sharpee1988

Hi guys,

I purchased a RockShox Ario 3.2 165mm rear shock for my bike and upon fitting it i measure it eye to eye after fitting and it measured in at 175mm for some reason.

This extra 10mm causes my frame to tap at the bottom when the fram closes back together when the shock pushes back.

My frame is an Orbea Flow.

Is there any way to alter or adjust the physical length of the shock ie. Can i take out the extra 10mm?


Thanks guys.

BCRider

There is nothing neat you can do externally. You'd have to fit an internal extension "bump" spacer to reduce the length. But that will also reduce the available travel by the same amount. And on any bicycle shock 10mm is a LOT. Because the overall expanded length typically reflects on the collapsed length it's also likely that your rear suspension isn't able to collapse far enough either and would bottom out on a big landing before the suspension design intends to bottom. All because of this issue if you were to fit it with an internal spacer. I don't know what the source of the mixup was but your best bet is to try to return it for the correct length or to sell it and buy the one you need.

The other thought is that if Ario line of shocks shares the same body and uses different pistons to get their different overall lengths that you may be able to buy or exchange your present piston for a shorter one that would achieve the same goal of making your present shock shorter. Using the correct shorter piston would retain full travel while making your shock shorter correctly.

And finally one last thought occurs to me. If you bought the shock used the previous owner may have put in a rebuild seal kit incorrectly and missed replacing the top out bumper. A lot of shocks will use a soft rubber top out bumper so the top out doesn't make a hard stop and produce a knock in the suspension. If there is supposed to be a bumper and it was left out that may explain the mysterious extra length. I see that Rock Shox has a service manual available for your shock. I'd download it and check to see if the parts diagram shows such a bumper and get a new kit to rebuild the shock. But this all assumes that the shock you have is supposed to be 165 and that the seller didn't mis-measure it. If it is indeed supposed to be a 175 then you're pooched for any easy AND PROPER fixes. The only way out and retain full designed travel is to get the right lenght of shock.

sharpee1988

i purchased this shock brand new from a bike store near me....... this is why it is confusing really as on the website it states 165mm and it measures in at 175mm

blamp28

Take it back