Submitted by
dave
a Downhiller
from Cortland, Ohio,U.S.
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2004
Strengths: This product has almost no flaws but i would really like to knoe where i can get that elastomer spring kit please help me out
Weaknesses: None that i have seen
Bottom Line:
This shock is really good but i cant seem to find the elastomer springs for it if anyone reads this please help me out and give me a site or a store that woudl sell them to me.
Submitted by
bigripper
a Downhiller
from Boston/Seattle/Salt lake/Breck
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2003
Strengths: 5 inches of travel. Low maintenence. Affordable. Easy to upgrade to stiffer elastomers/springs.
Weaknesses: Aren't compatable with disc brakes. Preload adjusters on top caps spin freely without adjusting anything if you peg them all the way to + or -. Disassembling the fork lowers from the uppers can be tricky if the allen bolt under the dropouts decides it wants to rotate freely.
Bottom Line:
This is a good entry level DH/FR fork. For the price that Nashbar was selling these, $125, You can't beat it. This isn't a dream fork, and it isn't something I would have chosen by request. But since K2 decided to spec the Beast with it, I ended up with it, used it and I have very few complaints. The worst thing about this fork is that you can't upgrade to disc brakes. OH, and For all the people who claim to bottom this fork out, or flex it, I'm calling BS! I'm 220lbs and do some pretty aggressive trail/DH and freeriding with this baby and I have'nt bottomed out or noticed it flex once! And if you have these concerns, you can upgrade the elastomers and/or springs to heavier ones. I am running stock springs w/5 tan and 1 pink elastomer in each leg. It's smooooooooth!
Strengths: resistente a wascasos frontales sensible igual para ser de elastomeros facil de mantaner los bujes duran facil de mecanizar fuelle sy retenes para barro que si sirven
Weaknesses: flexi torceduras laterales elastomero no es para siempre solo para disco de 8"
Bike Setup: dmr sidekick on trailpimps and other than that a light bike (yeh right)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Jeffrey Slim
a Downhiller
from Stadskanaal, Netherlands
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: It's very good for freeriding. The Noleen Chubby lt has a great travel and is very strong.
Weaknesses: The colour is bad : orange
Bottom Line:
It's a very good suspension with a large travel. It's very good for freeriding en stunts. This is a fork for beginners but is very good, except the colour.
Bike Setup: Merida fireball pro, Amouba handlebar, Vuelta airline1 wheels, Schwalbe fat Albert 26X2.35, LX rear derailleur, Truvativ stylo 2 Crank with a hussefelt chainguide, Magura hs33 raceline brakes.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Luc v/d Wolde
a Downhiller
from Stadskanaal
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: Great suspension with a great travel. It's very good for freeriding. Like: Jumping, to take stairs, others thing like that.
Weaknesses: Nothing
Bottom Line:
It's a great front suspension and it's very good for freeriding. It has a great travel. The noleen chubby lt's a looking good fork. It was orange and i've painted blue and red. Bye bye
Strengths: strong and durable. i took it on a downhill coarse and i cant say how nice it was. i was surprised to see how it took all of the bumps and how tight of a radius of a turn u could put on it(this dosent matter on the downhill coarse though)
Bottom Line:
this is a great fork and it will take what ever abuse u give it. u can not beat this thing. i put and extender cartrage on it and it is now a coil air assist and i love it. it now has 6+ for travel. it is great.
Weaknesses: FLEX, you can bottem it out on any thing! cant put disc brakes on it.
Bottom Line:
the fork stinks like flamin sh*t, I dont know why i bought it. DONT buy this fork if you get it for some stupid reason get the spring kit for it from cambribike.com it will make it much better but dont worry it will still be VERY flexy and will still sink like flamin sh*t.
I would onley recomed it to some one on a low budget who is just learing to ride DH.
Bike Setup: ds1, the chubby, shimano xt / lx, and mr dirt chain guide
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Submitted by
lwh
a Cross Country Rider
from charlotte nc
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2001
Strengths: lots of travel, easy to maintain, very durable, price
Weaknesses: color, who could this appeal to. Steering is a little slower, but not unbearable, it is a downhill fork so this should be expected.
Bottom Line:
I am 275 pounds(plus 100 oz.camelbak) and ride three to four times per week, I have had no problems with this shock. Overall I am extremely happy with it and feel confident that it will remain in one piece through the ride. I have gone over the front pretty hard twice and have not twisted it. The trails are dusty here but the boots have kept everything clean. If you hate working on your bike buy this shock set it to your liking and ride. At my weight and with the amount of singletrack ridden I bust alot of stuff but haven't even messed up the paint on this shock.
Strengths: Price (however, you get what you pay for), can be smooth if set up right.
Weaknesses: Where should I begin? They are SOOO flexy, and I'm 5'10 and 135 lbs. They are really weak. My friend took out one elastomer stack on his one (which he sold after riding it a month), to see what it would ride like with softer elastomer, and bend the damn stanchion tubes riding once around a parking lot! They bottom out way to easily (I can bottom them out if I land on my back wheel when I rock forward on something as small as a three foot drop). Finally, I actually wore the internals out, causing the stanchions to move inside the lowers.
Bottom Line:
The fact that I'm a really agressive freerider/dirt jumper/urban rider probably has a lot to do with it. I have done some really big drops with it (almost 15') but my normal everyday sessions usually don't inlude anything over about 9'. Plus I'm 135lbs and 14 years old. I know that there are a whole bunch of people out there who put a bunch more abuse on forks than me. I imagine that these would be a good fork for anyone who is a less agressive, probably older casual trailrider, who needs the extra travel because of a bad back or something, and for these people, this fork is ideal. However, this won't stand up to the rigors of everyday freeriding. The only other use for them that I can see is if you are building a freeride bike, and don't have enough money for the fork you want, buy one of these and use it until you have the money for the fork you want, because I'm sure that these could hold up for a month or so without to many problems. For agressive riders, though, these forks just won't last.
Similar Products Used: Risse Trixxy 1999, 2001 (my friend who bent his stanchions bought a trixxy, and sent it back to get 2001 everything)white brother ud150, boxxer, marzocchi z1 dropoff qr20 (sick)
Bike Setup: K2 beast, noleen chubby, blackspire chain guide (the best), Race face northshore xs isis splined cranks, odi lock on grips, mavic d521 wheels, kujos
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Mike D!
a Weekend Warrior
from Las Vegas, NV
Weaknesses: tight turning radius, paint chips easily but who cares
Bottom Line:
If you're low on dough, it's a great choice. If you can't afford a $500-$1000 fork this will do you fine. Has held up strong under 4-5ft drop ins onto slickrock. I weigh about a buck 80, and have never bottomed out. Gotta go with 5 flaming turds.
Strengths: inexpensive, 5 inches of travel for that cost?, look somewhat attractive, ok for jumping, head turner
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
i got this for a fork for christmas and have had nothing but good from them so hard. it was a great deal for the cost, free to me but cost my parents some dough. great for freeriding and some slalom/jumping. could even be used for aggressive x-country. a great buy!
Strengths: Easy maintenance, simple design, upgradeable to springs, looks good, it's just a nice solid fork...
Weaknesses: the color! also, i can't tell what the top caps are made of but they can't possibly last too long... it's a bit flexy as well
Bottom Line:
A great fork for the money. I bought mine slightly used for $150, and that's after it had been repainted black and upgraded to full springs. THe unprogressive nature is bad for some people, but it has yet to bottom out for me. Maintenance is extremely simple! it takes less than 20 minutes- just take the fork apart and lube every part. IT's that simple! It may not be the best fork in the world, but forks don't get much better at this price...
These are a nice fork but they bend easily. I jacknifed at low speed and went over the bars and when I picked up my bike they were bent slightly. they were still rideable but never the same again.
I have a 1999 K2 flyin monkey.
[IMG]http://gallery.bloodline.org/d/4221-2/CIMG0777.JPG[/IMG]
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