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Fox Racing Shox
Vanilla r
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Submitted by
aSnowman15
a Downhiller
from Ann Arbor, MI
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | any and all | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | with bike | | Strengths: | Good stock shock. Descent for cutting costs and having a better rear suspension set up. | | Weaknesses: | Tends to be weaker on the seal, rebound, as well as durability.
very little adjustment capabilities, keep an eye on your tension. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Kona Coiler | | Bottom Line: | If you are a hard rider, just swap it out, your gonna end up tearing the hell out of this thing if ur doing drops bigger than 10 feet.
Since it doesnt have the piggy back it cant really take care of itself, get the one with the piggy back. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam averill
a Weekend Warrior
from uk
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | good, strong shock. only bottomed it out about 6 times the whole year of riding it. | | Weaknesses: | not really alot of adjustability, it makes a sucking noise when it reterns to nutral position. no piggy back | | Similar Products Used: | . | | Bike Setup: | bighit | | Bottom Line: | good shock for the price which they are but not alot of adjustability and makes wierd sucking noises when compressed, wont be using for much longer as just brought a dhx 5.0!so anyone interested in 1, feel free to contct me! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hui Chuen Chuang
a Downhiller
from Penang, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with frame | | Strengths: | Fairly good shock. ProPedal works to reduce pedal bob. | | Weaknesses: | No piggyback resevoir. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox BAR, Progressive 5th element. | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Kona Stinky Primo, Rock Shox Domain 318, Avid Juicy 7, Truvativ Holzfeller. | | Bottom Line: | Very lasting shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tom nichs
a Weekend Warrior
from saint john, nb, canada
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | phil's house | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | eric | | Strengths: | super fast rebound, super slow rebound - whatever u want! first day i hucked it off some 6, 7, ft. drops, that it ate, love the fast rebound fer trail riding, and low easy it is to tighten up | | Weaknesses: | its ugh.. ummm.hmmm? | | Similar Products Used: | gtm 7, vanilla rc | | Bike Setup: | giant bds | | Bottom Line: | this is a ggggggggggggggggggggreat shock.it is able to handle big drops, and is great for bumpy trail riding, compared to the rc, it is not quite as hardcore, but it better for climbing, and if your not going to be dh'ing don't worry about it. it can handle just the same sized drops. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Lavigne-Masse
a Downhiller
from Montreal, Qc, CAN
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | None with this stupide shok | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$210.00 | | Purchased At: | ABC cycles | | Strengths: | Looks cool but thats about it!! | | Weaknesses: | Hmm lets see.... The whole motherf*cking thing. look for anybody looking for a shock who does downhill biking forget the Vanilla R cause it sucks! I road it for about 2 weeks befors landing a 20 foot jump and it blowing up and d*mnit it f*cked up my rear disc brake cause of the b*tching oil and scrwed my geers! | | Similar Products Used: | 5th element ( what i have now and it rocks) | | Bike Setup: | 03 bighit pro | | Bottom Line: | DOnt by this shock if your a dwonhiller. But for the price its a good shock | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ralph
a Downhiller
from Richmond
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | when sprung right, does the job well. | | Weaknesses: | No place to recharge the Nitrogen locally at any LBS. HAd to be sent out to Fox. | | Bike Setup: | IronHorse SGS expert. | | Bottom Line: | Great shock!!! Plush as long as it's sprung right. I was a bit miffed when the Nitrogen leaked out and couldn't have it charged locally. Takes a big hit well, and the adjustment once dialed is is superb. Wish it was more servicable locally. Key with this shock is proper spring setup. If you have the right spring, awesome shock!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from orono maine
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | heart attack hill | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Out of uncle henrys | | Strengths: | Easy to adjust and gives a very smooth ride | | Weaknesses: | Some times I bottom out on 3-4 foot drop offs | | Similar Products Used: | none, first full suspension | | Bike Setup: | I have a 2001 Jamis Dakar Sport with marazochi air fork, a step down from bombers | | Bottom Line: | So far I have not had any problems with this product un like some of you and hope not to have any problems in the future | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
VSS VSS
a Weekend Warrior
from Russia
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Bottom Line: | Weak and not suitable for repair Shock. It's sucks! There is no money for which is sold. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Michael
a Cross Country Rider
from Calabasas, CA
Date Reviewed: November 23, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Lock out, rebond adjustment, holds air well. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Bike Setup: | Titus Racer X | | Bottom Line: | Once you dial in the right amount of air and rebound adjustment, the shock performs very well. It's not as plush as a coil shock, but it does complement my Black Elite 80
mm Air fork very well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
paul
a Racer
from lancaster
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | innerleithen | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | with bike | | Strengths: | plush action | | Weaknesses: | non | | Similar Products Used: | FOX RC, 5TH ELEMENT, | | Bike Setup: | Big fat and strong | | Bottom Line: | lots of people have blowen the shims and slate the shock i weigh 225 pound (16 stone ) so i purchased the correct spring, a massive 800 pounder, and the shock is fine just fine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
OC.
a Downhiller
from Oz
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Suprisingly strong,good movement. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | First shock ever. | | Bike Setup: | San Andreas DHS. | | Bottom Line: | It does exactly what it's supposed to do and does it for a good amount of time.Six months of jumping and dropping without a complaint,I wish I could say the same for the forks(2001 Z3),they're on there last legs.
One thing though,if you've got a single pivot bike go with a high poundage spring,around Seven hundred(standard on the Bullitt's),because the stock spring(five fifty) is very very soft.
A great Value for money shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
glen buckland
a Weekend Warrior
from vancouver bc canada
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | neds | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | cove bikes | | Strengths: | like the rebound,touch | | Weaknesses: | does not have compression, | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | rm-6 jr-t up front gazzi's 2.6 front and rear dh fun stem crow bar handle bars hayes front and rear. great bike! | | Bottom Line: | i have had no prodlem with this shock up until now.i will stay with fox i feel it is a good product .my last bike had a rc shock on it and i never had a problem with it. i feel the two shocks feel close to the same just with out the rebound.my shock is in being fixed at fox but you have to figure that every once and awhile something will go wrong.i have not had the same problem that other people have had and i hope my luck holds out. knock on wood. see you on the trails. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hall
a Weekend Warrior
from Hingham, MA
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with my Rocky Mtn Pipeline | | Strengths: | Was very smooth for a week. | | Weaknesses: | well i blew it the 8th day i owned the bike. | | Bike Setup: | Stock Rocky Mountain Pipeline | | Bottom Line: | I'll have to see how it is, and how long it lasts after it gets sent out to Fox. I had the bike for 8 days and blew the shock... biggest drop i did was 3'. It was very smooth before that though. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Shun Lee Bicycle Co. | | Strengths: | plush (well.. at least for the first ride when it was new).. nothing else | | Weaknesses: | bottoms out
fu(king annoying hissing and sucking noise | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Vanilla RC
Fox Vanilla | | Bike Setup: | Intense Tazer
Hope Pro
Middleburn
321s
XTs | | Bottom Line: | fox really should do something about this product.. everyone is complaining about the hissing and the sucking noise of this shock.. i wouldn't recommend this shock to those who are *real* downhill riders..
this shock just annoys me when it has the sound...
whenever the shock rebounds the sucking noise appears.. i wonder if there is any oil in that thing since there is room for air.. fu(k this product
i am sending this back to warranty if my LBS can't solve the damn noise | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Came on bike | | Strengths: | Smooth, maintenance free. | | Weaknesses: | Do I have it set up right?
Lockout would be nice. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | 1997 Santa Cruz Heckler, now with a 2002 Marzocchi MXC-ECC 100mm (with lock-out) | | Bottom Line: | My Heckler now feels very balanced with 100mm up front. It has been problem free for me after 4 years of hard riding. I did replace the bushings about 2 years ago. That's the only maintenance that I have done. Still works perfect. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex Brown
a Cross Country Rider
from Blackpool, England
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Helvellyn Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Simplicity, Adjustability.. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | FOX FLOAT R | | Bike Setup: | WHYTE PRST-1, FOX Vanilla R on the front, FOX FLOAT R on the back. | | Bottom Line: | As this shock is normally used on the rear of a bike (as most shocks are) this one is on the front of my WHYTE PRST-1 in a wishbone setup....as a front shock it is butter smooth and absolutely kicks the a*se out of a standard pair of suspension forks....(PS to see the WHYTE goto www.whytebikes.com, and then call the bank manager. This bike is in another league) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Roger Audziss
a Downhiller
from Carleton, Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Sentier pedestres(hiking trails) | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Extreme Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Strong, will not bottom, adjustable, nice | | Weaknesses: | bushings wear out fast, and I broke the valves once, and had to send it to Fox, and they rebuilt it which took a month, and it costed $120!!! The compression is a little too hard. The pin that holds the rebound knob is way too weak, and broke when I adjusted it, locking the fork out until it got fixed. | | Similar Products Used: | DNM shock - to replace my Fox while it was at the company...I broke that like 5 times too. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Norco VPS2, Marzocchi Z1QR20, Hayes hydros, full XT, Race Face, Maxxis | | Bottom Line: | It is good, and reacts well on the DH conditions, but when I broke it, that did get me mad, and had to resolve in a shock that bottomed when I sat on the bike, and it makes lots of noise too. But generally it is stiff, and pretty reactive, so that is good. Only four chills because of how it broke on me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Downhiller
from North Vancouver
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Works when new or revalved | | Weaknesses: | doesn't work so wel when its not new or revalved | | Similar Products Used: | yeah | | Bike Setup: | Weasel, F1, Hayes, Race Face | | Bottom Line: | These are pretty good when they are all clean and new but unless you give them very regular maintenance they become very erratic - sometimes they rebound slow and sometimes they rebound fast. As an aftermarket upgrade I would skip it and get an RC, which are much more consistent. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt Harvey
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | small walking track near my house | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | easy to adjust, good rebound, fully cutomisable | | Weaknesses: | ha, none | | Similar Products Used: | none :( | | Bike Setup: | Raceline Extreme, cheap RST front shocks, deore all over, cannondale freeride pedals (clips) | | Bottom Line: | go value for money, the sandard sping is a bit stiff but softens up after a while, also the damper ajust is extremely useful, all round good shock. Anyone looking for a good shock to start on should pick up one of these, not so good for heavy downhill but ok for light stuff, very good for cross country | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eddie
a Downhiller
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | edwizer26@yahoo.com | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | All around good working suspension...good rebound adjustment, and much more active and supple than the air shock. | | Weaknesses: | Hissing/sucking noise is a little annoying when in stealth mode. My biggest complaint is the aluminum bushings that mount into a dissimilar metal(?) sleeve of the shock. This with the combinataion of a small inner surface/contact area has lead to several broken pivot bolts, lots of squeeking when the wear starts, and ultimately has required new bushings and bolts (I'll soon be installing my second set of bushings and 4th bolt in 10 months!)...a pain in the ass for me! | | Similar Products Used: | fox vanilla air rc | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mtn Slayer w/Z1 ...5inch freeride bike | | Bottom Line: | This shock performs great and is easy to adjust on the fly, BUT I sure as hell wish they would use a brass sleeve and brass bushings as the pivot point/mount. My brand new bike went for 2 months with no slop or play in the rear mount, and then the squeeking started. I've found that frequent cleaning and a liberal application (every 2-3 rides) of TriFLow seems to keep the squeeking at bay. But that wont stop the wear on the bushings, and once the wear starts it will only get worse. This slop WILL worsen which will then transfer the majority of the load from the bushings to a smaller point on the pivot bolt. Another bone of contention now arises- the threads of the pivot bolt also wear into the inner surface of the bushing and accelerate the wear and slop. By now you will have a bent pivot bolt, beware!! Now all it takes is a good solid hit on the rear end and whammo, your pivot bolt is now in two pieces! Really sucks when your miles from your car. It also really sucks when your half way through a ride with your buddies and this thing starts squeeking like a stuck pig!
Maybe I just ride my bike too hard? Naa'h, I built my bike up to take a beating, too bad the bushings in this shock can't.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Chang
a Weekend Warrior
from Brisbane
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Poo Shoot | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | TC's Bike Barr | | Strengths: | One word describes these rear shocks - AWESOME! They take the hard hits like 5foot drops and stair jumping perfectly. No annoying kickback like the Rock Shox deluxe or sids. Nice rebounding (with adjusters), also - changeable weight springs. Adjustable to 6", which I don't even use (since I'm only 55 kilo's of weight). | | Weaknesses: | None, besides the stock spring was a 700 which is a bit too stiff for my personal liking. But this is the STANDARD spring for use the light people and also for the clydesdales, so I think Fox made a right choice to go for a stock spring that everyone could benefit from. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float, Fox Vanilla RC, Rock Shox Sids (where are my rear sus?), Rock Shox Deluxe (junk). | | Bike Setup: | Trek VRX frame with Fox Vanilla R sus, Maz Z2 Bam, XTR, Sun Mammoth rims, Sella Italia Flite Ti, IRC tires and tubes, Azonic Risers. | | Bottom Line: | Get the Fox Vanilla R or the RC, depending on what you do. I do 90% freeride and 10% urban and the R's have held up nicely compared with Rock Shox rear suspensions, which seemed to fail every other day when the going got rough. These babies are stock on many bikes now and they are AWESOME for almost anything, besides DH. If you're going DH - go with the RC. Overall - buy Fox Shox, you WON'T be disappointed! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
respond .................
a Weekend Warrior
from antarctica
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | t.r.a.lll | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1399.00 | | Purchased At: | bike addicition | | Strengths: | plush but not plush enough my stock 550 spring was to stiff so i got 450 still good doesnt bottom out that bad off 8 stair | | Weaknesses: | i wanta rc | | Similar Products Used: | none i was a hardtailer be4 | | Bike Setup: | kona stinky 2001' wit ***********blackspire ds-1********** chain guide | | Bottom Line: | it rocks go the rebound | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
eric nykiforuk
a Weekend Warrior
from battleford,sask,canada
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any thing | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came on bike | | Strengths: | the shock feels plush at first and still does. shock is very ajustable and strong. and best of all it is a fox shock | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 2001 rocky mountain pipe line | | Bottom Line: | good shock , sucks up bumps and drops | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Colin
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver BC Canada
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | a Bike shop (duh???) | | Strengths: | Very adjustable
very strong
good rebound control | | Weaknesses: | weight... but who cares... Fox Float is like 300g and the Fox vanilla r is 580g... BIG DEAL!!! | | Similar Products Used: | only demos of the Norco North Shore Series | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Psycle Werks WildHare, Sun Rhyno Lite rims, xtr all round (excellent stopping power for v-brakes). I need to upgrade to hayes | | Bottom Line: | Fox is the best rear shock maker around no questions asked.
Personally i dont trust the air rears though; ive heard storys of the air chambers inverting due to bad seals. but that has probably been fixed.
Buy FOX and RIDE HARD | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rich
a Weekend Warrior
from Auckland, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Whitford | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | adjustable
plush for the first hour | | Weaknesses: | Same problem as the previous reviewer, after the first day of downhill the shock was stuffed as air had seeped into it.
| | Bike Setup: | Stock Kona Stinky Dee-Lux | | Bottom Line: | I had heard good things about this shock but was totally pissed off after the first day of riding it was screwed. Even worse is that it will take 3 weeks to be serviced. Perhaps I was unlucky to get a dud, but were's the quality control Fox??!! Shame on you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Tremblay
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Airbomb.com OEM on Aeon Isis | | Strengths: | Brand name shock | | Weaknesses: | Very first ride on new bike and the shock began making a lot of strange noises. The oil chamber had obviously drawn in some air and foamed up the dampening oil. At near full extension the shock would cavitate eliminating any rebound dampening. | | Similar Products Used: | First Full Suspension bike. | | Bike Setup: | Aeon Isis with full XT groupo, Marzocchi Z1 QR20 forks, Hope disk brakes and hubs, Thompson Elite stem and seat post, Answer protaper bars. | | Bottom Line: | Really disappointed with both Fox Shox and Ellsworth for this one. Fox just says to ship it in and they will service it and ship it back. That could take up to three weeks. Ellsworth suggests that a second shock (as a spare)would be a good idea. The customer service person at Ellisworth claims that she has a spare shock because, quote: "there is always something wrong with one of them". You know, this should never be a problem with a new product, especially on the first ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
melvyn
a
from sydney OZ
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | No wrong noises, nice & strong, rebound adjuster works good.,
excellent fit from the factory, it gives the rear of the bike that indestructable feeling! | | Weaknesses: | none so far., a bit heavy, but worth it (not in Oz $$). | | Similar Products Used: | SID air, 2 later.... FOX Vanilla R!!! | | Bike Setup: | GT 00' XCR3000 id., down country freeride setup., in which this shock is perfect for! | | Bottom Line: | When you put this shock on, you will realise its the real stuff., not like those SIDs. Good onya FOX for quality! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | what shock? oh that one, gee i've never noticed it. | | Weaknesses: | It's at least a half pound heavier than an air shock. But who wants one of those. | | Similar Products Used: | Vanilla Float RC, Stratos Helix Expert | | Bike Setup: | Kona full | | Bottom Line: | After 2 years this shock is still going. It's been on 2 cross country trips, a trip to Canada, mud and rain on the east coast, dry SoCal weather, 5ft+ street drops, and anything else I've done. The fork, drivetrain, wheels, brakes, and contact points have all been replaced. The rear end has even been rebuilt. But that shock. That shock has never felt better. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vince
a Weekend Warrior
from Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | TeamRain.Com | | Strengths: | Very well made. Excellent adjustment range. Eibach spring included in kit. The dampening is smooth and is all you can ask for out back. | | Weaknesses: | None noted, but a person who likes air shocks would be disappointed with the weight. | | Similar Products Used: | Cheap Taiwan shocks. Dirt bikes. Std Fox Vanilla, Noleen. | | Bottom Line: | The Fox Vanilla was a great buy for me as I purchased a 1999 closeout. The aluminum body is very finely machined and has a high degree of quality. I was able to purchase the proper spring to my weight and the action was perfect out of the box, except for rebound adjustments. The rear of my bike lands like a cat after I dialed it in. This dampener does everything right! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Racer
from East Lyme, CT
Date Reviewed: December 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Walnut Hill | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | www.jensonusa.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, adjustable, plush, strong | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | Rockshox Super Deluxe, Rockshox Deluxe | | Bike Setup: | Jamis dakar comp- Z3 BAM 80's, XT/XTR | | Bottom Line: | sweet shock. plush and smooth, but supple on big hits...no problems yet, and really i havent heard of any big problems from one (unlike rockshox..my friend broke 2 super deluxes in under 3 months)good adjustability, not too heavy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Veero
a Downhiller
from Southampton, England
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Vic (Wellington, New Zealand) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | GA Cycles SOuthampton | | Strengths: | Smoothest shock around
Mega -adjustable
| | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Shock Works piece of crap
Rock shox piece of crap | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Kona Stab
Hope discs
MR Dirt Chain guide
SUn rims | | Bottom Line: | This shock is soooo smooth straight out of the box its unbelievable. The back six inches on my stab are soo plush. However the Super T's up front haven't bedded in yet but when they do, man that willl be a sweet combination
Methinks 5 flaming turds should do the trick | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
big-air ben
a Weekend Warrior
from U.K
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Coed y Brenin | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Direct from fox website | | Strengths: | Very plush. nuf travel. Wide range of adjustment for both rebound & preload. Durable | | Weaknesses: | Not completely owner servicable. | | Similar Products Used: | None. Way better than rockshox deluxe. | | Bike Setup: | BI7 with Hopes | | Bottom Line: | Enough adjustment to suit any rider weight or ridind terrain. Fox basically just make the plushest of all shocks on the market. Perfect for downhill. 1 year warranty. Takes drops well if properly set up. Havn't managed to bottom it out yet but there is a bottom out bumper incase I ever do. Don't test it unless you can afford to buy it because i garuntee that you won't want to leave without one.
Five flaming dog turds!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ray (elsaltamontes)
a Cross Country Rider
from Campbell, CA
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Tahoe | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Great modular design. The stiffness is just right for climbing, and when released, it's cush! | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Other Fox Air Shock, and Cane Creek | | Bike Setup: | frame: Ventana El Saltamontes
front shock: marz bomber z1 cr
all raceface stem/headset/cranks/chainrings
all xtr derailleur front/rear
wtb laserbeam rims/ wtb disc hubs
| | Bottom Line: | love the shock. i had is set up at 125 lbs pressure. i weigh 165. it was stiff, but had enough play for a great downhill. the climbing was exceptional. however, when i depressurized it down to 95 lbs. i went down mr. toad's like lightning and was loving the bumps and technical baby heads... could have gone over anything! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matthew attiyeh
a Downhiller
from moraga ca
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | campo trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | this is a very good rear shock that can be as stiff or as plush as you want. rebound adj. | | Weaknesses: | the slow rebound is a little too slow. | | Similar Products Used: | fox vanilla, vanilla rc | | Bike Setup: | trek vrx 300 | | Bottom Line: | this is a very good plush/stiff shock that feels great. It takes big drops very nice and little bumps very well. If you want a great shock i would recommend this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jack Mehoff
a Weekend Warrior
from B.C
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Plush and worry free | | Weaknesses: | Nothing wrong with the shock it's Fox for not offering spring lengths with more weights 1.e. 850x1.6" instead of the 850x1.5" or 1.88" the 1.5" won't allow you to preload a full turn without binding the spring when you use it on your 1.5" shock and good luck getting the 1.88" to fit.
| | Similar Products Used: | fox air vanilla, sid air | | Bike Setup: | Norco VPS-2 marrzochi, fox, race face etc..... | | Bottom Line: | This is a great shock I've had no problems with it and if your like the guy below and preload the hell out of your spring yeah you will bind the spring when you use full travel besides you should only be putting 1 full turn on the spring, and 2 at the absoulute max. and that's pushing it remember boys and girls 1 full turn is equal to .05" of your spring length so if you have a 1.5" shock and a 800X1.55" spring then 1 turn is good and 2 turns is getting pushy so get a bigger spring weight or before long you will have spent enough money on those clips that you could have already afforded a new spring. This is a great spring and if you just starting out upgrading this is the one to buy besides for the extra money I don't think that you will gain that much performance with the compression damping guy I've talk to run the compression damping wide open so save your money this one will do you just fine. GO FOX GO! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fast Bacon Mojo
a Weekend Warrior
from BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Simple design, plush, stiction-free | | Weaknesses: | Hmmmmm - rebound capability, aluminum clip, aluminum preload winder, piston flexion. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Vanilla, Vanilla RC, Cane Creek | | Bike Setup: | Beefed up RM6 | | Bottom Line: | A decent rear shock for most applications, but I was a bit miffed when, upon riding along, I wanted to adjust my rebound damping and found that the aluminum stop-clip was bent right into the rebound adjustment screw... One hit, and "see ya". Anyway, got that replaced. Not a week later, the whole rebound damping was shot - oil splooged over the unit, you know, not a good thing. Finally, I noticed the moer I rode it, the more "U" shape the entire piston became - flexing within the coil itself - kinda weak for a shock stock on a free-riding bike.
Other than this, hey, it's plush and worry free... Apparently this DOES happen to a couple lemon units, but the warranty is going to cover it fully. I may just upgrade to the RC for better damping control on both ends of the spectrum.
Cheers | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Inbred Stepchild
a Weekend Warrior
from Ventura
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything with mud, I love mud | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Air adjustability, sassy dampening. It's like jello pudding. | | Weaknesses: | None so far, no leaks, no creaks. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Coupe Deluxe | | Bike Setup: | GT-STS 2K Reinforced head tube model. | | Bottom Line: | Fox is bad ass, it smoothes out the chatter, and takes it deep and smooth all the way through the 4" of wheel travel, Hu huu, uhh, he said smooth 4" travel. The Rock Shox was good too, but not like this. I can turn the dampening knob and feel a difference with every click. Buy one, they are nice, my 1997 GT felt incredible after installing the shock, and you can adjust the air to climb and decend. bought it used so the value is 5 Chilies, I noticed the shock does make a sucking sound but only when I put my organ in the air hole, actually the only time it makes that sound is when the air pressure is below 150 lbs. and really it shouldn't be that low, at least not for me, it would bottom the shock too hard on big bumps. I run it around 175 to 200, Overall it gets 5 Chilis.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stu
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | the last uncrowded one | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | original spec on bike
compression adjustable
rebound adjustable | | Weaknesses: | lost rebound capability
not user servicable | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Titus Quazi Moto
Marzocchi Z1 BAM | | Bottom Line: | I've enjoyed my bike for 9 months with just under 1000 miles. Bounced around in Moab twice with the rest on the rides on Colorado trails. The Fox Vanilla R worked great until the rebound oil started to leak. Total rebound failure last weekend has me sidelined for Memorial Day weekend. My weight is part of the problem since I qualify as Clydesdale at 205 lbs. and run the shock at 250 to 275 psi. Top out for the shock is 300 psi so I should be within the shock's spec. Fox Factory is honoring the 1 year warranty and is rebuilding the shock free of charge. Before the shock fails again I plan to investigate alternative shocks. User servicability is important to me. Kudos to Fox for their repair policy but I just want more.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trevor Gordon
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | anything on the north shore | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | easy to adjust
easy to maintain
not that expensive | | Weaknesses: | Bottoms out on big drops. Could be a bit beefier | | Bike Setup: | Aeon Joker with Z1s
sweet rig! | | Bottom Line: | Good product for people who just want to ride easy trails with nothing to difficult. Don't go out and buy this product if you are looking to do anything big. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jack Mehoff
a Downhiller
from Canada B.C
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Heater Time | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | This shock works great off the ten foot drops with the exceptional plushness and the quick and easy dampening addjustments. | | Weaknesses: | I only have one complaint its the annoying sucking sound it allways makes but oh well nothings perfect. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shock Deluxe | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain DhRace with Z1 Alloy | | Bottom Line: | Well all I can say is the shock works great for me and many of my friends.Its not to expensive and its easily adjustable. I think the shock would work great for any type of rider that likes low maintanance | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Bull
a Cross-Country Rider
from North bay Ontario
Date Reviewed: September 20, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
walder creek | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
provides a cushy ride
easily adjusted | | Weaknesses: |
dampening lasted for 2 months of riding | | Bike Setup: |
Santa Cruz Heckler with Z1 | | Bottom Line: | Worked great. Easliy adjusted. Very comfortable to ride, but started making a sucking noise after about a month of use. It now sounds like my 4yr old son playing a harmonica. Dampening is shot, but the spring still works. I have to return it for warranty, so when I do, I can't ride my bike. I could be with out my bike for weeks-I am not impressed. If it didn't break, I would give it a 5 star rating-no problem. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ari
a Downhiller
from Mattson
Date Reviewed: August 10, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
sulfur mountian | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Easy rebound ajustment, lock-out-able | | Weaknesses: |
none-(see the bottom line) | | Similar Products Used: |
RockShox delux-(tested) | | Bike Setup: |
Trek VRX 300 | | Bottom Line: | This is a great product, but when I looked at it a month after I got it, on the sticker under the coil I noticed that the coil was hitting it. Beside from that this is a great product | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Duncan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 2, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Adjustability, ease of adjustability, and looks | | Weaknesses: |
Well ever since i bought the bike (VRX 300) the rear shock has been making a sucking noise when the weight load is taken off the rear end. or when it is compressed at a high rate. However TREK is gettin on it and i have a Fox Vanilla for now until i get my new shock.. Good job TREK i like how you take care of a customer | | Similar Products Used: |
Fox Vanilla | | Bike Setup: |
TREK VRX 300 | | Bottom Line: | Nice shock.. could use a little more travel but hey! u cant always get what u want.. now if i can only get the Vanilla R back cause this Vanilla is a piece of a huffy(it wouldnt let me say $H!+)!!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jack
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago Il
Date Reviewed: June 12, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Great on small jumps | | Weaknesses: |
nil so far | | Bike Setup: |
Trek VRX 300 | | Bottom Line: | Love it and recommend it. | | Overall Rating: |
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