Submitted by
Daniel Marcello
a Cross Country Rider
from Queens NY
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2004
Strengths: perfect amount of travel for cross country riding. tough as nails. buttery smooth action. responsive.
Weaknesses: little bit heavy for being a long travel fork back in the day. today they are light to the industry standards. cartridge system
Bottom Line:
all around amazing fork. i have used this as a cross country fork and also a downhill fork way back when you could ride the downhill course at Mount Snow with a hard tail (what? the fork says DH on it for downhill). this fork has held up through the years and still looks amazing and works even better.
Bike Setup: gary fisher jashua f1 custom shimano bontrger
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Aaron
a Downhiller
from East Bay, California
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2001
Strengths: Plush, good travel, esay to wok on.
Weaknesses: Could use another inch of travel.
Bottom Line:
This fork is perfect for the type of riding that I do. (dirt jumps, dh, ds) Could use more travel, but the quality of the travel is great. I threw in some Speed Springs and the fork really came alive. The damping knobs acctuly work. (unlike Manitou) Great fork for the money that I paid for it.
Strengths: Good at handling large/ medium hits. Good rebound conrol.
Weaknesses: Very little help on small bumps (who needs that anyway)
Bottom Line:
These forks perform well. As the name suggests, they are very good for DH riding. During my use with them, they never bottomed out, and rebound control is good. I liked these forks, untill they bent. While out jumping one day I misjudged a jump and missed the ramp alltoghether (it was rested on a log). It turns out my forks are bent, and are permanently out of action. I did not expect forks aimed at DH riders (and at a RRP of $500 originally), to bend after one crash. So I assume either these forks are weak, or my secondhand ones were previously damaged, either way these forks are pretty feeble. Don't buy these forks if you do big jumps or heavy DH riding.
Weaknesses: I broke the fork in half. I wheelied, got chainsuck, flipped over while playing captain nemo, next day tried to straighten my stem and noticed the fork brace was broke off one of the legs. I still recommend the JUDY DH my fault it broke. Paid $200 for it brand new.
Strengths: Very plush, very good progressive travel, dual air cartridges reduce the weight to about 3.2 lbs.
Weaknesses: Can be noisy, if not lubed well can be very stiff.
Bottom Line:
This is a great shock for anyone. It has lots of plush travel, but its light weight makes it ideal for cross country racing. Very good for downk=hill also. GOOD SHOCK!
Similar Products Used: Rock shox sid race, sl, xc, Judy race, sl, manitou carbon, marzocchi z.2 superfly.
Bike Setup: Trek 7000 zx, xtr/ xt parts. Control tech bar, core light three stem, eston seatpost, and lots of other light parts. Whole bike weights 23.4 lbs.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nikolai
a Cross-Country Rider
from Blacksburg, VA
Date Reviewed: October 3, 1999
Bottom Line:
I put dirt works springs in this fork and immediately blew both cartridges. I replaced them, then immediately blew them again, so I just let all the oil leak out and I rode it like that. The preload knobs on the top of the fork blew off in an epic crash I had. This fork was good, but for a big rider like me who rides hard and dosn't like to do any sort of preventive maintenence on his bike, this fokr let me down. But I guess every suspension fork I've ever owned has done that...
Submitted by
Phil
a Cross-Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: August 1, 1999
Strengths: Plush and easy to ride - good fun!
Weaknesses: They break, and RS won't even answer my concerns. Neither will their local agent - arrogant s***ts!
Bottom Line:
They stink. Ran well for 2 years (After a shaky start requiring a rebuild after only 2 months!!), and then when being serviced, they sheared without warning accross the fork brace. Bingo - 2 seperate shocks in a way not described in any of Rokshox literature. I know of another rider who had this happen, but that person was riding the bike, and now has pins keeping some bones together. I have not taken my bike off road since - it is now an expensive commuter bike. RS made me buy a replacement part (Despite the failure being the result of a weakness at their end), and they won't even talk about it with me. Their revolting arrogance has cost them a loyal customer, and if I can help it, many more, as I will not hesitate to spread this one!!!
AWSOME! AWSOME! AWSOME! Add some speed springs and switch to an alloy steerer and you've got one of the best 3 travel setups money can buy. Adjustable rebound and compression...on a fork that will cost you about $200! You won't find a better deal!
Submitted by
Leo Shotridge
a cross-country rider
from Alaskan
Date Reviewed: January 28, 1999
Bottom Line:
Ok, I found these 1996 forks for about 200 dollars. I put speed springs in because I got tired of the mcu elastimers riding hard in cold wheather(plus, mcu have a tendency to split). And because I !@%@%@$!^!#%$^ the rebound dampner I had to buy a replacement. I came across a shop that had a Risse Gem cartridge that has compression and rebound dampening built into one cartridge and had to get the Risse neutral shaft(aka - dummy leg) to match the length of the cartridge side and took out the compression dampener too. The difference is astounding on the quality of the Risse dampener. The speed springs are great too. Though I got the 75 mm cartridge, Risse also has an 80 mm upgrade kit too. The forks I have were 80 mm travel, but I got the 75 mm Risse(which were the length for the 95-early 96 DH shocks)for a great deal at a bike shop think the 5mm loss is more than made up for in performance. I recommend upgrading to the Risse dampening cartridge if you origanal cartridge blows. And if you have the XC with 63mm of travel, you can upgrade to the 75mm and 80mm cartridges of travel but also have to get the Risse dummy let as well. And if you do this travel upgrade to the XC, don't forget to get longer elastimers or springs. As for the elastimers, just add another mcu from the Janx system, cheap and effective. But the mcu's are more sensitive to cold wheather. I love the shocks. And if I buy another shock, I'll still keep the Rock Shok Dh on my spare bike................................ And by the way, I ride every bike I own. Non get left in the back of the garage. So the DH will always be used.
One other little trick for you Judy DH riders out there. Lube the hell out of the entire unit with either teflon grease (Slick 50 One Grease works good) or if you can find it a product called Power Punch (auto parts store your best bet). It really cuts down stiction. (When I say the entire unit I mean every single piece, lowers, light coating on the stanchions, damper rods, Mcu's, threads, seals, o-rings, everything)
Hi,
i have a little problem.
My Rock shox Judy dh were leaking and i put all elements out of the fork.
I forgot to remember what i had to put into which hole because i thought Read More »
I have a 95/96 ish (cantilever brake arch) set of Judy DH's, in great condition and elastomers still ok, but was thinking maybe I should get some springs just in case. Anyone know Read More »
I have a 95/96 ish (cantilever brake arch) set of Judy DH's, in great condition and elastomers still ok, but was thinking maybe I should get some springs just in case. Anyone know Read More »
Are there any OTHER elastomers in this fork other than the stack that are in the upper stanchions?
When I pull the elastomer stack out, I can see something that looks like a pal Read More »
I am looking to rebuild my 1996 Judy SL fork. I would love to find a set of Arlo Englund cartridges for it, but best I can tell they are no more. I do have access to a 96 Judy DH Read More »
