Submitted by
dookie
a Downhiller
from riverside ca usa
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2003
Strengths: looks cool, works well, hasnt broke
Weaknesses: external adjustments
Bottom Line:
its a good fork. the external rebound and compression are worthless. i put heavy oil to slow them down. romic makes products to rebuild them. original seals suck. i switched them to the newer gray seals, and it works good now
Strengths: used in right context,they are beautifully smooth,easy to work on,decent weight and look the business
Weaknesses: some might say they're looking a bit spindly now,but they've never failed me yet
Bottom Line:
i have to agree with tone in everyway,i can't believe people have got a bad word to say about them,the only people that won't like them are people looking for a fork to abuse and take big stuff all day everyday and never look at them.Bought mine over 2 years ago,they've been fully serviced every 6 months and i change the oil when they need it,i had the goldtec 72 conversion done and my god what a difference it made,plain and simply made and fantastic fork even better.
Similar Products Used: rst xxl,z1cr,stratos mx6,shiver,monster t
Bike Setup: rotwild rdh 03,hopes,mrp,521's/bulbs,raceface,azonic
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Submitted by
Dan Levin
a Downhiller
from Nelson B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2000
Strengths: It sucks up everything I can huck at it its plush love the 20mm axle and there nice and lite
Weaknesses: to be blunt the rebound stinks and the turning circle is worse than a shopping cart
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is this fork is not an Lt10 long travel but I garuntee that it will still take 30 feet like nothin and to all you that say the seals suck GO HOME!!! this fork was worth the money
Similar Products Used: Marazocchi Z3QR20,Manitou magnum,rockshox indyXC
Bike Setup: Vps3 with boxxer d321 full hayes its the bomb
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Submitted by
Ivan Mitar
a Downhiller
from Ottawa Ontario
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2000
Strengths: This is a kick ass fork,it's plush,stiff, adjustable and looks great.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
This fork rules, it will take anything you can throw at it and it still wants more.For all you who think that the seals are bad why don't you try maintaining the fork and you'll be fine.If you want to buy a new one the 2000 is the best fork out there.( I got to take the new black box boxxer for a ride and let me tell you it is the greatest thing ever)
Bike Setup: super 8,deemax,hayes,esp 9.0sl,MRP raceface,easton
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Submitted by
chris chadwick
a Downhiller
from yorkshire england
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2000
Strengths: plush,fairly light, strenth,stiffness
Weaknesses: standerd seals arn't too great
Bottom Line:
very good forks everything you could need in a dh fork. only let down by seals. cheap now too. if you want a reliable, strong,plush dh fork with 6 inches travel then buy em.
Strengths: very,very, VERY plush (i use to have a moto 120); liteweight, rigid to torsion, good looking, very adjustable, easy to change sping rate
Weaknesses: none....really
Bottom Line:
I bought it used in NYC 1 month ago and it´s the best deal that i´ve done. pro level fork, sweet, eats everything. I have´nt changed the spring rate cause iI dont have a soft coil spring yet, but in 1 month i would be a ble to use the whole travel (i´m using now 70% of it)
Bike Setup: cannondale SV with hope pro disc brake + boxxer
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Submitted by
Jon Lofthouse
a Downhiller
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2000
Strengths: Smooth, plush 6in. travel Once set up right, no harsh bottoming out (due to neg. travel) Inspires confidence Killer looks
Weaknesses: Turning Radius? Standard Oil Seals
Bottom Line:
These forks are set up exactly to my liking. The standard oil weights made the fork too soft and would bottom out on jumps and stairs etc, and the standard oil seals left something to be desired, after a couple of rides oil was dribbling down the fork stanchions. Replaced the compression leg with 20wt oil and now they are more stiffer and track brilliantly. The give me alot more confidence to go faster and coming off 4in. travel forks i forget sometimes i can do the bigger things without worrying. The frame does not compliment these forks at all - a bullit/super 8 may be on the way soon.. *grin* Plus, i got these forks REAL cheap.. $280 U.S
I'll go along with the RS employee below. Most people i meet havent got the slightest clue about the mechanics of what is essentially a high peformance piece of kit. This explains why a) they never get the best out of anything they buy b) they harp on about it when it goes wrong through lack of care and maintenance and proper adjustment. My Boxxers were a bit over damped out of the box. There is a reason RS supply all those springs and shims with the forks though. Change of oil weight in the rebound especially and a quick fettle with the compression damping and they work like a dream. And i'm on my original set of oil seals. Lucky or care and maintenance? The forks handle a lot of abuse but they are nice and light. I have thrown them down the World Cup and Avalanche courses in France (along with most of the othr World pros on RS) and they were smart. But I have mates with them on freeride bikes and a triple chainset. The guy who says they only handle MILD DH and freeride. Yeah whatever... Rockshox Boxxers are class. And Goldtec are doing a 7" conversion now as well. Top lads. www.goldtec-cycles.co.uk
Strengths: As a former RockShox employee i feel the need to set the record straight about Boxxers. First, people are saying that they "blow" easily and leave them with no damping. I find this interesting and it is obvious that these people have never seen the internals of a Boxxer. If anyone ever has taken apart a Boxxer damping assy they will notice that it is not a cartridge similar to what the older Judy's used to use. Instead, the Boxxer uses a complex system of tight fitting o rings throughout the damping assembly. While it is not impossible to tear or damage one of these o rings it is very, and i mean VERY difficult to do this while riding. (damaged o rings are almost always comprimised when installing into the fork during careless or improper service) In the odd chance that one or more o rings fail, the fork will loose a small amount of damping but not all. For the fork to loose all of its damping the fork needs to be empty, with no oil. The other reason for the fork to loose damping is damage to the glide ring. The glide ring acts as a piston ring, forcing oil to travel through the machined aluminum ports, instead of around the "piston". Often times when Boxxers would be recieved for service we would find that the glide rings had been damaged, or left out completely when the owner took the fork apart. If the glide rings were left out completely then the fork would definately loose a good amount of damping, but not all. I have ridden Boxxers with the glide ring purposely left out and it felt like the fork had 5wt oil. Definately too quick for my taste and style of riding but not unheard of.
Weaknesses: As far as oil seals go... One drawback to the Boxxer has been lack of boots to keep dirt and stuff off the upper tubes. The seals on the '98 and '99 were ok, but left room for improvement. Often times the forks would not be properly maintained and dirt would eventually work past the top seal, or resiwiper, and then damage the oil seal. I have also seen numerous instances where dirt was allowed to get past both seals and work it's way into the upper bushing and the person continued to ride it and not maintain it. Once dirt gets on the upper bushing it turns that bushing into efficent sandpaper and will quickly destroy the upper tube. Once the uppertube has been worn or even scratched the oil seal and resiwiper will be destroyed the first time it passes the damaged area. If the fork is properly maintained like RockShox recommends this will be avoided. One thing to remember is that the Boxxer (and other dh specific forks) are designed to be ultra high performance. To do this it needs to be maintained properly. The new 2000 model Boxxer has a new seal system that is much more effective. It is called the Triple X Seal System and will resolve many issues if the fork is not maintained properly. While boots are not (and wont be) available from RockShox you can make your own with minimal effort. Check out your local motorcycle store or stop by a Man... Man... Ma..n.it...ou, there i said it. Manitou dealer and pick up some boots to slap on. On my personal fork, the seals would be replaced evreytime i would drop the lowers for service (20 hours) but since i have installed boots i have not serviced my fork in about 250 hours riding time. I do not advise anyone ride any fork for this long without service, i am just reporting my experience.
Bottom Line:
Do not listen to people who claim to use this fork for trials, or clain that it "blew" while they were jra. Instead check the race circut, check what other top level guys are riding, and visit your local shop. Certainly there are other good forks out there, I have a friend that rides one of those answer things and loves it. He has yet to ride a Boxxer though but he is a educated rider who knows his stuff. If you fing someone out there who says that Boxxers suck and they are crap, ask them how often they maintained their forks. Ask them did they use oil specific o rings or did they replace all the o rings with dishwasher o rings from the local Handy Dandy Hardware store. Ask them if they cleaned under the resiwiper then they took it apart for regular service and you will hear two things. 1. I never had to take my Huffy boinger fork apart for service, why do i have to take this apart? It is a DH fork! 2. Yeah i took it apart after evrey ride and no matter what i do i leaks oil like the Exxon Valdez. If you hear #2, they are lying. There, i have said my piece and i feel better. Check out all the forks you can afford, ride them if you can, call the company to jive with them and get their feedback, and make up your own mind. For me the Boxxer is my only choice, and not cause i used to work there. Happy trails.
Weaknesses: these forks are a real POS, the hole fork $ucks, the seals are very cheap, need much maintance, poor quality travel, hard to adjust, very expensive, the damping carteide blows too easy
Bottom Line:
I dont know why poeple do like these forks, some other forks even the Hanebrink LT has lower maintance than these forks and are easily to rebuild, but if youre looking for a real DH fork get the Monster T these forks ruuuules all the way, a bit heavy, but the beat you can get!!!
Similar Products Used: marzocchi ruuuules!!! hanebrink, shock Works
Bike Setup: Kona Stab dee lux with the only real DH fork Marzocchi Monster T
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Submitted by
Matt Seely
a Downhiller
from Bellingham,WA,USA
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2000
Strengths: -Good performance(smooth, plush) -reasonable weight -high pimpdaddy factor(very important) -can be bought for under 500 buckaroonees
Weaknesses: -Too linear(bottoms out easy) -internals break easily(I have no damping in my fork!) -not very adjustable -not that much travel(5.5")
Bottom Line:
The fork is a good value. If you're on a budget you can get this fork for less than 500 brand new. It just plain kicks the UD-150's and the Zyzxx Original's A$$!! It is very plush, and is just a good all round fork for mild DH and freeriding. If you are looking for the best fork, this ain't it. Pick up the new X-vert carbon or monster T. For extreme riders this fork just ain't gonna make the cut, I'm going for a monsterT when I get a new rig.
Submitted by
Matt Evans
a Downhiller
from Melbourne Australia
Date Reviewed: December 27, 1999
Strengths: Quality dampening Stiffness look good
Weaknesses: factory seals are a joke
Bottom Line:
I have replaced two sets of factory seals. Initialy they would leave fine trace of oil. Then they weep, then they dribble down the legs. Went to the local bearing/seal supplier and tried alternative manufacturer seals. Eight months and one national season over, there is absoloutly no trace of oil on staunchens. I will E mail again some other day with seal number.
Submitted by
Adam Johnston
a Racer
from Hamilton, Ont.
Date Reviewed: December 26, 1999
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: too light, too much travel, too low-maintenance, boots too big
Bottom Line:
didn't compress enough when I went off the curb but good for trials. If you disagree call me at 905-547-2737 and I'll give you a talk'n too I KNOW ALL YOU FILTHY SLOBS!!!!!
The guy below does not know what he is talking about. Using the boXXer for trials? Ok you must be REAL smart. The guy below him can not even spell right, marzoochi its marzocchi get it right.I have tryed the fork and think it great. Five chilies for the boXXer.
Weaknesses: These forks SUCK I hate the fact that in both the 98/99 forks I need to change the seals fortnightly Upgraded seals my ass I hope the 7 ones are better.
Bottom Line:
The forks never should have been released they are the biggest screw up I've ever seen from RS. Great Idea but fix the DAMN Seals.
Similar Products Used: Marzoochi the closest thing to Bullet-Proof around Except Monster are too heave where's a light 6? What happened to Super T's?????????
Bike Setup: I'm a Bicycle Mechanic I don't own any just fix bloody boxxers all day.
