alot of us use the zip tie trick. it doesnt hurt the shock body at all. just install a zip tie so it is snug on the shock body. go for a ride, and every once in a while check where the zip tie is. if it is middle of the body or so, you know you arent using all the travel and your pressure is too high. if it is at the bottom all the time, you know you dont have enough air pressure so, raise it alittle till you are using most of the travel.
it is harder with the floats becuase, we are all programed with a coil over or torsion set up that we should be able to bottom out once in awhile (not all the time) only on the harshest of bumps. we dont know when we bottom the floats because they resist bottoming and feel harsh the further in the travel they go.
that is one big draw back to an air sprung shock, the pressures compound and the bottom of the travel is super harsh, almost the feeling of bottoming on a coilover/torsion set up. you think your bottoming so you add air (because we are trained we are bottoming), and then the ride gets harsher and you feel like you are bottoming more. then, you feel like the shock isnt working. and really it isnt because, of the high air pressures we push the shock to. the reverse of what we should be doing.
the other major drawback to a float shock is stiction. the tubes are like a fork on a motorcycle, the seals are tight to keep out ice and debris, and actually cause them to stick when compressing but, we notice it more on rebound. it is almost like you cant have the rebound fast enough on a float. but we asked for lighter, thats what we got.
ski
