I only have experience with the stock Q spring shocks (Q2, now Q45) and the Kind A5 RR1 which is far better. I will hold up Seattle potholes against anything you have down there, and on my daily commute route I have come to know them (too) well. Bad spots that I would instinctively tighten up approaching I now sail across. Maybe there are better shocks per
@jond ; I can't speak to that but the Kind shock's difference in comfort and reduced wear and tear on the rider is huge.
But maybe the biggest advantage is the stiffness it gives to the frame. The spring shock allows just a bit of twist that eats your effort. I'm noticeably faster on both bikes since switching to the air shocks, especially uphill, and I haven't gotten any younger. It makes me feel one with the bike instead of fighting a flexy thing when pushing hard.
BK
PS - The A5 RR1 directions say, in bold caps, "The negative pressure must not exceed the main pressure". Maybe that's part of the problem? I weigh 175lb; after some experimenting I set my pressures at 150psi for the main and 125psi for the negative. I never see the o-ring much past 50% of the possible travel, even going over curbs.
Hi billyk
Mate I have corrected my typo error thanks. Must proof read lol.
My main exceeds negative by 10. I’m 81 kg so forgive me but to achieve greater travel range possibly lower your pressures and work with 30% sag minimum. It’s only a short travel shock with only 40mm available .
I’m running 80 and 70 kPa. Or rather I was as the DNM is back on.
Don’t mind slim and I. We are just enjoying each other’s Aussie bantering parochialism. Straylya is a great place even south Australia is not without its beautiful serene charms.
For example super slim David is a wonderful south Aussie fossilised resource of information.
Alas he is getting on in years now and does not leave the self imposed confines of his hot box very much. Confused machinations ruminate through what’s left of his desiccated dehydrated mind ever more frequently.Clearly he has no grasp on geography access to a map my actual English birth place or his equanimity. It’s the red dust see it gets into all crevices nooks and crannies.
Tasmania is glorious and I’ve ridden there extensively. Only one straight road from Hobart to Launceston.
We don’t do sidings on roads well here due to our small population and vast expanses of open country.
You can keep Seattle weather right there. .......though the music that emanated from there has been a godsend.
I imagine your potholes are mini swimming pools. Where as my roads are partly moonscape partly acne. Then there are nice stretches. But my view is beyond superlatives.
Check out port Stephens nsw Australia it really is so unspoilt and beautiful. Just asked my local koalas and they agreed.
Of particular note is the annual weather in port Stephens nsw. Never falling below 8 deg c or over 32 c summer and winter. I don’t use any heating or cooling in my home.
I feed my family three nights per week on fish and crabs I catch 100 m from my home.
South Aussie fly blown road kill is not the same despite it being so incredibly cruelly hot it cooks itself ripe.
My last electricity bill for two adults in a four bedroom two living area home was $90 for spring quarter.
Reckon slims was at least $450. 750 over summer.
Game set match. Vote with your feet everyone else is.
I appreciate your input to this subject i'm pretty green to it, but i read up some of your convo about the shocks and online the basic differences between springs, air, oil or the combination of both (Rock Shox, Fox and the like... (which i find too expensive) I ride a Q45 since last summer and it's been doing fine specially down in South Florida where i stay in winter because it's so flat here. However, I spend my summers up in Quebec where there's load of hills and trails so when I go touring i need a stiffer shock then what the bike came with that can handle more weight. From what I can gather I should upgrade to the 
