Upgrading the suspension on your mountain bike is one of the best things bicycle shock absorber  you can do to breathe new life into your bike. Whether it is a fork or rear shock, you will be amazed at the technology these days in suspension, and how having a quality product gives you the confidence to shred harder than ever before. And let’s not forget to talk about the smile it can put on your face! When looking to upgrade the rear shock on your mountain bike, it may be overwhelming to know exactly what size shock you need, which kind of shock will fit on your bike, and also which shock will perform best on your specific bike.

Here in this blog we are going to cover all of these questions and more.A shock that measures 210 x 55 means that the shock is 210 millimeters long and uses a 55mm stroke. The length of the shock is measured from eyelet to eyelet, while the stroke of the shock is the amount the shock can physically compress. One thing to keep in mind here is that shocks that are the same eye to eye length may come with different stroke lengths. The most important thing is to make sure you get the correct length and stroke shock for your bike. It’s important to note that just because two different bikes have the same rear travel (150mm for example), doesn’t mean they always have the same stroke lengths.

So what works for one bike might be very different on another bike. Along with shock sizing from eye to eye and stroke length, you also need to know your frame mounting width, which is normally sized by shock hardware. Shock hardware adds another element to getting the new rear shock installed on your bike. For a rear shock, you have to match up the top and bottom for the shock mounting hardware. There are no standards and every brand chooses what they think works best with their design.

So what’s usually best is to either look at the brand’s website or contact the manufacturer to get the correct shock hardware. If you are upgrading your shock but with the same brand, you can often use the same shock hardware as long as it's not super beat up or worn out. So Fox shock to new Fox shock, you can use the same hardware, and same with RockShox or other brands. There is also a Trunnion style shock mount, which normally does not use hardware on the top, but bolts directly to the bike. That is a certain type of shock and while you do not need hardware up top, you do need to get a Trunnion style shock if that is what your bike is designed around.