RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 Shock: Rider Review

One upgrade on any mountain bike that'll have the biggest impact is the suspension. Just changing the rear shock by itself will impact how a bike will feel and handle. Our friend Daniel Mergenthaler Shares his experience with his new RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 shock. Check it out below!

Overview

This is a review of a RockShox 150mm Monarch Plus RC3 Shock that I've had on my bike for a few weeks and about 20 hours of all mountain trail riding to date. For this review, I’ll briefly cover my initial impressions of the shock, the installation, setup, and performance out on the trail.

To be upfront, the Monarch Plus RC3 is the first rear shock I’ve had on a bike that wasn’t a Fox, and the reason I purchased the shock is it was on sale and it was the only in-stock one I found that fit my 2015 Santa Cruz Bronson. Essentially, my 4-year-old Fox CTD blew out, and I needed a fast replacement, and the Monarch was compatible and available so after reading some positive and negative reviews on a few mtb forums, I decided to pull the trigger on it.

Out of the box, I was definitely satisfied with the overall build quality of the shock. It seemed solid, had a good weight to it, and definitely got me excited to get it on the bike and on the trails. Included with the shock were the mounting hardware and website-located instructions for installation.

The installation of the shock was very easy, but the mounting hardware did require a small bearing press and caliper to check for an even press. While the instructions stated that on some shocks the mounting hardware could be installed into the shock eyelets by hand, on this shock, however hand installation was all but impossible, and a small bearing press was needed to install the mounting hardware to the shock. Additionally, the hardware has to be installed evenly, so I used a caliper to verify the mounting hardware was correctly installed into the shock eyelets. (A highly effective make-shift bearing press can be made from nuts, washers and bolts from the hardware store for less than $7.00 if you don’t have a small press). Installing the actual shock into the frame is straight forward, just make sure you have the lock tight & torque wrench to guarantee its in there good and tight.

In regards to set up, I'm running the shock “stock”. I don’t know how many, if any, volume spacers come from the factory, but I would describe the overall feel of the shock as heavily linear. The compression is smooth and consistent through the entire stroke, and shock just eats up the chatter, roots, bumps and big hits. I give the shock high marks for rugged, raw trail riding, but if I was going to the bike park or on a free ride session, I would definitely recommend adding some volume spacers to increase the progression of the shock for big hits. In regards to sag, I found the shock to work the best with about 35-37% sag setting and rebound setting at 5:12 clicks from fully slow. While I'm not a full send-it type rider, I do consider myself an “aggressive” rider who doesn’t shy away from regular jumps and drops, and despite to higher sag setting, the shock is lively enough to keep the rear end feeling lively and playful, and I have yet to fully bottom out the shock at this sag setting with about 3-5mm of reserve compression remaining after riding. So basically I'm finding the shock to not only work well but fit my riding style and local trails nicely.After some initial setup experimentation with the shock, I am satisfied with the overall feel, adjustability and performance of the shock directly from the box. At this point, I don’t feel the need to add or remove any volume spacers or play with the sag or rebound settings any further. The only modification I made to the shock was to peel off the stickers to complement the black on black look I really like and try to go for on my Bronson.

There are only two concerns I had with the shock, and one has already resolved itself. There was a small amount of oil seepage visible on the shaft after the first few rides, and did think that a seal was possibly leaking at first, but the seepage did stop after about the 3rd ride, and after some online reading revealed this to be a common occurrence relating to excess oil from the piggyback or lubricants used during the assembly. The other concern I have with the shock is that the rebound adjustment knobs action is rough when turning it. There is definitely something, not 100% correct with it, but it does cycle through all the clicks, and I don’t regularly adjust my rebound setting once it's locked in, so I’m not too worried about it at this point. Although it is nice to have the new product warranty cushion involved should it become an issue.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would recommend this shock to any rider that rides mainly undulating rough and rooted trails, as it compliments the shocks linear feel on the trails. And while I did find some bad press online about the Monarch Plus shock, and mine does have the issue with the rebound adjuster, it has proven itself trail worthy and I don’t regret the purchase, especially because it was on sale...