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which shocks are better, alka stage 3 or fox float 3


jscharphorn

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  • 4 weeks later...

Got my shocks back from Elka.  All they did was put stiffer springs on.  Now it's just stiffer with the same non progressive shitty valving they came with.  After all the other things that have been wrong with this setup, they didn't even open them up to verify the internals were set up correctly. What a joke.  Now it's on my dime to send them to a builder to have them set up correctly.  Will never buy anything from them again.

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Got my shocks back from Elka.  All they did was put stiffer springs on.  Now it's just stiffer with the same non progressive shitty valving they came with.  After all the other things that have been wrong with this setup, they didn't even open them up to verify the internals were set up correctly. What a joke.  Now it's on my dime to send them to a builder to have them set up correctly.  Will never buy anything from them again.

 

Post a pic of your front end as it sits.

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they use a shock dyno tool to see shock specs last time I spoke to someone....  so odds are the dyno showed what the specs where and checked out ok... If the dyno showed proper results they wouldnt of changed the valving...   

 

 

Like I said.. when I had asked about rear shocks to an old sponsor here if I should buy aftermarket or save a bit of coin and mod the oem shock he said  the biggest gain on a higher end aftermarket shock over the modded oem rear is oil flow rate inside the shock... unless you where able to out ride your oem moded shock to where it started to fade that is where the elka is going out perform it.

 

The adjustments will be more responsive on the elka, but as far as valving and springs... both the OEM and elka will more so run the same internals... odds are both schrader or wtf ever its called....  

 

 

So as far as better performance I think the difference from a PROPER built OEM to a proper built aftermarket probably wont be that much of a difference unless you where able to out ride the OEM modded one which sounds like you didnt.

 

Elka stage 4 should  perform better but by how much is a open question considering the rebult oem shock is not a over all bad shock

 

Now with that being said, the elka does have a bigger shaft and prob can take more of a beating.

There was no shock dynoing going on over there.  They backed off the preload, took the old spring off and put the next heavier one on.  After days of arguing they finally credited my card for the price of shipping them back.  Asked them if this was all you were going to do, why didn't you just ship me the spring?  long silence... Then I asked wouldn't it have made sense while it was in your shop to verify all the internals were right?  Another long pause followed by we didn't think we needed to.  This is my favorite part right here. Did you check to make sure it's charged right or that it's not leaking nitrogen? Longest of the three retard pauses. No we just put the spring on.  So now after 4 months and a trip back to the factory I still don't know if their valving just sucks that bad or is this shock not right internally.  Talked with a handful of builders this week and the common thread is that Elka doesn't know shit about setting their own stuff up.  3 out of 5 said all different valve stops and crossovers need to be used to make their stuff perform correctly.  2 were able to point out my biggest issue with this valving.

 

 

Shouldn't have be a cheapo and bought custom axis shocks. 

In regards to this Zillafreak guy.  Did you eat lead paint chips as a child?  Just because you buy something on sale doesn't mean you're cheap.  A stage 4 Elka setup was comparably priced with other manufacturers 4 way adjustable shocks a year ago and people gladly paid it. Way to out yourself as that kid growing up that nobody listened too or gave a shit about and now you can be heard behind a keyboard on an internet forum. 

 

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umm, buying something on sale instead of something that isn't means exactly that, you are a cheap ass. Should have bought axis shocks. $2200 vs $1000, hmmm half the price, cheap ass.

Wow, there's dumb, stupid, mentally retarded, and then there's you.  I wanted stage 4 Elka's.  The fact I paid half for them than the countless other riders at the track that bought them 1 or 2 seasons ago is completely irrelevant.  A friend that works for a welding supply company recently got me the machine I wanted at his cost.  Because I saved 25% does that make me a cheap ass or should I be expecting that machine not to work as well as the ones that were purchased at full price?  I know this example may be difficult for you to digest since there is a very real possibility that you have no real friends outside the internet.

Edited by Harry Balzonya
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Axis>Elka.

It's a known fact. Fox axis and pep are the top suspension companies.

There's also a few that I never heard of that I've seen in a few pros bikes. There was a few stage 5 Elka, but I'm seeing less and less.

I don't think they are necessarily that much better of a shock in terms of parts but the precision in tuning when they leave the factory and show up at your door is way better.  What I've gathered from the builders I've spoke with is that if you're Joe Shmoe you get a cookie cutter setup from elka.  The assurance I've received is once they are set up for me they will perform comparatively to any other 4 way adjustable shock.  Contrary to what this douche bag that keeps chiming in says, I'm willing to pay to have them redone if that's what it takes. The disappointment on my end is that Elka isn't set up to send a more refined product out the door to their non sponsored paying customers.  In the end, I'll have a pretty good ride when it's all said and done.  Just a lot of BS and time to get there.

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I don't think they are necessarily that much better of a shock in terms of parts but the precision in tuning when they leave the factory and show up at your door is way better. What I've gathered from the builders I've spoke with is that if you're Joe Shmoe you get a cookie cutter setup from elka. The assurance I've received is once they are set up for me they will perform comparatively to any other 4 way adjustable shock. Contrary to what this douche bag that keeps chiming in says, I'm willing to pay to have them redone if that's what it takes. The disappointment on my end is that Elka isn't set up to send a more refined product out the door to their non sponsored paying customers. In the end, I'll have a pretty good ride when it's all said and done. Just a lot of BS and time to get there.

No there better. Better valving, design, setup,service, everything.

There's a reason that they don't have fire sales. Fox either.

Fox really seems to be coming up as the top shock. There air shocks really set them ahead. Axis makes air shocks too.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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No there better. Better valving, design, setup,service, everything.

There's a reason that they don't have fire sales. Fox either.

Fox really seems to be coming up as the top shock. There air shocks really set them ahead. Axis makes air shocks too.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some of the builders I talked with said they would change a bunch of the valving components.  Clark Johnson quoted me 370 front and rear to change necessary components and custom setup.  He did a great job on my OEM rear.   

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