January 28, 2022

First Impressions

After installing the Smashpot into my ZEB, the first thing I noticed was the incredible off the top plushness. One of the main drawbacks of air springs in suspension forks is the initial stiction and force needed to initiate the stroke, which is completely negated when you install a coil spring. This translates to incredibly smooth off the top performance out on the trail with an increased ability to absorb braking bumps and chunky sections of trial while providing oodles of traction.

I am a huge fan of coil sprung forks due to their incredible ability to smooth out the chunk on the trail and the phenomenal front wheel traction they provide, and the Smashpot is no different.

While out on the trail, there is a noticeable overall increase in compliance due to the reduction in stiction compared to the stock air spring. Many people notice a similar change when they switch from an air shock to a coil shock in that they notice a calmer rear end over choppy and technical terrain, so you can see how adding that to the front end would create a very stable and compliant bike as well.

Not only does this system feel great off the top, but it also has a progression knob that was mentioned in the installation section that will help add some ramp to the fork which is relatively unique for a coil sprung fork conversion kit. It adds a bit of complexity during the assembly of the components of the kit, but it's worth it out on the trail. 

The only negatives that come to mind after installing and riding with this kit is really the added weight of the coil kit compared to the stock air spring, although if you are considering this as an upgrade you probably aren't extremely concerned about weight in the first place. For some, the added weight is worth the tradeoff for increased compliance and a calmer ride down the chunky stuff, and I personally really enjoy the feeling of coil forks and shocks on my longer travel bikes.

Read the full article here: https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/vorsprung-smashpot-install-first-impressions