Light and stiff, with travel to 130mm and available Motion Control Damping, Recon is the choice for All Mountain bikes.
Key Features:
-Motion Control Damping (351)
-Stiff 32mm 7075 aluminum upper tube
-Disc specific or bossed lower leg options
-Forged 6061 hollow aluminum crown
-Solo Air and U-Turn coil spring options
-Compatible with all PopLocs
Weaknesses: poploc remote doesn't really work anymore except riding calmly on flat roads
Bottom Line:
This is a great fork, it works very well and is extremely plush at 130mm. the adjustable travel is really helpful and works well(except in the winter where you have to off your gloves and turn the hard knob with your bare hands, which hurts :p). I would definitely buy these again if mine broke.
This is the perfect fork for trail riders who want to go a bit bigger from time to time (I hit a nice 2 meter high drop with it regularly, and it works great). Buy it and you won't be deceived.
Submitted by
XC-Ginger
a Racer
from Rush NewYork !USA!
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2009
Strengths: Remote lock out, lightness, adjustability, durability, rigidity, sweet name
Weaknesses: NA
Bottom Line:
I was lucky enough to win the bid on ebay for the price, and after riding it for over 4000 miles of ride and races without a flaw or hiccup it has bean hands down the best fork I have used thus far. I just bought a Stumpjumper 29er with a REBA so we will have to see if this will stand up to its rep, and deserve to be the RECONS big bro.
Built up a full susser singlespeed.
The frame had 'Chiliworks' triple clamps fitted,look ok'ish
but the Recon's have transformed the bike.
U-Turn upto 130mm and lockout great for road sections and climbs.
I also threw away the factory shock and fitted Coupe Deluxe, this has done a lot too.
I now have a bike I want to ride.
Thanks to mtbr forum for advice.
Submitted by
eckoblaze
a Weekend Warrior
from mission viejo
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009
Strengths: black color cant go wrong with that..
Weaknesses: performance ummm didnt get a chance to tested out on trail
Bottom Line:
didnt even get to tested it out on the trail..the fork locked out meaning its on locked mode no travel..manager at PB says this was on a recall..dunno about that checked online about the recall none came up..so now they went to the manufacturer to get a replacement..and today they just called me only thing different is its not the fork i expected..they said i got a pretty good deal since it was high end its rockshox recon race..its white considering my bike is black it doesnt match coming from recon 351 130mm travel to recon race 100mm travel..dunno what the fork yr is hoping its 2010 but wrong thing is why would they swapp different from fork to another..how i wish i get to test this fork b4 it broke down didnt even tasted dirt.. 1 chili for defect fork or recall..dunno
Submitted by
northwestrider69
a Cross Country Rider
from seattle
Date Reviewed: August 12, 2009
Strengths: Looks nice, very light
Weaknesses: Not enough travel, cheap product
Bottom Line:
This fork is expensive junk. My Mozo factory front fork has handled all the tough trails this one never even got to ride on. Very disappointed considering the brand and the price paid.
Submitted by
leocarioca
a Cross Country Rider
from London
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2009
Strengths: very responsive and im amazed at how useful the handlebar lockout is. much better than my previous xcr suntours which are locked in one position atm
Weaknesses: none found so far, stiffness is perfect for my weight as im a small geezer
Bottom Line:
these shox are the bol***ks, woudl recommend them to any1, though ive only had them for one month, they are perfect for commuting, great off road and good for the occasional high jump....well pleased
Submitted by
jayboy125
a Cross Country Rider
from Devon
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2008
Strengths: smooth when riding, strong, light and really good quality feel to them.
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
amazing forks i advise anyone thinking of getting the to do so . they are good for everything pretty much, i do downhilling, jumping and cross country, and they take all of it perfectly.
Similar Products Used: rockshox recon 351 dual air
Bike Setup: Saracen Vortex le with rockshox recon 351 forks.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Benjamin Martin
a Cross Country Rider
from Felton, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2008
Strengths: U-turn travel adjust is the greatest! I added it to my Gary Fisher Hardtail and it was like having a new bike. Shorten the travel for climbing, raise it for descending, put it in the middle for technical riding; it changes the head angle, gyroscope angle for excellent handling on any terrain. More than enough suspension for one wheel.
Weaknesses: I would like the u-turn nob closer to the handlebars/easier to adjust at short notice.
Bottom Line:
I would like a u-turn on every fork I get from now on; sadly that bike just got stollen and my replacement is a 29er. They don't currently put u-turns on 29er forks but I'm hoping someday that product will be available.
Similar Products Used: rockshox jett, rockshox judy
Bike Setup: geared hardtail w/ low handlebars, high seat high speed trail commuting
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
craig
a Weekend Warrior
from St. Louis USA
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2007
Strengths: I can tell a big difference from the RST that came stock and this fork, at first I was worried from all the other up and down reviews for this shock..It handles on rocky trials and on pavement amazingly well, im not sure but I think shock might have a greater rack for better handeling and peformance..
Weaknesses: Slight decrease in pressure but far as I told it suppose to do it
Bottom Line:
From this being my first real upgrade for shocks it great, if you dont mind the slightly high price tag it a super investment if you are going be doing much incline and descent on rock/ boldgers, Heck alot better then the stock trek one RST gila but was okay if just everyday cruise on trails, but I wanted a beefer front end, Exactly what it is and what I got 4flamin chilis for the money $400. and 5 for the performance/ handling
Submitted by
Dennis Grant
a Cross Country Rider
from Windsor
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2007
Strengths: Functional rebound control, air spring with adjustable pressure, compression-based lockout with blowoff.
Weaknesses: Less adjustments than higher-end models (Reba, Revolution), conversion to Poploc remote requires swapping damping cartridge, plastic screw cover for air fill valve uses fine thread that strips/crosssthreads easily
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Single Air sprung, non-poploc, 4.35" travel model.
The Recon 351 is RockShox's midrange XC/AM fork. It shares a similar chassis and similar internal mechanism to the higher end models, but has less in the way of adjustments.
The Recon 351 features air springing, adjustable rebound, and adjustable compression with a lockout feature. More advanced models add the ability to change positive and negative air spring pressure independantly (the Solo Air mechanism in the Recon 351 fills both chambers to the same pressure) and allows the blowoff pressure on the lockout to be tuned (on the Recon, this pressure is fixed) and offer variable travel lengths.
Mine did not come with the bar-mount poploc remote that allows compression and lockout to be changed while riding, and upgrading to the remote involves changing some internals on the fork, so it isn't as simple as buying the remote and cable to add it.
The rebound adjustment works well and has large control authority; the fork can be taken from heavily underdamped to slightly overdamped. The compression adjustment seems to have less authority; my impression is that you have a baseline compression setting and "locked out" more than a real range of tuning settings. Happily, the baseline compression setting seems to work fine for me so I don't miss the adjustability. The lockout lever sits on the top of the right fork leg and can be reached easily enough to be activated while the bike is moving (over smooth terrain at least) Even when locked out, the fork retains a certain degree of travel and will still absorb some bumps.
Compared to the spring-preload-only, undamped Suntour XCR that the bike came with, this fork is a dream. It can be quickly set to absorb big hits without kicking back and ejecting the rider from the bike. Even with compression at full soft, there is no bob under full power when seated (although it will bob mashing out of the saddle unless the lockout is engaged) and the fork makes full travel with the air pressure set correctly.
This fork didn't noticable change the ride quality of the bike - the Suntour was plenty free to move over bumps - but it has completely transformed the predictibility and stability of the bike. There is no longer any ricochet over roots, rocks, and transitions - the fork just soaks up the hit and the bike stays pointed where I intended. This fork solved my only real complaint with the bike.
Even on sale as a model year clearout it was still very expensive (as most forks are) but it was half the price of a Reba for almost identical performance and weight.
Needing major surgery to fit the poploc remote is annoying, and the screwcap that covers the air fill valve is threaded with an inexplicably fine thread that crossthreaded in a heartbeat, but these are minor niggles. Overall, this was a great addition to my ride.
Submitted by
saint
a Racer
from sudbury, ont, canada
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2007
Strengths: adjustable, sturdy and plush. easy to service.
Weaknesses: none as of yet--maybe a little heavy, but hey it's a spring fork.
Bottom Line:
I put this fork on my Dakar while I rebuilt my Fox 100rl. I raced the bike with the fork set at 90 mm, and to my suprise it worked great. Very sturdy--smooth stroke. It meshed very well with the rear shock and the bike was point and shoot. The 85-130 adjust allows me to go all mountain if I wish. I may just leave the fork on the bike. I did switch to the extra firm spring as I weigh 80 kgs. rebound dampening works great, as does the motion control. good all purpose fork.
Bike Setup: Jamis Dakar XC expert, xt drive train, crossmax sl wheels, kenda small block 8 tires, juicy 5 brakes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Marco Soares
a
from Figueira da Foz; Portugal
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2007
Strengths: Easy blocking system, good behaviour when pushed almost to the limit in soft downhill rides. Zero maintenance so far. Good rebound tuning, it really works well and compression is easy to find the correct setup also.
Weaknesses: Not as resistant to tortion as I would like, but for the price paid is pretty good.
Bottom Line:
Very good fork, ideal travel for the intended use. To be honest I almost never reduce it from 130mm, so if you are considering buy one of these I suggest you buy the one with 130mm with no travel adjustment. Unless you demand aerodinamic position for the rolling roads. Only thing is not working optimal now is the blocking system, and it is not in the weaknesses because it was my fault. I was making some nice jumps in a MX runway, and in one of the times I climb to the top of the hill, came down and forgot to unblock the fork. In the fisrt jump the valve was damaged, and now it only works sometimes...
