R&G Shock Tube – Review

Cost: £21.24 (as of Mar ’13)
Where From: www.shocktube.co.uk

Imust confess I’ve never given the slightest thought to my shock. Considering the job it does on your bike, that’s…….. well actually I still don’t really know what it does. In my mind it takes some of the ‘bumpy’ bits out the ride, makes the back wheel ‘springier’-er?

Actually it’s pretty integral to the workings of your machine, without it your arse will just sit on the rubber of your back wheel making further progress uncomfortable, if not impossible! So when R&G supplied me with their ‘Shock-Tube’ I kind of thought, “Do I really need this?”

Fast forward a year and I can safely say I do. I’ve put that bike through every imaginable test you could imagine. I’ve ridden it in torrential thunderstorms, snow and ice, salt encrusted winter roads, traffic filled commuter highways, race tracks, flat out European ribbons, crossed fords, through muddy green lanes, over bomb-cratered rocks, and even the Sahara desert! Through all of this my rear shock has not faltered once, and I put that down to the protection it receives from the R&G Shock Tube. Even after a bang so severe it cracked my rear sub-frame, the shock has gone on working perfectly. I put that down to the incredible protection it receives from the ‘Shocktube‘.

Fitting

Essentially it’s a simple piece of kit. A waterproof bit of material that you wrap around your rear shock and secure in place with velcro and cable ties. Simple eh! And it works. Fitting takes a matter of minutes and can be done with the shock still in-situ on the bike. The kit comes with everything you need, simply wrap the main tube around your shock, secure the bottom around the base drawing the cable tie tight, then pull the top around the top of your shock and secure the cable tie tightly. This holds the whole ‘Shock Tube’ in place and you simply push the velcroed ends together – job done!

That really is it, you have to do nothing else except trim off the excess cable ties to make it look neat. Even I can do that.

Conclusion

I Can’t recommend the ‘Shocktube‘ enough folks. It’s easy to fit, absolutely zero hassle to live with, and it’s incredible value for money. 5 stars from me.

[box style=’media’] Below is a vid (not mine) that shows a ‘Shocktube‘ being removed after 2yrs use. [/box]