Got your fancy new enduro bike and already pushing the limits of what it can do? Push Industries’ new ELEVENSIX coil shock could be just the ticket to boost rear end performance on a wide range of 140-165mm travel bikes.
In that travel range, most bikes are coming with air shocks, and this new model is aimed at replacing them with something that’s admittedly heavier but that provides a whole ‘nother level of performance. A sample weight for this shock for a Santa Cruz Nomad is 835g for shock and all mounting hardware. There’s really no comparison to similar coil shocks on the market because Push Industries’ Darren Murphy says these are really meant to replace something like a Monarch Debonair or Fox Float X air shock, both of which are usually under 500g.
“Bikes in this travel range are getting so light and so capable that riders are pushing them beyond what the stock air shocks can do,” Darren told us. “Our target wasn’t to compete with an air shock on weight, so they’re comparable or lighter (by as much as 100g or more) than the Double Barrel Coil or Fox RC4.”
With most stock shocks, there’s a switch that moves between firmer and softer settings, but they’re changing the settings of a single circuit, so there’s often compromise between getting one or the other (or both) fully optimized for pedaling or downhill. On the ELEVENSIX, the black switch toggles between two separate compression circuits, each of which is tuned specifically for climbing or downhill. On top of that, each circuit has both high and low speed controls, letting you really dial in the performance for a specific condition…and it’s all external, no tools needed.
Not only does it offer more control, but it’s designed to provide higher quality control over the settings. To accomplish this, they used rounded parabolic rebound and compression needles rather than the traditional pointed needles. The rebound needle’s shown as the third arrow down on the left; the compression needles are inside the two cylinders at the top and controlled by the blue knobs.
That needle shaping, according to their testing, provides a much more consistent adjustment from click to click. As they put it, you’ll no longer be wishing for a detent between clicks to find that perfect setting.
The next part of the story is the materials used. The shaft is hard coated and polished, and it slides through polyurethane double lip seals and and wipers to reduce friction. That, plus the custom high-flow damper piston, equates to rapid responses to changing terrain. The chart above shows the transition time from compression to rebound, and the lines closer together represent a quicker response. Translation: your rear wheel should stay on the ground better.
Darren says the ELEVENSIX has higher fluid volumes than the target air shocks, so there’s less fade on longer runs. And the coil spring offers much better small bump response than air shocks since there’s less initial resistance to movement. So much so that some early test riders thought they had nearly flat tires because the small bump compliance was so smooth. The coil is an exclusive HyperCo Ultra Light steel spring made of a high tensile alloy that features “Optimum Body Diameter” shaping to prevent off-center deflection and wear. It’ll be available in 25lb increment ratings to tune it to your body weight. It’s captured by a 360º ring at the bottom, as is the bottom out bumper, keeping things centered for smoother operation overall.
Lastly, it’s filled with high-end Maxima fluids. The whole thing uses domestically (U.S.) sourced parts and is assembled in Push’s Colorado facility. If you’re starting to get worried about how these premium features and parts will impact your bank account, hold your breath. The ELEVENSIX comes in at $1,200, which puts it among the more expensive upgrades you can make. If that has you waffling, their shock tuning services start at $200 and may give your current equipment a new lease on life.
Still here? Check the list of bikes it’ll fit below. But first, this parabolic needle thing had us thinking: Could that style needle be added to a stock Fox or Rockshox shock to get some of the click benefits? Or is their an air version of this shock coming, too?
“At this time, there’s no plans for (an air shock) version of this,” Darren said. “We feel like the air shock market’s pretty saturated, and we want to build products for niche customers by providing things that aren’t already available.”
As for upgrading your current shock with a parabolic needle, that’s a no-go, too. Darren says one of the benefits of building this from the ground up is that they can tune everything just right using their own designs. In order to put this needle into an existing shock, you’d have to alter or replace the shaft, knobs and other parts to make it work, at which point it becomes unfeasible.
Applications include:
- Santa Cruz Nomad 27.5
- Pivot Mach 6
- Yeti SB66
- Yeti SB6C
- Niner WFO
- Ibis Mojo HD
- Banshee Rune
Future Applications:
- Santa Cruz Bronson
- Intense Tracer 275
- Ibis Mojo HD3
- Giant Reign 275
- Specialized Enduro 29
- Transition Patrol
- Knolly Chilcotin
- Norco Range
- Trek Slash
