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So SSR01 is a progressive tune? Light rebound? How about SSC003? I have changed shocks on my SJ15 from Fox Float Genie to Float X Genie, but the latter one came from Levo and I feel that it is not as good as the previous one was. For whatever reason it feels firmer even though it should be lighter considering it is using CL+SS. Anyway, I'd like to re-shim it to get it close to the one from SJ, so any help would be appreciated here. Thanks!
Anyone got any idea of achievable bb to seat rail heights on an s3 stumpy? I know there is some data about insertion depth but really depending on post etc it’s hard to decipher. I’m looking at an s3 expert carbon and basically I need a 630 bb to saddle rail height, I’m 5”5” so quite short and at the lower end of this bike size but my experience has been that the s2 would be far too small for me and I would really like to run a 175mm post rather than a 150mm post. Thanks
I’m around 5’8 on an s3, I have 645 from center of bb to bottom of seat rails. I have a 170mm one up dropper with maybe 25mm it could be further inserted. You may want to go mullet for less ass to tire contact.
Thanks, I should get my saddle height on it then as I’m around 630mm usually. I intend to mullet it but finding a mullet link seems to be tricky, I may have to buy a cascade which is a fair bit more expensive than specialized’s own link and completely changes the bikes kinematic. I have rode plenty of full 29 bikes but do prefer a mullet.
Back to genie talk.
Just got a Levo sl expert. Set up according to specialized suspension calculator. 165lbs. 30% sag. 1 genie band. Stock bottom out spacer. Did some bracketing laps for psi, rebound, and LSC. Was pretty normal feeling, similar to float x.
Took the 1 genie band out and holy guacamole. It actually felt like a coil shock. I was very suspicious of the marketing and I did not drink the koolaid. But I believe this shock is everything they claimed. Still at 30% sag. 1 click faster and 1 LSC click firmer than recommended. I'm in Phoenix with chunky decomposed granite trails at south mountain trails, flowy and chattery single track with some jumps out at Hawes.
Was planning on buying a coil shock eventually but now I don't see the point in spending the money.
Actually, I'm starting to doubt you are right about the rebound tune. Looking at the drawing of the shimstack, nothing looks progressive about it. It's not a splitstack. It's a standard linear shimstack. Furthermore, if you look at the Float X Genie used by SJ15 it uses RL70 which is also a linear rebound, so no idea where you got this from. It wouldn't make much sense to use on the same frame 2 different rebound tunes, right?
You don't need a 2-stage stack to create a progressive damping rate - it can be achieve with a linear or even preloaded shim stack, depending on the other variables like port size and free bleed.
Also, this concern for "controlling the extra energy" of a progressive spring is wildly overblown -
a) air springs, by their nature return less energy than you put in to them (ie they are stiffer in compression than rebound)
and b) the extra progression is added because there wasn't enough force at the end of the travel to begin with, so the goal is to absorb and return more energy so increasing the rebound damping would be undoing that. If the extra progression caused negative ride qualities like bucking, it either means you didn't need that progression, or you actually need more compression damping.
Well, he talked specifically about rebound tune, not some secondary variables, which I doubt exist here. RL70 is literally a "Rebound Linear". It would make zero sense if they offer these on the scale from 10 to 70 or whatever, but you end up getting progressive dumping rate anyway.
Of course, feel free to post the damping rate of the Genie shock here if you have it.
I don't have specific dyno data from them yet but I'm sure it won't be too much longer, but I can assure you a lot of things don't make sense with the names given to tunes. There are several cases of tunes called "linear" but in use, give something closer to a progressive damping characteristic. The linear part could just be referring to the physical construction of the stack - no preloading or dual stage arangement being used. Many of the Fox RL tunes tend to trend progressive in use, because they are quite stiff and would normally be set with the adjuster close to open, which creates a more progressive rate. I do have dyno data from other fox tunes which support this, and also I have found that the numbering isn't always a consistent scale - with the new DHX2 shocks I have seen somethign like a "90" compression tune be progressive and "100" be digressive but softer overall. You are also jumping to the conclusion that both the float & genie would have exactly the same damping rates, when really they have different purposes so it isn't unrealistic that they would be tuned differently.
Thanks for the explanation. I don't doubt they are tuned differently. Float specifically uses a custom shimstacks from/by Specialized. Similiar about Float X Genie from Levo (e-tuned), but Float X Genie from SJ25 is a different case. It seems to be using regular Fox's shimstack. Internals don't seem to differ either, so my assumption is that if you have dyno data from regular Float X it shouldn't differ by a lot or not at all. Then the question is why is Float X so different to Float in terms of its tune?
I think only specialized can really answer that, but I'm assuming they use 2 different shocks to have a different feel so its unsurprising the tunes would be different, and I also know they typically use different tunes between the e-variants and the acoustic equivalent as well. Whether or not this is "correct" is a matter of opinion, but you're questioning a product representatives information here and I'm just pointing out there are ways it can easily be accurate
Yep, the e-tuned Genie is using CL+SS and CPR (rebound tune by Specialized), but that is expected since it's an e-bike. Many manufactures do the same. In other cases we are talking about the same bike, so to me at least, it is surprising they make them feel different.
Comparing regular Float with Float Genie the internals (piston primarily) is the exactly same. I mean even Specialized (the RX team) in their videos mention that there isn't many differences. The outer sleeve/chamber and related seals are the only one.
This is the rebound shimstack which is fully custom. I don't see anything progressive about this single stage SS. If the rebound damping curve ends up being progressive (somehow) then that applies to all Floats.
You can't tell if a shim stack is linear, progressive or digressive just by looking at it
In this case, you probably aren't experienced enough, if you can't tell from a simple shimstack such as above whether it's linear, progress or digressive lol.
I assumed you were trolling based on what you chose for your first ever post, but figured I would give you a chance....thanks✌️
What did I choose for me first ever post? Asking whether it's really progressive when the drawing says something else? Moreover, my name doesn't say "suspensionlab" claiming 15 years of experience without being able to tell from a textbook example of a shim stack what kind it is 😅 I'm just a rider. If it was a multi-stage, complex SS, it would be understandable. Btw, thanks for reporting my message. It has hurt you as I see
Having this exact problem on my new expert, quiet in the car park and really clunky sounding on the trail
I have loud clinks with my alloy. It has xo transmission. I thought there could be some rubber missing or voids on chain/seats stays. There is no evidence of chain slap. I think it’s the derailleur hitting/clunking at large hits.
I’ve discovered for me it was a bad derailleur and the stock chainstay protector wasn’t great. I put a new XO derailleur on and replaced most of the chainstay protector with a STFU chainstay protector and the bike is really quiet now, even on the roughest sections of trail.
Anyone threw a tape measure over there stumpy 15 evo? My s3 evo wheelbase measures 1238mm compared to the supposed 1218mm, measuring head angle its coming out at 62 degrees rather than the suggested 64 in the middle setting which would account for the added wheelbase if reach and stack are correct as per the geo table. Not really concerned as the bike rides great but I don’t think I’ve had a bike measure that far off the geo chart!!!
Has anybody tried the cascade link for the mullet set-up with the genie shock or with a different one?! I thinking about to get the cascade link …
I’d love to learn from the group on Genie setup and what people are actually running.
For context, I’m on a 2024 SJ15 (non-EVO), ~200 lbs geared, and this is my only bike. I’d say I’m a solid intermediate rider, but not someone who’s super sensitive to suspension changes—I tend to adapt pretty quickly rather than clearly prefer one setup over another. I ride a bit of everything here in Northern California, but I definitely not sending it.
So far:
A couple things I’m trying to dial in:
Appreciate any setups or thought process you’re using—especially if you’ve gone through a few iterations and landed on something you’re really happy with.
Post a reply to: Specialized Stumpjumper 15 & GENIE Shock - Impressions, Setup Help, Discussion