I heard everyone raving about this shock last weekend at the Big Bear NCS, so I stopped by and talked to Romic. They explained to me, why there shock is so much better than Fox. They are able to use lower spring rates do to their superior compression adjustability, while Fox relys on the spring alone to support rider weight. I noticed that my M1 would get really harsh travel thru braking bumps and under heavy braking into turns, and while pedaling seated down rocky roads. Romic told me that those characteristics were from the sping loading and becoming harsh at the last parts of my travel and that their shock wouldn't have those problems do to the lower spring rate and usable compression settings. I also noticed at the race, that all the Intense Pros were riding Romic. Hum? I'm sure that they had super sick Fox setups and they still choose to use Romic. There must be something to this shock. I got mine on Saturday, mounted it and headed up to Big Bear.
What a difference! I could tell 20 yards of the lift that my bike was different. No more packing up over small bumps. I had the sag setup just like Romic said. (1/3 of the shocks travel) My bike set up in the rear a little higher than the fox, which was great for me since I've always felt like my boxxer wasn't getting the sag I wanted. The bike felt like is was glued to the ground around turns. The shock feels less prone to getting bucked off the bike if you come up short on a jump, due to the lower spring rate. With the fox, the bigger the hit, the more the bike bucked. I can run the Romic faster because the spring never ramps up enought to launch me over the bars. I weight 190 lbs and was using a 600 spring, now they've got me running a 450, which is perfect. They tune the internals based on type of frame and riders weight, so the shock is fully tunable for me.
I could write about this shock all day, but I have to get back to work. Bottom line is, if you need more performance out of your bike, you need a Romic shock. I only have one on my M1 at the moment, but assume any shock they make would improve my other FS bikes. The shock for the M1 also bolts right up the the Santa Cruz Bullit, making it 7" of sick travel. One of my friends has been riding one for 3 months now and wouldn't ever go back, now the rest of my buddies with Bullits are getting them ASAP. I'm not sure what the number is for Romic, but you can get them thru the Bike Company in Lake Forest CA. Their # is (949) 470-1099.
Submitted by
Matt Medore
a Racer
from Hemet, CA, 92544
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2001
Strengths: Romic when they took over the design and improved the seals.
Weaknesses: I blew it up at the first race
Bottom Line:
Romic ultimately makes this shock work properly. RCR you guys need to get yourself a tech guide to find out how to make some decent shims for it, you too stratos.
Favorite Trail: anything with serious drops and technical areas
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Purchased At: ROMIC
Similar Products Used: rock shox, Stratos, fox
Bike Setup: 2001 Ellsworth dare, the ultimate downhill ride
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Lucas
a Downhiller
from Vancouver BC CANADA
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2001
Strengths: good adjustabity plush travle strong when rebuilt by Romic
Weaknesses: RCR's version breaks in half you can't wrench it your self
Bottom Line:
The shock is good only when rebuilt by romic. I found out after two breaks that RCR was saving some cake by doing a sh!tty job on the assembly of the T2. When I jumped of my old schools roof (Aprox 8feet to slope) which was no prob for my buds fox RC the T2 sort of broke in half. This was because of the sh!tty seals on the shock. Now that I have the Romic rebuild I have had no such probs. Two weeks ago I took a 45 foot ramp jump to hill landing with about 9 feet of vert and the shock ate it up no prob. On the shore the shock works great too. Seymours fast no stunt format is best suited for the T2. Although I do ride grouse alot and it works ok there too.
Bottom line is you get what you pay for If your going to get a fox RC and are thinking of saving some cash by getting the T2 don't do it If you want a cheap long travle shock that will work till your ready to eat nothing but canned soup for two years then its great.
Bike Setup: KHS domi,shivers(oh ya baby),hayes 8" discs,race face cranks with splined BB,mrp 42 tooth chain guide,sun mammoth rims whith 2.7" mobsters
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
B
a Weekend Warrior
from peoria Illinois
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2000
Strengths: great range of damping control customer service availability
Weaknesses: none now
Bottom Line:
at first i had the foam style shock which lost damping quickly. rcr upgraded it for no charge to the 2000 model which blew up on a test ride. a simple phone call was all it took to get the problem fixed. they sent a new shock no questions asked. it seems that they had s few problems at first but have gotten it figured out now. the new shock works awesome. good work and thanks to rcr
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox super deluxe,Stratos helix expert,Fox RC.
Bike Setup: Elsworth Dare,Z1,Race Face cranks,Hayes hidros,Mavic 321,DT hubs,Azonic bar (2 inch rise),shorty stem(75),636 pedals,esp 9.0sl rear t/m ,xt front,xt bb.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bryce Langley
a Cross Country Rider
from Claremore, OK
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2000
Strengths: See the first review posted on this shock
Weaknesses: The first shock blew up about 5 months into it's life. They sent me a 2000 version and it is now leaking. I just sent it back again, I will let you know how the second go around works out.
Bottom Line:
Customer service is excellant and it damn well better be with the quality of product being sold.
Similar Products Used: Fastrax. Not the best shock in the world but it help up for 2 years.
Bike Setup: Scott Vertigo LSD
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tony degear
a Downhiller
from nyc ny usa
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2000
Strengths: I have the 2000 t-2 shock which I have worked the hell out of with no compliants. I have a chuck fs which I use as a free ride bike/trial bike. This shock has be off eight stair drop offs, baby head down hills with no compliant. I previusly had the t-1 1999 edition which I found be a piece of doggy doo it leaked ooil and had a dead spot on the repoun. The rebound seemed to change with out my making any adjustment. The t-2 shock how ever I have found to be excellant with no leaking and a bullet proof performance in reboun and compression stroke. The service from rcr is the best I have ever expearianced these people back up their product.
Weaknesses: springs are expensive
Bottom Line:
rcr stands behind their products and they have dialed in their shock. I find it is as least as good as fox
Bike Setup: chuck fs, hope disk brakes, rhyno lites on hope bulbs,kore elite stem, z-1, eastern monkey light riser handlebars,636 pedals,xtr shifters-cranks,bb,f-r derailers 90chain,kujo tires 2.30,thompson seat post,wtb ti-98 seat, kk headset
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Peoria IL
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2000
Strengths: adjustability is excellent. customer service is great
Weaknesses: failed twice.
Bottom Line:
The people at RCR offer great customer service, but they have to because the product is weak. The first shock was the old style and lost damping and developed dead spots in the travel after 3 months. They upgraded it free to fix the problem. The 2000 upgrade blew up with oil spewing everywhere on a parking lot test ride. We'll see how they take care of this one!
Weaknesses: Marginal fit (spring hits frame) Failed twice
Bottom Line:
This is a 2000 model shock. It lost all damping after 2 rides. After it was returned it did the same within a week and also developed some inconsistencies in it's stroke. i.e. rebounding fast for 75% of the stroke and then very slowly for the rest. Now it is functioning properly, although it makes alot of noise and just doesn't compare to the Fox shock in smoothness or damping quality.The folks at RCR have been good about servicing it but two weeks at a pop w/o the shock gets old.Close but no cigar. A good effort, but I wouldn't be inclined to buy another. It's just not worth $350. If Fox shocks could be had this would score less than 3 chiles. Being that replacement Fox shocks are pretty much not an option - 3 is what I give it.
Similar Products Used: Fox TC, Rock Shock Deluxe, Risse Jupiter
Bike Setup: Diamondback X-6 w/ long travel link
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe Tailleur
a Cross-Country Rider
from Prince George
Date Reviewed: December 13, 1999
Strengths: Damping adjustements Customer Service Ride Quality
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
Adjustments that actually make a difference, quiet, effective operation, and a killer nice ride that makes all the difference in the world. Not only that, but the folks at RCR listen to you when you talk, and are very responsive and make sure you are happy with your purchase. Whatever you have now, if its not an RCR, its not as good as it could be.I'll post another review when I've had a couple more months on it. I've had 2 RockShox Deluxe (both broke in half), and my SuperDeluxe has blown up twice. The Stratashock is still going strong after 3 seasons, and the RCR looks like a winner too. Five out of five for both performance and especially customer service.
Similar Products Used: Rock Shox Super Deluxe StrataShock Pro
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Level Betty SE
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John Frucci
a Downhiller
from Kalamazoo, MI
Date Reviewed: December 6, 1999
Strengths: adjustability, serviceability, cool color, and a partridge in a pear tree
Weaknesses: bushings were wrong size - so they said hello to the bench grinder, and now they are super sweet
Bottom Line:
Great service, very helpful, and a strong product. High rate of adjustability, compression damper is very sensitive to adjustment which gives great range. It's nice to know that there is company out there that will sell you a good shock - for a decent price. Help out the little guys!!!
Similar Products Used: RS Coupe Deluxe, Fox Air Vanilla, TC, Cane Creek
Bike Setup: Slalom bike - GT XCR 3000 w/Judy 100, Race Face, XT, King, Mavi 521's
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bryce Langley
a Cross-Country Rider
from Claremore, OK
Date Reviewed: July 26, 1999
Strengths: The shock is very adjustable and very easy to adjust with the oversized knobs and the positive click system (super sweet ride). The slow speed rebound control can be set to automatically lock the shock out when climbing without you having to remember to turn the shock back on (to easy). It takes the small bumps as easily as the four foot drops. RCR service is great, they will get on any problem you have immediately. My bike is a strange one so I had trouble with the bushings, but that was taken care of in a few days. $359 sounds high until you realize you do not need a special pump or other accessories to make the shock work and the shock can be rebuilt at your house.
Weaknesses: Weight, the T2 weighs around 1.3 lbs., but it uses every ounce. If the spring was a little light anyone would be hard pressed to find a better coil over shock!
Bottom Line:
Its simple, RCR has created a very user freindly shock that can be rebuilt and/or upgraded in the privacy of your home and the shock works excellant. Not to mention th shock is oversized, gold, red spring, and looks like something off a MotoCross Bike.
