Fast Suspension Ride E Rear Shock Absorber – Reviews, Comparisons, Specifications – Rear Shock Absorber
AIn the rolling hills surrounding the small town of Plestan in Brittany, France, you will find a small mountain bike suspension manufacturer called Fast suspension. Born from one man’s passion to make things better, Fast started in motorsports but has focused on mountain bike suspension since 2015 when they released their first ever rear shock called “Holy Grail”. In 2023, Fast released its latest product, a simplified but sophisticated steel spring shock called Ride. It comes in either a DH or an Enduro version – we’ve been testing the latter for six months now and would like to tell you what we think of it. Read on to find out!
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Highlights of the Fast Suspension Ride E
- Three-position lever to adjust driving mode (open, flowing, rising)
- Speed dependent HBO on the last 25% of the stroke
- VDP (Speed Dependent Piston)
- Low, mid and high speed compression circuits
- External low speed rebound adjustment
- Each shock absorber is equipped with valves according to the kinematics of the bike
- Standard sizes: 210×55/52.5/50, 230×65/62.5/60/57.5
- Tenon sizes: 185×55/52.5/50, 205×65/62.5/60/57.5
- RRP: EUR 649.00 (incl. VAT, excl. spring)
First impressions
When you take the Ride out of the box, you get a well-made product – the workmanship is first class and the finish looks high quality. Fast supplies XLS springs from ICHU, available in 25 lbs increments (at an additional cost), but you can also reuse any spring with an inner diameter of 36.30mm (FOX, Cane Creek, Öhlins, BOS…). The shock absorber is equipped with a self-lubricating spring bushing to prevent the spring from binding to the boot during compression. The mode selector comes in the rich purple Ano paint job shown here, but you can also get it in black if purple doesn’t suit your build.
The ride is equipped with a number of features borrowed from the company’s flagship product, the Fenix Evo. The idea behind the Ride was to provide a shock that offers plenty of control with a smooth feel without suffering from bottom-out harshness, while reducing the complexity of the product to achieve a lower price point. Key to the damping architecture is a medium-speed compression valve that sits between the low-speed and high-speed compression circuits. This allows Fast to really dial in the amount of support the shock absorber can provide without adding undesirable harshness to the overall system. On the high-end Fenix Evo shock absorber and the new Ride D shock absorbers (D=Downhill), the medium speed valve is externally adjustable, while on the new Ride E shock absorber (E=Enduro) it is adjusted internally at the factory according to bicycle characteristics and the driver’s requirements.
To control bottoming events, Fast has developed a hydraulic bottoming system that allows energy dissipation by displacing hydraulic fluid over the final 25% of suspension travel. Thanks to a shim stack on the HBO piston, this is also possible and tailored to the rider and the bike. The piston floats at its attachment point on the shaft, allowing it to align perfectly with the HBO cup, providing a smoother movement. It can also move up and down a little on the shaft to allow it to release oil during rebound without creating a vacuum behind it, which could otherwise cause a “sticky” feeling in the shock as it rebounds from deep compression . The following diagram shows the effect of HBO during compression at various wave speeds, with the smooth rebound curves (lower part of the diagram) proving that the design works as intended:
On the compression side, the new Ride E shock features a triple-mode circuit that uses a combination of ports and shim stacks to control oil flow. This setup provides multiple paths for the oil to take during different types of compression events depending on which mode it is set to – Open, Flow and Rise, selected via an external lever. There are several basic settings to choose from to ensure that the shock absorber suits the characteristics of the bike.
On the path
To test this new shock absorber, we mounted it on our Transition Smuggler long-term test bike. Our shock was equipped with a few springs so we could experiment with spring rates during testing. This allowed us to really evaluate the effectiveness of the shock and HBO system (the springs are quite thin, which increases the likelihood of them fitting in your frame). – it was indeed a small strain on our frame).
This frame exhibits a slight wobble on climbs, which was immediately remedied by the “flow” position on the shock. Flow is intended to be used wherever you need a more dynamic response from your bike, on climbs and on flatter trails. We found it contained shake so well that we almost never saw a need to adopt the actual “climb” position on the shock, except perhaps on longer climbs on fire roads (the climb position provides near-total lockout).
On the way back the ride is incredibly comfortable and very well controlled without showing any signs of harshness. When the flow mode is activated on the shock for the descents, the bike travels a little higher in the rear suspension travel and reacts a little more strongly to the rider’s inputs, but here too there is no greater or no harshness. In open mode, you benefit from all the advantages of the pleasant riding experience without the bike lurching – it remains lively and fun to ride. Fast did a really good job with the tuning, which is especially important for a shock absorber without major external adjustments. As for hydraulic punch, this is one of our favorite features of this new shock. The way it allows you to sink in the final part of the travel in a very controlled manner is really confidence inspiring.
We think the decision to apply the HBO to the last 25% of the travel is a wise decision (some competitors’ HBO systems don’t kick in until later in the travel), it really opens up the possibility of using a steel spring shock, even on frames , which could be considered Otherwise a bit too linear. In this scenario too, the medium speed valve provides additional support, so we’ve had really good results with this Testing a Fenix damper without HBO on a fairly linear Mondraker frame a few years ago. On the Smuggler here, we alternated between a 650-pound spring (recommended for this 88kg tester) and a lighter 600-pound spring – the latter kept the bike really comfortable through rough terrain, but with enough support through the hydraulics so as not to have a feeling of a boat. This clearly showed us how important design and tuning is in suspension – we’d rather have this “simple” shock properly tuned to our frame than one with all the adjustments but perhaps a less sophisticated finish when all is said and done and is done.
Things that could be improved
We don’t have any points to pick out here. Yes, the Ride is still a bit more expensive than some of its direct competitors, but you’re getting a shock that’s factory-tuned specifically for you, and some of the technologies are exclusive to Fast too (like the mid-speed valving and the clever design of the HBO system). Would we like to see laser-etched graphics on the piggyback reservoir? Sure, but it’s really not a big deal.
Long term durability
We have been using our test shock absorber for four months now and it still works like it did on day one. Our previous experience with Fast shock absorbers also suggests that it is a reliable product. Fast also stands behind its product with excellent warranty support (and can help you re-tune your shock or change dimensions if needed if you’re upgrading to a new bike). By the way, Fast is the French service center for Cannondale (since 2008) and also offers maintenance and tuning for RockShox and Fox products. They have a lot of experience with what works and what doesn’t in practice, and they have used this experience to develop their own products.
What is the end result?
A coil shock is hard to beat for comfort, and a GOOD coil shock also provides the level of control you need to really make your bike better. Fast has, in our opinion, developed and/or refined several key technologies that really add value to your ride, and the fact that they’ve now managed to pack it all into a more affordable product is really cool. Simple isn’t easy, but Fast has done a remarkably good job with the Ride shock, and we have no qualms about recommending you trust this fast Frenchman with your next suspension upgrade.
More information at: www.fast-suspension.com.
About the reviewer
Johan Hjord – Age: 50 // Years of MTB rider: 18 // Weight: 190 pounds (87 kg) // Height: 6 feet 0 inches (1.84 m)
Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After years of practicing falling off cliffs on a snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Since then, he has mostly ridden bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many mistakes as a rider. His 200-pound body weight, coupled with his unique ability with poor line choices and awkward landings, make him an expert in durability – if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much fine for anyone. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style he describes as “none” (although in reality he rips!). Since he doesn’t like most of the trail elements, Johan uses much of his free time to build his own. Johan’s other achievements include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly at 11.
Photos by Johan Hjord
