Submitted by
Bryan
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport, KY, USA
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2002
Strengths: Weight, durability, awesome looking, decent adjustability for the price. Very smooth on medium hits and great negative rebound performance when the trail drops out.
Weaknesses: Don't ignore the foam wipers under the XXX dust seals. Keep them oiled or you'll be riding a rigid fork. But not a big deal once you identify the problem.
Bottom Line:
This has been a great fork for the money. I have to admit, I'd gotten a little disappointed because it was very smooth when it was installed. But the smoothness quickly went away. Couldn't figure out the problem...even asked bike shop owners who just shook their heads. Thought my rebound damping was "packing up" so I backed it way off, which didn't help. After a few months, finally read through owners manual again and realized I was supposed to be lifting the dust seals every couple of months and putting 5w fork oil on the foam wipers. Boy! What a difference. That was the problem all along. Better yet, there's a shortcut, and it works on any oil damped fork. Every so often, store your bike upside down, simple as that. Over night, the oil will run down and soak into the wipers, restoring all the buttery-smooth performance you expect from a hydro-coil type suspension. Since I've learned this little trick, this has been a terrific fork for its intended purpose - fast XC and trail riding. A nearly perfect combination of value, performance and weight. If you can find a retailer looking to unload one of these at a good price, gobble it up. You'll be happy you did.
Purchased At: Roskilde Cykelcenter in Roskilde, Denmark(You now, Roskilde Festival)
Similar Products Used: SID SL 2000. Marzocchi Z3, Manitou SX TI. Pace RC38 AIR FORCE.MAnitou SX !
Bike Setup: Be One Titanium frame with Judy Race, Rolf Propel, RAce Face Next LP, Magura HS33, Extralite stem. Tune seatpost. Syncros Riser! Ritchey Speedmax tires. An so on!
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Submitted by
Malcolm Syme
a Cross Country Rider
from Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2002
Strengths: Awesome looking, light weight easy to maintain
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
An Excellent fork at an excellent price and extremely good looking. If you enjoy cross country riding and racing this is the fork for you.
Similar Products Used: judy c i am so pleased i upgraded to the race
Bike Setup: xtr raceface thomson
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Submitted by
Luke
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2001
Strengths: Looks mad, feels unreal(so smooth), good adjustment, XXX works real good so far, no troubles.
Weaknesses: umm... yet 2 find any. if u dont ride it for a few days, the next time its ridden for about a minute theres a really annoying oil sound, but it doesnt effect performance an goes away quick. it could be cheaper.
Bottom Line:
mad fork, get it its so good, the oily sound is nothing, ussually doesnt happen anyway. great 4 enduro/Xcountry/bit of freeride it'd be pretty hard 2 break it.
Similar Products Used: suntour-dont even think about buying
Bike Setup: Norco hardtail
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Submitted by
Gordon
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2001
Strengths: It's really smooth and stiff set at sixty-three mm. At eighty, I didn't really notice that much of a difference, except that I had about another three quarters of an inch of travel to fool around with.
Weaknesses: I want to see Rock Shox make a Judy Race with a hundred mm travel for the enduro guys. I guess I'm looking at a Psylo or a Manitou X-Vert Super.
Bottom Line:
A really nice fork, could be better, I want more travel. XXX seals hold up well, changing travel ought to be easier. A great fork for the competitive XC guys. A good fork for endurance stuff, although a bit more travel would make your more comfortable. This is a review for the Rock Shox 2001 Judy Race.
Similar Products Used: Manitou SX-R, SX-100 Rock Shox Judy XC, Psylo SL
Bike Setup: 2000 Specialized Stumpjumper M2
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Submitted by
Ray Halliwell
a Racer
from SriRacha Thailand
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2001
Strengths: Standard spring just right for my 145lb. Good range of spring adjustment and damping plus well controlled ride.
Weaknesses: Oiling the felt pad under the fork seal is fiddly and could damage the seals if not done very carefully. Not such a problem in the USA but seals are difficult to find here.
Bottom Line:
Well made and very good value. Excellent choice for amateur racer like myself. Would have no resevations about buying Rok Shox again.
Similar Products Used: RST Gamma EL (bouncy things)
Bike Setup: Giant ATX LE frame Shimano XTR brakes, drive train and shifters
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Submitted by
josh
a Cross Country Rider
from turkey point canada
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2001
Strengths: LOOKS, PLUSHNESS, NEW CROWN AND BRAKE ARCH, XXX SEALS, DAMPNER WORKS
Weaknesses: TOP RIGHT PRELOAD CAP DOESNT WORK HAVE TO GET A NEW ONE
Bottom Line:
WORKS REAL WELL IF ONLY THE PRELOAD KNOB WORKED AND THE MECHANIC INSTALLED THE STAR SCREW THING IN THE STEERER TUBE RIGHT, KEEPS POPPING OUT EVERYTIME I SCREW THE SCREW IN OTHER THAN THAT SWEET PERFOMANCE LIGHT AND PLUSH
