Home | Reviews | Older Categories Bikes | 2005 Front Shocks

RockShox Judy SL 2005 Front Shocks


  • Average Rating: 3.17/5
  • # of Reviews: 12
  • Weight: 2159 grams

Product Description

  • Travel: 70 - 115mm
  • Adjust: U-Turn
  • Spring: Single sided U-turn coil
  • Damping: HydraCoil
  • Adjust: Change oil weight
  • Lowers: One piece magnesium


Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

Reviews 1 - 12 (12 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Tim Kane a Weekend Warrior from Braintree

Date Reviewed: December 15, 2007

Strengths:    works very well for the price

Weaknesses:    don't like the name.

Bottom Line:   
I'm new to mountain biking. This was my first season. Now I love it. I suppose as I bike more I may desire more performance. My use has been been trials, probably better described as more cross country. Lots of rock banging, tight cornering. Not much jumping. For now, this front end works great. I can't see what more you could ask for from a front end so I suppose that's because I'm new to it. It has not failed me yet after beating it up pretty good for a season. Almost no maintenance outside of wipe the dirt off and a light spray with oil every now and then.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Wompatuk Park

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   bicycle link, Weymouth, MA

Similar Products Used:   none

Bike Setup:   stock Trek 4500


Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Rick SCHOCK a Cross Country Rider from Kingston, Ont. Canada

Date Reviewed: March 10, 2007

Strengths:    Great fork for the price. I needed an inexpensive fork that would be reliable, strong and last a couple of years as an upgrade to the bike's original fork. I like the U-Turn capability. I can lower the fork while riding and the fully-extended setting allows the fork to absorb almost all bumps/hits (within reason).

Weaknesses:    With the fork dialed down to the least travel, I find it doesn't absorb little bumps/chatter much. Also, you have to get off the bike to extend the travel.

Bottom Line:   
For 100 bucks it is a great deal for the fork but I wouldn't pay above $150. The U-Turn feature is handy and the fork has proven to be reliable and stiff over a full season of cross country riding. It is a simple old-tech fork so doing any downhill or jumps over 2 feet would be asking for trouble or at least disappointment.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   MacAuley Mtn, Picton

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $100.00

Purchased At:   Pricepoint.com

Similar Products Used:   The Judy SL is a nice upgrade for my bike's original 1998 RockShox Indy XC.

Bike Setup:   Cross country hardtail, steel bike.
Nothing special.


Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Ricardo Vasquez a Cross Country Rider from Quito, Ecuador

Date Reviewed: December 18, 2006

Strengths:    Cheap! the best u can get for that price, infinite travel adjustment 70mm-100mm, extremely durable, easy manteinance, nice damping, can handle 4 ft drops, didn´t leak until now

Weaknesses:    coil is way too stiff, does not absorb small bumps, in a XC race your hands can suffer a lot, weight, U-turn kinda hard to turn, preload is not functional at all

Bottom Line:   
Not so good if u wanna go pro, only good if u really dont want to spend more than 200
you can get a marzocchi for less than $100 more

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Price Paid:    $170.00

Purchased At:   Pricepoint

Similar Products Used:   rock shox psylo, marzocchi mx comp, marzocchi mx pro eta tas, some cheap SRsuntour, RST omega

Bike Setup:   GT avalanche 2.0, sram x7 shifters and derailleurs, shimano deore crankset, avid brake system


Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Ryan a Weekend Warrior from Vancouver, BC

Date Reviewed: March 31, 2006

Strengths:    U- turn offers a lots travel adjustability.
Durable.


Weaknesses:    Too Stiff for an entry level fork.
U-turn is really hard to turn.
No compression, lockout, rebound or any other extermal adjustment.
Every small bump is felt.


Bottom Line:   
When i got my bike the first thing i noticed was how much the travel i could adjust After a few hard cranks I was down to 75mm of travel. Whenever I use the shock in the longer strokes 100-115mm there is a loud oil swishing sound on the inside since the first day. Also this fork is wayy too stiff considering that it has 115mm of travel on an XC frame.... at least it won't bottom. Because its so stiff it doesnt respond to small bumps at all shaking me up pretty bad at times. However, it has been really reliable so far no serious problems except for the fact that it is slowly leaking oil leaving rings of it on my stantions at times.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   Came with bike

Similar Products Used:   Rockshox Psylo

Bike Setup:   Giant Rainer


Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Tim a Cross Country Rider from Nashua, NH USA

Date Reviewed: March 16, 2006

Strengths:    U-Turn is great. Plush, magnesium fork legs.

Weaknesses:    None that I can think of........

Bottom Line:   
Don't pass this fork up, especially for the price. I raced with this fork in my weekly training races and had no problems keeping up with people running forks 3 times as expensive.

Overall I'm super impressed with its performance. Over 6 months of use and it has required little to no servicing and hasn't skipped a beat.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Purchased At:   Came with bike



Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by lpdot a Cross Country Rider from Minsk, Belarus

Date Reviewed: August 25, 2005

Strengths:    Long travel, looks good, the HydraCoil damper works nicely.

Weaknesses:    Stock spring may be too hard for riders under 70 kgs. Does not absorb the small bumps very good.

Bottom Line:   
For the price you can't buy any better. It's a really good and comfortable fork for urban and novice cross-country riding. RockShox ships the fork with 3 different springs - be sure to choose the right one for your weight.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $200.00

Similar Products Used:   SR Suntour M9050 (coil + MCU)

Bike Setup:   Kelly's Quartz hardtail frame + various Shimano components


Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by john j a Weekend Warrior from Austin, TX

Date Reviewed: August 22, 2005

Strengths:    I do not think this shock is all that bad. You are able to adjust the PSI for different weight riders and adjust the rebound and tension; which you can pretty much lock the shock out. I am sure you can get this shock for 180 or so online, which make is a pretty decent deal

Weaknesses:    kinda heavy

Bottom Line:   
a good shock for <$200

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Walnut Creek

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Purchased At:   Came with Bike

Bike Setup:   motobecane fly pro


Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Matt a Weekend Warrior from Deerfield, Illinois, USA

Date Reviewed: July 2, 2005

Strengths:    The Judys are plush and squishy. Good price.

Weaknesses:    Can bottom out over 4ft. jumps

Bottom Line:   
Good shocks for a novice. They work well for cross country and freeriding and just around town. Has some trouble with big jumps, so wouldn't be good for downhill. Picks up little bumps and 3' jumps very well though. Otherwise very good and good longevity.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   anywhere in Deerfield

Duration Product Used:   More than 3 years

Purchased At:   Deerfield Cyclery

Similar Products Used:   Suntour

Bike Setup:   Specialized 02' Hardrock w/ shimano alivio derailler


Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:2
Submitted by Don a Cross Country Rider from Woodland Hills, Ca.

Date Reviewed: June 19, 2005

Strengths:    Works well. Does what it's supposed to do.

Weaknesses:    No rebound damping adjustment.

Bottom Line:   
Fork came with bike mail ordered from Supergo. The U-turn feature was cracked and the fork internals were frozen, right out of the box. After having parts replaced (Rox Shox paid for parts) the seals leaked. After 6 mos. of riding, there is considerable fore and aft play in fork stantions. other than that, it works fine.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   Supergo

Similar Products Used:   Various over the years.

Bike Setup:   Ironhorse Rogue (stock).


Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by Corrie Elieff a from Cambridge Ontario Canada

Date Reviewed: May 20, 2005

Strengths:    Great travel and clearance, for the price you cant beat it. Amazing bang for buck. Smooth fork.

Weaknesses:    The u-turn adjustment is stiff, hard to adjust, and the rubber on the adjuster wore out quickly

Bottom Line:   
Great Fork for the money, a good investment. Far Supurior to the Judy TT, but if your looking for and XC fork, go for the Duke, or Pilot. Great fork.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Hydro Cut, Waterloo

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $180.00

Purchased At:   Gears and Grills

Similar Products Used:   2003 Judy TT on an Ironhorse Desperado

Bike Setup:   2005 Trek 4300 w/RockShox Judy Sl, and IRD Dual manger discs


Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:4
Submitted by tim a Cross Country Rider from new zealand

Date Reviewed: May 17, 2005

Strengths:    the u-turn is handy

Weaknesses:    stiffness, overall performance

Bottom Line:   
An OK shock for price especially with a U-turn feature
but if you want performance or ajustability then judy wont please you
I've used it for cross-country and found that it doesn't take the bumps nicely.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Bike Setup:   giant NRS 3


Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Ryan Hansen a Cross Country Rider from San Diego, CA

Date Reviewed: February 12, 2005

Strengths:    Inexpensive. U-Turn is a nice feature.

Weaknesses:    HEAVY! Seems to "springy". Suspension is too stiff.

Bottom Line:   
If you are looking for performance then look elsewhere. I would highly recommend to upgrade to atleast the Pilot series. But if all you want is something extremely basic then you can't beat the price.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Mission Trails

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $109.00

Similar Products Used:   RockShox Pilot SL




Reviews 1 - 12 (12 Reviews Total)

Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

Reviving 98 Judy SL

The wear marks on these stantion tubes, dangerous? I'm guessin' it's from grit sanding off where the wipers sat... the rubbed areas are quite smooth. Is that normal? [IMG]http://i   Read More »

Rock Shox Judy SL - Mid 90's elastomer

I am trying to get my old mid 90's mt bike back on the road and my Judy fork's elastomers have disintegrated. A couple of questions. Is there an inexpensive spring that can rep   Read More »

'02 RS Judy SL repair help - O-rings?

Hi all, I'm rebuilding my old Judy SL for a beater SS project. After taking it apart it looks like it needs some o-rings. Has anyone had any luck finding parts for older fo   Read More »

Rebuild or trash? 96 Rock Shox Judy SL (White Bros Judd equppied)

Hey all I am needing some fork guidance/suggestions. Tuning up a bike for a buddy when I noticed his 1996 Rock Shox JUDY SL fork wasn't working. It would completely compress    Read More »

Judy Sl and Specialized Carbon FS Ti / First Time Apart

While cleaning the garage I took a side track and did some suspension work. For many years I have had a Judy SL (yellow with 63mm travel) hanging on the pegboard by it Answer AT   Read More »

See All »



 

See All »





Easton:



Mountain Cycle:




See All »