Strengths: Easy setup, simple maintenance, doesn't leak, fairly stiff, disc brake compatible, durable finish, good weight for hard xc racing in desert, compliant on small hits.
Weaknesses: 32mm stanchions would make this fork stiffer.
Bottom Line:
I've used all three versions of the Duke line-up and the SL is by far the most plush. The 100mm SL has given me two years of uninterupted service, still feels great on all terrain, and continues to please. Only my Manitou Black Super comes closest and comparing the price difference the Duke SL is a great value. The 80mm version clearly outperforms just about anything for the price, including all versions of the Mantou Mars.
This fork has worked flawlessly for me. I've had none of the problems mentioned below. It's light weight compared to other suspension forks. It's also held up to all kinds of rough terain with no problems. Use with a carbon fiber handlebar to take care of small high frequency bumps.
Submitted by
PJM
a Cross Country Rider
from PC, UT
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2004
Strengths: See 1st review below... Air spring/simple/lightish/reasonble mail order price, ets..
Weaknesses: Open bath upper seals on both legs will not hold the oil in. Rock Shox needs to go visit the Marzzochi facility and spec seals that are made to actually keep fluid in and dirt/water out. Reality testing of forks without protective boots says that the MTB world needs fork seals that work. I don't think RS takes this seriously, building forks for people who ride once a week...Bummer... Rebound adjuster. After replacing the damping oil with a higher weight oil, the adjuster actually felt like it worked. 1/4 turn of adjustment is a joke..Gotta have heavy oil to make the adjuster actually have an effect. Taking apart this fork and putting it back together is messy. Oil in the top of the legs, bottom of the legs... Oil all over the place...What a messy pain. I cleaned and rebuilt my fork with new seals and new oil, and it still leaks out the top, then down onto the stantions and it us ugly....
Bottom Line:
Cheap and relatively light, but seals are not up to the keep-the-elements-out task, and they leak oil like crazy. Maybe I have an out of spec fork? Never can tell. To be fair, the air chamber hasn't leaked, the rebound adjust now works after putting a higher weight oil in it, and it rides real nice as expected. I would run Lizard Skin fork boots on it folks....
Weaknesses: Not so responsive over small bumps. Lower arm broke at caliper mount. Rockshox charge a premium for replacement parts. Not happy. Travel more like 95mm.
Bottom Line:
My Duke SL100 broke. I did not abuse them. They cracked at the calpier mount sending oil spewing over my new brake calpier. They are only strong enough for XC but they don't take small bumps well so I dont know what they're good for.. If they did not break i would have been happy with them.
Submitted by
Aaron Fogel
a Cross Country Rider
from connecticut
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2004
Strengths: i got a great price off e-bay. strong. love the '100 mm' of travel, (i think its really like 97 :-p), GREAT UPGRADE FOR ANY TREK BIKE THAT COMES STOCK WITH PILOT FORKS (hated them)
Weaknesses: blew a seal, but that was completly my fault cant handle drop offs more then 8 feet, i dont think can handle abuse (4-6 foot drop offs every day)
Bottom Line:
GREAT PRODUCT The left seal blew on me, but i think its because i took it on a 8 foot drop off, then some abusive xc'ing. as long as u dont jump off stuff the size of your ceiling, then this is the best fork for its price. (espeically for me, 50 bux off ebay!!!)
Submitted by
Martin Burry
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis, CA, Yolo County
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004
Strengths: Plush ride for an air shock. Paint doesn't chip or flake. Works well for a 175 pound rider. I like the almost 100 mm of travel.
Weaknesses: I have two (one for my hard tail and one for my fs). The first one I put on my fs rig and the left seal busted after my third ride. I had only used it for xc rides and hadn't by any means been abusing it. After being fixed I had had no problems so I figured it was just a fluke. So, I got a second for my hard tail and guess what? The left seal on that one busted as well (after 8 rides). Any more blow outs and I'm switching brands. I also would like to see boots on forks again. I know it reduces travel a little but it keeps the contaminants out of the seals and protects the upper tubes from dings. I don't like the placement of the rebound adjuster, too prone to be banged up by large rocks.
Bottom Line:
A good shock for XC bikers that like to hit some rough downhill sections once and a while and don't weigh more than 180 pounds, even if the seals have to be rebuilt.
Submitted by
Phil
a Cross Country Rider
from Alaska
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2004
Strengths: Stiff, light, plush for air. Air spring allows easy spring rate adjustment. Simple adjustments.
Weaknesses: Hmmm... Nothing glaring... Simple adjustments. Seal stiction noticable, but remedied by pealing back seal and applying a little oil. If air piston seal gets nicked during rebuild, will hold air just long enough to get to next riding destination 100 miles from home.
Bottom Line:
I have been riding his fork for 2 years now, and I am really impressed. Rockshox has not made many forks worth my consideration, but this one has proved an exception. Fairly light, plush and stiff... also reliable. Are we talking about Rockshox? So far the Duke SL has only let me down once, and it was my fault entirely. I changed the fork oil, and I nicked the air piston o-ring seal on reassembly. the fork held air long enough for me to drive to the trail head. When I returned from the trip, I bought two o-rings at the local hardware store for $0.48 each. I reassembled with lots of grease, and it has held air perfectly since! The fork also needs oil/grease under the stanchion seals, or those tight XXX seals will cause noticable stiction (once oiled they feel great, and they keep crap out!). If you decide on a Duke Air, (unless you get a lemon - for some strange reason) I doubt you will regret it.
Similar Products Used: Manitou Mars 1, SX R, Marzocchi Atom 80
Bike Setup: Jamis Dakar Expert '99'
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Montrose co usa
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2003
Strengths: stiff for weight
Weaknesses: oil seals gave out after 15 months
Bottom Line:
my first 100mm fork and fs bike-my old fork lasted 4 years without much maintance- this one is okay after new seals but I worry how long will these seals last? Ride seems fine after the first compresion
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Barberton, Ohio
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2003
Strengths: Stiff(I'm a big dude), adjustablitiy, price
Weaknesses: stiction on every first hit, best to hop a little first thing to get it out of the way
Bottom Line:
I have this model and a duke race on my hardtail and the only problem I notice is the stiction I mentioned above. They take big hits well(I'm 240lbs) and soak up small stuff as well. I'm told Manitou's tend to be more plush, but I honestly don't know. I've been very happy with both of my Duke models. Burly enough for big riders
Bike Setup: full suspension w/rochshox sid in the rear.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
deaner
a Cross Country Rider
from East Coast
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2002
Strengths: price, sucks up small and large bumps well
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
Bought this because it was rated a full pound lighter than the Judy C and the price was right. I found it to be stiffer than the Judy and plusher to boot. I do find the rebound adjustment to work OK, not as much ride alteration as on the SID but enough to matter. Also found some stiction on the first compression, but smooth after. Overall a great fork for the money and it's saved my ass a few times.
Submitted by
bendlight
a Weekend Warrior
from austin, tx, usa
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2002
Strengths: light, stiff, smooth, tough
Weaknesses: the first compression always has a lot of striction (boots work super well), even with judy butter, but sweet afterwards
Bottom Line:
It's really rocky here with lots of drops, climbs and creek crossings. The shock handles everything you can throw at it with ease. For the price and performance you can't beat what this shock delivers.
Bike Setup: schwinn s-20, duke sl, formula savage wrapped with fire xc's
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Trautman Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Swain, NY
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2002
Strengths: Light, stiff, good price on Supergo
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
Good complement for my Razorback, get the 100mm instead of the 80mm unless you are XC racing. I've had no problems with air leakage yet (5 weeks. I thought I would be disappointed with not having a lockout for climbing, but they're stiff enough that I don't really miss it.
Strengths: stiff, strong, light weight, 100mm, smooth for an air fork
Weaknesses: rebound knob on the right leg is wasted (goes round and round when it should only turn half way)
Bottom Line:
these forks take a hammering i did a 8ft/2.5m drop to flat and the only thing that bent was the old front wheel(mavic 221, cheese)the forks bottomed out i think but only a little as i was running 180psi at the time they show no sign of fatigue allthough have developed a small oil leak (im going to fully service them tomorrow) so that should solve it also i havent found these forks to leak air which is a + these forks rock buy them or the new duke U turn while u still can
Similar Products Used: ummmm rockshox magnesium 21 (old school pieces of **** with 4mm travel) manatou SX e (ok ride lacks any thing to do with stiffness and snapped the stearer tube off on a 2m drop off) manatou mars 1 (piece of **** air forks 63mm travel and locked out 10 minutes into a 60 km xc race because of water inside the seals)
Bike Setup: Avanti hammer (hard tail) lx/deore/raceface mavic D521 wheels (mavic 221's bend like cheese)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kale
a Cross Country Rider
from Corvallis OR USA
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2002
Strengths: stiff, stout construction, inexpensive
Weaknesses: Very poor small bump compliance, stiff compression lacks usable ajustability
Bottom Line:
This fork is just not at all plush over smaller bumps, even when running considerably less air than recomended for my weight. Old SXR offers a WAY more plush ride. can even compare the two. Probably would be a good choice for a heaver or more agressive rider on a budget, more interested in big hits than over all suppleness. If you want a plush smooth supple ride, dont waste your money on the Duke.
Similar Products Used: RS Indy w and w/o air cartridge (crap either way) Manitou SXR (old but it still works GREAT) Marzo Z.1 (makes XC trails too easy)
Bike Setup: FS/XC, xt/xtr drive, avid mechanicals, speed disc whls
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ace lee
a Cross Country Rider
from canada/korea
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2002
Strengths: light very stiff
Weaknesses: none...
Bottom Line:
stronger than Sid...and 4inches of travel is much better than 3 inches...soaks up all the bumps...
general sross country now is very comfortable with this shock...
buy it and test is for yourself...it is the best shock out there..
