Submitted by
Badgerlurve
a Cross Country Rider
from lake district, uk
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2009
Strengths: they work...kind of, but thats about it
Weaknesses: very difficult to set up, they never seem to suit my ride either too much/not enough air, too much,not enough rebound etc etc. The remoite lockout is useful for fire roads etc but the system has broken 3 times, and you cant free the oiuter cables to lube any of the cables...stupid!
Similar Products Used: fox rlt(thats the way to go
Bike Setup: truth
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
andy
a Weekend Warrior
from el cerrito, ca
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2006
Strengths: very stiff, very tunable. Poplock works great with adjustable flood setting so it isn't a total harsh lockout. My favorite rides are more dampened than with the Duke Xc I ran before it. Inspires confidence. Nice looking too in silver.
Weaknesses: A bit heavier than I had hoped for a 100mm fork. With the pop lock, weighted the same as the old Duke XC.
Bottom Line:
I am not the foremost authority on the new high tech forks, but I can say this is a noticeable upgrade from my Duke Xc. I wasn't about to spend $700 on a FOX, but was told by some hardcore mountain bikers this is very close to the FOX. Great fork for cross country riders with 4 inch rear suspension bikes. I like the lack of annoying "bobbing" when set up right. I run 90/90 on pressure and weight 165 pounds.
Similar Products Used: Other Rock Shox, Manitou and Fox forks.
Bike Setup: Niner Sir 9 with American Classic wheels and Avid brakes.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Benjamin Go
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2006
Strengths: Light, tough, stiff, and poploc lockout is awesome allowing on the fly activation. The dual air chambers are great allowing for a really plush ride that's very tuneable.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
These are a great fork, even better considering the price. Very comparable to anything Fox puts out for less $$$. What more could you ask for. Early reviews have panned the Reba's for they're suspect air seals, I have not had any problems so far. Just an awesome plush ride on the full active setting and propedal efects using the compression adjustable pseudo lockout feature. I set mine up using the "20% rule" ie: body weight compresses the travel 20% of the total available, negative pressure at 20psi above positive and 5 click off zero compression for the lockout. Just a great fork - go get one.
Similar Products Used: Duke XC Air, Fox FRL, Fox Vanilla.
Bike Setup: Customised GT Avalanche 0.0, Thomson Elite seatpost and stem. WTB Rocket saddle w/ Ti rails. XTR rear derailleur. Ritchey Pro V3 pedals. Titec Enduro flat bar and ODI lock on grips.
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Traverse City, MI
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2006
Strengths: Remote lock-out. Dual air.
Weaknesses: Pop-loc control.
Bottom Line:
So far this fork has proven quite durable. Over 1700 miles and all I've done is clean the sliders, inject some Judy butter into the foam rings every few hundred miles and tweak the air to change the ride. The Pop-loc remote lock-out is a nice feature. Although the handlebar control is a bit weak. My has not broken yet, but on the bike I demoed it was. When the control is mounted where it is easily reachable, it also hangs out the back side of the bars. Talk about some intense pain when your rear tire slips and your knee comes up and whacks the poc-loc!
This fork has a lot of tuneability. Compression damping/motion control/lock-out, lock-out blow-off, dual air, rebound damping. It's a good fork for a hardtail or short travel XC bike. Not as light as some, but less expensive and probably a bit stiffer than the flyweights, for more precise steering. If you don't like to tweak your suspension, you might want to find a simpler fork to tune. That's alot of adjusting and tweaking for only 80mm of travel.
I'll give this fork 4 stars overall. It's not a Fox. And 5 stars for value. It is a couple hundred bucks less than a Fox.
Submitted by
Nathaniel
a Weekend Warrior
from Lynnfield,mass,usa
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2006
Strengths: *FOR REBA TEAM w/POPLOC AND U-TURN* 32mm stanchions I got citrus yellow, wtf is up with black...bikes need a little color! Dual Air, U-turn Nice Box, I'm savin it till...well I like it. rebound actually works lockout/floodgate And ahhh yes the remote. Motion control is great...great,MUCH better than spv.
Weaknesses: A tad flexy, and I'm 100lbs, my Manitou Black was a little stiffer. Remote is hard to get on the bar U-turn has to be turned 6 times to change travel 30mm. Lockout could be stiffer. Makes an occasional hiss, or squishy noise.
Bottom Line:
Great, great, great, smooth, smooth, buttery smooth, light, air...Best fork. Demo'ed a few Foxes, RS Team works just as good or better.
Great for AM,XC, or just riden around town. My complaints were minor, and really, I'm not upset about the flex, it does not affect my riding in any way. I'm running 25psi neg., and somthing around 45psi posi.Keep in mind I'm only 100lbs.
I love it, I want one for my other bike, almost cried when I got it. When you go from an MZ Comp to a $650 fork...well it's just a good felling. You should buy one too.
Similar Products Used: Manitou Black Elite w/spv 120mm Maracocchi MZ Comp 80mm Demo'ed Fox Forx Vanilla RL 130
Bike Setup: 04 Marin Bear Valley, steel 32lbs, Deore, Five D cranks designed for 80mm fork (85 is fine) some upgrades
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Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Madison, WI
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2005
Strengths: Light weight for a fork thats stiff and full use of travel. Many adjustments and I look the simple design of it.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Excellent fork and excellent value. I really became impressed with this fork's ability to take punishment when I went off a 4 foot drop to transition and didnt quite lift my front wheel high enough and just nailed my front wheel on the ground and rode an endo for a few feet. Me and my friend were very impressed with my save, but what was more impressive was the fork. It took the hit and progressively got stiffer as it went through the full 100mm and didnt bottom out. Wow! I was riding a SID Team that came stock on the fuel and a creak and play developed in the crown and steer. Maybe because I was putting more abuse than intended on a SID, so I warrantied it and got the Reba and much happier.
Strengths: Light, easy to set up, adjustments actually work! Laterally stiff, too, with the 32mm stanchions.
Weaknesses: Has the reputation of Rock Shox's junk from a few years back. I was hesitant to buy this, but it's a stellar performer, on par with my 3 Fox forks (125 rlc and 2 F100X's).
Bottom Line:
Wow! A lightweight xc fork that actually gets all 100mm of travel (with spacers for 85 and 115mm), and has rebound and compression adjustments that can make the terrain disappear. I'm not a fan of lockouts but the Poploc lets you adjust compression for braking or the trail, and then it obviously has a complete lockout. And it has 32mm stanchions just like Fox, but without the Fox pricetag. I purchased two 2005 Reba Teams with Poploc on ebay for $325 each but sold the other frame so I have one sitting here for sale. The fork is a screaming deal, and well worth the money. Overall a much better all-around fork than anything Fox makes. I'd say the only thing comparable is the Marzocchi Marathon XC, but that weighs more.
Similar Products Used: Fox F100X, RLC125, blah blah blah
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Submitted by
Kirby C
a Cross Country Rider
from Courtice
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2005
Strengths: Very stiff and light. Tracks great. Excellent tuneability.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
Excellent value and quality. If you are a heavier rider (i am 230-240) you will really appreciate the lateral stiffness and damping control. I am riding faster and with more confidence than ever before.
Weaknesses: may have to many adjustments for some riders.
Bottom Line:
I must admit, I was very nervous about buying a Rock Shox product after the past couple of years of producing unreliable garbage. I was really set on getting a Fox Talas RLC until I heard about there bushing problems. I got a chance to parking lot test a Reba and was very impressed with the quality of it's travel and steering response. There are tons of adjustments that really allow you adjust the characteristics of this fork. It is my opinion that these forks are better than the fox float line; even if price is not an issue. I have approximately 300 miles on the fork and has proved to be reliable as well. Fox, Manitou, and Marzo better watch out...
Similar Products Used: Fox Float line of forks, manitou black, headshocks.
Bike Setup: Castellano Fango Softail, Sram X9/XO shifters/rear deraileur, XTR disc brakes/xt levers, King ISO hubs with mavic x317s, race face deus cranks & headset.
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Submitted by
ridercapayam
a Cross Country Rider
from Selangor, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2005
Strengths: Stiff, Light weight, adjustable.
Weaknesses: None so far. Only time will tell.
Bottom Line:
Recomended to all type of MTB riders, Adjustable travel really helps according to trail characteristics. The first few ride give me a scare as i noticed this fork is too hard.(the recomended settings is a no-no) Did the 60% formula and everything goes perfect. Enjoying every ride now. 100mm setup is the best for a cross country rider like me.
Weaknesses: Like all high-end forks, long break-in period before pillow plushness. No v-brake model for old school xc setups. Takes a while to learn the fork and Motion Control can come off too advanced at first.
Bottom Line:
I got this fork thinking that I needed to have 32mm stanchions for serious trail riding. I'm also pushing 200lbs., and my 30mm stanchion Manitou Minute's and Marzocchi Marathon were becoming too flexy for my hard trail riding. The Reba Team was the perfect fork for the options and the money.
I'm not a big fan of automatic lockouts like on the Fox F100X and F80X because it makes it hard to climb with the handlebar fully extended out at ya. The Manitou SPV at least does a better job and doesn't fully "lock" on ya. But Rock fixes this problem with their Motion Control system (and the difficult-to-explain "Flood Gate"). It's certainly more complicated, but it's much smarter to have a fork that will still give you some "play" while in lockout mode and can adapt to different terrain and riding styles. Check RockShox's website dedicated to the Motion Control, it's detailed there. Or check out the awesome MBAction magazine review/advice from the Dec or Jan issue. Expect Fox forx to get cheaper now, Reba's are gaining serious ground.
As for the ride quality. I honestly haven't sensed any difference between a top Fox and a Reba Team. Both are quite plushy and rigid/stiff. But the Reba U-Turn's offer 85-115mm of travel, and that suits my riding style and capabilities better than a fixed travel fork. On long climbs or road riding, 85mm is excellent. On gnarly descents or for occasional jumps I'll opt for the full 115mm. This is as close to having a xc/trail do-it-all fork as it gets. Compared to Manitou Minutes and Blacks, I prefer the Manitou reverse arch for the more confident steering control, but the overall rigidness and responsiveness of the 32mm stanchions on the Reba will win any time.
Get this fork if you're looking for the best value out there. Get this fork if you like to ride hard and be in control. Get this fork if you're more about the ride than the status of the fork.
Don't get this fork if you're doing dirtjumping or freeriding, try a Pike model instead. Don't get this fork if what you really want is to impress others with a fancy/expensive Fox or Marzocchi.
Similar Products Used: Fox RL/RLT 100 and F100X, 2004/2005 Manitou Minute 1:00 and 2:00, Manitou Black Super Air 80 and 100, 2004 Marzocchi Marathon SL 120mm
Bike Setup: Marin Mount Vision '04 frame, Fox Float RL w/ ProPedal rear shock, SRAM X.0 deraillerus/shifters, Titec RIP cnc stem, Ritchey Carbon Rizer 31.8/OS bar, Avid Juicy 5 f&r, FSA XC-300 disc wheelset, Panaracer Trailblaster 2.1" F&R tires.
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Submitted by
Johnny Sweetwood
a Cross Country Rider
from Oakland
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2005
Strengths: Man, this thing is adjustable!
Weaknesses: Man, this thing is adjustable:< It takes many rides to get the sweetspot
Bottom Line:
This is a very good xc fork. It takes eons to get it just right. Its a 4.75 chili fork. I own the forks listed above so I have direct comparison. Its just as good as the Fox's if not better for racing. You can make the fork very active. The Fox's are more linear feeling on big hits which is nice but this fork soaks up the chatter real well on flat stuff. If you do a lot of steep descents, the Talas is a little better.
Here are my helpful tips: The 60% rule. Positive Air: 60% of your body weight Negative Air: 60% of the positive air now add just enough rebound damping to mellow the action without packing up.
For Example I'm 190. Positive =~ 105 Negative =~ 60 Rebound -1/4 from wide open.
If you run the recommended settings from the manual...your hands will bruise.
Similar Products Used: Manitou Black (sucks very hard), Fox Talas, Fox Vanilla, Marzocchi MX (decent)
Bike Setup: Pimping Ellsworth Truth.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Robert Banner
a Cross Country Rider
from Beaufort, SC, Good 'ole U.S. of A.
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2005
Strengths: Very stiff, relatively light, awesome adjustability.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
Since I'm not racing much anymore, I wanted longer travel and less flex than my SID. The Reba seemed to fit the bill and the price was very good compared to other forks in this class. Although I've only ridden on it a couple of times and I don't quite have it tweeked just right, I am impressed with the stiffness (yeah, I know, anything's stiffer than a SID) and the overall ride quality. Like one reviewer wrote, I think I'm gonna end up running the + air a few pounds less than the manual recommends. I liked the lockout feature of the SID so, I got the Poplock on the Reba. It isn't a true 100 percent lockout like the SID, which is good cuz the fork is still able to follow the contour of the terrain and the floodgate aloows the fork to become active again when a large bump is encountered. Of course all of these parameters are adjustable to the riders preferences. In other words this is a plush (if you want it to be), stiff fork with a myriad of adjustments and the price is pretty good too.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz SL, Easton carbon seatpost and handlebar, SRAM twisters, Truvativ crank, WTB pedals, American Classic 350 disc wheels, Marta brakes, XTR der and cassette, Stan's no-tubes,...various tires.
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As it says in the title............... :thumbsup:
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