telebianchi

I do a lot more road than mountain riding, but still like to duck into the woods several times a year. I'm riding a ten year old Specialized Ground Control Comp. For the amount of riding I do, it's not worth the money to buy a new bike. Over time I have put on better brakes (Tektro Quartz) and front end (RS Judy XC & Chris King headset). A few other things got replaced as they broke (rear dr and wheel). Nothing top-end, but better than the original parts on the bike. I'm an 175 lb XC rider; not looking to freeride or downhill.

Understanding the limitations of my Specialized's design I'd like to fix up the rear end a bit. The original shock, a RS Deluxe, was probably shot seven or more years ago. With Google as my friend, it seems that Risse is the only place I can get a shock that fits the original shock design. The Genesis air shock is what I'm looking at. I found one place that will rebuild the current RS, but it's probably worth spending the extra on the new air shock.

My questions:

Has anyone done a shock upgrade on one of these before that might be able to give me some hints/tips/tricks from their experience? My understanding as that this suspension design was only used for one or two seasons before being replaced with the Horst design with linkage that Specialized is still using on some bikes today.

Any hints/tips/tricks on replacing a rear shock in general? I'm pretty handy and do all of my own work unless a needed tool costs almost as much as having a shop do the work.

What about the bushings and pivots? Since I'm pulling things apart for the shock, what should I be doing with the rest of the rear end? I've emailed Specialized but I think, understandably, that their support cuts off at 6 or 7 years.


Thanks in advance.

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97SpecializedGCrear.jpg

telebianchi

Based on the responses to the original post, I don't know who will be interested here (and that's just a joke ) but just in case.....

I ordered the Risse Genesis shock in mid-May. I had no problem getting in touch with Risse via email or phone to make sure I was getting the correct mounting style and so they could preset the shock to my weight and riding style. After about two weeks with no shock showing up I sent them an email. A couple of days later a new Astro-5 shock shows up at my door. The Genesis was back-ordered so they upgraded me to the next in their line for no additional cost. So now I have an on-the-fly damping adjustment.

Three bolts and a little cleaning of my bike and the new shock was on. Took it for a ride last night and what a great difference. I especially noticed on going uphill over rocks. With the old, beat-up RS Coupe Deluxe I would hit a root, the wheel would bounce up and I would be toast since I lost all traction. There were several spots last night that was all ready to clip out but then the bike just kept going forward. I was also used to the old shock kicking the rear back up at when going off of small drops on downhills, the new shock just sucked it up. Although more difficult to explain why, the bike kept its line much better in turns as well whether I was pedaling or not.

So, instead of spending over $1000 to get a new bike, my old Ground Control is going to keep me quite satisfied for a while longer for only $200. I might even splurge on some used XT v-brakes.

dminor 

Glad that worked out for you. Didn't know they could still supply a strut-style mount shock. Not bad for a "bunch of dopers from Redding," as one of my favorite Forums people characterized them once

cdyer77

Thanks for posting...I'm in the exact same boat with the exact same bike. I was going to start looking around for a new rear shock. It really helps to find some info on a bike that wasnt around for very long.

telebianchi

Glad my little experience can help you, cdyer77. The bike is in the car and ready for another ride after work today. I'm sure that if I rode a new, modern FS bike I would realize just how out of date the suspension design is on the '97 Ground Control. But as long as I don't ride any new bikes to compare I think I'll be happy. Also, I only mountain bike about 2 times every three weeks (too many hobbies, not enough time) so my skills hold me back a lot more than the bike. After this shock, it's just new brake pads and chain lube until something breaks.

For my riding, I'm keeping the Astro 5 damping in the tightest position. I messed with it a little bit but kept going back to that. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with the Genesis that Risse presets based on the rider's weight and ride-style when they build it.

I had read a couple comments around the 'Net that Risse could be a pain to communicate with....but my experience was responses to emails within 2 hours to 2 days, somebody answering the phone or returning calls, and a free upgrade on the shock.

walkingupstream

I have one of these Ground Controls that I'm retiring. A few years ago, I had one of these Risse Shocks made for it, and it worked great. I put the shock up on Craigslist, but don't know if anyone will pick up such a specific part in my local area. If anyone is looking for a replacement for their Ground Control, get in touch: cassonhersh@yahoo.com - I'm asking $100 and paypal would work fine.

Thanks-
WU