Factory developed Redshift MX suspension shim stack specs (UPDATED)

[Philip]

I realized that not many people have read my long Re-springing a 2017 Alta Redshift MX (and then revalving too) thread. In case you missed it, Alta's factory MX team has developed updated suspension specs for the MX model. They shared it with me, and they said it was okay to share it with other Alta owners.

Top Secret, Declassified 3/29/2021:

Shim specs:
Alta MX Team damping shims.xlsx

Springs:
Alta Redshift MX Suspension Springs.xlsx

 

[Larry Wolfe]

Please send it to me... I need help with my soft forks. thanks smracetires@gmail.com

 

[Butch]

Please send it to me again... I did this to my '17 MX and it works way better than my '18 EX. I presume thw applicarion is the same.
Larry, did you do this to an EX?

 

[Jon]

Please send it to me again... I did this to my '17 MX and it works way better than my '18 EX. I presume thw applicarion is the same.
Larry, did you do this to an EX?

Same question:

Would this stack work on an EX? I need to do fork seals, and figured I could valve it while I'm in there.

 

[Philip]

Same question:

Would this stack work on an EX? I need to do fork seals, and figured I could valve it while I'm in there.

Yes, it would work.

 

[Jon]

Awesome @Philip ! Could you PM me the stack?

Also, I've been dialing in the stock EX settings over the spring and summer. Got it running pretty good but a blew a fork seal, so I figured I should do valves and springs while I'm in there. Plus, the front rebound clicker is all the way in and I'm still getting bounce, so valves seem like a good thing to do. The fluid has 45 hours on it so I'm sure that is roasted, which could be part of it.

Quick question then on springs: I've pretty comfortable with how my rear is set up, but to get it there I've had to almost max out the preload. If I have lots of preload, would it make sense to go to a stiffer spring? Would I also need stiffer fork springs to match? Also, take the race sag number below with a grain of salt. I set it to 100mm a while ago with a friend, but he was doing the measuring.

Relevant specs:
2018 EX
Rider: 190 with all gear
Bike: 260-ish (all lights/street hardware removed, bathroom scale read 260-265 right before it broke)
Front sag: How are you measuring this?
Front springs: No idea
Rear static sag: 36mm
Rear race sag: 85mm [update: 100mm... got my sag measuring technique sorted]
Rear spring: WP 60-260 (60N/mm 260mm, right?)

 

[Jon]

So I ended up re-springing and re-valving the front forks on the EX with the factory developed MX stack. Thanks @Philip. No other internal fork mods, just a new shim stack, springs, and oil height for the front...

Wow, what a change! The bike feels totally different, and all in a good way. Naturally it feels stiffer with the new springs, and it is a little bit rougher ride than stock. However, the high speed compression still soaks up most the the chop and sharp edge hits, but the low speed compression doesn't bottom out and can actually ride whoops without diving the front. For reference, I'm riding fast and flowy single track pretty aggressively... more Enduro/GNCC than trail. Started with the clickers in the "factory" position (11 out on both) and only had to add a few click of rebound to get it set. I can't believe the EX didn't come with this setup...

The rear still feels OK, but subjectively a little soft compared to the front. Based on my sag numbers, I'm still at an OK rate, but I've had to use almost all the preload adjustment to get there. Minor changes to the clickers in the rear as I was getting bucked a little with the new fork setup. Will probably revalve/respring the rear one of these days when time and money allow.