It’s about time we revisit the coil vs air topic. I’ve done this video before, and a lot of folks gave me a hard time about my preference. In that first video, I said I preferred the air shock over the coil. And based on the comments, you would have thought I had insulted everyone’s mother. So we’re going to run through this again. 

This time, we have a new bike and new suspension components. We’ve got a Rockshox Vivid and a Super Deluxe Coil. We’re going to do some back-to-laps laps in flowy terrain as well as some rough and rugged, high-speed terrain. So stick around to see which one is best for you. And yeah, it’s winter here, but I’m sitting on a backlog of footage at the moment, so I can keep trickling out videos during the winter. This footage is from the summer. I didn’t magically make all the snow melt.

Test setup

We have 160mm of travel to work with on this bike, so we will be using some burly suspension components. That makes sense, too — you’re not really going to put a coil on a 120mm trail bike anyway. The leverage curve on this bike is moderately progressive, but it does ramp up decently in the last third of the stroke, especially right at the last few millimeters of the wheel path. That should help with bottoming out too easily, which was one of the issues I had with the previous bike. Although the Rimpo is as progressive as the SB160, it’s where that progression comes in the curve that caused the problems. The Ripmo is progressive at the beginning and fairly flat in the last two-thirds of its stroke. The SB160 should be better suited for coil shocks.

The shock itself is going to help cure some of my coil shock bottom-out woes, too. The Super Deluxe coil has an adjustable hydraulic bottom-out with five different settings that will add just a touch more bottom-out resistance. That should make it so I can run a spring that’s soft enough to reap the benefits in the small chatter but not slam into the bottom of my travel on bumps that probably shouldn’t require full travel. It should also help keep me a bit higher in the stroke through consecutive bumps so the bike is always ready for the next one.

On the air side of things, the Vivid is a high-volume air shock that is designed for enduro and DH bikes. That means it’s burly enough for the application and a great match for the SB160. While the test results would have been more drastic if I had used a Deluxe or Super Deluxe, I wanted a real-world option that you’d likely find on a bike like this. Admittedly, it’s going to be tough to tell these two shocks apart. The Vivid does its best to replicate the off-the-top feel of a coil shock. And it does a hell of a job at doing that, but more on that later. It features the same adjustable hydraulic bottom out as the Super Deluxe Coil, as well as a position-sensitive damper.

Spring and damper setup

I spent a few days dialing in each shock before doing my back-to-back laps. I went through three different coil springs with differing rates on the super deluxe, a decent range of air pressures on the vivid, and countess clicks on damper adjusters. I landed on a similar setup across both shocks — the spring rate ended up on the slightly softer side with more sag for good off-the-top performance, with a decent amount of compression damping to keep me from wallowing in the mid-stroke, so the bike still felt lively. I then played with the hydraulic button-out adjusters to fine-tune the bottom-out feel.

Fun Facts with Conor

Before we even go ride, let’s talk about the misconception that coil shocks are simply better or somehow make your bike burlier. I see so many comments on our videos and content across the internet that a coil shock made their bike way more capable or better for big hits and difficult trails — which isn’t really true. I’m going to argue that neither spring type is better or worse; they’re just different. Here are some fun facts to back that up. 

Time for math class. Let’s look at suspension choices from This year’s Red Bull Rampage and the DH World Champs. Those are two elite events with some of the most rugged demands out of a rider and bike. They have different demands, though, and that becomes apparent when you look at the riders’ suspension choices. Rampage is one massively giant hit after another. Out of 16 bikes at Rampage, 13 (81%) of them had air shocks, and only three (19%) had coils. It’s likely because bottom-out resistance is the name of the game at an event like this. Riders can pack them full of spacers and make them ramp up hard.  At World Champs, though, out of 30 bikes we looked at, 24 had coils (80%), and six had air (20%). It’s the complete opposite ratio. DH racing requires traction and speed, so the preference for coil makes sense.

That alone should be enough evidence to show you that coil and air shocks each have their pros and cons. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk — let’s go ride.

Timed laps

After getting both shocks dialed, I mounted up the coil shock and headed to the hills. I timed a run on one of my favorite mellow, flow trails. My time came in at 2:46.9. Not only did I time the run, but I also made notes about ride quality, particularly about the “pop” factor, bottom outs, traction, and handling characteristics. A then timed a lap on a rough and rugged trail with a wide mix of challenging features. It has rough bits, high-speed straights, off-camber sections, rocks, roots, tight corners, flat corners, berms, and sneaky little doubles. My time on that trail was 2:41.8.

Then, I repeated the same laps on the air shock. My time on the flow trail was 2:44.5, and my time for the rough trail was 2:39.9. 

On the flow trail, I was 2.4 seconds faster on the air shock, and on the rougher trail I was 1.9 seconds faster on the air shock. I’m as surprised as you are that the air shock was faster on both styles of trails. Now, speed or lap times aren’t the only way to measure the differences between the two shocks — not everyone is trying to race. Although, it’s a pretty good indicator of how well your bike and suspension are performing. A bike that’s not performing well isn’t going to handle well, glide through chunky stuff, provide traction in corners, and all of those things can be measured by a lap time. 

The fun factor isn’t something I could measure, so this part is a little more subjective. To be completely blunt and honest, I didn’t notice too much of a difference in the “pop” or fun factor across the two shocks. They were both set up to feel pretty supportive, with a good amount of ramp-up at the end. I was clearing the same jumps with both shocks. 

Analysis

Looking back at all the footage and lap times, I tried to determine why the air shock was faster — I have a couple of theories. First, the Vivid is a pretty special shock. It is very good at replicating the off-the-top feel of a coil while maintaining the mid-stroke and bottom-out feel of an air shock. That allows for coil-like traction without any wallow. I think the higher you can stay in your travel while still keeping your bike from getting bounced around is the best way to maintain momentum and speed. The air shock kept the bike calm, composed, and stuck to the ground without using too much travel for any given impact. Now, the Super Deluxe still did an excellent, if not better, job at keeping the rear wheel on the ground through bumps, corners, and off-camber bits. I just think it got deeper into the stroke on any given hit. I didn’t have bottom-out or wheel hangup issues with it, but I think it just may have moved more than needed — resulting in slower times. I ran it with a stiffer spring and lost the benefit of the off-the-top sensitivity. We’ll get into this in the setup section in a minute, but I think air has an advantage in getting your setup perfectly dialed. 

My test trails had a fair amount of tight corners, flat-ish sections, and even a few pedally ups. I think this is probably where a majority of the time advantage was made. The air shock is a bit better under pedaling and pumping forces, allowing me to get back up to speed quicker. 

Takeaways

I’m going to break this down into a couple of sections and try to pick a winner for each.

Coil vs Air – Setup:

This one, for me, is a no-brainer. Air shocks are much easier to set up and fine-tune to your preferences. It’s as simple as connecting a shock pump, adding or removing air, and playing with the adjusters. You can take the fine-tuning further with a simple procedure of adding or removing volume spacers. Measuring sag can be easier on air shocks, too. There’s no spring in the way of measuring. 

To adjust your spring rate on a coil shock, you have to swap the spring for another one. That requires removing and reinstalling the shock from the bike. It’s a little tougher to know where to start with spring rates as well, meaning you’re likely going to end up going through a few of them before you get it just right. Depending on the manufacturer, springs are made in 25-50lb increments, so it can be a little tougher to get the rate just right. You can adjust your ride height or sag with the preload collar, but keep in mind that only adjusts your ride height — not your spring rate. It’s worth noting products like Sprindex can help simplify coil shock setup.

Coil vs. Air – Small Bump Sensitivity:

Historically, this is where the coil shock has the biggest advantage. With less friction to overcome, coil shocks break free more easily, smoothing out small bumps better. Coils typically offer more traction. And this still holds true in my testing between these two shocks. However, the Vivid does a remarkable job of mimicking the off-the-top feel of a coil shock. It’s easily the most coil-like air shock I’ve ridden in that regard. 

Coil vs Air – Fun Factor:

This is where air shocks typically have taken the cake. They offer a bit more mid to end-stroke support for better pop. I’d say this is still true in my case, but the Super Deluxe with the hydraulic bottom out is much better here than other coil shocks I’ve ridden.

Coil vs. Air – Bottom Out:

The air shock is going to be the winner here, not only with better bottom-out control naturally but also with more fine-tuning of how that end stroke feels. The vivid still has the hydraulic bottom-out adjuster, which lets you add or decrease ramp-up, but you can also add or remove air spacers to fine-tune that feel even further. The Super Deluxe Coil is better than most other shocks I’ve ridden, even coils with progressive springs, at controlling bottom outs and not blowing through the end-stroke too easily. 

Coil vs Air – Heat Dissipation:

I spent a couple of days riding lifts and hitting long descents and never noticed either shock performing worse at the bottom of the hill as opposed to the top. I think both of these dissipate heat well. Granted, I never had a 20-minute shot of straight descending with no ups, flats and breaks. However, each lap ended up being about 2000’ of descending. If you live somewhere with a consistent, long drop, coil might be better for you as it handles heat better. 

Coil vs Air – Climbing: 

While I didn’t do any timed climbs between the two shocks this time around, I’ve done it in the past, and there’s really not a lot of difference. Yes, the coil is heavier and, over the course of a day, will obviously be a bit slower. I’d argue that folks considering a coil shock aren’t all that interested in eking out every millisecond advantage on the climbs, though. 

Coil vs Air – Maintenance:

Clear win for the coil here. Coil shocks have longer service intervals and are generally more durable. 

Should you pick coil or air?

As boring as this sounds, I think most folks will be better suited with an air shock. I’ve got a couple of reasons. First, your bike probably already came with one. That means you don’t have to spend more money on a different shock, and it also means your bike will play nice with it. Second, I think most people will benefit more from the merits of an air shock than they will from a coil. The air is easier to set up, and I’d argue that suspension setup is the most important thing to make your bike feel good. Yes, you can get a coil dialed, but I’m not sure if most riders will have the patience and ability to get it there. Air is also a little more well-rounded in its performance, making it the better option for most riders.

Notice how many times I just said “most.” I understand that there are riders who fall under more extreme use cases. Some of those riders will be better suited with a coil shock. Otherwise, you wouldn’t see the majority of World Cup DH racers on coil shocks. I get it — those folks are elite riders, their skill is at the very sharp end, and they need the bike to make up the last little percentage so they can land on a podium. I’d argue that most of us don’t fall into that camp, though. The average Joes I can see being better off on a coil are the “I only ride park” folks for the heat dissipation, durability, and maintenance benefits.

So, at the end of the day, which one would I pick? I’m sticking with the air shock yet again, folks. I see the merits of a coil shock and where they are better, but I’m maybe just an air shock kind of guy. Oh, and did I mention that the Vivid is pretty special? That just might be the best shock I’ve ever ridden – and I’m not even getting paid to say that. See you next time.