Abstract: A shock absorber may include an elongated housing that contains damping medium, a piston rod with a first piston that divides the elongated housing into a rebound volume and a first compression volume, a second piston configured to move through a second compression volume, a third piston configured to move through a third compression volume, and a mount cap for the elongated housing. The mount cap may include a bleed circuit that leads from the third compression volume to the first compression volume. The second and third pistons may be configured so as only to be engaged when necessary to prevent the shock absorber from bottoming out in a compression stroke. A user-accessible adjuster mechanism on an outside of the shock absorber can be manipulated to close, open, or partially open the bleed circuit and thereby adjust the damping characteristics of the second and third pistons.