The Shock Lab

🛢️ Suspension Oil & Grease 🛢️

These are responsible for keeping your fork and shock running smooth and preventing wear, the lubricants in your suspension are more important than what you may think 👀

Bath oil has massively evolved in the last decade, moving to a thicker, more viscous lubricant, which is much better at effectively separating surfaces under load 🤘

Suspension grease has remained quite unchanged, Slick Honey / Sram Butter / Slickoleum have been the go-to option for many manufacturers, service centers and riders for several years until now 🍯

Maxima has recently released the SG920 seal grease, we've been testing it for the last few months and can say it's impressive 🤯

The SG920 grease feels a bit stickier, making it easy to apply onto seals and surfaces, while it noticeably reduces friction, specially under load, it really feels like butter 🧈

Pictured above you can see the Plush Dynamic Heavy and the Supergliss 100k, both are great replacements for the Fox 20wt Gold with viscosity around 100-115cSt @ 40C 🤙

You can also see the Maxima Plush Dynamic Light and the Motorex Supergliss 68k, both are great replacements for the Rockshox 0w30 with viscosity around 50-70cSt @ 40C 🤘

We're always searching for ways to improve your suspension, and little things like these can really make it feel even better than new 💪

Reach out for a quote today 🔥

⚠️ LABOR DAY SALE! ⚠️

This weekend ONLY:
👉 15% OFF any service order at theshocklab.com with code LABOR15 - valid through Monday 9/2
👉 30% OFF any bike parts & accessories in stock! 8/30 & 31
👉 15% OFF any bikes in stock! 8/30 & 31 ONLY!

More ASMR content dropping soon! 🎥

Tech talk:
Do you know why the 2024 X2 sealheads have 2 o-rings? 👀

We've talked about the change from Polyurethane to NBR before, which was a smart move, but why 2 of them? 🤔

Of course, 2 is better than 1, but it goes beyond that, in theory, it should help isolate the job of each o-ring. It's a bit hard to explain and keep simple(ish), but let's start with the damper alone; while pressurized, the oil is pushing outwards on the o-ring, which gives it another surface to seal against, in addition to the shaft on the inside and the sealhead on the outside, it's also sealing against the side, increasing its effectiveness 🤘

Now, in a shock like the X2, the air spring is also pressurized (and the IFP pressure pretty low), and it's pushing the same o-ring in the opposite direction, reducing its capacity to properly seal, specially in certain scenarios/pressures and while in motion 🙅‍♂️

So, using a double seal, helps improve the effectiveness of the o-rings as each of them work separate and have more surface (in, out and side) to seal against, and helps keep more consistent pressure on them 🫡

But, is this necessary? Other shocks don't do it, right? 🤔
Using a tighter/bigger o-ring (with appropriate sealhead space) would've also helped, but probably meant going back to the use of a bullet-tool, as well as a bit higher friction 🧐

What are your thoughts on this? 💭

Fox 34 Luftkappe on a 38? 🤯

Something you probably didn't know: Fox 34 and 38 share the same air spring piston, but why is that? 🤔

The Fox 38 has an updated air spring design, which encloses the actual air spring inside a secondary tube, inside the stanchion. This is mainly to increase the lower leg volume and reduce unwanted progression; by using the space between the tubes as additional lower leg volume. 🤙

This allows for a smaller piston to be used, which happens to be the exact same size as their 34. Which means, the 34 Luftkappe is also compatible with the 38! 🤘

⚠️ New Fork ASMR video dropping today, and new product launch video dropping tomorrow at 8:00!! ⏰

100/125h Service time! 🔧

When is the last time you got your suspension serviced? Overhaul season has just started and we've got our work stations running full speed just in time for all small and big repairs! 🧑‍🔧

Current wait times are 3-4 days for suspension and 24-48h for most other repairs ⏳

Remember, most suspension brands recommend the basic service every 50h and full rebuild every ~100h of use! Check your owner's manual or reach out to us for more info 🚲

For a limited time, bundle any 2 (or more) suspension services and get 10% off on labor charges! ⚠️

More ASMR videos coming soon! 👀🎥

Can you tell what fork these internals belong to?❓

Meet the new lab! 🧪🤘

1060 Doniphan Park Cir. - Suite B

There's still work to do, but we're ready to see you! Stop by and say hi!! 🤙

⚠️⚠️⚠️ We are moving! ⚠️⚠️⚠️
We've slowly outgrown our current space and been preparing for the move this weekend! 🤘

The store will be closed from 11/23 to 11/26. Opening at the new location on 11/27 🤘

For any bikes and projects pending pickup, give us a call Friday and Saturday to schedule a pickup time! 🤙

And keep and eye out. We'll have opening/black friday deals all next week! 👀

New location details soon!

New ASMR video dropping soon! 🎥🔜

Stay tuned 👀

What would you like to see next?

No new ASMR videos yet but enjoy this install for now.

The Tractive uses an advanced calculation software to help us choose from dozens of proven valving configurations to perfectly match your size, style, bike and terrain.

But what does it do on the trail? The Tractive helps you squeeze every bit of performance out of your shock, by giving you the support you need on those mild to big hits, while staying supple and sensitive at slower shaft speeds 🤘

Holler for more info!

Our staff's favorite brakes...now in purple! 💜🤘

The Dominion are a game changer. We could talk about them all day, or you can try them yourself. You won't regret it 🤙

Only one limited edition set left! 🕛🟣

Being a relatively robust shock, the most common cause of failure on CTD shocks (from our experience) is this little o-ring which lives inside the rebound metering rod. 🤏

Failure in this case isn't necessarily caused by a design flaw or material issue. But due to the fact that CTD shocks are by far the most neglected shocks we get in our workbench (usually). 🧐

Some of these are 10+ years old and are barely getting their first service. 💀

Avoid an oily mess and service your suspension in time! ⌚
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Buttercups, SKF wipers and a much needed Bushing Re-size for this 🔥🧈
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Bottom Brackets & Cages to make you faster, and matching Brake Pads to handle that extra speed 🔥🤘

Also perfect to add a unique accent to your ride 🖤

Available NOW
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It's hard to beat a bike combo like this 🔥
Chance Gibson's custom Range & Rampage 🧡
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The Deluxe & Super Deluxe have been some of the most reliable air shocks in our experience. They're far from being the most popular in our bench, but we've got several in line for work this week! 🔧
Service, repair, upgrade. We're here for all your needs 🤘
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Dropper posts also need love 🖤
on the bench for a 400h service 🛠️
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Rear shocks can be incredibly complex for the amount of space they take. Luckily we're here to take care of them for you 🗜️🛠️🖤

Full rebuild on this and now it's ready to keep shredding the trails 🤘🔥
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In the last few months, we've done extensive testing on something often overlooked by many. Bushings! 🤘

A fork bushing is, simply put, a metal cylinder with a low friction surface on the inside, which sits inside the lower legs, their job is to allow the stanchions to smoothly slide up and down while maintaining everything tight enough to prevent play, but with enough tolerance to reduce friction to a minimum. 🧈

The lower leg oil, as we all know, helps lubricate moving parts, but there is more to that 👀. It gets cycled between stanchions and bushings, creating an active oil film between the surfaces as they're moving, preventing direct contact between the sliding parts, we call this Hydrodynamic lubrication. 🛢️

Optimal bushing tolerance isn't a set value for us, bath oil viscosity, actual stanchion size, bushing type, operating temperature and riding terrain/style are factors to consider when sizing. ⚖️

Most fork manufacturers size their bushings a few hundreds of a millimeter over the stanchion size, some choosing tighter fits than others, but what does it translate to on the trails? When the fork bushings are on the tighter side, it can give you a "stiff" or "unforgiving" feeling, specially on rough sections of trail, and when they're oversized (or worn), some play may be felt while riding.

So, what's the sweet spot?
Considering our terrain, usual operating temps and the lubricants we use, we've had the best results with bushings sized 0.03 to 0.07mm over the actual stanchion size. The tighter tolerances usually work best for aggressive riders on certain disciplines and/or low viscosity bath oil. While increasing the tolerances works best for thick lubricants and helps increase the sensitivity, which is specially helpful on our terrain ⛰️

With bushing re-sizing starting at just $20 and covering 32, 34, 35, 36, 38 and 40mm forks, we've got the sizing die for you 🖤

Shotout to for the tooling and precisely machining all the sizing dies we needed 🤘

The is one of the best riding and most capable trail bikes on the market, also happens to be our staff's favorite 🖤, and now it can be all yours, whether you want to upgrade your current frame or make a sweet custom build out of it, the Optic is the bike for you 🔥

It can handle anything you throw at it and more! While still being a 🚀 on the climbs 💪 125/140mm of endless fun!

Happy new year! 🎉🤘🤘

We're back to regular hours! 🔋⚡
Weekdays 10-6. Saturdays 10-5. ⏰

It's time for us to put the tools down for a few days 🛠️🧰

⚠️ The shop is closing for the rest of the year, and we'll be back to regular hours on January 2nd! ⚠️

We've had a blast this year, we worked countless hours to get your bike back on the trails on its best shape and we absolutely loved it, but now it's time to recharge our batteries 🔋🔋

We went through some crazy busy times, we had parts shortages, longer wait times, often even limited space to walk around, also had a very unfortunate crash at Lost Dog's and has been out of commission for a little while, so we really appreciate the patience and understanding from everyone 🤘

And by the way, I really want to say thank you 🙏. A genuine thank you to every single one of you, this wouldn't be possible without y'all and I truly appreciate the support, every visit, everything you bring/send for service, every dollar spent, every like, every share, every recommendation, we are here because of you, thank you for making all of this possible!
-Mosco, co-founder, bike nerd, your mechanic and friend 🖤

Happy holidays! 🎄🎅

Want to make a rider happy this Christmas? 🎄 🚲
Here are just a few gift ideas for cyclists 🎁 Stop by and check everything we've got for this Christmas! 🎅
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TTX22M shock getting a Vacuum Bleed by our pump 🔥

It's time we dig just a bit into vacuum bleeding. We have a lot to cover but we'll try to keep it simple 🤓

First, we need to look at how a damper works in a shock. The damper is a series of components that control the oil flow inside your suspension. It provides support while compressing and extending, preventing your bike to bounce uncontrollably.

Most high performance suspension dampers are completely filled with oil, and there's a floating piston or bladder keeping that oil under pressure.

For a damper to work best, there needs to be a very low amount of gas inside the oil chamber, and that's where the vacuum pump kicks in, it sucks the air out through a bleed port, then switches to pressure filling, the damper gets cycled in the process to make sure there's no trapped bubbles within the system.

Fluids are considered incompressible, in theory. But a fresh bottle of suspension oil can have ~10% gas dissolved in the liquid. The vacuum pump is in charge of reducing that to a minimum when filling.

But what happens when I have an aerated damper?
Oil is incompressible, but gases are not. In a freshly bled shock, an input on the shaft will start pushing oil through the circuit virtually immediately, and will keep the bike supported and controlled at all times.
When you have a high amount of gas inside the oil, the gas begins to compress before oil can flow through the valves, giving you an "undamped" moment while compressing/extending.
Also, the air bubbles in the oil reduce the consistency in viscosity, which translates into inconsistent damping. 🙅

When servicing, an aerated shock will behave just like a shaken can of soda, when the oil is still under pressure it behaves like a liquid, but release the IFP or bladder charge, and the drop in pressure allows the dissolved gas to boil out and make the foamy mess we all know 💨

How does it happen? Well, "no seal is a perfect seal", the gas in the reservoir (or air spring) can work its way into the damper overtime and with riding.

So what does this all mean? Follow the manufacturers service intervals to keep you and your bike happy 🖤

⚠️ BLACK FRIDAY SALE ⚠️
Everything in stock is 20% off, hurry before there's nothing left 👀
Friday and Saturday only!!!
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We're out here racing the 12 Hours of Old El Paso! Stop by and check it out 🤙
Shop is closed for the day ⚠️

⚠️ Shop closed today ⚠️
The store will be closing today 10/10 in observation of Columbus day.
In the meantime, we leave you with a custom tuned Super Deluxe Coil 🤘
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