In this article I’m going to delve into the best rear shocks for cross country riding. The list turned out to be a rather varied one.
It’s interesting to learn that unlike front suspension, the gamut of riding conditions for rear shocks is larger. Not only are there many more sizes, since a shock needs to fit a particular frame, true XC-oriented dampers are rare indeed, with most manufacturers offering both the XC and trail category designation.
The shocks featured here are inline shocks, without a separate housing (piggyback) for the IFP (Internal Floating Piston) and damper charge. The non-piggyback design is often associated with bikes which are used for non-downhill purposes (e.g. XC and trail).
This design is less able to deal with heat buildup, and compromised damper characteristics because of them. The lower volume of damper fluid is less able to absorb and dissipate heat.
Normally XC and trail do not feature extended pieces of hard and rough downhill where the risk of heat buildup and damper fade is highest, making the lighter and smaller inline construction more attractive.
The shocks featured here are pretty diverse, in terms of weight, price adjustability, and preferred usage. Going from lockout and rebound minimalism to full 4-way adjustability. So let’s see what made it into my overview of the rear shocks for cross country.
Cane Creek Air IL
The Cane Creek Air IL (Inline) is a very expensive multi-functional rear shock, ready to take you anywhere from XC, to trail, to enduro racing.
An absolute gorgeous piece of machinery, the black shock with gold finishes offers 4-way adjustment enabling to finetune the setup for the aforementioned variety in riding environments. That’s both high- and low-speed compression, and high- and low-speed rebound. Dialing in your settings is done with an allen key. No blue and red knobs mar the sleek design of the damper, creating this unique but ultra-cool design.
All that adjustability is great. You probably never need a custom tune to get to the right settings. But more options does mean higher complexity, so patience is advised when you get to the setting that’s right for you.
Included in the package is the option to mount the OPT climb switch or lockout lever, also in black with gold touches.
For those willing to spend the money on a shock you get unrivaled external adjustability. It’s amazing that they could fit all that technology in such a small package, making it both the most expensive and heaviest inline shock I could find.
It truly is a better, better-looking, more adjustable, more complex, heavier, more expensive shock than all other inline shocks out there. It’s basically more everything that will create a perfect riding experience in the right hands. Plush of-the-top, sensitive mid-stroke support, and stable and controllable traction even when the going gets tough.
For an inline damper, the valve body is huge at 50.5 mm. It means more oil volume, and less heat buildup to virtually negate fading on prolonged downhill sections.
- The best inline shock on the market. Offering the widest range of adjustability for the widest range of ride characteristics.
- The most expensive and heaviest inline damper I could find.
Manitou Mara
With RockShox and Fox dominating the suspension space, there’s very little room for other brands to shine, even though they make excellent products. The Manitou Mara is one of those products, offering a great-looking damper with an angry-looking buddhist demon onto an aerospace-grade aluminum chassis.
Looks are great, but the least important for ride-quality. In terms of offering an excellent ride experience, the Manitou Mara is an tremendously capable rear shock, offering a very different feel from the super lightweight SIDLuxe.
It’s super supple off-the-top, goes really easy into its initial travel, yet still offers fantastic support and spring progression due to what Manitou calls IPA or Incremental Platform Adjust damping. I guess it’s another buzzword from the sales department, to denote two different shim stacks operating on high- and low-speed compression while you progress through your travel. It’s something you only find on premium shocks and you find it on the Mara.
Calling this thing an XC shock is interesting to say the least. It is an inline damper (meaning no enlarged oil volume with the help of a “piggyback”), so technically it could fade faster when used extensively on harsh downhill terrain. But it really doesn’t, making it a trail-worthy companion besides a burly XC damper.
Unlike many of its competitors it has 4 low-speed compression adjustments instead of 2 or 3. And Manitou decided it would be a good thing to switch the traditional blue and red colors for compression and rebound, which is more quirky than impactful.
- XC shock that feels worthy enough for trail riding
- None really
RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate
RockShox absolutely dominates the XC scene, so it’s no wonder that the field is awash with riders mounting the RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate as their preferred rear shock. So if you deem yourself a worthy cross-country competitor, or you simply want the very best there is in terms of rear suspension, the SIDLuxe Ultimate might be the right choice.
The popularity of this shock is undeniable, with a plethora of sizes both in standard and Trunnion version. And in true XC fashion, at 231 grams, it’s one of the lightest shocks as well. A natural companion to the RockShox SID Ultimate front suspension, it makes for a lightweight suspension setup indeed.
The shock is available with a 3-position lever or with a 2-position remote compatible with TwistLoc and OneLoc lockout levers.
Then onto the performance of one of the youngest entries in the rear shock department. A 230 gram shock is about as light as they come, and removing the external rebound adjuster mechanism is one way of weight reduction, meaning you’ll need your trusted 2.5mm hex key to adjust it.
To protect the lightweight shock, RockShox installed a bottom out bumper with a corresponding cupped seal head. I’ve been surprised by XC courses where some parts are nothing short of rooty tech trails demanding the most from your suspension, and this setup ensures the use of full travel with a reduced risk of shock damage. No more clunking noise when bottoming out results in a more pleasant riding experience.
Air tokens can be installed to configure the air spring, and are kept into place with a set screw. A little home mechanic skills are necessary since this configuration is done internally and demands the removal of the air sleeve.
The promise of the SIDLuxe and its new damper (it has the same air spring) is that it offers the riders firmness when climbing and control when descending, in a package supporting various damper tunes.
The SIDLuxe Ultimate is a damper made available to the public as a separate purchase (not OEM installed), and as such is being offered with bling silver or blue decals to match the fork.
- Incredibly light and super-straightforward true XC damper
- You'd want a little more mid-stroke support and finetuning for trail riding. Refined tuning is done internally (custom tune)
RockShox Deluxe Ultimate
Covering a much broader range than the SIDLuxe for a much lower price, the RockShox Deluxe Ultimate offers versatility and external tunability right of the bat.
By moving away from being lightweight as the top requirement, RockShox could decide to add the 3-dial low-speed compression adjuster, which sits underneath the lockout lever. The effect it has on your riding is that it doesn’t impact the shocks ability to let the rear wheel track the ground at high speed, but it does provide you with the ability to negate rider input better, which equates to less pedal bob.
To make the two types of compression, high and low-speed, feel really distinct, the Deluxe borrows technology for the bigger Super Deluxe chassis to prevent oil flowing back through the compression adjuster during either compression or rebound.
Overall the newer style damper, with a larger diameter shaft, bigger air can with thicker walls, offers better consistency, better sealing, higher durability because of less flex and accompanying wear on the piston. All-in-all a great damper.
- Reasonably priced XC and trail shock with allround great characteristics
- Refined tuning is done internally (custom tune)
Fox FLOAT DPS Factory
The Fox FLOAT DPS (Dual Piston System) Factory is undeniably one of the ultimate XC and trail dampers worth your money. And you’ll need quite a lot of it to pay for the Kashima coated beauty.
The dual piston setup enables Fox to ensure a high level of compression adjustment in combination with a firm lockout, by applying both functions to separate circuits. It means there’s far less if any compromise between the two. For XC it means a very sensitive shock can exist besides a rock-hard lockout for climbing and sprinting.
I don’t know exactly why the air receives the same Kashima coat treatment as the damper body, unless the air sleeve is also coated on the inside with the stuff. What I do know is that the coating both hardens and smoothens the body, by filling in microscopic gaps in the anodization.
All this plushness is further enhanced by a large volume EVOL negative air chamber that serves to offer pressure for the initial downstroke (e.g. when you hit a bump and the shock needs to compress). Fox is at the top of their game when it comes to rear shock suppleness. Relatively small volume spacers let you add to the progressive nature of the shock without impacting its compression adjustment too much.
The same adjustability is offered as the RockShox Deluxe with 3 settings for low-speed compression (firm, medium, open), besides the lockout lever and rebound adjuster. Should you decide to install the remote version, you’ll only get a remote-operated lockout lever that removes the low-speed compression.
XC has moved from 100mm to 120mm of front suspension travel and Fox 34 vs Fox 32’s and this DPS shock is a fantastic companion for both aggressive cross country riders and trail enthusiasts.
- Incredibly supple high quality shock which is firm enough for XC and offer enough support for trail riding
- A lot more expensive than the RockShox alternative. Remote version disables low-speed compression adjustment
Specifications rear shocks for cross country
Name | Price | standard imperial sizes | standard metric sizes | Trunnion metric sizes | adjustability | damper | air spring | weight | buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cane Creek Air IL | 630 USD | N/A | 190×42.5, 190×45, 210×50, 210×52.5, 210×55 | 165×40, 165×42.5, 165×45, 185×50, 185×52.5, 185×55 | High-speed compression & rebound. Low speed compression & rebound. Climb Switch. | 385 | |||
Manitou Mara | 475 USD | N/A | 170×30, 170×35, 190×40, 190×45, 210×50, 210×55, 230×60, 230×65, 216×63, 200×56, 200×50, 190×50, 165×38, 152×32 | 165×40, 165×45, 185×50, 185×55, 205×60, 205×65 | External Adjustments: Compression Platform Rebound Air-Pressure Internal User Tuning: Air Volume (Spring Rate), Shim Stack External Tuning: High Speed Compression, Low Speed Compression | IPA | 275 | ||
RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate | 450 USD | N/A | 170×27.5, 170×30, 170×32.5, 170×35, 190×37.5, 190×40, 190×42.5, 190×45, 210×47.5, 210×50 | 145×27.5, 145×30 145×32.5, 145×35, 165×37.5, 165×40, 165×42.5, 165×45, 185×47.5, 185×50 | open, firm lever rebound | RL, RLR | 231 | ||
RockShox Deluxe Ultimate | 399 USD | N/A | 170×35, 190×37.5, 190×40, 190×42.5, 190×45, 210×47.5, 210×50, 210×52.5, 210×55, 230×57.5, 230×60, 230×62.5, 230×65 | 165×37.5, 165×40, 165×42.5, 165×45, 185×47.5, 185×50, 185×52.5, 185×55, 205×50, 205×57.5, 205×60, 205×62.5, 205×65, | open, firm lever 3-click low-speed compression rebound | RCT | DebonAir+ | 313 | |
Fox FLOAT DPS Factory | 479 USD | 6.5×1.5, 7.25×1.75, 7.5×2.0, 7.875×2.0, 7.875×2.25 (3-position lever) 6.5×1.5, 7.25×1.75, 7.5×2.0 (2-position remote) | 190×40, 190×42.5, 190×45, 210×50, 210×55 (3-position lever) | 165×40, 165×42.5, 165×45, 185×50, 185×52.5, 185×55 | open, medium, firm lever 3-click low-speed compression rebound | DPS | EVOL | 221 | |
Fox FLOAT DPS Factory | 479 USD | 6.5×1.5, 7.25×1.75, 7.5×2.0, 7.875×2.0, 7.875×2.25 (3-position lever) 6.5×1.5, 7.25×1.75, 7.5×2.0 (2-position remote) | 190×40, 190×42.5, 190×45, 210×50, 210×55 (3-position lever) | 165×40, 165×42.5, 165×45, 185×50, 185×52.5, 185×55 | open, medium, firm lever 3-click low-speed compression rebound | DPS | EVOL | 221 |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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