RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 Autosag Shock [Rider Review]

  Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

If you're looking for a shock that was purposely made to do everything very well. The RockShox Monarch should be on your radar. Our friend, Brian, has been running the shock. See what they think!

Overview

So, I’m still riding my 2017 Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon, purchased early in the 2017 season. It’s now New Year's Eve, tomorrow will be 2022. In normal times I probably would have gotten a newer model last year. Recently, I blew my rear shock out. Then, I had a decision to make. Times aren’t normal and bikes aren’t easy to find, so I decided I’m going to keep this bike for two more years. May as well make her the best she can be.

I put better wheels on this bike a long time ago. Other than that and the standard grips, chain, tires, brake pads that wear out everything is stock. The suspension has been serviced every winter. Winter came late for us here in Denver this year, so I could feel my shock getting bad, but hoped to make it a while longer when it finally failed. Specialized likes to do a lot of proprietary stuff and the shock is one of those parts, so there aren’t many options. My bike came with the Monarch RT3, some higher-end models than mine came with the Monarch Plus RC3. I found one available at Worldwide Cyclery and decided that’s what I would go with.

I also decided to rebuild my RT3, just to have a spare in case the unexpected happens. I went cheap and just bought a few o-rings locally for the rebuild. Shipping from Worldwide was so fast (and free!) I didn’t even get the old shock together before the new one showed up!

It’s a crazy busy time of year for me, but the weather was still good so I got a few rides in on the new shock. I like to think I’m pretty good at setting up suspension and normally if I get a new bike or suspension piece the first thing I do is go to my favorite test spot and dial it in. With the limited time I had to ride I didn’t bother doing any setup, just installed the shock and rode. I even used the gimmicky “auto sag” setup on the proprietary Specialized shock that I never used on the old RT3. In my testing on the old shock, I found it best to use quite a bit more psi than the auto sag allowed.

From the first ride out this new shock was butter smooth.

I was with a much slower rider for this maiden voyage, so I also wasn’t going my normal speed or intensity, but the shock felt amazing. I know that this could also be because the old shock was way overdue for a rebuild before it failed, but some more riding would give me the answers.

I did make it out for a few more rides where I could go at my normal pace and I must say I’m very happy with how well this shock works. I still haven’t gone through my normal setup process with the shock, but I did add a few more clicks on the rebound.

It’s finally snowing now as I type, so I can start planning my winter upgrades. (snow riding is a blast, so I’ll do plenty of that before I put the new stuff on) I’m going to Avalanche the fork, new shifter, tires, brake pads, bearing, blah, blah blah, the usual with upgrades on anything I feel might be needed. Remember, I want two more years from this bike.

Final Thoughts

I still need to go through my normal tuning process, but I’m sure this is true for any bike – If you’re currently running a Rockshox Monarch rear shock the Monarch Plus is a worthwhile upgrade. The tuning process is only going to make it better, much better I’m sure. If you’ve never spent the time to set your suspension up for you and only go with manufacturer recommended settings I highly recommend you watch some videos and/or read a tutorial, it’s the best thing you can do for your ride and it’s free!