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Submitted by
david.bolden
a Racer
from Monmouth, ORDate Reviewed: August 24, 2008
Strengths: Tracks like a rigid fork, is plush, very durable zero flex!!Weaknesses: Tends to puch up on th ehead set. A head lock counters this issue. Not disk brake compatible, hard to find. Little heavy by todays fork standards.Bottom Line: This fork is great. It came on the Proflex 957 I bought. I have the carbon leg version. I was concerned about the durability of the legs but that concern was unnecisary. These things are tough and durable. THe fork moves in a "J" motion shortening the wheel base slightly allowing for tighter steering. I could throw this bike into any corner with no concerns. It would track through the corner like it was on rails.
Favorite Trail: Black Rock
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Purchased At: Bikes n More
Similar Products Used: Marzoci, Rock Shox SID
Bike Setup: Profelx 957
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
DOUG
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange, CA.Date Reviewed: May 25, 2006
Strengths: The forksWeaknesses: The so called springsBottom Line: The elastomeric "springs" literally melted off of both of my bikes and left plastic trails and puddles on my bikes and garage floor. There should be a real spring replacement instead of the elastomeric replacement. The life expectancy is less than expected. For the amount I paid for these bikes I really expected so much more than what I got.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$800.00
Purchased At: Dealer
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Will Render
a Weekend Warrior
from OttawaDate Reviewed: November 14, 2000
Strengths: Rigid, plush, SSWWEEETTTWeaknesses: lots of MaintenanceBottom Line: This is a great shock!.. I did more on setup then I think any one would ever bother too. but in the end it's a great shock! I road it until the end of this year when I bought a new bike with a JUDY SL.. When it comes to drop off's when the front hits first the Judy has an advantage (No "J" action) but for cross contry the Vector/Cross link is still the king! My upgrads have left me with 3 1/4 travel, very plush.. what can I say I road this shock for 5 years and I still think there's nothing on the market that is better for cross contry.. my problem is... it's heavy.. and I'm not adding this to a 26LBS full suspention bike.. so I guess I will have to get used to the JUDY.
for upgrade advice/ tips and tunning.. take a look at my web site..
Can I upgrade my Vector / Vector 2 with parts from the new
Cross-Link?
If your asking about the 98 Cross-link the answer is :
YES!!
http://www.cyberus.ca/~will/Gervin.htm
Favorite Trail: fore play
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At: friend
Similar Products Used: amp, cross link
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
blair wershler
a Weekend Warrior
from vancoverDate Reviewed: October 18, 2000
Strengths: NONE!!!!!!!Weaknesses: where do I start.... I broke the left fork leg clean off the mounts. needless to say thats not good....Bottom Line: This fork sucks! your probobly better off not having one at all. for 1995, it was ok. but two inchs, (really more like 1/2 inch) is just not up to todays standards.
Favorite Trail: pink starfish
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$75.00
Similar Products Used: under inflated front tire
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
chris c.
a Cross Country Rider
from Framingham, MADate Reviewed: September 22, 2000
Strengths: NO VERTICLE FLEX!!!!!Weaknesses: A lot of linkage.Bottom Line: I bought this shock as soon as it came out because I was tired of the verticle flex in both my Manitou & Rock Shox. What a difference! I have been riding this shock since Jan. 1996 & have not had a single problem. Since my frame is an older Gary Fisher it has a very compact geometry, and with the Girvin's backward dropouts, the wheelbase feels very short making it smooth as hell. I don't know how I could ever go back to a telescoping fork.
As far as customer service, when I was putting the fork on I called Girvin for tech support. The operator immediately connected me to Bob Girvin! He talked me through the process and offered to send out the latest owners manual for the fork (it originally came with the manual for the original Girvin with the stem attached).
For what I paid at the time compared to other forks in the price range, it has been worth every penny!
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$340.00
Purchased At: National Bike-Beverly, MA
Similar Products Used: Manitou, Rock Shox
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Cronus
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ron
a Cross Country Rider
from HamiltonDate Reviewed: September 6, 2000
Strengths: Looks INCREDIBLE!!!!! Takes hard, hard bumps.
This is one tough shock.Weaknesses: Temperature affects the resistance dramatically.
People want to steal my bike.Bottom Line: If you want a durable shock that can take a mean beating.... this is the one to buy.
Favorite Trail: Ancaster Valley Trails
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Purchased At: Came with bike from a friend
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox.
Bike Setup: Cannondale M400, Girvin Shox,
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Merlin
a Weekend Warrior
from Charleston South CarolinaDate Reviewed: June 13, 2000
Bottom Line: I am not one for Maintaining anything at all. I neglect things and pay for what I think will last my abuse. I have had my Girvin for over 3 years now. It was used but refurbished when I got it, and was rubbed to a matte finish wich I like better than shiny junk. I have done no maintanence on the fork in that 3-4 year period, and it has never failed me at all. Not subtle on soft hits, but well needed on the harder hits. Used in on beaches, sand, cross country, jumped it, slamed it, even kicked it. (Alot of kicking due to clipless pedals) I think that it is fantastic to last better than anything else on the bike.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Bike Setup: RD Coyote 2, C4 clipless pedals, Psyco KS tires, Avinir rack, and bag. Lizzard Skins where possible.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ode Bike Scribe
a Cross-Country Rider
from Staatsbug, NYDate Reviewed: January 9, 2000
Strengths:
Ridgid takes big hits wellWeaknesses:
Maintance can be a pain.Bottom Line: The Shock I have has the ODS and has been retrofitted with a speed spring. I bought this shock used, because I had spent soo much on my frame and I liked the fact that it looks different from the rest. Semi annual greasing is a bit of a pain, but I like to tinker so it fits me. (Hey I used to own British Cars). I am planning on drilling it so that future greasing can be done with a grease pump. As far as I am concerned it is a keeper - Plus not everyone has one. I derated it to 4 chillies because not everyone is interested in maintaining their own equipment.
Favorite Trail:
Cannot tell you
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Similar Products Used:
Mantitou Mach 5
Bike Setup:
Lite Speed Obed
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Luke Son
a Weekend Warrior
from Nashville, TNDate Reviewed: October 28, 1999
Strengths:
Great ratings, looks great, design makes sense to me. I love to do mechanical work...its just me i guessWeaknesses:
Equally bad reviewsBottom Line: Ok, it says that i cant review if I havent ridden it...but I have one in the mail and i just wanted to set things straight...I love doing mechanical work so Ill Know whats falling apart or not...just anted to say that im reall excited to beat the crap out of it and see whats goin on...four chilies for anticipation.
Favorite Trail:
fairview
Duration Product Used:
tested or demo'ed only
Similar Products Used:
Judy XC/DH, Zoke Bomber, AMP F2, Manitou SX.
Bike Setup:
GT avalanche w Manitou SX, XTR/XT, CRUX(you cant get them in the states! ha ha!!)other than that, nothing special
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Richard
a Cross-Country Rider
from GeorgiaDate Reviewed: May 13, 1999
Bottom Line: I bought an 856 back in March of 98 which came with a Girvin fork with after market speed springs. I was warned about the maintanence problems with the forks but I decided to deal with it till now. The fork started out very stiff as also the way which I like to ride. However 95% of the problems associated with the bike deals with the fork. I have had some kind of problem with fork at least once every two to three weeks. I have ordered another fork and I will never go back to a Girvin fork unless it was free or a last resort. I have bent the drop outs, broken the axle rod, stripped the steer tube, and many of the screws come loss after a few rides. The only good thing is that the fork has no squeaks and is very stiff.
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jim Frost
a Cross-Country Rider
from Watertown, MADate Reviewed: April 5, 1999
Strengths:
Tracks like a rigid.Weaknesses:
Horribly tuned by default, easy to knock out of alignment.Bottom Line: This is a follow up review to one I made a couple of years ago (see below).The fork was a Vector ODS AL which I extensively retuned (see http://world.std.com/~jimf/biking/vector.html).After retuning the fork worked very well; supple and excellent tracking. For the kind of riding I usually do the fork was nearly perfect.Unfortunately as the bushings wore it became more and more difficult to keep them quiet and moving smoothly. New seals helped a lot, but I could never get the smooth action of the new fork back for more than a few weeks at a time. It felt like I was doing a full teardown almost every ride.Last summer I took a relatively minor header and the crash knocked the fork out of alignment. It appears that I twisted something in the lower link; I just couldn't get it straight again, even after following Girvin's re-alignment instructions.I'm sure a new lower-link would have fixed the problem but I was pretty tired of the pivot maintenance and opted intead for a new Atom Bomb.To my surprise the AB tracks almost as well as the Girvin (which makes it head and shoulders above everything else I've tried). I had it tuned to near perfection in five minutes, and to perfection in two rides. Compared to the six months I spent experimenting with the ODS unit on the Girvin that was a dream. Similarly, maintenance on the AB is a snap -- way fewer pieces, way longer service interval.Extra-heavy long term maintenance and poor tunability make me downgrade my review to 3 chilis.
Favorite Trail:
Bow Ridge @ Lynn Woods
Duration Product Used:
more than 3 years
Similar Products Used:
Rock Shox Indy, Judy.
Manitou Mach5.
Marzocchi Atom Bomb.
Bike Setup:
GT Tequesta (more or less).
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a cross-country rider
from Hampstead,MDDate Reviewed: March 13, 1999
Bottom Line:
The Girvin vector fork came OEM on my Proflex 856. It has the GDT coil-over with oil damper. The fork takes big hits very well, but is almost un-responsive on the small stuff. Also off-camber areas can be a bit tricky as the fork skipps and deflects off of rocks and such. The fork stears great. Dropping down a steep descent is a bit un-nerving because you get the sensation that you are going over the bars because of the J path the foks travels.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Tay
a weekend warrior
from SingaporeDate Reviewed: December 16, 1998
Bottom Line:
I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!I think its ok!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ken
a
from PADate Reviewed: October 6, 1998
Bottom Line:
The idea behind this fork is great. Unfortunately, the fork still has to catch up with the idea. Some good words, then the bad. First, the fork is a perfect match for a minimal travel XC FS bike. On the ProFlex 856 it works well with the rear. It doesn't bob much during out of the saddle hammering either. Lastly, the fork is great for wicked switchback singletrack. The bad side. Gotta disassemble the fork, clean the bushings, and lube generously very often, like 100 miles or so. It is a pain to take this fork apart, especially the lower inside pivot point. MCUs are tough to work with. Finally I drilled out the hole of the top MCU to relieve the inherent stiction by the smaller diameter. This makes the fork much more reactive in faster situations. Definitely ditched the thirty weight oil for 5W. Then, had to go to really hard MCUs so that the plush range of the MCUs doesn't get eaten up by sag. In fact, the fork is at its most plush when the MCUs are just hard enough so that the bike doesn't sag at all when sitting. Why? the MCUs are the most plush at the beginning of their compression, then the hardness ramps up very quickly. So, if the initial plush range is overcome by sag, you get a harsh ride. By the way, I tried the speed springs, and this fork works better with dialed-in MCUs. Why? Minimal travel. Springs give a linear compression rate, and it is nearly impossible to set the Vector 2 up to not bottom out constantly and yet be responsive in low speed situations. The fork needs about 2.75 to 3 inches to effectively use springs. The Vector 2 gives about 2 inches of useable travel. Lastly, the motion of this fork, and most linkage forks, is to go back and then up. Imagine yourself on a 45 degree descent at about 25mph and you hit a sizeable object. The momentum you have wants to throw you over the bars, and the declining wheelbase and increased head angle are definitely helping the throw. Can you say human missile? Found this out on some helacious Italian Alps descents. Had to keep my butt way over the rear tire to stay on the bike at higher speeds. It really is a XC fork. Rating? Stock is a low 1-2 smoldering green peppers. Modified and dialed in gets it 2-3 flaming halapenos. A Marzocchi Atom Bomb defintely rates five or more volcanic habaneros. I'll give it a three just because it held up to 3 years of abuse without falling apart.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe
a weekend warrior
from LADate Reviewed: August 14, 1998
Bottom Line:
Looks great! Steers Great! Stiction-Free plush travel! I don't have the ones with the new Noleen shocks but the ODS system still kicks ass! Just like what you hear from everyone, change the oil and it works a whole lot better. Haven't tried a speedspring upgrade yet so I don't know if it'll improve it that much more. I'm never going back to a telescoping fork.
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