Anyone ever swap out a Spec. brain & shock setup for another shock?

[Boomer28]

have a '10 Stumpjumper FSR and am thinking of switching shocks. While I like the brain and all it is not aging well and isn't as smooth as it once was.

Looking for something like a cane creek double barrel or similar coil-over with a nice stiff spring.

Anyone done this?

[Eluder]

Your issue is how the shock mounts. Yours is built in to the linkage. There is no way for a standard shock to mount. You're limited other shocks that are built that way. One would be the Triad from the comp model the other would be the RP23/RP2 from the Evo, this paired with the linkage would alter the geometry and travel. Im guessing either is going be expensive since you have to get from specialized, they also may not be easily availabe.

Have you had your brain serviced? Its important for the performance of any shock, only bad part is it has to go to specialized.

[leroy jenkins]

Im ignorant but the inner workings of the shock arent that different from another shock right? I do understand the brain system is a bit different, but will any after market companies like Push upgrade the innards like they do other shocks?

[Yeah!]

Sounds like your shock just needs a rebuild, which is something that all shocks need periodically. Send it to Specialized and get it rebuilt.

[SB]

Yeah, the Stumpy is a nice bike, particularly if you put some 650b wheels on it. The downside is the Spec proprietary crap like a design that can only use one kind of shock(theirs).

I would check over at PUSH, I am bettin' they can rebuild it.

[creaky fossil]

Isn't "the Brain" just a made-for-Specialized external platform (low-speed compression damping apparatus)? It's still a Fox shock guts, isn't it?

I'm not one who's keen on proprietary stuff, but in the case of those Brain-equipped bikes, my reflexive thought is to keep it proprietary and optimize what they give you.

I'd call the guys at PUSH, so make that 3 of us suggesting it.

[toast2266]

The brain is just a low speed compression lockout that gets kicked out of the way when the bike hits a bump. It's not that much different than an extra heavy propedal setting that has the added capability of turning itself on and off automatically. I don't think there would be any problem putting a "normal" shock on there.

according to this:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...sp?sid=10SJFSR
that bike takes a 7.875 x 1.9 shock. That's not a standard size, but I'm assuming that a 7.875 x 2 would fit without issues. It'll be easy to pick up an RP23 in that size off of ebay.

edit: that's said with the caveat that different shocks come with different tunes, and it might be tricky figuring out what tune is ideal for the stumpy.

[Boomer28]

I had it serviced at the beginning of the season and am really just getting tired of it in many ways. I was hoping to ditch the brain component and swap out the Fox air shock. It is a weird size for sure, 7.875 x 2 would probably work though I should run it by my LBS. Getting to late in the season to be blowing coin on the bike but maybe this spring I'll consider.

[300hp]

you should actually measure the shock i2i and stroke. Trek said that the remedy used a 8.00x2.25 shock, and when you actually measured it, it is a standard 7.87x2.25. If you can get the link thing to swap over, a 7.87x2.0 should work fine. Now that fox is selling those canister inserts to tune bottom out and how progressive the shock is, I suspect you could get a standard air shock to work just fine with a little fiddling.

[XtrPickels]

rludes is correct.

Some guy on MTBR had a shop order the rp23 for the evo and retrofitted it to his previously brain equipped stumpy.

I don't think a coil would be the appropriate shock regardless.