Similar Products Used: only Judy TT,but bike is stolen
Bike Setup: Genesis Beta AT,for street ride,it can work and on gentle downhill
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Submitted by
Rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Trabuco Canyon
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2007
Strengths: Wet bath, coil spring, adjustable travel, good rebound adjustment, very light weight.
Weaknesses: Makes some clicking noises.
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up review. I bought this for in 2000. This race version is much better than the current cheap judys and much better than the older cartridge judys. I put a heavier weight oil in it to make the rebound work best(rebound is super slow to very fast with a turn). The fork is about 3.6 lbs - super light for a 100mm travel, wet bath, coil sprung fork (just like the old Marzocchi Z1s). I can't believe that this fork is still going. It never breaks! It just keeps going and going. I ride twice a week in South Orange County. I will buy another Rockshox (they sure have got a lot more expensive over 7 years).
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Wolfeboro, NH. USA
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2004
Strengths: Indestructible. I have done nothing to this shock for 3+ years, and it took it's regular beating yesterday on a 22 mile loop, still performing flawlessly.
Weaknesses: Rebound adjustment knob? Yes,there is a rebound adjustment knob. No, it doesn't do anything. As far as the preload adjustment is concerned, there is very little difference when I tweek it (maybe .000000034 inches from full up to full down).
Bottom Line:
I wish this thing would break, but it won't. Then I would be able to get a better fork. I can't feel any difference in the shock since the day I got it, and like I said, I've done nothing to it. The thing simply works, and doesn't die. Oh well, I'll keep pounding it over the babyheads and someday I'll get a SID. Someday.
Strengths: Simple Durable Smooth compression Easy to overhaul Stiffness & weight are par Brake (non-disc) flex is minimal
Weaknesses: Damn noisy Preload adjustment is pathetic Rebound adjustment is so-so Red colour (yawn)
Bottom Line:
Don't read any further unless you want to learn what not do with these shocks: After 1 year of xc, I started freeriding on these things, and now up to 10' drops. I've only had to replace the XXX seals twice - once because of a high-pressure hose and the other b/c of my first 10' drop. Changing seals is pretty easy, once you figure out the tricks, and overhauling is simple. I just got my freeride bike so these shocks are now strictly xc (unless I come across a stunt...). They're a good, basic shock that gets the job done. They creak like crazy - makes it sound like my front-end is gonna snap off - and the adjustments are fair-poor, but compression is smooth all through it's 4". 4 chillies for the price and what it's inteaded for.
Submitted by
Michael
a Cross Country Rider
from Copenhagen, Denmark
Date Reviewed: November 27, 2003
Strengths: Light - strong
Weaknesses: Travel
Bottom Line:
Got it a year ago - and must say its strengh is enourmous. Old-school compared to my friends, - but who cares - as long as you beet them. The fork is up for its first service (for 10 months) next week - should probably have done it earlier on, but it still works perfectly..!
Submitted by
Dirk Hollebeek
a Cross Country Rider
from Gallup, New Mexico
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2003
Strengths: Reliability, simplicity, cost.
Weaknesses: No fancy gadgetry to make the riding buddies green with envy.
Bottom Line:
Excellent fork for those looking for reliability. This is not the lightest, newest, or flashiest forks. It is however a work horse that continues to perform mile after mile with no maintenance. With the old adage of strength, weight, and price ("pick one"), this fork gives all three.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi Z1, Manitou Black
Bike Setup: Old Specialized Ground Control I abuse.
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Submitted by
Hunter
a Cross Country Rider
from Casselberry, Fl
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2003
Strengths: Quality
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I have been loyal to Rock Shox because I and alot of my friends use this product. Roommate hase a Z1 Marzocchi on his Sienfeld bike and the seals busted, Why? How? Not from use I tease him. I am really hard on my equipment and this shock has taken all my poundings, trials, and jumping. Florida trails are rough in that there is alot of jagged roots and rough terrain. This shock soaks it up and asks for more. I am glad I got the better Race version because it is lighter. Great product=worry free fun on trails.
Similar Products Used: Older Judy XC, Jett XC, Marzocchi JrT
Bike Setup: Trek Hardtail with Full Shimano XT 9spd system, Race Face Cranks, Mavic D521 rear/Sun O degree front rim, Ringle headset, LX V-brakes, Avid 1.9 levers, Kore stem, Titec riser bars, RockShox suspension seatpost, RockShox Judy Race fork, Primo pedals, ODI grips.
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Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from London, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2003
Strengths: -absorbs all of the bumps -can be adjusted for travel -strong -fair weight
Weaknesses: -could use a little more tire clearance -external adjustments are useless (do close to nothing) -plastic pre-load adjusters
Bottom Line:
The fork performs like I always wished a fork would. I have never experienced better. Very strong and can take a lot of abuse. Absorbs all roots I hit. Very smooth ride! I highly reccomend this fork to all XC and freeriders, not for downhill though.
Bike Setup: Oryx T-Line 750, continental tires, bontrager select seatpost, kore forged stem, cane creek SX-1 headset, and deore (stronger than XTR [I find]) everything.
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Submitted by
Russell Ruggiero
a Weekend Warrior
from West Windsor, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2003
Strengths: Good Travel
Weaknesses: Weight
Bottom Line:
Dear Reader
The Rock Shock Race is a good mid-priced fork. At 3.8 pounds, it is not as the name implies for racing. It is too soft and about one pound overweight.
This product is long in the tooth, and better products are now available at the same cost. While well made, it cannot be regarded as a robust offering for tough trails. If you must buy a Rock Shock offering, then look to their Pilot series. These are up to date products, which are better than the Judy Race in all aspects.
Submitted by
Dave Q
a Cross Country Rider
from Yokota Air Base, Japan
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2002
Strengths: Cheap! $100, Candy apple red goes great with my bike. Good travel (80 mm?),
Weaknesses: Well, it is used, so there are some scratches. The stickers are scratched some too. The knobs are plastic.
Bottom Line:
For my cruiser, it's great. It looks super and it makes riding my cruiser so much more enjoyable. My mechanic friend took a look at it after the install and wanted to buy it from me! 4 Chillis 'cause it's used, but 5 overall.
Similar Products Used: Judy XC, Judy TT, Jett XC, Manitou, Marzocchi, etc.
Bike Setup: Kona A'HA, singlespeed cruiser (stars and stripes)Deore brakes, Nitrox / Selle glitter seat, DX pedals, Cane Creek C2 headset, ODI's
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Submitted by
Micha Muscus
a Weekend Warrior
from The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
Strengths: It's colours make it look really cool on every bike. It's does it's work well.
Weaknesses: It needs a warm-up before it really starts to work well, it makes strange squishy sounds, the adjusters are easily overscrewed, so be carefull!!
Bottom Line:
I guess it's an average class suspension for a fair price. The fork was allready mounted on the bike, hence it's pricetag of $0,-. Apart from sounding like it can break any minute when in action, it works fine. But I must say that I notice little difference in the travel distance. Perhaps that is due to my inexperience with such suspensions. But I did give I quite a pounding up until now, so if it holds and doesn't surprise me during action, I'm happy with it. I would like to try a SID equiped bike though, just to feel the difference. Buy it if you want a dependable/affordable 'all can take' suspension. If you want the best, this probably just isn't is for you.
Bike Setup: 2000 model Scott team pro, rear rockshox deluxe coiled spring
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Submitted by
Mr Rad
a Cross Country Rider
from Elkridge
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2002
Strengths: Smooth and easy to use. Price wasn't bad. Seems to be holding up well.
Weaknesses: The adjusters don't seem to really do much. Stock springs are a bit soft.
Bottom Line:
The fork just works. Doesn't seem heavy and has been holding up well for a year. I got this fork after my Rockshox Indy died - just seemed to loosen all up and want to fall apart. The fork was meant for cross country and it works well for that. Absorbs all the bumbs, rocks, roots, etc. quite well. I haven't taken it off any big drops because the rest of my bike would probably break if I did. After 5 years of riding my Diamondback the only parts that are still any good are the Judy, the Time pedals, and saddle (none of those parts came with the bike).
Submitted by
Ben P
a Cross Country Rider
from St Paul, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2002
Strengths: Good value Nice ride, good feel Wicked Red XXX seals alone makes this a low-maint shock
Weaknesses: A bit on the flexy side, especially when steering in ruts or very rocky terrain Rebound adjustment does very little Funny squeaky noise (minor)
Bottom Line:
While this fork is capable of 100mm travel, it's not built for DH, so those 200lb idiots doing 5' drops with this shock aren't using this for what it was built.
It's an XC shock through and through, and lighter than most in its pricerange. It's designed for serious offroad riders who want reasonable performance and reasonable wt for a reasonable price. It's not stiff enough to race seriously on, but it does the job really nicely for XC and light DH. I'm an average 5'10", 150lb, so I didn't find any reason to upgrade/change coils or oil wt. I ride it at 80mm of travel, as if I wanted anything more, I would go with an enduro or DH shock. I like the Judy Race, and it seems to be holding up just find considering I don't use boots and I've overhauled and cleaned it only once since I bought it. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Duke race, but the price just ain't right yet.
My ratings below are based on what this shock is meant for, which is XC riding and weekend local races; for those things the Judy Race does quite well. If you want a DH shock, buy a DH shock and quit whining about the Judy.
Weaknesses: Boots are terrible Poor preload/rebound adjustment A little flexy Relatively poor Rock Shox bushings Noisy Internal noises Stock medium springs too soft Horrible owners/tech manual ( RS should take lessons from Marzocchi!) BUTT UGLY stickers
Bottom Line:
I got the fork stock on a 2000 model GT XCR3000 i-drive. I immediately swapped out one spring for a heavy (I weigh 190) and the srping preload was perfect. I ran it at 80mm (stock) for a couple of months, but then switched to 100mm. After changing the all-travel spacers, which was a very easy job despite a totally useless owners manual, one spring kept rudding the inside of the stanchion during compression and "clicking" a bit. RS customer tech support was actaully very easy to deal with, and mailed me a pair of plastic sleeves for the springs. No charge, and the sleeves were in my mailbox within 4 days.
After coming off a very flexy air sprung Judy, this fork felt super plush right off the showroom floor. Wonderful performance, and rebound luckily is fine for me. However, both the preload and rebound adjusters don't seem to work much at all. I knew this going into the deal from reading other reviews though. Therefore I tune the ride by mixing various oil weights to achieve effective damping.
At 80mm the fork was great, but the 100mm balanced the bike much better. Yes the fork bobs on climbs or out of the saddle hammering, even more at 100mm, but I don't mind it much. Small bump compression is phenomenal. Big hit is OK, but I don't think the valves allow oil to flow through quickly enough, so initial big hit compression travel is compromised. yes I could go lighter oil but then it feels under damped for compression, so it's a tradeoff.
After switching this over to my hardtail it was amazing. I expected to kill this "cheap" fork, and have been learning to do drops and urban stuff, but the bushings are fine, regular maintenance and oil changes have kept things smooth and buttery. Torsional flex is minimal for a Rock Shox but not as good as Marzocchi. Weight is acceptable. I run it with no boots and the seals seem to be doing their job just fine. I was going to find a "better" fork for my custom hardtail, but honestly as long as the Judy is working I'll keep it, and maybe even buy another one as a replacement. You can't beat the price.
5 chilis for value - for sure 4 overall - there are much better forks out there, but this is certainly good enough to make me enjoy it. Adjustability is poor though.
