ND Tuned are an independent suspension company from Portugal. They are one of the largest suspension service centres in Europe, but have more recently become known for their up and coming high performance dampers, such as their DH2XRC3 rear shock. We first heard about the DH2XRC3 rear shock from a top Portuguese rider that we supported back in 2014 - Multiple Portuguese National Champion Francisco Pardal. Francisco was running ND Tuned's DH2XRC3 shock for the year, and we couldn't wait to get our hands on one after we saw it!
Weighing in at just 359g for size 8.75" x 2.75", the DH2XRC3 shock is by far the lightest coil sprung rear shock on the market! Here at Ti-Springs.com we're all about saving weight - But we were sceptical as to how ND Tuned could produce such a lightweight shock that performed and would hold up to the forces that downhill bikes put through shocks.
The main reason the DH2XRC3 shock is so light is that almost the entire shock is made from 7075 and 7050 aluminium. The shock body has been completely CNC'd reducing material wherever possible, before being anodised a lovely gold colour - Not too dissimilar to the gold colour of our anodised titanium springs and bolts. Many shocks on the market are made from heavier metals including steel - While ND Tuned could reduce costs and produce a heavier shock they have decided to put performance first and create the lightest coil rear shock on the market.
When we received the shock through the post, we were impressed straight away. ND Tuned have created a beautiful bespoke cardboard box for their shock, which sits perfectly in a laser cut away foam block. Within the box there is also a compression adjustment tool, anodised in a nice blue colour. The shock features high and low speed rebound and compression adjustment and uses a high performance oil.
Mounting the shock to our bike was easy and Nuno Duarte - The owner and founder of ND Tuned had already setup the shock for us - Assembling a custom shim stack to suit our test bike (Santa Cruz V10 CC) and our 80kg rider. We fitted one of our 550lbs x 2.75" (35mm ID) Race Ti Springs to the shock for a seriously light setup!
Once the shock was mounted, one of the first things we noticed was how supple the shock was off the top of it's stroke. It is very important on a downhill bike that the shock is supple, as it helps absorb the small bumps - keeping your wheels on the ground to find grip. A shock which isn't supple will require more force to break into it's travel and therefore won't feel as planted over small bumps or rough terrain. This can cause the bike to loose grip and can fatigue the rider out more quickly.
If you would like to order an ND Tuned DH2XRC3 shock, head over to www.ndtuned.com
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