The Shock – When you first pick up the EXT Storia, you immediately know it’s a purpose built piece of equipment. Like artwork. Like something that you would find on a Pagani Zonda….or a rally car. It’s beautifully finished with great attention to detail. You can tell EXT have paid a lot of attention to saving weight to make their coil sprung offering as light as possible. Everything is machined or drilled and the weight comes in at over 100 grams lighter than the Push ElevenSix but our 216mm shock was well over their ( 200mm ) claimed weight of 620 grams….. But you don’t purchase an 800 Euro coil shock to save weight, you buy it for it’s performance. So, how did it do………..

With a riding trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, I was very excited to take this shock though its paces on some of the world’s best single track and put it head to head with my very own $1200 USD yard stick, the Push Industries ElevenSix.

The test mule, my 2016 Santa Cruz Nomad. I have spent 1 year on this bike and have had various air and coil shocks to gauge the EXT Storia’s performance against. I have spent the most amount of time on a Fox Float X2, my favorite of the air shocks but the X2 does take a lot of trial and error to get well setup. Not the Storia, it is genius out of the box.

Mounting the Storia was a simple affair. The shock comes with their own clevery machined DU bushings and spacer kit which is the best standard bushings I have used. In the past I have had a lot a issues with the shock pivots binding which reduces shock performance incredibly ( it’s well worth checking if yours are friction free ). The EXT bushings are excellent. All metal and smooth as. I almost always immediately switch out the bushings for needle rollers from RWC, but no need this time. Top marks EXT.

A quick sag check to ensure I was on 30% and the 400lbs spring was ideal for my 160lbs lanky frame. EXT offer their own springs in 25lbs increments and are renowned for being very accurate with their spring rates. Perfect seeing that getting the correct spring and sag setup is crucial. EXT Storia recommend just 2mm of preload so getting your spring rate correct is imperative.

Clickers, Adjusters, Dials – The EXT Storia features tool free rebound, tool free low speed compression, tool free ‘LOK’ climb switch and a High Speed Compression adjuster that requires a 12mm open end spanner……….Gah, requiring a 12mm open end spanner is a nightmare for fine tuning on the trail as literally nobody rides with one and due to the shape of the tool free LSC adjuster, you can’t get a socket or a ring spanner on the HSC. A fairly minor gripe but something EXT may look to refine for future iterations.

Carpark Test – Some shocks you can get pretty close to dialed in the carpark but similar to BOS you need to be on the hill and pointing the right direction to get a feel for the Storia. The rebound has no real feedback in the carpark when going from open to close and the compression clickers just offer a slightly different odd squishing sound. The Storia is quite a noisy shock. Not annoyingly so but you can certainly hear the magic happening inside.

On The Trail – Climbing to the trail head at low speeds the Storia feels………. normal. In the open setting it doesn’t wallow or bob excessively and offers ample traction on techy climbs. Closing the climb switch gives it a similar feel to the Cane Creek’s lock out. Once the shock settles into it’s sag it tends to hold fairly stiff until it gets a big hit which it will blow through. You can stand and crank it locked out for punchy road climbs and it holds pretty firm.

Descending – This is where the Storia shines. You immediately feel like you are riding on a golf course once you point it down a slope. This Shock’s small bump sensitivity is second to none. It has an incredibly ‘cushiony’ feel that is certainly welcome as I often find my feet get bounced around on flat pedals in the gnar. It remains poised and in control and leaves you wishing you had hit the brakes a little earlier into corners due to the extra speed.

Accurately describing how something ‘feels’ is quite difficult. If you have ever ridden a fresh suspension product from RockShox you will find they fell very good for general riding. I call this the ‘consumer feel’. Ultra comfy for 80% of the riders but once you start to push them to the limit, they can feel a touch underdone. The Storia has this cushy ‘consumer feel’ but never becomes overwhelmed. It seems to get better the harder you push it. It recovers well and the feel remains fairly* consistent on 20+ minute 30 degree C descents. *As the oil warmed it felt slightly more plush but never felt like I was running out of damping. The reservoir was warm to touch but not hot by any means.

The excellent small bump sensitivity is apparently accredited to the unusually low internal PSI that the shock employs which is also said to aid in preventing cavitation. What ever wizardry is crammed inside, it works.

Price – Expensive. But is it?

There is no doubt that the asking price for this shock is a hefty amount of money, but how much did your drivetrain cost? or your wheels? or frame? or fork? It’s all expensive so why skimp on your shcok and not also spend a shed load of cash on the beating heart of your expensive bike.

Conclusion – The Extreme Racing Shox Storia LOK is a very good shock. Exceptional in fact and may even be the best all round Enduro race shock I have ever ridden. The small bump sensitivity and plushness is unrivaled. The LOK switch makes it an extremely versatile all rounder capable of long grinds up fire roads ( yuk ) or race winning stage descents and everything in between. If you want the trail to feel smooth, this is your shock. If you want to go fast, this is your shock. If you are reading this review because you are undecided as to weather or not you should buy this shock, stop reading this and buy this shock.

Video Review

FEATURES

The largest main piston: Ø 29mm high flow
The largest valve piston: Ø 24mm
The highest dynamic response
The largest reservoir oating piston: Ø 28mm
Unique Rebound Adjustement System to separate bump and rebound flow
Ultra-Low friction coating
All manufactured in 7075 T6 and Titanium
Very low reservoir pressure for maximum sensitivity

The lightest Enduro Coil Shock, 620gr including Spring. The advanta- ge of Coil Spring, with the lightness of an air shock.

LOK First 2 Way Position LockOut for best pedaling without any bob- bing. First lockout system on coil shock. No compromizes.

No cavitation
Very low hysteresis for high dynamic response
High Turbulent flow for very low temperature depending
Low friction Energize Seal

620gr with coil for 200/57 mm

AVAILABLE LENGHTS / STROKE

Personalized lengths on request
190.5 / 51 mm
200 / 57 mm
216 / 63.5 mm
222 / 70 mm

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