cycle-powered
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Munich Germany (formerly Portland OR, Texas)
Posts: 1,848
Bikes: '02 Specialized FSR, '03 RM Slayer, '99 Raleigh R700, '97 Norco hartail, '89 Stumpjumper
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hey, i gotta comment here...
i have a '02 FSR with Fox lockout (rear and front)
for riding on trails you don't need either lockout and the rear suspension actually helds you climb by forcing the tire into the ground and aiding grip...
i use the lockouts relatively rarely, BUT i like them both.
the front is important when standing out of the saddle, and the rear is nice on long road sections and especially LONG road climbs : for example last weekend i did a "Marathon" MTB race with 3530 meters of vertical (11,700 ft) in 104km with a few climbs of sustained 7-20% for over an hour. for these climbs the lockouts are GREAT as i pretty much have a rigid bike with a few extra pounds (ok, the rear rebounds a little funny with the lockout on so it's not QUITE as "beautiful" as standing and cranking uphill on a ridig frame) --- and the race took me 7 hours and 14 minutes and without the lockouts it would have been at least another half hour!
as others have saif IF you don't ride much road the lockouts aren't really needed (but they're nice)
as to the original question: yes. for 2002 the FSR came with no rear lockout on the normal bike and lockouts on the Comp and Pro - otherwise the frames were identical. and yes, you can change a non-lockout shock for one with lockout.
oh, and the new Epic is even better!