Why isn't Radflo popular?

I've had 2.5" Radflos with the compression adjustable remote resi's on my 2nd gen for ~5 years/~50,000 miles (Dakars and 650 lb springs). I should probably rebuild them but I haven't had a single problem to prompt me do it. Probably 80-90% those miles are of course on the road (I live in Texas), but many of the road miles were with heavy loads (near half ton) traveling between southern California and Texas for work (and it should be noted that Houston roads are rougher than most dirt roads I've seen). Whether loaded or empty the Radflos have been great, nor have I had any problems following having had the truck up on blocks for a year when I was working abroad. Full disclosure: I've never run Kings or Fox or Icon, etc, I've only had 2" Radflo C/Os for like 15 k miles before my current setup, so like most people, I can't have a truly informed opinion on ride/quality/longevity.

But, there aren't quality or manufacturing issues as far as I can tell and I'm fairly picky about these things. My only gripe is that the logos on the resi's are stickers, and (more seriously) that the spring adjustment tool for the c/o's is just a stamped piece of steel, not a comfortable tool to use, and should have been free.

I think, as others have said, they aren't as well known in this market because they don't try to be. Their instagram rarely features consumer vehicles, but is mostly race buggies. They don't make add-a-leafs or control arms and don't market like 10 different levels of plug and play component groups though aftermarket retailers, so you still have to do some (minimal) homework to design your own build with them. Probably the most important difference to figure out, especially without compression adjusters, is how the various brands of shocks are valved, which will affect on/offroad comfort/performance. I don't know, maybe Radflos are valved differently from the more common shocks so they should be expected to be less comfortable on pavement with no load (although I'm pretty sure that the harsher ride I ended up with on pavement/no load is mostly due to the Dakars).

And as far as customer service, my experiences with them have been great. This was the first aftermarket suspension system I installed and they were there by phone and email to patiently answer all of my dumb questions. I'd rather be able to talk to the owner than call Fox and have to tell a robot whether my issue is with mountain bike, dirt bike, or offroad vehicle suspension. I don't know where the more visible companies source and assemble their shocks, but my understanding is that Radflo mills and assembles in house in the US, and if there is ever a time to support small American companies, this is it.

Anyway, I'm a fan, and glad to see Radflo popping up on other's radar.

 

If my appliance dies in warranty period the Manf sends someone to my house to diagnose and repair it at my convenience. They damn sure dont wait 4 weeks to fix it or make me disconnect the whole fucking thing and expect me to ship it back to them on my own dime.

I've never dealt with any other shock company -- I had ICONS before and never had an issue. so I dont know or give a shit how they work warranty issues. Why do we need to know what anyone else does? Is doing the right thing such a bad design that companies only need to set themselves apart by doing some marginal bullshit to keep pace with their competitors marginal bullshit? Is it wrong to expect someone that sells me a quality product to actually back that product up??

What do I expect them to do with products they sell that are defective [but inferred serviceable] - I dont care! fix them and send them out to the next poor bastard that gets something faulty. Thats on them to figure out. Sell them 'reconditioned' at a discount - there are hundreds of options

 

I called Radflo and a human answered the phone and helped me immediately. A real live human.

 

obviously you are looking for an argument. I dont know. I didnt ask them. You are free to call them and find out -- ask for Shawn. Post back and let us know

 

My apologies. Am tired of ppl trying to bait responses and argue that product defects arent somehow the Manfs fault

The fact that you can call and speak to the owner or get a live human on the phone immedaitely that actually has knowledge of the products they sell speaks volumes to me. They quality and fit/finish of the product I received was significantly better than the Fox product it replaced. The failure point of the Fox product I had isnt an issue on the Radflos because the design. [the tube connecting the res failed] On the Radflo the tube is connected with a 90deg elbow - Fox just expects you to flex it 90-180deg and everything be OK

 

if you were implying this statement towards me, that’s not what I was doing. I’ve heard this and similar complaints and my back ground is in customer service. Just trying to see hypothetically what a good middle ground would be.

it’s obvious that you have expectations that not all manufactures are going to meet and I’m not going to argue with you either way. You will just have to find a product that you feel fits your expectations. Sounds like Radflo has done that for you so far.

 

Am actually referring to another thread that was closed by mods where everyone dogpiled on me about Fox's customer service.

Honestly if I am spending good money for what is supposed to be a quality top-tier product I expect them to have top tier service as well.
Spending Mercedes $$ and getting Yugo service shouldnt be how the world works. I am not OK with it and I dont feel anyone else should be.

 

Im also not baiting or trying to start anything.
But, in the past year or so I have called Fox, King, AccuTune, Headstrong, SPC Racing, and maybe a couple more. I was answered by a person each and every phone call and They were all very helpful every time.

 

I was on the phone with Fox for 10mins before I actually spoke to someone

and they werent helpful

 

I’m not defending Fox, I’m not a fan boy but I am currently running some of their gear.

That being said, if it was recently, COVID-19 and a skeleton crew might have been the reason for the long wait. They Also could have had several customers on the phones at the time you called. Who knows, you might have a person answer immediately for the next 20 phone calls you make to them.
But the point is, you did talk to a human, a real live human at Fox

 

It was months ago [long before xmas] that I called. And a human didnt answer the phone and I waited 10 mins to get someone and that person was not at all helpful. I called Radflo and a helpful human ANSWERED the phone.

ALSO: the shock was sent in well before the wu-flu for repair as well

 

With huge market names like King and Fox, its a really hard market to break into and get a big piece of the pie. King and Fox are such household names that people forget to look at some other companies. Radflo makes very good product, but just get passed over for these house brands.

 

Agree. My preferred local installer - who specializes in working on older landcruisers and gets work from around the country and is pretty well known - uses Radflo almost exclusively and highly recommends them. I've been extremely happy with mine and would definitely recommend them and buy from them again

 

Not being familiar with Radflo, they were, at the time a potential for me that I had my eyes on when I was shopping suspension companies. I ultimately landed on Fox as they had a much more documented record than Radflo... That being said, supposedly Radflo has a very prolific market in the T4R crew... Why not us? Possibly because King and shiny blue.

Fox has its cons.

- dog slow warranty rate
- very difficult to get a live person on the phone
- difficult access to parts if something breaks direct from manufacturer

That being said, my experience with them has been overall satisfying, while not moving at a decent rate that one would expect out of a major brand, they ultimately do deliver, just not at YOUR desired speed.

I had the best of luck of breaking my stem top shocks at the time and they were very kind in sending a new revision pair of updated replacement shocks FREE OF CHARGE. I had to wait over 8 weeks for them just to assemble the shocks and ship them out alone while dealing with my busted shocks all that time, but you know what, while it did take what seemed to be an eternity to finally get into my hands (free of charge mind you) for a goof that was over 2-3 years old until they caught it which was still honored to the end consumer is ultimately excellent customer service.

I even made a thread about it at the time. It's been a long time since I did and good luck even to me in finding it, but it's somewhere here in the forums. Moral of the story is that I am very satisfied with my product to this day.

 

It’s Wu-Flu now? What happened to the Kung-Flu?
Man, how many strands of the China-Flu are there going to be!?

 

Wu-flu and kung-flu are my top choices!

 

Marlin Crawler has recently started going with almost exclusively Radflo as well. We just love the quality of the product, I would put it to test against King any day and would expect similar results, they're customer service I think is better, they're faster, and slightly more cost efficient.

 

I have a set of Radflow's being made and sent. Like others, I grappled with what to go with since I have outgrown my 6112/5160s.
Lots of research into it. Lots of phone calls. What swayed me, was that with Radflo what your buying as a consumer is the same components you'd get for a full race setup for KOH. Granted, you'd get the same with ADS and can with Kings/Fox. But with the Kings/Fox the prices grow exponentially higher. ADS is also very quality, seen first hand. It was honestly a toss up between them. I think it was Sean at Radflo that swayed me.
Now, if I were to go Kings or Fox. I would definitely go through either AccuTune Offroad or Down South Motorsports. Because at least then, your not just getting a off the shelf product, but one tuned for your specific application. The fact that King/Fox mass produce to stock shelves also makes them popular. People can go into 4WP and plop the CC and pick up their trucks the next day. Then brag they have King/Fox. Even though it will work. Those of us in this thread know it wont be optimal.

At this point those that are nit picky about suspension tuning. Its like audiophiles arguing over speaker cables.

Any of the brands will be quality. The biggest would be to have then tuned to your specific application. Which can be had for any of them.

 

I'm curious to hear from those who run Radflo, how's do they stand up to the salt and crap on the roads? I know my Bilsteins 6112/5160 definately don't look new after just one winter

 

Any other people have any more input on this? I'm in the market for suspension now.

@Rob Daman ?