Trying to decide between mountain cat and hardcore. The only difference im concerned about is the pros and cons of air shocks vs coil overs. I have experience with floats and like the ease to adjust but never had the good coil overs. What are your thoughts?
2020 Alpha. Air shocks or coil over?
- Thread starter blackcat09
- Start date
40 views and no bites..... I’ll take the hit knowing some of the 40 are waiting to pounce.....
I love the air, hate the coil overs for wieght and adjustment. I can dial in air from my 10 year old up through the family to me with a few mental notes and minutes with a pump. Kids always complain on the coilover sleds and struggle adapt no matter how they’re adjusted.
That being said, if you love the hardcore, buy it, try it, if you hate the coil overs there will be plenty of alpha coil over lovers waiting to trade you out for their p.o.s. airs?
I love the air, hate the coil overs for wieght and adjustment. I can dial in air from my 10 year old up through the family to me with a few mental notes and minutes with a pump. Kids always complain on the coilover sleds and struggle adapt no matter how they’re adjusted.
That being said, if you love the hardcore, buy it, try it, if you hate the coil overs there will be plenty of alpha coil over lovers waiting to trade you out for their p.o.s. airs?
Ahhhh shocks!! “Black Magic “ I could go off on this topic but I’m on my phone lol
Air shocks were invented by Fox for mountain bikes and weight had nothing to do with it. For sleds they are lighter and the marketing is awesome. Nough said.
Air shocks were invented by Fox for mountain bikes and weight had nothing to do with it. For sleds they are lighter and the marketing is awesome. Nough said.
I like the adjustability of the air shocks, and like someone mentioned above, they are easy to adjust on the trail, no tools, just pump.
Don't really care if they're lighter.
Don't really care if they're lighter.
I think there were definately reasons to not like the early Fox floats. The single pressure adjustment made them pogo a little, you could feel the pressure build under compression and had to compensate for the coming rebound. I do not think they worked as well as coil overs but they were lighter.
Now the shocks with the Evol reservoirs are a different animal. You can run low pressure in the main chambers that deals well with small bumps and hits with much less bounce back pogo effect. the high pressure Evol chamber takes the big hits so you can have the good ride, the light weight and all the bottoming resistance you could ask for.
The QS3's work a little different yet but adding the adjustability beyond just one pressure setting is what makes them work well. QS3's with coils are pretty awesome as well, you just need to have the right springs and adjustment for your weight and use. They are going to weigh a little more but not enough to not choose them if the other features of that model appeal to you.
Now the shocks with the Evol reservoirs are a different animal. You can run low pressure in the main chambers that deals well with small bumps and hits with much less bounce back pogo effect. the high pressure Evol chamber takes the big hits so you can have the good ride, the light weight and all the bottoming resistance you could ask for.
The QS3's work a little different yet but adding the adjustability beyond just one pressure setting is what makes them work well. QS3's with coils are pretty awesome as well, you just need to have the right springs and adjustment for your weight and use. They are going to weigh a little more but not enough to not choose them if the other features of that model appeal to you.
Any more insight on this? Debating between the mountain cat and the hardcore. I really like the set it and forget it of the coilovers. Anyone know if anyone carries dual or tripple rate spring kits or is good with revalving on these?
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I personally am not a big float fan. I have the QS3s on my 18 and they work ok, I have the pressures dialed in now but it look alot of adjustments to get there. I think they work great for mountain bikes, not so much snowmobiles. If you are a "set it and forget it" type of guy then its a no brainer Hardcore Package.
Overall the coil overs will be more consistent at changing temps and elevations. However, my one concern is how much I noticed the handling of this sled changed with a 10 psi change in shock pressures. Really hoping I can get the coil overs dialed in that closely. Once they are dialed I know for a fact they are better if you are going to set them and forget them. However, it is nice to be able to just look at a gauge and know where you are at then compare with buddies that have different PSI. I know you can do it by counting threads etc. but it just is not quite as easy. With that said I will be ordering the hardcore. it just makes the most sense.
Do you have the same adjustability with the HC coilovers as the floats?
Id imagine no, the floats you will be able to adjust the air pressures in the different chambers
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A
ak
Well-known member
There’s only one fill point on the alpha air shocks, there not like a Evol shock.
A
ak
Well-known member
Ya it’s true Not even close to the same in ride performance.
Would really like to see the fox air shocks go away.
Yeah. They are lite. But they aren’t progressive at all. They are all or nothing
have you ridden the QS3?
Not even the same shock as the others aka the first floats or even evols.
I like the air over the coil. Yes the coil is more consistent and the air needs a bit more attention. the big gain is the coil is only good for a narrow weight range without being re sprung. the air has a broader weight range with out spending money on new springs. Now add in the ease of the 1, 2, 3 adjustments and the air shock is much more versatile. this can lead to a problem if you do NOT know how to tune a suspension! and I see a lot of guys do not know how to do this or even know you can change settings! there are more than a few threads on this not just in the cat section. I think you see this a bit more in the cat section as the shock package is a lot more tune-able with the cat and the factory set up is far from perfect.
Yeah. They are lite. But they aren’t progressive at all. They are all or nothing
have you ridden the QS3?
Not even the same shock as the others aka the first floats or even evols.
I like the air over the coil. Yes the coil is more consistent and the air needs a bit more attention. the big gain is the coil is only good for a narrow weight range without being re sprung. the air has a broader weight range with out spending money on new springs. Now add in the ease of the 1, 2, 3 adjustments and the air shock is much more versatile. this can lead to a problem if you do NOT know how to tune a suspension! and I see a lot of guys do not know how to do this or even know you can change settings! there are more than a few threads on this not just in the cat section. I think you see this a bit more in the cat section as the shock package is a lot more tune-able with the cat and the factory set up is far from perfect.
IMO cat is on the mark with airs on the powder sled. in my mind coils are for guys who will be POUNDING them down the whoops. You can run a lot of pressure in the evol for jumps, and lighter in the mains for handling. pretty darn progressive. Mountain bikes are built for HUGE air without bottoming. I think half the guys saying they like coils for set and forget, have a misconception that these newer air shocks leak, and that the coils won't. they all have seals. you will fix a seal on an air right away, whereas lot of guys will ride for years on blown pogo coils. coils make some sense for the skid shocks I guess if you're gonna keep the sled forever and wait for a seal to blow.
Except the qs3 shock arent evols. I thought they were but they arent
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