Submitted by
allan
a Weekend Warrior
from Geraldton
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2007
Strengths: weight for amount of travel, adjustment, lockout
Weaknesses: flex
Bottom Line:
Ive had these for around 2-3 months and ride freeride/street/xc. I upgraded from a 01 psylo xc because the steerer tube kept moving round in the crown (this seems to be happening to some others above). for street 125mm is great, then when i get to a trail, i simply wind the u turn dial down to 80mm. It seems to be able to handle both 1.5m drops and fast xc sprints with ease! Excellent moderate freeride/xc fork recommended!
Bike Setup: specialized hardrock, XT, truvativ, velocity, primo, sun rims
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Submitted by
Arthur Tong
a Cross Country Rider
from Burnaby, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2004
Strengths: Lock Out mode is very well built for my case as I ride aggressive XC. Very plush fork. Colour and polished crown is very nice.
Weaknesses: As I may be running low on oil the fork goes very very soft at times.
Bottom Line:
This fork is awesome. Its those kind of fork you feel comfortable in. For 5" and a more XC kind of fork, this is the one. The others in the market may be way too over the dirt jump section. This fork does great in my type of application.
Purchased At: Bought it directly from Rocky Mountain Product Testing
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Duke SL
Bike Setup: Giant, XT everything, Truvativ Hussefelt cranks, race face stem.
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Submitted by
Bad Bobby
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland, Oh, USA
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2004
Strengths: Looks slick!
Weaknesses: Broke
Bottom Line:
Ok... I don't want to totally come off sounding bad about this product but... it did faulter my second time out. The bar-mount-lockout broke and shox locked up. Rock Shox was very helpful trying to put this thing back togethere and Richard Bicycles accomidated my every need, but in the end I decided to upgrade to a Maverick American fork which is very nice. Lesson learned - Always buy the best.
Bike Setup: 03' Foes FXR, Maverick fork/hub, Chris King HS, Curnett Ti Rear, Thomson Elite, Fizik saddle, XT Der's, Weirwolf tyres, Answer ProTaper HB
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Submitted by
Darren Galvin
a Cross Country Rider
from Wellington
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2004
Strengths: Adjustable for most riders,Enjoyable for all ,Lockout
Weaknesses: Weight ,Little soft
Bottom Line:
I have ridden this fork hard and with Bontrager wheel set up which are great if you want to practice wheel truing.These forks are great and if you have problems with these I would have to say its your wheels flex or you have not right air pressure .On the down side the weight is a little high and spring is soft but for enjoyable riding this is A1 ,Not for racing though.buy this fork if you want comfort but are willing to sacrafice some speed.Great for whats its designed for.
Submitted by
Tim H
a Cross Country Rider
from Blacksburg ,VA ,USA
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2004
Strengths: Very plush!!!!U-Turn works great,rebound and compression damping are good too,lockout lever goes on easy and it's really adjustable
Weaknesses: Not much compression adjustment before lockout,stock spring is a little soft for anything aggressive.NO PRELOAD-MUST BUY HEAVIER SPRINGS.after reading service manual there is more to maintaing this fork than others,lots of patience is required to service.
Bottom Line:
A finely tuned fork with lots of adjustability,only there is no preload adj,compression damping works almost as well but i have yet to have a problem.For 300 beans i can't complain,and the performance it definately there.If this fork lasts a couple years i would be happy,will update after service to share the expierience.
Weaknesses: - Remote lockout needs adjustment frequently - Stock springs are too soft for heavier riders
Bottom Line:
The fork has been pretty good to me so far. My only beef is that the stock springs are a little to soft for me, me being 185 lb. rider. I would recommend upgrading the stock springs to some firmer ones. Which I am in the process of doing. The remote lock out has a little play, but nothing major, you can adjust it. The remote lock out is great for those tough climbs and hammering.
I can relate to other reviewers, this fork is by no means a free ride fork, but its definately a great trail fork.
As for servicing I cannot comment. I have yet to service my fork. Will post again when that time comes.
Weaknesses: had a problem with the lockout in 5 inch mode, would not lock out, fork would compress about an inch then stop. my lbs sent fork to rock shox and repaired at no charge in a week. great service. rock shox recommended not leaving the lockout engaged during storage and if stored for longer periods of time, to leave fork in longest travel mode.
Bottom Line:
good trail fork with lots of travel, great service from rock shox, will update as the miles go on.
Submitted by
Zach Martin
a Weekend Warrior
from Langhorne
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2003
Strengths: the 5 inches of travel is very smooth
Weaknesses: lock-out gets in the way, the u-turn does not say at its set travel it goes from 5 to 3 inches after 1 or 2 4 foot drop offs, the fork all around is week i flex it just turning i have a 8 inch disk in the front it cant help but rub, and finally after having the fork only 1 month the bushing were shot the fork has way tomuch play in it and is no way considered a "freeride" fork
Bottom Line:
This fork is over rated it is in no way shape or form a freeride fork its good for cross country at the most. the value is not good to begin with and just take that price and add alot of repairs and youll eventually have a top of the line fork if u didn't waste your money
Submitted by
larry c
a Cross Country Rider
from south oakland cty.,mich.
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2003
Strengths: as advertised,remote lok-out beats removing hands&eyes like manitou.very plush 120mm setting on the trails.
Weaknesses: none so far but$$$.metal stickers are a little overkill.first things I removed.
Bottom Line:
psylo race made a huge diff. over the SXr/ nice to keep eyes on the road rather than looking down to lok-out fork.first class lever also/can tell the fork was designed by riders/4 riders.
Strengths: Lockout is great while climbing. Remote Black Box installed pretty easily too. This fork can really do it all so far. The U-Turn adjustment is a really fantastic feature if you own a do all trail bike. Pretty light too.
Weaknesses: If running certain frames the knobs on the top of the crown can shear off in a hard enough thrashing. Small clearance issues with my 7" Avid rotor (Easily fixed).
Bottom Line:
This fork is pretty hot. It really is a do all fork. It was perfect for me. However, if you are a hardcore freerider you may want to look into something beefier and cross country racers may want to look into something a bit lighter. The Psylo Race is leading do-all trailbike forks into the next level. It only takes a small amount of time with the new psylo to get comfortable with it. Hopefully the msrp will start to crawl down on this fork as other suspension companies develop competetive products. Bottom line: Buy this fork if you do lots with one bike.
Submitted by
Jeff McLean
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh, NC
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2003
Strengths: Adjustablity,Lock-out and overall performance
Weaknesses: Possible plastic rebound knob?
Bottom Line:
So far so good! It is a very good fork for what I have used it for thus far. I usually dial it down to around 85mm for the cross country and then play with the lock out compression lever. The push button quick release is very nice feature that is easy to access. It is very plush and the front tracks very well. I have not noticed any unusual flex while riding. It does do a great job smoothing the roots and bumps off of the trail. I am very pleased with this fork. I will give an update once I have a few more hours on this product.
Bike Setup: Giant VT-1 full XT, Crossmax XL, Manitou Swinger rear, Psylo Race front fork
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Submitted by
T. Brown
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2003
Strengths: Remote lock out, the adjustable travel... Need I say the All the travel is a great thing.
Weaknesses: The only weakness I can find is that the little markings on the side do not read 125. I have read that this is because the fork is not worn in. All in all, it seems that it is not a real problem at all.
Bottom Line:
This is quite possibly the best fork I have ever used. The plush 5 inches of travel suit me nicely. I'm not very old...14 to be exact. I do have alot of sparetime on my hands what with being in homeschooling. I live in a suburbish type place where nothing exciting happens...So, the only real thing to do is ride. Since I am in that point where you're parents let you roam freely (For the most part) And having a car, I use my bike to get around. Honestly, about 25% is used for getting around, And the rest is for feeriding, dropoffs, racing, and roaming around the new housing subdivision they are building. All of this meaning one thing...I ride, ride alot. I'm estimating around 15 miles a day during weekdays, more than likely 25+ a day during the weekends.The fork has has been able to suit me well no mater what ever I do. The remote lock out is great, Especialy for when your late for something, have to but it in the big chainring and sprint. The adjustable travel is good for when I'm racing, so I can just tune it down to about 85mm and haul. Since I live in a ho-hum town, I like to go out find some some sweet drop offs and gaps that hold my attention for awhile. The 125mm is great for that kind of stuff. The only problem I have is that I apperently have not worn the fork in, so it does not show 125, but 117 at most. I'm sure it will get nice and broken in in the next few weeks. Anysmoo, the fork is one of the best investments I've made on the bike, It feels like a dream, and if your looking into buying a new fork, I suggest this one to any type of rider, high level beginner, to soft-core, middle-core downhiller.
Favorite Trail: Erm...I don't have a fovorite, I find things that are great about each trail I ride.
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At: Price Point.com
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Sid dual air (I just about destroyed it along with my crossmax rear wheel)
Bike Setup: 2001 Giant XTC SE1, 2003 Psylo Race, Mavic 225 weelset with specialized hubs (Jumped on a good offer after trashing 2001 Crossmax's), Raceface cranks, Full XTR except for front derailuer(XT), Time atac pedals, and Avid rim brakes.
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Submitted by
Mark Magers
a Weekend Warrior
from Altus, ok
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2003
Strengths: 5" of plush travel. Adjustibilty
Weaknesses: Weak Bushings--left leg has developed play after 4 months, dust seals will not insert correctly. Difficult to service. Had to spend an additional $35 for proper springs.
Bottom Line:
I strongly recommend staying away from this product. I initially wanted to buy a Z-1, and I'm very mad at myself for not doing so. I tried to save a few dollars by purchasing this inferior product. I do not believe this fork will hold up for more than 100-150 hours of hard riding without having new bushings installed.
I've only done 3 or 4 drops since purchasing this fork (no more than 2 feet), however, I do ride many rock gardens. The rock gardens I do ride are very similar to the porcupine trail in Moab, only much flatter. I've yet to bottom this fork out, but after 3 months, I have devolved play in the right leg. It seems pointless to have it fixed, as I'm sure it will just happen again.
I just finished servicing this shock for the first time (at about 35 hours), what a nightmare: first, the top dust seals would not stay in place once I pressed them in, they would just pop back out. I'm not sure what caused this, but I finally took sand paper to the contact area on the fork and roughed the area up a bit. I’m not sure what caused this; I had previously pulled the dust seal 3 times to lubricate the XXX seals, and never had any problems. Also, I was unable to re-install the rebound adjuster knob, It would not fit back in the hole. I finally wound up taking a grinding stone to it, to soften the edges, and was finally able to get it to seat.
Each leg on this fork holds a whopping 20ml of fluid. I have know idea how this small amount of fluid keeps the bushings lubricated, or how it gets from the bottom of the fork to the top bushing—my guess is it doesn’t, and is probably why my fork is wearing so fast. There is tons of plastic throughout this fork; obvious coast cutting measures that lessens reliability, and lines Rock Shox pockets.
I'm a two-time loser. I had a 2001 Psylo, wore it out, and though the larger bushing in the 2003 would enable to fork to last longer--I was wrong. I plan to ride this fork until it dies, I will then proceed to throw it into the trash and buy a Fox or a Z-1. I will NEVER purchase a Rock Shock product again. There is no reason they couldn't put a little more effort in to the reliability of this fork. A $300.00 disposable fork does not sit well with me.
Strengths: Plush smooth travel, withstand the cold of winter and the heat of the desert (I have been in both). Easy adjustable travel. Handles 10 footers and soaks up the small bumps.
Weaknesses: Stickers fall off easily = doesn't matter not very rigid = seen worse
Bottom Line:
This is a good all around fork. It is not ment for you type of riding, but can take a little of each. Good if you want to cross country ride on the weekends and do some street on the way to school. Recomend this shock highly...and Ebay for the place to buy it.
Similar Products Used: Duke sl, manitou bomber, manitou black elite, manitout sherman
Bike Setup: Hope M4 disc brakes, full xtr drivetrain, race face cranks, crossmax and (chris king hub/mavic x618 rim) wheels, stratos helix pro rear shock, KHS rage frame ====my baby...#1
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Submitted by
MARUT KETUDAT
a Weekend Warrior
from BANGKOK, THAILAND
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2003
Strengths: IT'S ONE OF THOSE VERSATILITY FOLKs, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU ADJUSTED IT.
Weaknesses: FUNNY LOOKIN' COLOR THOUGH I CAN LIVE WITH IT. "DARK" BROWN SUGAR, I'D CALLED.
