OK, what you have to think is this:
When a shock is on the vehicle, the spring comes into play, so if you imagine the spring is trying to stop the shock being compressed, it does not need to be massively difficult to compress, also the valving in the shock is usually speed sensitive. Try compressing it really, really fast, you may feel a difference, but in reality you could probably only achieve a (bump) velocity of 0.5 metres per second, a bump from the road is easily 10-20 times that, so that makes a huge difference.
When the shock is extended (rebound damping), bump velocity is not applicable, you are only fighting against a known force which is the stored energy in the compressed(or twisted) spring. Rebound damping is not usually speed sensitive (but can be position sensitive in higher end race models). Therefore rebound damping is used only to return the suspension to its resting position in a controlled, linear manner as quick as is determined by the shock designer, this is obviously affected if the spring rates are changed.
So, yes, it entirely possible that the shock is easier to compress than extend as you cannot replicate the conditions on the vehicle in your hands,
or you just have super weak arms in one direction :lol:
Hope this helps
G
