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Manitou Swinger/Progressive 5th Element Platform Valving System

I've gotten a lot of questions over time about how the platform valving system works inside your Manitou Swinger or Progressive 5th Element shock. In this article, I'm going to explain it in detail because it's actually very simple.

For the record, the Manitou Swinger is almost identical to the Progressive 5th Element. Manitou licenced Progressive's technology as well as the rest of the shock design. Most parts are interchangeable between the coil-over models.

The air shock, however, is a little different. Manitou upgraded and improved the design a bit by using better oil seals in the main air chamber and better seals in the platform valving system. The older Progressive air shocks were not known to be very reliable. When we rebuild the older Progressive air shocks at TheBrokenBike.com, we use the same upgraded seals that Manitou uses now.

Manitou finally listened to their customers and went back to a shim-stack style damping system in all of their shocks (2007 until present). Many people, myself included, did not like the older SPV platfrom valving system. The system perfomed poorly under high speed compression situations, usually resulting in you getting bucked off your bike often. Click here to learn how you can modify your older Swinger or Progressive shock to use a shim-stack style damping system.

Below is a picture of the damper head of a 2004 Manitou Swinger shock. You can see the SPV valve opened up in the third picture. When the shock is pressurized, the gap between the piston head and SPV valve closes up, giving the shock its pedaling platform. When the bike hits a bump, the valve is forced open.

The SPV platform valve is very simple. It is just a pocket of air that contracts to restrict oil when the shock is pressurized. When the shock has very little or no air pressure, the shock has no compression or rebound control. This is because the valve would be wide open, allowing oil to pass freely in both directions.

When the seals wear out in the SPV valve, the air in the valve escapes and is replaced with oil. This means that your shock will lose all of its rebound and compression control because oil can now pass freely through the piston head. At this point, it's time for a shock rebuild. Head on over to my rebuild center at TheBrokenBike.com if you would like to have your shock fully serviced.