Cannondaleriders

I like my ohlins but have never ridden a quad with one of the three big installed, axis, elkas or peps. If your a mx or hairscramble racer like i am, is having axis shocks a big advantage over someone with ohlins with no zps.
thanks.

I take it, there is no real difference between ohlins and axis shocks then?

oh no, there is guarenteed. I rode the ohlins moto shocks for bout half a race season and now im on elkas, my elkas are like going from stock to the ohlins, all over again, just better. they are so smooth acting and sit so low and handle so well its amazing. AND axis are sopossed to be even better than the elkas..:wow

I think quality wise the ohlins are every bit as good as the others, the problem is running a factory setup instead of custom, and the lack of ZPS. Jeff@quadshop can cure that for you, he does custom valving of the Ohlins and converts them to ZPS.

I run converted Ohlins on both my Cannondales, and quadrate Elkas on my 2 EX's, I could have easily moved a set of Ohlins to the EX and ordered the Elkas for my Dale, but I stuck with the Ohlins.

I'm far from being a pro rider though.

There is a huge difference. No offense to Ohlins, but they suck compared to a high quality ZPS shock. The lower center of gravity alone makes the ZPS setup the way to go. Couple that with the valving and triple rate springs that the Axis come with and you have a winner. You will get less bounce and way better handleing.
I have used PEP, Axis, TCS, and Ohlins and the best are Axis for MX and WORCS type racing. The TCS are the best value. I have also tried Elka's but find them too soft for huge jumps, maybe the valving was just off a bit.
Do yourself a favor and step up to good shocks. It will be the best money you spend on your dale.

I agree with Jaybr; the Ohlins are a good shock, but the stock settings suck. The first change I made to my Ohlins was to get springs that were made for my weight. This made the shocks much better. I could actually feel them work! Next I had the Elka conversion done. Tripple rate fronts and dual rate rear. This made a huge improvement. The quad sits lower, handles better, and soaks up the bumps great. If you have a big budget, I'm sure the Elka, TCS, or Axis are great, but setting up the Ohlins properly makes for a really good set of shocks.

The best shock that I have used is TCS. I ran Elkas for a season, and they did not absorb the big jumps as well as I thought they could. My TCS handle the big stuff much better than the Ohlins or Elkas. I'm sold on TCS, especially for the money.
I would like to try some PEP's, but don't want to wait that long for a set.