften bigger hits without bottoming.
The vivid (with the stumpy evo tune) is a huge improvement IMO from the float X. With that and the cascade I'm up really close to 300psi to get 30% sag but downhill performance and control is a huge improvement. Haven't tried the vivid and the stock link yet not sure how that would work and not sure how long the shock is going to last with the higher leverage but the ride is great. The cascade does sacrifice some pedaling efficiency but really a minor trade-off.
If you have the shock already near max pressure, then no, don't get a Cascade link as you'll require more pressure still.
Agree with Renaud though--you could go Vivid Ultimate with the stock link and see where you land pressure wise. You should have more 'head room' with that shock as well. And you'll up your overall shock/bike performance going with that shock.
If you want the opinion of someone who's even a little bigger than you, hit up Max our customer service guy. He has a ton of hours on the evo both with and without the link. He's gone back and forth between the Float X and an EXT coil. He's not over max pressure so I wouldn't be worried about that.
Im actually running a previous generation super deluxe air with the megneg with the cascade link and its been way better than the Float X. I also have a current gen super deluxe coil that I sometimes put on as well.
I will say even at 185 lbs im running pretty high pressure but thats a combo of the link and the megneg also needing higher pressure.
Can you describe what you like about super deluxe vs float x? I love my float x but I feel like maybe it’s a bit harsh…
Hey @Sun_PSD
To clarify you ran the 2021 stumpjumper evo with a WRP Mullet yoke with a 29 inch rear wheel and a cascade link? I was thinking of trying the mullet yoke with a 29er rear wheel with the bike in low and slack. Wanted to do this to raise the bb height of this bike. As well as decrease the reach a bit. Really appreciate your time.
Exactly. Had the CC, had the WRP, had a 29" in the rear, ran the CS adjustment in the long/ slack position, and the slack HTA position.
It worked SOO well. The BB height is corrected, you can have the longer CS position without scraping the ground, the HTA while still slack is not super slack because the BB is raised, the STA was steeper and the bike also pedaled considerably better.
GL
No issue with the tire hitting the frame with that setup when the shock was fully compressed? How long did you run it like that? What shock did you use?I have so many questions. lol
I might keep it in the high chain stay that would bring the bb to like 350ish which I think is nice for trail riding!
No issues with contact and I ran it like that for about a year before selling the bike. I was on a Mara Pro during that time.
I too like taller BB heights as it's very chunky where I ride, but now you will have a real choice. Stock, the SJEvo has 2 choices for BB height, too low & much too low. Now you will have a trail setting for pedaling, and a bit lower more aggressive position better for descending.
Bike fit might play in to these decisions for you as well. For me, I welcomed a slight decrease in Reach.
My best bud has my old SjEvo but he is a beginner and I sold off all of those parts before placing it for sale, and I've ridden it since, stock. It was MUCH better with the CC & WRP.
Hmmm Maybe ill try the cascade link too. I bought a push eleven six R for that bike which did feel great for small bump but I find it rides really high with it and still blows through the travel. Maybe the cascade link will solve that issue and with the WRP I should be closer to the bike fit I am hoping for. Hoping it will be worth it in the end. Did you ever try a coil on your evo or the float X trying to get some setup advice.
I have tried Ohlins and float x. Ohlins felt like caca even with the CC link. Went back to float c and couldn’t believe the difference.
I am betting that an vivid coil or a shock with hydraulic bottom out will feel good on the bike. I
The push has a hydrolic bottom out. I found it was a bit harsh and rides high in the travel. I might try reaching out to them and send it back to have them up the high speed compression. I have the R shock there is a S pack upgrade that might help with bottom out issue also. Might try that before the cascade link as I have to send it back as there is a recall on that shock anyway.
Any advice for the float x setup without cascade link?
I am at 30 percent sag and 1.0 spacer and I can just do a solid j hop in the parking lot and the thing pretty much bottoms out and I’m only 160!
No advice for the stumpy Evo except to get the cascade link. I couldn’t believe the difference it made. Everyone talks about how much they love the link but I thought it was all hype. No. Most of us say it transformed the bike into the ride we had been trying to find through every other suspension setup trick. You’re going to love how it feels off the top, and with a .6 spacer the float x feels money.
I go deep on this topic in the review I just put up on the bike. TL;DR, the bike is good but I feel many SJEvo riders should have bought a bike with more travel (myself included). This doesn't make the bike bad, but all the suspension swapping and link changing indicates to me everyone is looking for the bike to eat bumps a little better.
Though I did not test the CC link, I'd wager you are better off buying this link and running the stock shock than you are doing a bunch of shock swapping (at a higher price) etc. The Float X doesn't get a ton of love, but its a better shock than most give it credit for, especially in this application.
EDIT: I bought the link - will update once I try it!
Awesome man! How much sag did you have to run with the cascade link and the .6 spacer to get it feeling right! Do you remember pressures and you much do you weigh trying to get ahead of this! If the push doesnt workout that is the route I think I am going to go!
Thanks Jeff! Solid Video. I already own the push so might give it another shot with a little more compression and the S upgrade. With the stock float x without the cascade what sag did you end up with and volume spacers? What did you end up with for the fork? How much do you weigh.
Curious if I am just missing something here. Trying for 30 percent sag but even with 1.0 spacer I am still suprised how quickly it blows through the travel.
Weight: 205
Sag: 15-16mm
PSI: I can't remember
Volume spacers: I go back and forth between stock and zero (gasp!).
Compression dial set in the middle, rebound almost closed.
Fork: 102psi, zero volume spacers
I'm aiming for grip, support in corners and a fairly muted (neutral) setup. I know I'll blow through travel on bigger impacts, which is totally okay with me.
Thanks brother this is very helpful: Are you setting your sag seated or in the attack position?
Attack, but its less perfect than I'd probably like to admit. (IE, I'm probably at 17mm sitting, 15-16 in attack)
I BLEW through the coil on my evo at 29% sag with the Ohlins. Same sag on float x and it feels awesome. I’m 200lbs and I run 245 psi. Once I had the rear feeling good the front felt undergunned so I went with a 170 fork. Bike feels awesome now.
I didn’t need a 170 bike and I didn’t like the way the enduro handled, but through trial and error I have arrived at a bigger bike than I “need” but it just rides awesome and feels great. Balanced and just feels the way I want a mountain bike to feel
In my eyes the stevo is a modular mtb platform. It can be setup as anything from a trail bike to a parkduro bike. Part of the modularity depends on aftermarket and 3rd party components, but it doesn’t change that one of the really awesome things about this bike is the ability to tailor it to your wants/needs. There are a billion frames out there, the parts and aftermarket bits are easy to get new and/or used, and on top of that the bike is a killer value. Are there other longer travel bikes out there? Sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that this bike can be a great enduro (160/170) bike. Maybe this is me coming from the dual sport moto world where every bike had a long list of upgrades and farkles before it could be considered rideable, but so long as everything is bolt on (no custom fab) I see all of these upgrades and alternative setups as major pluses.
Thanks man! Solid and helpful insight! Thats a fun way to look at it! Now I want to buy a cascade link and up my fork to 170 lol Curious where you ended up with the 170 fork as far as spacers, sag and settings?
One token, and I run the rockshox recommended pressure. I don’t really like trying to measure fork sag, so I start with manufacturers recommended settings and then ride it and assess. I might up the pressure a little and ditch the token
Considering the price point, I think this is a fair way to look at the bike. Ultimately however, my big point was to say if you are doing a lot of rear suspension component swapping, this indicates to me you bought the wrong bike. After all, there are plenty of bikes that come stock with 170mm of travel, longer travel forks and similar kinematics.
Again, nothing wrong with modding your machine to do what you want, in a way this bike reminds me of the Santa Cruz Bullit! But just like the bullit, there were better purpose specific bikes at the time. Same rings true, for me anyway, with the SJEVO.
I will say that I am maxed out on damping with the charger 2.1. I would like to upgrade to the charger 3 as it’s quieter and would probably have me in the middle of the clickers.
Wait until you ride the stevo with the cascade link. I used to have a very similar viewpoint as you regarding modding and upgrading bikes. Now I see stock bikes as simply one of many possible configurations, usually on the conservative side of setups. I see no difference between swapping tires and swapping shocks. Swapping brakes and swapping linkage. There are countless permutations of a given frame and there could have EASILY been a stevo LT 160/170 on this platform. Just because specialized doesn’t sell it that way doesn’t mean it’s not a valid setup. In fact, when you look at bb numbers it kinda seems like they designed this bike with a LT version in mind… longer fork really just puts that bb back into more normal ish territory (and lets me run it long without dragging pedals)
Yah, I tried my SJ Evo with an EXT Arma. 2 different valvings, 2 different links, literally 5-7 different springs, it was never as good as the OEM shock with more volume reducers. It did pedal amazing with that shock though.
Stick with an air shock imo.
And yes the Cascade link is a tremendous help on that bike.
This is spot on.
I bought a SJ EVO because it's one of the lightest trail bike frames on the market and lighter than almost al enduro bikes.
It has frame storage.
It has adjustable chain stay and head angle.
You can swap to a light set of wheels and put it in the steep head angle for a huge XC mission. Or you can slack it out and put the enduro wheels back on for Whistler. It's really a versatile bike. If I could afford a 3 bike-quiver with top en compontents I'd do that, but I can't. So I've got my SJEVO and 2 wheelsets and it covers a massive range of uses.
I've mod'ed it with the Cascade Link and WRP Yoke. I throw a 29er wheel back in for my "XC" setup.
Man I’m looking forward to your review with the cascade link!
Maybe the cascade link, 170 fork and either the push eleven six or fox float x is in my future.
First I’m dialing in the geo a bit. I am waiting for this WRP link to ship form Australia which is taking forever lol and I am going to run that with 29 inch wheels.
Might throw a 55 mm stem on too. We shall see!
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