Rear shock adaptors?

[WD Pro]

will need some measurements:
+ eye to eye for the swinger
+ the diameter of the holes on each end of the shock

the nice thing about modern shocks is that they only need to be at about 2.75:1 ratio for an 856 - modern buikes use much harsher ratios for travel.

one small problem is that the 97 and 856 bikes might need the bottom of the seatpost chopped off.  Both mine are already chopped (so I can't test fit) because we used to sell long travel kits that needed every mm of room for the 5" of wheel travel!  I rode a 5" travel 856 for years - the UK bike journalists at the time said "No one needs 5" on an XC bike".  hmmm.  my Orange 5 has 5" of travel and it is considered 'normal' nowadays!

callum

tell me more about the long travel kit ...

I am about to have my 856 powder coated so now would be a good time to mod the frame  

[jeffhop]

sammydog i was just wondering if it would be possible for you to weld a couple of plates onto your mount to square it off so there was no chance of the shock ever compressing sideways after a bad hit and bending everything? thats always been my idea but i never got round to it.

[jonski]

Any new news on this project?  I'm anxiously awaiting someone to come up with an adapter for my 856.

[DugB]

If you're looking to weld plates on the top and bottom of the strut top to form an eyelet mount then an 855/955 strut might be your best bet...they have less of a protrusion for the strut-to-shock through-bolt than the 756/856 one does because the former doesn't use the conical interface. I thought this might be a nice idea, but you may be a little limited by the eyelet widths found on available shocks.

I did finish my adaptor, but mainly as a mockup...I'm not a machinist, and would love to send it to someone who could better it for production, possibly in 7075? Mine is steel, and very rough.

Thoughts?
- Doug :-)

[fyrstormer]

I thought of a design like this before, but I was concerned that it was going to put shear forces on the bolt and the pivot that the pivot wasn't designed to handle. After all, the pivots are designed to rotate to keep the compressive force transmitted parallel to the length of the shock, and while well-lubricated lower strut bushings should do that properly, I for one had to fight with my strut bushings for a couple of years before I got them to rotate as smoothly as I wanted them to.

Has anyone figured out yet how to make sure the shock doesn't snap off at the pivot in case of a hard landing? And what about mounting shocks that have external nitrogen/valve canisters that need to be pointed in a certain direction to work properly, like the Swingers? I don't think it will work right if the canister is rotated 90 degrees like the brackets in this thread require.

[PF flyer]

Doug,   I feel sure I can fix you up.

[shovelon]

Doug,   I feel sure I can fix you up.

Do Tell!  Do Tell!

[whisperdancer]

Doug,   I feel sure I can fix you up.

Yes, tell us all!!
I have the same problem as Doug.
I've been trying to get a spare rear strut for a x57 bike, but with no sucess...

[PF flyer]

Well I'm a machinist and a Pro Flex rider but I only have experience with elastomers and ODS shocks so far. I 'm sure I can help you out with adapters I would just need your dimensions, details, drawings, pictures and ideas on the more modern shocks.

[jonski]

any updates?

[Coops]

Hello all. I’m not sure I will receive a reply,  in view of only a decade slipping by.....but I have an 857 in need of a means to replace the. Noleen NR2 rear shock. Did anyone finalise a cunning plan please?

[DugB]

Hey!

I think a bunch of us are still connected to the forum...but I also see a lot of the same names on the K2/Proflex rider group on Facebook.

My recommendation would be to look in the Files section of this forum for any drawings you can take to a machinist. The Noleen shock is still available, as are Risse air shocks, for the rear of the 857. Folks have also experimented with a shock eyelet adaptor that, because it rotates the lower eyelet of a standard shock 90 degrees, had linear rigidity to it. I bet you'll find some photos of it in the Media section.

My recommendation would be to go with the Noleen or Risse.

- Doug :-)

[Coops]

Thanks Doug. I am still learning to navigate the site via iPhone, which is a pain. I did get a guy called Christian from Simply Bearings try to help (a company mentioned in some ancient blogs) but he needs seal dimensions from the shock, which I thought was an NR2, but maybe NR1? (It has the conical lower insert). If I fail with media 😂 I may ask someone to strip the shock and try to measure the internals. I have a friend in engineering if any patterns for adapters show up. I’ve had the bike from new, so would be nice to get it working again. Thanks for the response.

[spikebender]

Nollen is still in business. You can send it in to be re-built or sometimes you can find rebuild kits on ebay