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1/8/2026
Location
Calgary, AB
CA
Upgrading suspension on my ebike - its a Transition Regulator SX (27% Progression). Its on the lighter side for an ebike.
I do enjoy a jump or two, but my main love is bombing techhy trails at high speed. The fork on this bike is currently a Rockshox Lyrik Base, but i will likely be swapping that fork out for my Fox 36 Factory w/ a grip2 damper.
I do enjoy a jump or two, but my main love is bombing techhy trails at high speed. The fork on this bike is currently a Rockshox Lyrik Base, but i will likely be swapping that fork out for my Fox 36 Factory w/ a grip2 damper.
I have done a bunch of searching and found a handful of candidates:
- Cane Creek Kitsuma Air (gen1)
- Fox Float X OEM Tuned for a Transition Sentinel (a bike that is extremely similar to the Regulator)
- DVO Jade X or Jade X Prime
- Marzocchi Bomber CR
- Fox DHX
- Rockshox Super Deluxe Coil (w/ HBO).
Any assistance in narrowing down this list is much appreciated, so many great options makes it hard to choose.
Any assistance in narrowing down this list is much appreciated, so many great options makes it hard to choose.
Not on the list but I would def recommend EXT suspension. You can find some Storia V3 for relatively cheap and they rip. I have it on my Regulator CX (160mm rear travel) with a 65mm stroke and it's amazing. Can't recommend enough!
Just a few questions-
Does it currently have a shock and is there something about it you are looking to improve?
Have you checked if all those options physically clear the frame? It's not always a given and can narrow your choices down a lot. Every picture I could find had the stock super deluxe
Is there a service centre or shop close by that give you better support for certain brands?
And do you have a budget?
I'm a Push dealer so will obviously recommend the VT/x and SV8 if they fit. Pricing on the SV8 is very competitive with the other options out there too
Vorsprung Telum is the other excellent option for a high end shock
Otherwise from your list the DHX and Bomber CR are both good - the CR has a couple of minor annoyances (like a spring in the resi the breaks and fills your shock with metal particles, they haven't change that design in like a DECADE...) so is best if you are getting it custom tuned or at least regularly serviced.
The Float X is good if you want air - although Transition does seem to select odd tunes so I wouldn't take for granted that it will work great, and may need a retune anyway.
The Jade X prime is a good improvement over the old X, although it can depend on whether your local service tech is familiar with them or not. Which is why I asked if you have a preferred shop you plan to use
My local shop is great and they stock/service all of the shocks I shared. As for budget, Im aiming to not go over $700. I believe im in the clear for almost all of the shocks on the market when it comes to fitment.
The shock i have on there currently is a rockshox super deluxe select. I mainly want a new shock to bump up the rear travel, which is possible on this bike according to transition. The RS select also doesnt have much in regards to adjustment so that is also a reason im looking to upgrade.
Push SV8
Vivid Air Ultimate. I've been running them since launch on 4 different bikes (sold 2), and had zero issues. It's a really nice middle ground of air and coil... easy to dial in, good sensitivity, good bottom out support. I know several other guys who've gotten them for various bikes and all loved them too. New version with minor tweaks is about to launch alongside Zeb in April, so might be able to find a brand new one on sale.
I absolutely love my fast fenix on my Norco sight cx. I had an ext arma, and I’ve run custom tuned fox float x and fluid focus piston/ custom tuned dhxs on different bikes and the fast is my favourite out of all of them.
Yeah those vivid shocks seem interesting. I really like the idea of having HBO.
A local shop actually just listed a takeoff for sale so I might have to go check that out today. It's a select plus, not an ultimate though - but if it can give me the full travel, I can live with LSC, HBO, and Rebound adjustments.
Not answering your question whatsoever, but I just wanted mention that the Fox 36 GRIP2 is kinda crap by today's standards. I've tried quite a few over the past 5 years and none have ever felt good or remotely sensitive, I assume due to a combination of stanchion/chassis binding and the GRIP2's sorta harsh damping. I haven't tried the new chassis with increased bushing overlap, so maybe that's fine. GRIP X2 definitely a noticeable step up over GRIP 2 as well.
But on an ebike with those travel numbers, 38, ZEB, etc. all day.
Disclaimer, I am very opinioned about suspension upgrades and setup, so take my comments with a grain of salt. On the other hand, playing with suspension setups on various frames of my own and my friends (as well as on other vehicles) would qualify in my top 5 as a tangent hobby to mountain biking.
I do not believe you will see much, if any improvement by going to a different air shock with an off the shelf (what is provided as retail aftermarket) tune. I have upgraded the shock on a few transitions, and I have not had an experience where an off the shelf tune was better then the oem provided tune that transition had specified. The only exception was changing a rs sid shock out to a dps on a spur for a friend that is 270lbs... and that improvement was more down to air can size and a change in compression ratio of the air spring.
Transition, and other oems for that matter, are doing a great job tuning shocks to their kinematic from the factory. It means that there is really very little room for improvement and honestly a greater chance of performance loss than gains. As an example, I would highlight the fox float X. With the wrong tune this shock genuinely sucks... you'll be running the compression and rebound completely open. In contrast, with the right tune, it is nearly indistinguishable in feel and performance to the new float x2. I just had this exact experience as I put a 26' x2 (take off from a higher tier of the same bike) on my sc bullit and it literally performs no better then the float x I just took off of it.
Lastly, I will say that I've owned a few of the recent/current transitions (smuggler and relay) and I 'upgraded' the shock on both of those, and really didn't come away with much, if any of a performance difference. My experience here is that transitions, seem more agnostic to shock tune changes then most other bikes I've come across and there is a fairly narrow window of compression tuning with them that they are happiest with. Basically, my experience with transition is that they rarely feel soft and floaty, and backing off on the compression damping leads to huge, harsh bottom out events when ridden hard, and a lack of consistency and composure when under duress.
I digress... my suggestion is to stick with the shock you have, and ride it for 6-12 months. As far as I recall, this is a new bike to you... I believe the change in shock will net such a small change in performance, that without significant experience on the bike in all matter of conditions, you'll not fully appreciate the better/worse/same bracketing that validates and informs setup.
If you absolutely have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would go with a coil shock and make sure it has an appropriate tune. The Push SV8 and Vorsprung Telum would be my primary choices. My take on most coil shocks at the very high end (11.6, ext, bomber cr aftermarket tuned or otherwise, ohlins etc) is that they are pretty heavily damped, something that I don't particularly love on transition's kinematics, despite being a person that prefers heavy compression damping in general. I find that the SV8 is a bit more lively in feel then the vtx and the 11.6 and is more aligned with how a fox dhx2 feels, but with more sophistication and quite frankly better application of HSC without added harshness. The vorsprung telum might be my current favorite shock on the market... bonus points because Steve @Vorsprung is an absolutely no bullshit individual that will tell it like it is, without being a mansplainer (complainer) like craig from avalanche is.
Edit: One last add that I forgot while I was on my soap box. The current super deluxe air is very good when tuned properly IMO. At my 175lbs riding weight and aggression level, I am typically able to find a setup with that performs well and doesn't put me at one end of the adjusters. I generally feel that I am balancing HSC a bit with that shock to get a balance between large compression support and a bit of harshness in low/mid speed/energy events. That being said, I think it's going to be a hard shock to beat... maybe you'll find something that's a bit more supple and willing to move through the first part of the travel/chatter when riding the bike at less then 70% aggression... but my hunch is that when pinning it at 70% or harder... it's going to be no better/worse then all of the shocks out here save 3-4.
Do you anything on the details of new tweaks?
Looks like the new Vivid coil that just launched doesn' have Touchdown IIRC, but im not sure the previous gen had it off my head.
It'd be great if the new ones let you adjust the stroke easily, similar to the new Ohlins TTX2 Air m2
I too think that unless you get a custom tune, there is no guarantee of a performance improvement as the standard tune of many off-the-shelf shocks might not be right for your bike.
I have had a good experience with the new RockShox vivid air. It feels supple off the top for an air shock. I'm running it on two different bikes, each with a specific tune for each bike. RockShox sell piston tuning kits which are listed here: https://www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/tuning-manuals/rockshox-rear-shock-piston-tuning-guide.pdf
So, if this is a shock you are interested in, you could contact Transition and ask them for a recommendation on which tuning kit to purchase and install.
I don't have any info... just reading between the lines with them updating the coil version alongside the Boxxer, and word around the campfire that the Zeb gets updated next month. Plus there's been photos of pro bikes running the air version with new decals & the numbered LSC dial like the coil got. If I had to guess though, I'd expect the air version to keep TouchDown - it's a big part of what makes it special for an air shock IMO (helps overcome that initial air stiction & makes it closer to a coil's initial sensitivity). I heard the coil version with TD was a bit too much - super glued to the ground and not very energetic, so I could see why they'd eliminate it on the coil.
I completely agree with this post and my own experiences with rear shocks. Slapping a new rear shock on isn't going to magically make the bike feel "better." In all honesty I think people expect their suspension to somehow remove any feeling of terrain underneath them which is just not what suspension does. In my opinion suspension is meant to make the force vectors controlled by you tolerable for you to control. It's why stronger people can run firmer suspension then folks who don't bother to lift at the gym. Steve at Vorsprung talks about this a lot in his chats about how much travel do you want/need (here is link to part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsbMU-JTCJI)
That being said, I'm not anti-suspension upgrades as long as they are meant to solve a problem. For me, a fairly strong and heavier guy I tend to need to get dampers that can provide a lot of compression damping to avoid needing to run stupidly high spring rates, so I run a Telum on my big bike and a retuned Super Deelux on my trail bike. My wife is a lighter rider so her move to a coil fork was due to try to get as little friction dictating her spring rate as possible, but she can easily run a vivid and likes basically just having an air spring with very little damping in the rear.
So, I'd ask what problem you are trying to solve and let that be the guiding light to what to spend your money on. Knowing what problem you're trying to solve will also help avoid any potential snake oil that is out there (which there is a lot of).
For aftermarket stuff, getting one with a wide range of adjustment is really important, since you can't always get a matched tuned. What shock are you coming from?
I'd recommend the Cane Creek Tigon shock. Super progressive and extremely tunable. Also they have a great swap out policy for coil spring rate. Plus the air assist helps get that perfect tune. Even more so the way they make their springs it tends to be 100lb spring rate lighter than their competitors.
First, I would recommend finding someone with telemetry and figuring out your dynamic sag and suspension balance. I was setting my sus wrong for many years untill I bought ByB. Not very wrong, it was good but it was a local minimum, going much less sag on the rear suddenly made the bike work so kind of opposite what you would think.
I would advise against Cane Creek shock unless you are a heavy rider. They have knobs, but knobs are worse than proper tune.Tellum is years ahead CC. Sorry, had one (CC), but the way adjusters work means you need to ride very hard or be very heavy for this one to feel smooth.
I would try a coil shock. Personally I landed on a DHX2, which may have bad reputation, but this one came mostly from the X2. I cannot say a bad thing about it (except that fox recommended damping settings were way off). Also riding a 38 grip2 and also find it very good, provided that you find a proper front/rear balance (i.e. if you cannot ride it with fox recommended pressure it means you have too much sag in the rear).
If you want to get something monotube like DHX, be prepared to tune it. But if you do not really know how you like it to ride (see 1), it will be hard and hit & miss. Maybe something like Push which is set up for the bike already is a good compromise.
So to sum up, if you really want to try something but don't fancy tuning, go Tellum or DHX2. Still setting them without telemetry will be time consuming. If you have access to a tuner go whatever you like (but why not check what you have in the first place). Going Push also seems to be a good way. Changing shocks is tricky and you frame has loots of progressions which makes things even harder.
Best thing you could do to get the most out of your setup is to reach out to Lars at flowcraftmtb.com
The advice he gave me and a few friends in sorting out our setups was really insightful, and it helped each of us go faster and feel more confident on our bikes. Seriously, the guy is top level and his knowledge is worth its weight in gold.
Appreciate the thorough reply. Perhaps waiting a bit could be a good move, although i do like the idea of getting that 10mm of extra rear travel to utilize throughout this whole season haha. Tbh I might just drag my feet until i find a super nice deal on something with a ton of adjustment range (2026 X2 perhaps?). Im super on the fence about getting a coil or air shock... it seems the current gen vivid and x2 are quite close to the coil shock experience and i love how tunable air shocks can be.
I run a EXT Vecta on my Bonnell , its is the finest thing ever. They set it and forget it, you just ride it. WIN WIN
ooh that sounds quite interesting, deffs gonna check that out. I dig the idea of doing as much mechanical/tuning work myself - would much rather spend hours learning how to do it myself over sending it in to a shop to do.
"So, I'd ask what problem you are trying to solve and let that be the guiding light to what to spend your money on. Knowing what problem you're trying to solve will also help avoid any potential snake oil that is out there (which there is a lot of). "
Well the main thing im trying to accomplish is getting the full rear travel out of this bike. Its currently 150mm and i can overstroke it to 160mm. If it were possible to just remove a travel spacer from the RS super deluxe thatd be ideal but sadly it is not possible.
Just a heads up, 2026 X2/DHX2 has a small adjustment window. It’s a design compromise of the monotube design with a shimmed base valve. The aftermarket CL70 tune might work well on the Regulator, depending on your weight and compression preference.
I would suggest you try a coil, since your bike has the progression for it, hard to match that small bump, especially with “normal” axle path. Another vote for Push SV8, good adjustment range . Telum at the high end is amazing.
Personally I would like to try a bomber FF tune. Seems like a pretty good bang for your buck plus I think you get a retune with the first rebuild.
Oh interesting, happy you pointed that out. I had watched a vid comparing the X2 w/ the vivid and they claimed the X2 was the one to get if you wanted a lot of adjustment range.
Yeah I had found that fork for a really great deal in a closeout sale - OEM overstock. It was replacing some trash Rockshox entry level fork so it was a decent upgrade compared to that one haha. I think i will end up getting a 38 w/ a gripx2 damper for my next fork, but probably wont grab one until the end of this season. Do you know how i can tell if the grip2 fork i currently have has the updated chassis?
If it has GRIP 2, it's one of the old chassis. The new one has the "generative arch" and would come with GRIP X or GRIP X2.
Yeah theres a difference between lots of dials and lots of range....so I'm guessing they didn't have a Dyno because the stock X2 tunes do not have much range at all...If you want to work on it yourself I would probably lean towards the DHX or Jade Prime as they don't need much in the way of special tools. The rockshox is OK to work on but the newer ones with the HBO piston are a little fiddly and need a bit more care IMO to not mess it up
I'm afraid that I can't offer much info about the Cane Creek Kitsuma Air Gen 1, but I've been riding the Kitsuma Air Gen 2 on my Specialized Turbo Levo 3 since the beginning of this year. It replaced a very tired Fox Float X. After getting the Kitsuma Air on the bike, I installed & followed the Cane Creek Shock Tuner app on my phone. Took me about 8 or 9 laps in a single session on one of my favorite trails where I ride my e-bike to get the shock dialed in. The ride quality even before making any adjustments was tremendous, but with it set up how I like to ride, it's dramatically improved over the original shock. I really like that all of the settings can be adjusted by hand (no tools) too. No regrets for sure. (It doesn't hurt that I live within a 45 minute drive of Cane Creek HQ.)
Hmm i have been looking closer at the jade X and jade X prime - Do you know if the bladder pressure adjustment might compensate for it being a stock tune? That seems to offer a fair bit of adjustment compared to other shocks that have IFP's.
Of the shocks on your list, I own three: Cane Creek Kitsuma Air, Fox DHX (Avalanche modded), and the RS SDU coil. The Avalanche/DHX is undoubtedly the best choice for bombing down chunky trails with control. However, it lacks HBO, so I sometimes bottom it out firmly on drop-offs. The SDU coil has HBO, which is a nice feature. The Kitsuma Air, on the other hand, handles chunky trails the least well. It wallows in the mid-stroke and bottoms out hard. That’s the least desirable option on your list (but I do enjoy it for my regular bike for climbing under my own power). I’m currently riding a Vivid Air primarily because I appreciate HBO. Since you didn’t mention budget, if money is not a concern, have you considered the Vorsprung Telum? It’s highly regarded, has HBO, and is a cool Canadian brand.
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