To hydraulically preload or not to?

[Tsiklonaut]

I have Wilbers rear shock w/o hydraulic preload I'm wanting to use for my travel (the shock is rebuildable, so I'm hoping it'll be a better option than the non-servicable OEM Showa shock). Do I need the hydraulic preloader for it is the question here. Most of the travel the bike will in in the very same weight range - two up full of luggage. Do I need the hydraulic preloader or not for the precise adjustments?

Also I'm a bit concerned about the initial preload adjusting before hiting the road, since it's pain in the arse to adjust the shock - you need to remove the whole shock to adjust it, put it back on to test it, take it off again to fine-adjust, etc

The pity side is that adding the hydraulic adjuster + labor costs the same much as I paid for the shock from eBay, thus it's a load 'o buck (around 250 EURos) for a poor bastid like me.

So is the hydraulic preload adjuster really necessary or I'll learn to live without it (get the thing adjusted in the first place and leave it as it is)?

Your thoughts?

 

[cookie]

i basically use two positions on mine. one for solo and another for two up with luggage, and another for two up with lots of luggage. ok,three positions.

point is, i rarely adjust it when on a trip once it's right. i was always fiddling with the OEM unit, because it's not really possible to make it work properly at all.

 

[Loiq]

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Get a new bike with all tricked up jack up and down shocks

pimp low rider style

 

[Deleted account 210214001]

I wanna see someone do this with their ESA!

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[Coolcarbon]

I have a Wilbers with Hydraulic adjustment, it works a treat and so quick.

I would hate to have to take the shock off every time I changed the load.

Looking at the shock (not recently I must add) I thought the hydraulic thingy would be easy to add, it appeared to simply screw onto the threads as per manual preload collar....

Is this not the way the initial 'lightest load' setting is achieved with the hydraulic collar?

(Well that lot makes sense to me, sorry if it doesn't to you. I could be wrong of course, it has been known but not for a while...)