Shorter-stroke shock on my bike?

Hi Lee, i need help from you.

i have a damaged 8inch I2I shock with 2.75 stroke that is sent back for warranty claim from my mongoose black diamond triple.
so my pal say he have a same 8inch i2I xfusion shock with 2 inch stroke sitting around that he can lend it to me.
cos due to the I2I is the same but shock stroke is different, can i still use it? wat kind of problems will i face?

we were debating whether i will lose some travel as the result of the stroke difference, but we cant figure out how much lost in the end. due to the fact that the shock is in a different states, i hope you can enlighten me before i spend so money in shipping the shock in.
thanks!

myk

Hey,

Yes, the shorter stroke will shorten your travel. With a 2.75-inch shock stroke, your bike has an adjustable 6.7 or 7.5 inches of travel. With the 2-inch stroke shock, the bike will get 4.9 or 5.5 inches of travel.

If you decide to try the shorter shock, you will need a significantly stiffer spring (about 40% stiffer) to keep from plowing through the shorter travel and bottoming hard. Also, your valving will be off. Chances are the shorter shock will feel terrible. Not to mention it can be a real pain to find the right spacers, etc., to mount a different brand of shock.

You see, bike frames and shocks are designed to work together. The guys at the companies know what they’re doing. If I were you, I would not try this experiment — especially if you have to pay for it.

— Lee