Push Elevensix Shock Review

[jhart94949]

Okay, I have at least a dozen rides on my Elevensix now. I will do my best to give a quality review here.

First off, I decided to look at the Elevensix because I was unhappy with the tune-ability of my Fox Float X, don’t get me wrong, the Float X is an amazing shock but it’s hard to get that super plush and small bump compliance feel when you are a 200+ pound rider. My last bike was a Knolly Chilcotin, I had a CC DB Air and it was better than the Float X for me so I always felt the Float X was a down grade. I looked at getting another DB Air but when all was said and done I was still going to have to run high air pressure adjust HS/LS compression endlessly, so it was a really hard justification, spend $700 for a slight upgrade?? This is where the Elevensix comes into the picture, a big price tag but to me it is a big enough upgrade to make it worth it.

So a little about my experience buying the shock. I can’t say enough for the guys at Push. When I called to order my shock we had a long discussion about every aspect of my riding; where I ride, how I ride, how much I weigh, what my current set up is and the pro’s/con’s of my set up.

I guess my stats are important for the review as well. I ride a Medium Pivot Mach 6. With all my gear; helmet, full camelback, spare tube, multi-tool etc.. I tip the scale at 218. I live in Marin County and ride as much singletrack as possible. I also take trips to Colorado, Oregon, Wyoming and Utah yearly. I am not a bike park type of guy so there are no shuttles, I have to climb to get the reward. I am not a fast climber but I can grind it out when needed. Most of my days involve between 2000-3500 of climbing. I like technical downhills/trails. I am not hitting huge gaps or jumps very often, I do hit the occasional drop. I enjoy rock gardens, baby heads, that fast chundery type stuff.

So after our conversation my shock was shipped with valve 1 set up similar to the “trail” mode on my Float X and valve 2 was set for more downhill, plush feel. I also had the 475lb spring installed.

Once installed on my bike (which was super easy), I went to familiar local trails that I know like the back of my hand. I really tried to ride them hard and pin-it in the fast rough section, the elevensix was amazing, I could immediately feel a difference when it came to that fast small bump compliance, it felt like my bike was stuck to the ground and yet when I would come out of a rough section my teeth weren’t chipped from chattering. I then went on one of my favorite rides that involves about 2500 feet of tight technical singletrack climbing. I was extremely surprised by the elevensix. The extra weight wasn’t noticed, I really do think my bike handled the technical climbs better. At first I chocked it up to “placebo effect”, new shock and all, but after a few more climbs I was able to compare some of my previous times and I was improving. But back to the fun stuff, going down, the elevensix likes it fast and rough…lol, I have never felt more confident on my bike when pinning it through rough terrain.

Since getting my shock I have actually seen two others while out riding and it’s instant brakes and “HEY NICE SHOCK!”, it’s like owning a jeep, I think we need to come up with a special wave…okay maybe not, but seriously the two guys I ran into were just as stoked as me and had very similar experiences.

I am not a pro, but I am an avid rider and have a lot of experience on different bikes and suspension set ups. I highly recommend the elevensix for those who like to go downhill fast. I think its a perfect shock for that heavier guy that cant get his mass produced shock tuned perfect, at least that was my reasoning, I am sure the smaller guys will love it as well. If you are a cross country rider who enjoys that climb more than anything else the elevensix is obviously not the right shock for you. I think the fact that this is a coil over shock people assume its purely downhill, I just want to share that it really isn’t, it is a great trail/all-mountain/enduro shock.

Everything I have stated is pretty much already known so I guess this “review” just adds onto the others that have said the same thing. All in all it’s a huge investment, it will be something that many will have a hard time justifying, it took me 4 months to make up my mind and save and scrape together the money, I defiantly had sticker shock and some buyers remorse when I saw my bank account the day after buying it but that went away after my first ride. If anyone has any question please feel free to PM me.

 

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