When talking on the phone with Works on Tuesday, he did ask my weight, type of riding and what the measurement of my existing shocks were. They only measure 12.5" center to center on the bolts. He said definitely need a minimum of 13.5", but was leary of going 14".
My meager uneducated understanding on suspension design is that the spring controls compression, and rate of compression, and fluid or gas controls spring rebound. How do these higher end shocks do absorbing hard jump landings, they still bottom out correct? And if you have stronger springs more resistent to bottoming, are they yet still responsive enough for the fast choppy stuff?
And setting rider sag, how in the world do you realistically set sag, with only approximately 4" of travel and if you are running a beefier spring?
Of course another question that comes to mind, would it be ideal or better to consider running different springs for different tracks, and have extra springs on hand for that?
My major struggle still is that I just don't get to ride enough to tell what's good and bad with my suspension, especially considering that I'm still learning how to ride a bike with so little suspension. All that I really know for sure is that on jumps I am landing very hard and blowing through quickly. All the rest of the time it just feels ok, I guess? Probably one of those deals that you don't know how bad you have it until you get something better?
I'll probably get back on the phone with them this week and get a set coming. God, why do I have to be so obsessed with this sport?
Uggggh....More Overtime!