IT'S RARE TO see a coil-sprung shock on anything but a DH bike these days, with most riders using lighter and more easily adjustable air shocks.
EXT hope to change this with the STORIA, which is
aimed squarely at the enduro market. Along with theARMA downhill shock, which
shares similar internals, it was developed by Franco Fratten, an Italian
motorsport suspension guru, and Dave Garland, mechanic for the Giant Factory
Off-Road Team and owner of UK suspension tuners Stendec.
Key features include a low-pressure piggyback chamber,
which helps minimise the force needed to get the shock moving, and a high oil
flow rate, aimed at preventing hysteresis - the damping lag that occurs when a
shock switches between the compression and rebound phases. EXTsay this allows
them to capitalise on the coil shock's inherent small-bump sensitivity.
The compression tune has been
designed to firm up towards the end of thetravel,compensatingfor the linear
spring and preventing a harsh bottom-out. So effective is this that in place of
the usual large rubber bump-stop, EXT fit one that's just 4mm thick. The
three-way adjustable damping (high- and low-speed compression, plus rebound) is
designed to be intuitive to dial in, and the purchase price includes a bespoke
base tune tailored to your bike, wheel size,weight and riding style. Each
STORIA comes with three different weight "superalloy" springs so you
can fine tune your spring rate. Mounting hardware and a first service are also
included. That price doesn't look so bad right now, eh?
PRICE 900$
