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RockShox Reba SL 29er

MSRP $
Weight
# of Reviews 16
Average Rating 3.75/5
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Description:
  • Forged 7050 T-6 aluminum crown
  • Motion Control damping
  • Manual knob lockout
  • Infinitely adjustable Dual Air spring
  • 80mm travel
  • 1-1/8" threadless


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    Submitted by Mike N. a Cross Country Rider from SLC, UT
    Date Reviewed: August 5, 2008
    Favorite Trail:Mo' Pi'
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Price Paid: $343.00
    Purchased At:ebay
    Strengths:Light, cheap to buy.
    Weaknesses:Loose, floppy handling. I bought this fork to replace a Marzocchi SL with worn-out guide bushings. Imagine my joy when I took it out and discovered that it was looser than the 'Zokey, right out of the box! You'll think your headset is loose, but it's the legs of the fork shifting around.
    Similar Products Used:Marzocchi Marathon SL '04
    Bike Setup:Gary F. Sugar 292, 2004, with slight-rise bar, long-rise stem, an Soft-a** RX saddle for my big white pattooty.
    Bottom Line:Very disappointed. Will replace ASAP.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by mtbnachos a Cross Country Rider from San Diego
    Date Reviewed: June 23, 2008
    Favorite Trail:Noble Canyon, CA
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $275.00
    Purchased At:eBay
    Strengths:Price, solid, reliable
    Weaknesses:Flex, no cable guides, offset
    Bike Setup:Soma Juice
    Bottom Line:Great 29er fork under $300. I've beaten it pretty well and shows no signs of breakage. Flex on corners but you cant beat the price. If you're beginning 29er hardtails this is a must buy. Not a fork to end all forks.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Dave a Cross Country Rider from omaha
    Date Reviewed: April 27, 2008
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $400.00
    Strengths:I weigh 210 nlbs, and this fork works great, no flex. It is easy to take apart to change the travel, and service. Much less $$ than Fox, but just as good.
    Bottom Line:works great last long time
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by TaintPretty a Weekend Warrior from Austin, Texas
    Date Reviewed: April 14, 2008
    Favorite Trail:Dumptruck
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Purchased At:HammerHead
    Strengths:When it works it works great.
    Weaknesses:When the positive pressure leaks your pedals ride lower and you hit things while trying to get off the trail.
    Bike Setup:Intense Spider 29er
    Bottom Line:About to take this into the shop for the forth time. On the first time in they thought it was a loose valve and tightened. The second trip the seals were replaced. The third trip it was sent back to SRAM and catridge replaced. Now with about 25 hours of hard riding I have the exact same problem. This has led to weeks without riding and the frustration is to the point of taking a loss and switching forks.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Simon Z a Cross Country Rider from Gilbert, AZ
    Date Reviewed: December 20, 2007
    Favorite Trail:hawes
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $300.00
    Purchased At:competitive cyclist
    Strengths:It's reliable and plush. Great feel when decending the rocky stuff. Relatively light. Easily converted from 80mm to 100mm.
    Weaknesses:none so far.
    Similar Products Used:other fox and rockshox 26" forks
    Bike Setup:steel 29er ss
    Bottom Line:I highly recommend this fork based on overall performance and value. It just has a good feel. Stable on the climbs and active on the decents.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Charlie Roscoe a Cross Country Rider from Cheraw, SC, USA
    Date Reviewed: August 20, 2007
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Strengths:Plush, easy to expiriment with, lockout, light weight.
    Weaknesses:None so far.
    Similar Products Used:Cheap rubbish.
    Bottom Line:This fork came stock on my bike. It's the first higher end fork I've used. It's plush, has adjustable parameters, adjustable travel, and a useful lockout. So far, the fork has been great. No complaints here.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Mike Wellborn a Cross Country Rider from Bremerton, WA, USA
    Date Reviewed: July 13, 2007
    Favorite Trail:Porter Creek
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Price Paid: $300.00
    Purchased At:eBay
    Strengths:Set up the air pressure as recommended, and it was dialed in the first time! Best price point in 29er forks right now. You can hear a nice solid "squish-squish" when the fork cycles hard.
    Weaknesses:The fork has forward/back flex under braking that takes some getting used to, compared to WB forks.
    Similar Products Used:White Brothers BW 1.0
    White Brothers BW .8
    Marzocchi Marathon 29er
    Maverisck SC-32
    Psylo 26ers
    Bike Setup:Niner SIR-9 singlespeed, Stan's No-Tubes, miscellaneous parts from my shop.
    Bottom Line:Only had a few rides on the fork, which was from a demo bike at a shop. It handles really well (aside from the steeper head angle), and felt very transparent. The pressure settings in the manual were dead on (for me), and I dialled in the floodgate all the way down for max lockout/compression damping. I look forward to riding this fork, until I get my hands on a Fox to try out. If the durability of the internals has improved since I last rode a RockShox fork, the Reba SL might be a keeper....
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Bob a Cross Country Rider from Louisville
    Date Reviewed: June 30, 2007
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Strengths:Stealthy looks(black),plush,80 or 100mm convertibility,reasonable price,decent weight.
    Weaknesses:Some front to back flex on technical steps/drops for a heavy rider.
    Similar Products Used:26" Fox,Rockshox and Manitou forks (80-130mm, coil and air spring).
    Bike Setup:Niner hardtail,geared,fork set at 100mm.
    Bottom Line:This has been a really nice fork,especially for the $400.00 I paid for it new. Plush and predictable, and much better for me set at 100mm-started out with it at 80mm. Adding too much air in the negative spring (to make it more active) will decrease the travel-as you add negative air above the pressure in the positive air chamber you can see the travel lessen as you go above a certain level.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Mike a from PA
    Date Reviewed: June 30, 2007
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Strengths:Smooth and very adjustable.
    Weaknesses:Needs a TA model. Developed a creak at the stantion-crown interface; waiting to see if RockShox will fix it.
    Bottom Line:Nice fork for the price. Very smooth and very adjustable. Not too heavy.

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Will RockShox please make after market TA lowers for this fork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Ray a Racer from Puyallup, WA
    Date Reviewed: June 25, 2007
    Favorite Trail:Skookum Flats
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:Came with bike
    Strengths:Like the airspring. Easy to set up and adjust
    Bike Setup:GF Ex-cal
    Bottom Line:The fork has been great so far. It did develop a leak in the seal between the neg spring and pos spring chambers (that's what I was told). It happened on my first lap of a 24hr. race, so it was a little bit of a bummer. I had 295 miles on the bike / fork; approx. 100 of that from racing.
    I would agree with the other posts I like the fork and how it handles.
    I would also add that RockShox was awesome in getting it fixed. Took three days, no charge. Shipping took more time, but that has nothing to do with the shock or repair.
    I don't think it is fair to expect parts / components to hold up perfectly under the conditions. Sometimes things wear out / break. What makes the difference is how well the manufacturer stands behind the product.
    5 chili's for the folks at rockshox and the fork.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Douglas Ling a Cross Country Rider from State College, PA, U.S.
    Date Reviewed: April 24, 2007
    Favorite Trail:Rothrock Forest
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Purchased At:Mt. Nittany Wheelworks with bike
    Strengths:Extremely adjustable; Easy to use; Very little maintenance. Great for cross country riding.
    Weaknesses:It could be a bit more stable on downhills.
    Similar Products Used:26er forks.
    Bike Setup:'05 Gary Fisher Xcaliber; Sram shifters w/ X-9 rear derailleur & Shimano front derailleur; Bontrager crank & wheels; Maxxis tires
    Bottom Line:Overall, I really like this fork. It has held up well in summer & winter weather. It has been easy to adjust & maintain. It's been great through the rock gardens & climbing hills.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Sal a Cross Country Rider from Idaho
    Date Reviewed: January 29, 2007
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Purchased At:B&L Bikes, Pullman WA
    Strengths:Reliability, functionality, directional control.
    Weaknesses:Never seems like I get the full 80mm of travel
    Similar Products Used:Had a 26" Reba U-turn that was a fine fork. Only 29'er fork is the Reba being reviewed.
    Bottom Line:Fork works well, seems stiff enough, not too heavy, lets me hold a line through the rock gardens and over the roots, love the Motion Control. I have not adjusted the travel as my bike was made with 80mm in mind so I don't want to jack with its geo, so I can't comment on the fork at 100mm.
    I use my bike to commute on as well, all winter long, and the fork seems unphased by prolonged cold, white, weather.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Jerry a Cross Country Rider from Tucson
    Date Reviewed: January 22, 2007
    Favorite Trail:dirt
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:lbs
    Strengths:Solid fork, easily adjustable, not too heavy, everything works correctly. I'm 170 lbs and have no problem with flex.
    Weaknesses:Like any suspension fork, it's heavier than a rigid.
    Similar Products Used:Only 29er
    Bike Setup:Stock SuperCaliber by Fisher
    Bottom Line:No complaints, no problems, no sweat.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Chris a Cross Country Rider from Arlington VA
    Date Reviewed: December 4, 2006
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:LBS w\bike
    Strengths:Smooth action, readily available and supportable, tuning options
    Weaknesses:Flexy at 100mm
    Similar Products Used:WB Magic 100, WB BW 1.0, various 26er forks
    Bike Setup:El Mariachi SS,
    Bottom Line:Good, adjustable fork with smooth action throughout travel. !00mm settings adds plushness and flex, so pick youtr poison. I have added the remote poploc, which is useful, if it fits into a comfortable spot on your bar. This is a solid fork.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Evel Knievel a Weekend Warrior from Sandy- rocky- steep
    Date Reviewed: December 4, 2006
    Favorite Trail:Porcipine Rim/ BartletsWash
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Purchased At:lbs
    Strengths:Light, set and forget, easy lockout
    Weaknesses:QR?,wheres the maxle? mild flex is passive suspension ehh, carbon fork users. Mild flex also causes wear on the bushings. Long term we will see.
    Similar Products Used:RS psylo coil version. Fox TALAS
    Bike Setup:Stock HT SS
    Bottom Line:This fork is plush. Lockout via the compresssion circuit works just fine for me. LO Lever is easy to flick in a glove. Downtube shifters were tougher.

    Have not need to fiddle with air pressure. The recomended is good for average trail rides. Get hard on the pedals and brakes a small dial of compression firms it up. Turn a bit more its lockedout for extended climbing. Big plus for SSing.

    A bit of flex durring hard braking. Better than the psylo by some.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by speedy a Racer from athens ohio
    Date Reviewed: December 1, 2006
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Purchased At:lbs
    Strengths:extremely plush, infinately adjustible, fits fat tires, easy to set up, can make chatter bumps seem like a parking lot
    Weaknesses:extreamly flexy, idk if it was a worn out seal or what buy they flex soo much, to their credit they havent broke, but on some downhills i get a little scared, it could be that im used to my DH bike and fork but this thing flexes a good couple inches under hard breaking and bumps
    Similar Products Used:just 26er stuff
    Bike Setup:05gary fisher x-caliber
    Bottom Line:great fork if you are really light and like to climb insted of bomb the downhills(not my style)
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:2






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