Adjustability, No Stiction, Smooth

Topping out, durability

I bought this upgrade because my Judy had NO damping after a season's riding. Ordered online from EkoSport website, which needs to be fixed (call them on the phone if you want to order direct, saves time.) Installation was super easy, but make sure you check the condition of your dust seals and bushings. I used the recommended setup for a 170lb rider, i.e. #2, 5 turns out, 150 lbs of air, and it felt amazing. The difference between this setup and my old Judy springs was like night and day, now I can actually steer when I'm descending steep, gnarly sections. Sounds good, right? It is, for cross country riding. After three days of riding I had gained enough confidence in the fork to try some moderate drops. The FIRST one I hit, a little 2.5 footer, caused the fork to bottom out hard. I may occasionally not be the smoothest rider out there, but this wasn't much of a drop. I heard a crack, but the fork still worked and I rode for another hour. When I got home, I pulled the cartridges out to make some adjustments and I found that the little plastic cap on the bottom of the spring cartridge had turned into lots of little pieces and fallen into the bottom of the fork. What's worse, the cartridge on that side was leaking air pretty bad. I called EkoSport and they sent me a pair of new spring bodies and bottom caps for free (Under Warrantee). They were curt but helpful on the phone, and they sent the parts right away, but it still meant a week without riding while I waited. It seems like when the springs bottom, the cartridge body actually pushes the bottom cap off of the slider when the cap hangs up on the O-rings in the cartridge. I don't want this to happen again, so now I run the #2 dampers at 3 1/2 turns out with 155 lbs of air. It tops out with a clunk now, nothing bad, but I'm going to increase the rebound damping to try to fix this.
The bottom line is this: If you ride XC and need a relatively low cost fork upgrade, this is a great way to go. If you're a freerider who likes to wing off of jumps and ledges and such, save your allowance money and buy a beefier fork.

plush, easy to maintain

can't adjust on the fly

I was doing the once yearly greasing on my RST Mozo when the top caps shattered. Well, thanks to mergers and buyouts, I couldn't get replacement parts. I went down to my LBS and bought a Manitou SX-E, basically a bright yellow pogo stick, for $80. I then got the Total Airs. Installation was a little difficult because it's hard to take some of the parts you need of the Manitou stock compression rods. Once they were installed, I was in love!
I weigh 190 lbs and run them at 150lbs, stock rebound, and slightly plusher compression damping --which took all of five minutes to adjust. They rarely need air, and make my bike feel like new again. I ride trails with lots of exposed tree roots and switchbacks, and I feel like I'm riding better than ever. Usually on my first ride of the season, I feel like I'm gonna cry or hurl, but not this year!Of course I was racing indoor bmx all winter, so I stayed in better shape. A SID quality fork for $160!

Similar Products Used:

speed springs, different mcu's

Ease of fitting, improved performance over stock, weight saving.

quality of materials (plastic components), cost of extender pegs.

I ordered them from Bike World in USA, 'cos they were the cheapest - only took a week and cost £82 inc postage. Compare that to £105+ in UK shops ("Bad ISON distribution! In your bed!").

I purchased the twin crown fork "extender pegs" in the UK and regretted it. £9 for two plastic rods is a huge ripoff.
Here's the measurement of the rods: 180mm long by 20mm diameter. I'm sure that the more resourceful among you can make an alternative. (wooden rod with plastic caps perhaps)

I fitted the cartridges, inflated to 150 psi and just before I installed the stanchions in the crown, I decided to do a quick test 'squish' of each leg. One of the cartridges went 'poof!' I disassembled the offending fork leg and discovered that the cartridge piston seal had cracked and the outer portion had fired off down the bottom of the stanchion. It had cracked along the o-ring groove.

In order to be able to ride my bike, I reinstalled the old Rockshox internals into the now empty leg and hoped for the best.

I wasn't disappointed! Even with only one cartridge installed the XLs were totally transformed! I did a day at Cannock Chase and gone was the horrible top-out clunk, gone was the constant bottoming out. I went down the Red descent totally unaware of my suspension or the bumps!

In order to get my cartridges fixed, I tried to contact the UK distributors (well, I did buy the extender pegs in the UK!). I spoke to someone who seemed helpful, I posted the broken bit out to them and 4 days later phoned up to find out where the replacement was. I was informed that they'd 'look into it' and 'it'll be next week at the earliest'. After I put down the phone, I emailed Eko in the USA (it was about 11.00 am on a Friday). I explained what had happened and described the broken bit. 5 hours later I received a reply informing me that replacement parts were already in the mail! I'll update when they arrive!!

Similar Products Used:

Rockshox RS1 (stock), Manitou 3 (with Englund rebound damper), RST Mozo 4.5 (total poo), Lawwill Leader 3, Rock Shox Judy XL (twin crown) - poo in stock setup.

Easy installation and tuneability.

Top caps look cheap.

I love my bike, but hated my forks. The original springs were to soft and changing compression or rebound seemed impossible. I purchased heavier oil and new springs wich only made my forks hard and worthless. I wanted new forks, however I did not want to pay the money for what I felt should be an easy fix. I purchased the Total Air system unsure of what to excpect and I love these things. The initial setup and installation was easy. I pumped the forks up and realized I finally had forks that worked. The travel was smooth and consistent throught the stroke. I would have taken my bike to the trails that minute if it wasn't raining and dark. I have now trail tested my forks and have had no problems with leak down or performance. If you have Judy Race forks and you want them to be almost a pound lighter and work this product is for you.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Light, strong, easy to install, price

none yet

Out of all the crappy components Trek put on the Fuel 80, the Rock Shox Judy C was the worst. I did not have the dough to put in to a new shock so this was the logical answer. It took me 3 hours to rebuild the shock. I went from 80mm to 100mm of travel. I have not serviced the shock at all since installation. Sounds lazy on my part but I have not had any problems with it. I do have to put air in it every so often, but that is every three months or so. Plush movement through the stroke and soaks up everything. I would recommend for those with the budget in mind.

Similar Products Used:

none

Inexpensive. Good instuctions if you take your time. The compression and rebound damping realy works great.

Outer shell of cartridge and the part that screws into the shock crown is plastic.

I bought this upgrade based on the almost overwhelmingly positive reviews on this site. So far, I have not been disappointed. My 97 Judy XC was fine when it was new but it had seen it’s day and at 215 lbs I had beaten the life out of it. I longed to upgrade to a SID but didn’t want to spend $450-500 so I took the Total Air gamble. I took my time with the upgrade and was very careful to follow the step by step instructions and take note of how the shock comes apart and how the upgrade works. I got the Oil Bath kit and did it at the same time. I am using the recommended settings for my weight. I did the whole thing in one evening. I added some red Lizard Skin boots because the stock black rubber boots were too small with the added travel from the 85mm kit. The Lizard Skins add a classy look to shock and are easy to remove for cleaning. I am a older rider and don’t do some of the crazy jumps that some of the younger riders do, however, this shock upgrade has given me the courage to jump some 24" logs that I would never try with the stock Judy. I have had no air leaks and I run the shocks at 190 psi. Time will tell if this was a good long term solution but so far I couldn’t be more pleased. Total cost of the upgrade including Total Air 85mm kit, Oil Bath kit, shock oil, Lizard Skins and high pressure pump was $165. I am giving the upgrade 5 Chilis for the price and performance but I am holding back one in the overall because of the plasic parts.

Similar Products Used:

none

Plastic parts are probably recyclable when you finally get rid of these.

Read on

After 6 months of use I regret purchasing these. There's stiction despite the oil bath kit, which leaks. There's a clunk at the top of the stroke despite reinstallation, different compression damping settings and air pressure. The long travel springs gave me a whopping 2mm of extra travel. I should have just paid to replace my worn damper instead of installing these.

Brings an old Judy back to life

False hope for a dead '96 Judy XC

I bought this product because of how (almost) everyone swoons over these. My experience with the upgrade on my '96 Judy XC has been less than bliss. The long travel (72mm) reverse travel springs do virtually nothing to stop the topout from sending a shock right into your hand grips, even over the mildest of bumps. I contacted eko sport and their suggestion did nothing (they did not offer me a softer spring, though this might solve the problem). The short travel (63mm) springs do not have this problem, but then you are robbed of 9mm of travel. The stock travel of this fork was 60mm, so every extra mm helps. I have not been able to get my upgraded fork to eat washboard or big hits as well as the original guts did at 25-35 mph. (I found that the Judy did not come to life until 20+ mph). So I now have a plusher fork, but I yearn and still fiddle for that blend of pressure and damping that takes me where I want to be at 25+mph. Maybe this is too much to ask for a fork with only 63mm of travel. My rating reflects my experience with my fork, so I give it 3 chilis due to my mediocre experience with the cartridges.

Similar Products Used:

'96 Judy XC

This is a follow up to an earlier review - as suspected a few miles of riding has apparently worked all the excess grease out of the air valves. Now there's not a hint of stiction, just smooth supple travel. This is an upgrade that's starting to grow on me - I think I may postpone my Marzocchi purchase for a few months and just pounce on these guys for a while. I'd still like to see a little less negative (top out) spring in mine - the TA spring seems a bit longer than my OEM. May actually try running stock spring on one side and TA on the other (ala Marzocchi MX) just to see how it goes. Four burnin turds and a solid recommendation for TA.

Price versus buying a new shock, weight, reliability

No on the fly adjustability, not always compatible (see bellow).

Rock shocks gave me a Judy with stantions that are about 5mm longers than standard. This made my upgrade shocks too short. After talking with the engineers at Total air for three days, they sent me some custom springs (for free) that made the kit work perfectley.
This upgrade rocks if you have a Judy and want something better that won't hurt your back pocket too much.
Total Air rocks and Rock Shocks SUCK!

Similar Products Used:

Rock shocks Judy SL 80mm