Submitted by
taletotell
a Weekend Warrior
from candor
Date Reviewed: December 2, 2009
Strengths: smooth, tough, no flex, very adjustable
Weaknesses: takes forever to zero in exactly perfect because the dials are so fine tuned. placement of the blowoff adjustment was rediculous but they fixed that in 2010 model.
The paint chips very easily.
Bottom Line:
Sweet fork. Get one if you can find it for $300 or less.
Similar Products Used: spinner ammo 1, manitou axel
Bike Setup: trek 4300 frame all home built.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Rider
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2009
Strengths: Smooth, aesthetics, features
Weaknesses: The biggest weakness about this fork is not the fork itself, but Fox's customer service. They are rude and provide little information. In addition, aside from changing the seals and oil, maintenance is difficult.
Bottom Line:
Products and service go hand and hand. Fox would do well to improve customer service and produce a fork that is more maintenance friendly to the average consumer. Out of the box this fork is great. With time it will need maintenance. If you like to work on your own equipment I recommend looking elsewhere
Weaknesses: My seals broke and it costs $250 if you send it to fox, but my friend is fixing them for $90.
Bottom Line:
Worth the money I would have easily bought it for $500. If you like jumping and trails up in the mountains with drops jumps and technichal stuff then this fork is perfect.
Submitted by
Matthew
a Weekend Warrior
from Escondido
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008
Strengths: No travel adjustment, comes with different rated springs, stiff, compression adjustment is great, has a smooth feel and lockout if needed on long fireroads. This is the lightest coil fork for the travel, close to the Fox air forks. Long term dependability, I have over 600 miles on this fork in AM type riding, no issues.
Weaknesses: Switching the lockout with full finger gloves can move the compression setting.
Bottom Line:
I love the feel of this fork. I was riding the Revelation and it felt to springy in order to match the rear end rebound. This fork has a nice plush feel, great matched rebound with the rear for bunny hopping, which I live and die by, and the slow speed compression adjust allowed me to tune out the high speed chatter over rough terrain and still maintain big hit ability. The fork is predectable and has saved my hide so many times I can't even count. The weight was big selling point over the other coil forks with the same travel. I don't think I will ride any other fork but Fox coils. For a 5" travel bike with no fussing around with air pressures and a ride everywhere fork, this is it. I thought it was expensive when I bought it, but now it was worth every penny.
Strengths: Best XC freeride fork out there. super plush, stiff, adjustable, and light. this fork kicks a$$ over the float and talas in my opinion and it almost weighs the same. way better with a variety of terrain than the talas and float. sucks up small bumps with ease and large bumps also. very predictable fork.
Weaknesses: may not be good for all riders. otherwise, no weaknesses.
Bottom Line:
buy it. no other fork compares to it in handling. so plush.
Similar Products Used: rockshox sid, manitou minute, fox talas
Bike Setup: santa cruz blt w/ fox rp23. xt build.
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Submitted by
Greg
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2008
Strengths: Very Plush, great adjustability, stiff
Weaknesses: the heavy spring rate is rated at 210pounds, keep this in mind if you are on the heavier side.
Bottom Line:
If you shop around online you will find at some of the website stores that they will include a free king headset and free shipping too! sell the headset and you have yourself an awesome fork for 400.00!
Strengths: Super smooth, reliable, easy setup, stiff
Weaknesses: 20mm axle would be nice
Bottom Line:
Best feeling fork out there, the ride is super plush. I find the lockout/platform function pretty much useless, an R would've been fine and saved me some $$. The pike is a stiffer fork but it weighs a ton and costs more, the Z1s feel nice but they're super heavy and pretty noodley even with the 20mm axle. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a 140mm fork unless they were a super clyde or a huckster type. It'd be fine but they might be better served by the stiffer and heavier Pike.
Similar Products Used: Pike 454 dual air, Z1FR 130 and 150
Bike Setup: Heckler, XT, RP23 rear, Van32 RLC front
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Submitted by
Oliver "PAPI" Papag
a Weekend Warrior
from UP Los Banos, Philipines
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2008
Strengths: this fork is walastik fantastic!!! an excellent all around fork!!!
Weaknesses: none so far..
Bottom Line:
this fork will bring you to where you want to go. excellent in climbs because of its lock out, conserves your energy even if you are standing. excellent in descents, very plush, very smooth, will never bottom, and with unlimited travel. can be used in crosscountry riding and on the trail. very easy to handle. very easy to adjust its settings. relatively light as compared to the other coil fork. more durable as compared to air forks. probably the best on its category! sulit to the max! buy it and you will love it!
Bike Setup: intense 5.5 evp 5th element rear shocks xtr groupset, wheelset, disc brakes easton hbar and stem chris king no thread set thomson seatpost fizik saddle maxxis ranchero UST tires
Strengths: Very light for a coil fork (as light as many air forks in it's class), mucho travel, excellent materials/build quality, very good aesthetics, adjustments give noticeable results, easy to service
Weaknesses: Pricey, other products out there are very close in terms of price/value
Bottom Line:
This fork is light, very plush, and has a good stiffness/weight ratio. It is good for people that ride everything from mild XC to hardcore trail riding. It's capable of handling moderate jumps and drops if the transitions (and the rider) are smooth. I've used it on some extremely fast descents. It did show some limitations on bumps at very high speeds. It is NOT for FR/DH. However, for practically everything else, it's a superb all-around fork. I do feel that Fox forx are quite expensive, but they do produce outstanding products (and they're made in the USA). Highly recommend.
Bike Setup: Preston w/ DHX air, Vanilla RLC or Z.1, TBC Revelation 32 or Spinergy Cyclone Enduro, x.9, J5's, (I set it up either aggressive trail/FR)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Ray Cordero
a Cross Country Rider
from Marikina City, Philippines
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2007
Strengths: Very plush and smooth play and never bottoms out. Very simple adjustments. Reasonably priced shock for the value and performance.
Weaknesses: A bit heavier than gas shocks but definitely compensates in terms of performance.
Bottom Line:
This shock has it all (plush play, long travel 140 mm., RLC including thresh hold) with the exception of travel adjust. I can be aggresive going down hill with confidence no matter what the terrain is. I've jumped 2 to 4 feet with no bottom outs. The play is so plush and bumps are absorbed very well that it makes you want to look for trails with a lot of bumps both big and small (jack hammer trail, AFP downhill). Can be tricky going up the hill because of the no travel adjust. If you are looking for performance, duability and not too concerned with a little bit more weight and no travel adjustment compared to the Talas RLC, then this shock is it. It's in a class of it's own.
Bike Setup: Merida Mission 2000D, all 07 XTR's, all Thompson set, American Racing MTB 26 wheel set
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Evan
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland, ME
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2007
Strengths: Its a Fox, and its a coil fork. They just feel better.
Weaknesses: No travel adjust ability.
Bottom Line:
Nice and smooth, simple to adjust and maintain, and pretty easy to find at a good price. I'm about six feet, and 170lbs -- the heavier "green" springs suited me much better. Took me all of 5 minutes to swap them out. I ride - and crash, pretty hard, and this fork loves the abuse. Even trails I've ridden tens of times before are a whole new experience. Love it. If you can find a good price, grab one of these.
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Jersey City, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2007
Strengths: rebound is very smooth, dialing in the fork is relatively easy and very adjustable, low speed compression allows you to avoid lockout when climbing, very responsive to bumps on the trail and really allows a comfortable ride
Weaknesses: the fork raised my headtube angle about a degree and a half because my frame is designed for a 100mm fork
Bottom Line:
This my first fork upgrade and it was worth the money I put into it. The feel of having a fork that really responds to any input is amazing and really helps when you are going for those long rides. I ride a hardtail and having 140mm up front really makes things comfortable. Many people will argue that climbing will be a little harder but I didn't notice any difference. My downhill abilty has gotten better since the fork really allows me to shift my weight back with the higher headtube angle. Landing the short drops I do as a cross country rider do not really feel so bad with the plush feeling of this fork. SMOOTHNESS!!!!!!
Strengths: Stiff, easy to adjust, no air to screw with, plush, handles most anything put to it
Weaknesses: pricey, but I guess you get what you pay for
Bottom Line:
the shock saved my bottom today, kept me in control where I would have lost it with my prior shock....excellent stiffness ratio, I feel much more on top of my riding when going downhill, soaks up small rocks and roots to where I don't worry about them....bottom line the shock rocks....has definately improved my riding and is worth the cash....5 flaming sacks
Submitted by
Thumbies
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2007
Strengths: Rides as well as the Vanilla is known for
Weaknesses: No travel adjust
Bottom Line:
This fork was a warranty replacement for a defective 2006 Vanilla. Having ridden my bike initially with my Vanilla 125, i was very happy to get one of the last few remaining 06 Vanillas (130 mm), unfortunately i had nothing but problems with it (crown race loose on the steerer, loud clunking at beginning of rebound stroke, excessive stantion play etc.). Anyway, the fork was replaced under warranty with an 07 Vanilla 140. Nice fork, works awesome. My only gripe is the lack of travel adjustability. 140 mm raises the front end a little too much and slackens the steering. I would be much happier with 125 to 130 mm, but for 07, Vanillas are no longer internally adjustable for travel. This has me bummed and considering selling for a Revelation.
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