Submitted by
Guppy Rys
a Downhiller
from 25 Alvin St.
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2002
Strengths: It cost me next to nothing.
Weaknesses: It's really flexy, and I crashed once and the stantions twisted in the crown. No problem fixing the twist, but disconcerting none the less.
Bottom Line:
Not bad for what it came with , but I would go with a Marzzochi Jr. T or Super T.
Purchased At: Mid-State Cycles in Leominster Mass.
Similar Products Used: Well, I rode my friends Monster and thats about it for other forks I've ridden.
Bike Setup: 98 FSR Elite with MRP longtravel kit, MRP chainguide, Hayes hydro, big wheels, big tires, big stem, big bars, big seat
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Daniel Bustos
a Downhiller
from Chile
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2001
Strengths: Hand made in EEUU, very smooth and XTremly precise fork, works well under any condition, light compared with other forks of his class, 18 cm of a very plush fork for a really low price, better than sigma and moto fr120 (that fork is a really piece of crap!).
Weaknesses: is a little flexy (like many inverted forks), and ugly. why they cannot make it black? (is a minor thing), adjust controls (rebound and anything else) are in the interior.
Bottom Line:
Perfect for downhillers who are tired of taiwanese crap, and want to ride like racers without paying a hig price, capable to absorb giant drop off"s can beat many other forks of his class, I will wait until I could buy mi dream frame (GT-DHI) to change it.
Similar Products Used: -RST delta XL (good one for beginers!, hidraulic hi-5 of the 2000 year) -RST gamma XE (CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!) -Rock shox indy XC (not for DH......)
Bike Setup: krit FR (zeus black ink), withe brothers UD180, hope c2 brake disk, chain tensor like MRP, 3,0 tire rear and front, lx xt, xtr components.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Downhiller
from Victoria
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2000
Strengths: smooth
Weaknesses: heavy, weak, flexable, inverted, simple system that isn't quite up to snuff, compaired to monsters, boxxers etc..
Bottom Line:
when i first got these forks i thought they were great. After reading my review from before i just laughed. This fork BLOWS. A set of Psylo's with standard drop outs is at least twice as stiff as my UD-180's. I though a bolt must be loose or something, but no. this fork is CR@P! After reading previous reviews on this fork i figured this fork would be good for free-riding. THINK AGAIN! it only takes a day of riding the understand how damn heavy this son of a b!tch really is! I'm waiting until i can get a set of the Super T Pro's (2001 fork) i can deal with the loss of an inch of travel in return for a stiffer, not-inverted, bettter made, lighter fork. Its heavy, flexible and just an all around piece of crap. If the weight isn't an issue, buy a set of Monters, or a Shiver, but this fork is no good. Actually, if you are a total RETARD who can't maintain other forks, get this, because it's the only fork simple enough for stupid people to work on. So if you want to look cool by working on your own fork, get this. Otherwise, STAY THE F#%K AWAY!
Similar Products Used: Z1,Monster T, Chubbys, Risse Champ, Super T, Mr T Manitou Carbon
Bike Setup: Cheeta Prowler DH, mammoth, Hayes 8 inch, Fox RC, RF cranks MR DIrt chain guide
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon P.
a Downhiller
from Traverse City
Date Reviewed: December 28, 1999
Strengths: The fork is light weight, easy to service and the spring rate is good
Weaknesses: Weak as hell! If bent the sliders twice since i've owened it and they constantly twist in the crowns. The dampener had a free bleed adjuster. A clicker would have made things easier.
Bottom Line:
The fork works very well. But does not work well very long. The tubes and the crowns need to be beefed up alot. White Bros. needs to think more about having a reliable product than weight.
Submitted by
Jon Pishney
a Downhiller
from Traverse City, MI
Date Reviewed: December 9, 1999
Strengths: Very light fork for a downhill fork, good dampening system, wide range of different spring rate available.
Weaknesses: It's weak. The fork has bent twice since I have owened it. It will twist easily. Also White Bros. dose not have very promt service so you kind of have to stock parts for there forks if you don't want to miss a race.
Bottom Line:
The fork works very well. The prblem is keeping it working. If you buy any of there forks buy the tool kit. You'll need it!
Strengths: Stiff, nice looking, beautiful finishing, very smooth travel.
Weaknesses: bottom up easily. Poor customer service/technical support. Lack of manual.
Bottom Line:
There's no manual coming with all WB UD 180DH in my country. We requested WB just to send us a copy of the manual because our LBS was not helpful in getting it. WB played beaurocracy and denied that their forks didn't have manuals and insisted us to contact our local dealers. They showed no respond afterwards. This fork doesn't ramp up progressively in travel but bottom up all the way through in big hits. Damping adjustment range is very poor and not noticeable. May be changing to thicker oil and stiffer spring will help. But we can do nothing because there's no manual(not even at their web page) . It doesn't matter now because I'm buying another fork. This is the worst DH fork I've ever owned. I'll never buy WB products again.
Similar Products Used: 99Boxxer Manitou Xvert Ti Mazocchi Jr T
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a Downhiller
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: June 13, 1999
Strengths: Plush and smooth out of the box; inexpensive; improved damping system; 7 from white bros; it's gold
Weaknesses: it's gold; it doesn't include a trophy case
Bottom Line:
I'm a shop employee. I'm an expert downhill racer. I can jump decently. I've been fourtunate enough to be able to pull each of these forks apart in the shop, stomp some runs on them, and take them to the Pit (see any bmx vid from 1996 on) with nearly every top dh fork on the market. The White is closest to performance with the Risse Champ, THE BEST fork on the market. The White beats it out of the box, but once the Risse breaks in the White can't quite keep up. Almost, but not quite.