This fork is very reliable under any situation. It never put me in any bad situation although I used it in MTB races (Marathons) accross the Alps in Germany and Austria. Good painting quality. Seals are also perfect and it does not require any maintenance other than normal (cleaning, bit of oil)
Bike Setup: Cube Acid, all XT, Magura HS 33 hydraulic brakes.
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Submitted by
max
a Cross Country Rider
from knoxvegas tn
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2002
Strengths: cheap light and looks awsome worked great for about 1 year and 1/2
Weaknesses: flexy after a year of hard riding i noticed the xxx seals had come loose i decided to give it a over haul. i bought a revive kit from rs and added 10 weight oil it worked great for a while. a few months later a blew a cartridge and about the same time the rebound knob started to give out and the top caps seperated from the part that screws in to the top tube!
Bottom Line:
this fork is awsome....... for about 1 year after that it is a time bomb
Submitted by
sdf sdf
a Cross Country Rider
from sdfs
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002
Strengths: Feel and easy of use.
Weaknesses: none at this time
Bottom Line:
Awsome fork I weigh 200 pounds and have fully tested this thing to what I thought would be the the limit and then beyond that. I have it set to 100mm with 15 weight oil and it works perfect. I decided to test it riding at a 8 inch porch edge. I rode straight at the thing a full speed and without pulling the front off at all. I new that if it didn't work it would throw me off onto my head, but it took the bump right out and didn't bottom hard at all. The bottom line is this is just a stimulating fork and for $149 you would be insane to pass it up. The still have the red ones with alloy steerer at supergo. Buy one.
Submitted by
Andreas Klauser
a Cross Country Rider
from Feldafing
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2002
Strengths: Stiffness, function.
Weaknesses: Weight.
Bottom Line:
An update. I 've used it now the last eight month with 80mm travel and w15 oil setup. The Risse Catridge I had intermittently put in flew out againg. This Judy SL is certainly no conspicious fork like the Marzocchi Atom 80. It is rather heavy when compared to the Manitou SX Carbon. But it works well now, it is still in very good condition. The price compares well with the top class forks of Manitou, Marzocchi and Rock Shox itself. So this fork is o.k., then.
Similar Products Used: RS SID98, RSJudy100, RSXL, Marzocchi Atom 80'00 and Race'01, Manitou SX Carbon, Manitou X-Vert Super '01
Bike Setup: Hot Chili Hardtail, Magura Quick Silver, GripShift, else ShimXT, Mavic 521Ceramic, Thompson seat post, Race Face Stem, Kore Low Riser
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Submitted by
dustin
a Racer
from charlottesville, va, us
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2001
Strengths: this is an update to my previous review... pretty long lasting when you abuse it
Weaknesses: after a year of intense riding, this forks performance has started to decline drastically, see bottom line
Bottom Line:
this fork, after about 10 months of use, has started to falter in performance. the bushings are wearing fast, it makes strange noises now. my main problem is that the right cap's adjuster stopped working. i took it off to fix it, and the part that is fitted for the socket wrench separated from the threaded shaft. now i fear that my rebound spring may come flying out of the leg on a right, so i must soon upgrade to a duke sl or a mars comp. 3 chilis overall, as this fork does not last very long
Similar Products Used: judy c, race, marzocchi x-fly, manitou mars
Bike Setup: trek 8000, xt drive-t w/ lx crank, time pedals, other xt parts, panaracer tires
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Submitted by
dustin
a Cross Country Rider
from charlottesville, va, us
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2001
Strengths: its a pretty plush ride, responsive, easily maintained and adjusted
Weaknesses: dont know- mines springs seem to get out of whack every once in a while, other than that, the weight is the only thing but that doesnt bother too much
Bottom Line:
this is a really good all around fork. if you like something to abuse and not have to baby, this is your mid-grade fork right here.
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, Ab, Can
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2001
Strengths: Simple Spring/Oil Bath Design, Lots of smooth travel with the proper spring/oil weight set-up
Weaknesses: A little on the heavy side with the steel steerer
Bottom Line:
I wish smart-@#$#24 downhillers would stop submitting reviews for XC forks. No Sh@#$t XC forks aren't going to take 5' plunges. Wah Wah Wah, " the damn thing bottomed out when I hucked a 10' set of stairs" Wah Wah Wah. This fork is sweet when set up PROPERLY for the riders weight. Nice travel options, smooth rebound (adjustable) and solid design. No fork covers a rider from 125lbs to 250lbs right out of the box. Give your head a shake. Pick this up, tune it to your ability and weight and you've got yourself a good, responsive shock. For all those other dumb $@$&^*: If you can't afford a DH fork for a DH bike then shut up!
Similar Products Used: Manitous, other RS Products
Bike Setup: 2000 Vertex
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Submitted by
Ben Maddy
a Cross Country Rider
from Wahkiacus
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2001
Strengths: Plush, stiff and takes big hits without so much as a wimper
Bottom Line:
Awsome fork I weigh 200 pounds and have fully tested this thing to what I thought would be the the limit and then beyond that. I have it set to 100mm with 15 weight oil and it works perfect. I decided to test it riding at a 8 inch porch edge. I rode straight at the thing a full speed and without pulling the front off at all. I new that if it didn't work it would throw me off onto my head, but it took the bump right out and didn't bottom hard at all. The bottom line is this is just a stimulating fork and for $149 you would be insane to pass it up. The still have the red ones with alloy steerer at supergo. Buy one.
I 'ver experimented quite a lot now with different forks and different fork set-ups with the RS Judy SL (see below). The Judy really IS a good fork for the money, but as a rather heavy guy I always had a problem with the poor dampening even with a w15 oil. Both Manitou and Marzocchi are a lot more effective with this respect. Stiff coils are of course mandatory, but the effective dampening is, with my experience, even more important. So I disassembled the thing again, changed the travel on the right side back to 63mm and put a Risse Cattrige and a Coil from an old Judy into the left side. Now the Judy works like it should. I'll put it into my Hot Chili hard tail now.
Strengths: Good all around fork. Easy to maintain. Responsiveness, stiffness. Easy to adjust.
Weaknesses: Weight
Bottom Line:
Came OEM with my bike. I weigh 185 lbs. and have not had any problems. I bottom out once or twice a ride but have not broken anything. The bike handles well, no complaints, just point and shoot. I have ridden technical single track and XC raced this fork and can't say anything bad about it except I wish it were lighter. May upgrade to a Sid to shave some grams. 4 flamin's due to the 3.9 lb wt.
Submitted by
Laurens
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2000
Strengths: -Cheap -Keeps the front wheel on the ground well -Rather plush
Weaknesses: -Inconsistent performance -Cheap construction -Useless instructions
Bottom Line:
This shock has really failed me. I have been riding with the Judy SL for a mere three months, preforming proper mainteniance and the because of weak construction I have bent the fork so that the wheel is misalligned meaning my front disk brake is useless. Often the shock rides well enough, but other times it really feels as though its only got 30 mm of travel. Basically a peice of crap, buy something better, and with the Judy SL's hefty weight it shouldn't be hard to find something that preforms better and is more durable and is lighter. No more Rock Shox for me.
this fork is great. I like it alot because it is really soft and dirt has to try really hard to get in. I set it up so its just plush enough to take the wicked stuff, but doesnt bottom out like bombers. It's a little portly (4 lbs) but that's ok.
Similar Products Used: White bros dh4, jett xc, z1 alloy,
Bike Setup: rocky mtn hammer race
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Submitted by
Luke
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville,TN,USA
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2000
Strengths: Plush and dependable ... once modified.
Weaknesses: Flexy, not terribly good stock.
Bottom Line:
These forks are defenitely not worth the money retail out of the box, but once modified, they start to become excellent forks. I am currently running a hydracoil damper in the left leg, 80 mm dummy rod in the right, Eibach springs, Mountainspeed speedseals (great!) and have oilbathed the dry leg. All that and liberal amounts of Englund slick honey have made this mediocre fork perfect for me. It is very plush and other than regular maint. , it has been worry free. Sure, it isn't terribly light, but I dont want to fuss with air sprung forks, and oil/spring is always far superior in performance. I suggest this fork to anyone who finds a great deal on one, as retail is far too pricey. You can eventually make a wonderfully plush, responsive fork. The array of aftermarket parts for these is mind boggling. Those obsessed with weight, or those who need insane amounts of travel look elsewhere, as this fork is too heavy for gram counters, and too flexy for serious DH/jumping type riding.
Similar Products Used: Manitou SX, 3 generations of Judys, AMP F3 XC
Bike Setup: 99 Jamis Dragon
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Submitted by
Fat and 40
a Weekend Warrior
from Herndon, VA USA
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2000
Strengths: Plush, adjustable travel, boots and wipers actually keep dirt out. Low maintenance, just oil the wipers every couple of rides.
Weaknesses: Springs were making a clanging sound against the inside of the stantions. Yellowish orange color took getting used to. Rebound adjuster doesn't do much.
Bottom Line:
Believe it or not, to remove that clanging noise, I wrapped the springs with Saran wrap, this was a suggestion by Rockshox tech support. I think the springs should of had rubber sleeves in the middle, like some of their springs do. A lot nicer than a MCU spring combo, especially in winter time. I don't have to mess with it much. I reduced the travel to 80 mm, 100 mm was a little tall for uphill. Since I weigh 193 lbs, the original setup was a little soft. So, I changed the oil to 10 weight and now it's perfect, no need for stiffer springs (no it doesn't bottom out). In combination with the Rockshox seatpost,my back and wrists no longer get tired. I think this fork was a good choice; not as much maintenance as air forks and once you feel the ride improvement, you don't mind the weight. I give it a rating of four for the Saran wrap issue, but still give it a 5 for overall rating. By the way, Supergo tech support never did return my email about the clanging noise (ya get what you pay for).
Similar Products Used: Manitou SX, 98 Rockshox Indy XC
Bike Setup: 98 Hoo Koo Ekoo, XT derailleurs, hubs and cassette, Ritchey Rock Pro rims, Michelin Wildgripper Lites, Hell Bent riser bar. WTB saddle with Ti rails. Rockshox seatpost.
