Cove Shocker. Worth the $$$?

[jacko13]

Hey all.

Thinking about my next Dh bike, and i have thought of heaps and heaps of bikes.
But i can get a cove shocker frame at half price, brand new. SO has anyone on here ran one for a while.I'im not really intrested in what you have to say if you carpark tested it. But if anyone has ridden one for a while and could outline the frames strengths and weakness's then id be very happy

Thanks in advance

Jack

 

[jrewing]

Think Connor Fearon.

 

[big dan]

ive done 3 seasons on a shocker now and its been easily the best rig ive owned.

pros - very durable, good geo although some may like a tad lower BB, really like the supension action in tech stuff, really stable feeling rig that still jumps well ( even if i dont)

cons - not a lightweight, maxle can come loose

Ive only changed a couple of bearings in all that time as well.

Pricey but it is still made in BC so it is comparable in price to other low volume, made in nth america frames like intense.

oh yeah, as was metioned connor fearon goes pretty quick on one.....so did Steve Smith when he was on cove

 

[Blythy]

Well i must say once again jack...cove bike modells have the coolest names...so get it! haha

 

[hucker-for-life]

ive ridden connors a few times and it rides super sturdy and nice, connors pritty stoked on it aswell

 

[ben_rides_a_bike]

Dude, just get anything, your gunna get something awesome either way

 

[jacko13]

Dude, just get anything, your gunna get something awesome either way

yeah, but i want something that rides well, with a good spec. that wont make me entirely broke.
its a hard mix but the cove might do it.

thanks everyone for pointing out that conner rides a cove.

conner, how do they ride ?

 

[Reubs]

cons - not a lightweight, maxle can come loose

I think the way the rear brake hose runs through the shock mounting on the downtube is a massive con. If you need to remove the brake for some reason then you have to undo the hose and rebleed.

 

[jacko13]

I think the way the rear brake hose runs through the shock mounting on the downtube is a massive con. If you need to remove the brake for some reason then you have to undo the hose and rebleed.

couldnt you take the shock out?

 

[backdoor]

couldnt you take the shock out?

Yeah, if you wanted to do it the easy way.

Have been giving these some serious consideration myself. What sort of average weights are we looking at built up? Decent build, nothing too chunky, much like that pictured.

 

[Cloaked STP]

Do it.

I got mine for a steal about a year ago and I have had to change and bitch and post on these forums about it but I finally have it the way I like. If only the parts that were on the frame could survive.

Weight: Around 18.5 KGs

Spec List
Frame: Medium Cove Shocker
Forks: 07 Boxxer Teams
Shock: 07 DHX5 - Tekin Tuned
Handlebars: RaceFace Atlas FR 785MM
Brakes: Elixer Rs 8 inch F&R
Grips: ODI Ruffians
Stem: Sunline Boxxer Direct Mount
Cranks: Holzfeller
Pedals: AtomLab Trail Kings
Rims: Front - Sun Rims Rhyno Light | Rear - MTX 31
Shifter: X9
Derailler: X9
Tyres: Minions DHF 2.5
Tubes: Maxxis FR

Thats her when I first picked her up.

She looks a bit different now.

The Ride...

Corners: Get ready for speed, yes speed, if you stay off the brakes and old it wide open through a berm you will come out the other side faster then you went in without thorwing down a pedal stroke. Flat corners are a alot of fun.... once you get used to it. It lets go lets you slide for a bit and then brings it back in, I like to think of it like this... WOO, OH SHIT, WOOOO!!!

Straights: Accelerates and Accelerates... and ACCELERATES.

Bumps and Hits: Smal bumps, BOOST EM. Big hits sucks em up.

Jumps: The bike loves them, even though I am scared shitless of them. Follow someone in for a speed check and the Shocker will take care of the rest.

The only thing I will say is a downside, but not really. The bottom bracket is kinda low, it forces you to learn to ride smoothly and boost off of small hits to avoid big rocks.

If your in Sydney your welcome to have a ride of mine.

PS: removing the shock is pretty easy 2 bolts. Done.

 

[jacko13]

nah im in victoria, thanks for the informative post mate!
its my best option at the moment theres a few others but i reckon the shockers the go, only heard good things about them.

the other bikes im looking at are a santa cruz, 2010 demo, and a yeti if one come up for the right price.

you have trouble getting mech hangers ro anything like that?

 

[Cloaked STP]

nah im in victoria, thanks for the informative post mate!
its my best option at the moment theres a few others but i reckon the shockers the go, only heard good things about them.

the other bikes im looking at are a santa cruz, 2010 demo, and a yeti if one come up for the right price.

you have trouble getting mech hangers ro anything like that?

I have been a bit indecisive with the Shocker and the guys I ride with have had to convince me to keep it a number of times, but jsut the weekend past I rode Stromlo and Thredbo and only just realised how much I really like the bike. I got the shits that I blew the seals on my forks but thats about it.

Personally if I could get a brand new bike it would either be a Shocker or the Yeti.

Steve Smith pinned it on one, never should of left Cove.
Tyler Moreland pinned it on one.

I heart my Shocker.

http://www.covebike.com/bikes/shocker.html

 

[big dan]

nah im in victoria, thanks for the informative post mate!
its my best option at the moment theres a few others but i reckon the shockers the go, only heard good things about them.

the other bikes im looking at are a santa cruz, 2010 demo, and a yeti if one come up for the right price.

you have trouble getting mech hangers ro anything like that?

Adam at southshore normally has them in stock but if not CRC generally do or you can just ring cove direct in vancouver. Adam usually has spare decal sets etc as well.

 

[Cloaked STP]

Gotta say as well, I emailed Rick (I think that who it was) or Adam (Maybe?) from Cove about a replacement Shock Link and were more then happy to help me out.

Was fantastic customer service and got me sorted.

 

[andy]

The only thing I will say is a downside, but not really. The bottom bracket is kinda low, it forces you to learn to ride smoothly and boost off of small hits to avoid big rocks.

If your in Sydney your welcome to have a ride of mine.

PS: removing the shock is pretty easy 2 bolts. Done.

Interesting that you find it low. As big Dan said in his post, some may find it that they would like it lower. (I would say that between these two posts it probably indicates that they got it just right). My Turner Dhr definitatly rides lower than the Cove, but I think this isn't actually a good thing. The things I love about the shockers are: The way for a large long bike it can ride quite compact. Big Dan rides a large, at 178cm I usually find that his bikes are way too big for me, but I can jump on the shocker and rip nearly as hard as I do on my Turner straight away. The shocker is also awesome in steeps and jumps, it seems really easy to move around the bike and in the steeps it seems to drop away from the rider never putting you in over your head.

 

[Cloaked STP]

Interesting that you find it low. As big Dan said in his post, some may find it that they would like it lower. (I would say that between these two posts it probably indicates that they got it just right). My Turner Dhr definitatly rides lower than the Cove, but I think this isn't actually a good thing. The things I love about the shockers are: The way for a large long bike it can ride quite compact. Big Dan rides a large, at 178cm I usually find that his bikes are way too big for me, but I can jump on the shocker and rip nearly as hard as I do on my Turner straight away. The shocker is also awesome in steeps and jumps, it seems really easy to move around the bike and in the steeps it seems to drop away from the rider never putting you in over your head.

Interesting, although seeing as though my only other exeperience with a DH bike is a 05 DH Comp I may not be the best person to ask.

The reason I said it was low is because if I try to follow epople on other bikes I usually end up hitting my bash guard or my BB forcing me to pick a smoother line.

And your right, for its length it does get very flcikable in the tight stuff and you can also lean it in so much even Rossi would get jealous.

 

[ando_freeagent]

Mate the cove shocker is easily one of the best bikes ive ridden, i run a medium frame and im 175cm. very stable at high and low speed. sticks to corners like its on rails. bb could be the tiniest lower but it doesnt bother me, it rides every bump so well.

very happy with mine

 

[condog]

G'day mate,
I have ridden the Cove shocker for a few seasons now and really could not be happier with it. They pedal great, smash thorugh rocks like a knife through butter and corner amazingly! The only real con that i can think of is the weight. Although i have my new one at 18kg with alot of weight to loose. The rear brake cable and gear cable running through the shockmount is no problem at all, it takes me all of 1 minute to undo the bolts and presto the cables are out. You deffinately dont ned to re-bleed the brakes, whoever said that ? Not once have i ever had to replace a bearing or bushing in the frame, neither has a bolt come loose. The rear end is VERY stiff which i think you can really notice smashing though offcamber sections etc...
Please dont take this as "sponsor talk" because its not. Im sure anybody who has ridden these would back me up on this.
P.S. if your at threbo this week end id be more than happy to give you a ride on mine!
Connor.