Submitted by
piaseq
a Cross Country Rider
from Poland
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2010
Strengths: Reviewing 351 Coil U-Turn version. Good stiffness and very responsive. Very versatile and weights not too much for an XC/AM fork. Easy maintenance due to it's simplicity. Idiot-proof and so far durable. U-Turn knob is one-piece aluminum design, thus very durable unlike old fashioned plastics. Coil spring works better than air for me. Nice damping: sensitive to small bumps and comfortable with large obstacles. Travel can be adjusted quickly 85-130mm depending on riding conditions. Never failed so far.
Weaknesses: Paintwork. Black matte paint peels off easily if scratched. Lockout knob looses it's anodized finish by itself. Also lockout knob's retaining design is crap: plastic pivot with locking ring. Both can get damaged easily if handled improperly. Steel steerer, aluminum could reduce weight but I don't care that much.
Bottom Line:
Very versatile fork - does the job no matter if its a Sunday ride with my daughter in the seat or a marathon race. Won't complain when pushed to the limit. Great choice for anyone who takes riding seriously but without going into lightweight madness and wants a dependable and versatile fork for all sorts of activities like XC, Marathon, Trail or even Enduro. U-Turn can convert it to fit any purpose. For the price I can give it max rating.
Similar Products Used: Psylo XC U-Turn(rocks!), S-TR dual remote (sucks!), Reba Air.
Bike Setup: Merida Matts Sport 700 2004 20" frame, Firex-Team ISIS crank with FSA Platinum cartridge(this one rocks!), X9/XT, XTR 8s cassette, CrossRide wheelset, Juicy brakes, 540 pedals, BBB bars, stem and seatpost, SLR saddle, TableTop 2.25" tires for all-round performance, other 2.0 lightweight tires for racing. 13kg inc. 0.5kg seat clamp. 10.98kg racing setup.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Vuco
a Cross Country Rider
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2010
Strengths: Cheap, great damping, lightweight, adjustable travel (with spacers)
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
This is a review of Recon 351 Solo Air 130mm version, year 2007.
Got it in half price. Works flawlessly form day one. Coming from Dart 2 with turnkey, the Motion Control damper is really a big improvement for damping while riding high speeds. Since my Dart 2 worked great in low speed compression it had a hard time during high speed compression, where the Motion control damper really shines. No air leaks, or oil hydro locking (which was a problem with Recons 2008). Much much stiffer than Dart, and lighter.
I'm 83-84kg, and I run 95-100psi and have round 25% SAG. Since air spring is pretty progressive, I don't have full 130mm travel, yet round 120-125mm, so still going good :). Have never bottomed out the fork.
Having it compared to dual air forks, the Recon is pretty close to them in terms of small bump sensitivity. Yes, the floodgate isn't adjustable, but for many recreational riders it won't be an issue and won't be noticeable.
It's not plush as the coil forks cause it has like, 5-6 more o-rings, but when the o-rings get lubricated (first 2-3 compressions), it's a great working fork. Easily serviced at home (good manuals). If you have homemade spacers or original RS spacers, you can easily change travel from 80mm to 130mm.
Similar Products Used: RS Dart 2 (for a long time), tried also RS Reba Team and Revelation Dual Air
Bike Setup: Recon 351 Solo Air 130mm, Mavic XM317 wheels (DT Swiss spokes and Specialized/Shimano hubs), SLX front brake, Juicy 3 on the rear, Genesis HT frame, Deore/XT shifters
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
big man 48
a Downhiller
from california
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2008
Strengths: almost everything they are light and well worth the money and they will stand up to alot of abuse
Weaknesses: there isnt much wrong with them but you shouldnt do drops over 6 ft on them
Bottom Line:
they are well worth the money and i would recomend them to anyone who does alot of singletrack
ethan is a bit of a loser though
Submitted by
Hogback
a Weekend Warrior
from Waterville, VT, USA
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007
Strengths: Reviewing coil version - U Turn - w/ Poplock adjust and V-Brake compatibility / Disc compatibility Great strength, moderate cost, high reliability, great adjustability, poplock adjust is the bomb with this particular fork - once you have that the shock is fully setup, at least in my mind: External On-handlebar compression damping, external rebound damping, exterior lock out, 45 mm of travel adjust.
Weaknesses: Cost obviously...gotta pay to play, weight 4.5 lbs. standard poplock is a joke - no compression damping adjustment except lockout - almost false advertising! Poplock design - makes it the first thing to break in a bad crash due to it's height on the handlebars - I installed mine in the valley of my riser xc bar, takes some of the height off.
Bottom Line:
Very happy with fork, transformed my bike! Needed that extra 1" of travel, used to have only a 100mm judy xc elastomer shock, this fork surpasses it in every way except for it's weight. The travel adjust function and poplock adjust makes for more fun and functionality than ever before.
Just watchout for the poplock, you may end up needing to spend $100 extra to get the poplock adjust to work with this fork. Mine came with the component already in the fork, but with a standard poplock, so all I had to do was upgrade the poplock to the poplock adjust for $50.
I give it 4 chilis due to it's cost, and weight. Mtn biking is not cheap! But what is these days...
Similar Products Used: None - never had an adjustable fork, or a coil fork either
Bike Setup: 96' 16" GT richochet hardtail w/ V-Brakes -> May go to mech disc eventually now on front due to this fork!
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Jackson Heights, New York
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2007
Strengths: Beefy crown, great lateral stiffness, nice adjustability, and a sweet color (Diffusion Black).
Weaknesses: None so far, other than the Pop-loc design (Vertical as opposed to horizontal).
Bottom Line:
(Price is so low due to the fact that i am a mechanic at the shop and got the fork for wholesale.)
I've had the fork for about a month and its performed great. Major improvement over my last fork (Stock RST). Performs well in rocky decents, clears obstacles with ease without having to worry about which way the front end is going to bounce, unlike its predeccesor. Provides great front end control and the lock-out feature greatly enhances my climbing, no more bobbing around on ascents.
My only gripe, and its a small one, is with the pop-loc provided with the fork. The vertical design is a bit difficult to install. If instaled too close to the shifter, the cable can interfere with shifting. The cable also juts out from the bottom of the pop-loc, which makes it a bit unattractive sticking way out away from the bike. A horizontal design would have been a bit easier to mount and easier to deal with on the fly. It would have been nice to be able to adjust the tension more with the pop-loc other than having only two options (Open or locked).
Overall i really love this fork. It may only be a lighter version of the Tora, but it differs in more than just weight. Its a stable platform that can handle whatever you throw at it.
Strengths: Travel, weight, quality, compression switch on handlebar
Weaknesses: non yet
Bottom Line:
I did a lot of research before I picked up the recon. After being totally disappointed in the dirt jumper 3. I decided to check out the recon because I've always been a fan of the rock shox forks. For what I use it for i'm amped about its preformace thus far. I basically freeride: dirt jumper, stairs, 4ft plus drops, and some trail riding. I've only used this fork for about a month so far but i cant complain. Its handled what i've thrown at it so far. I recommend this fork to anyone that wants a beefy coil fork with a good amount of travel.
Submitted by
Rifki Zimah
a Weekend Warrior
from Jakarta,Indonesia
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2007
Strengths: Fair price,light and fully adjustable
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
I really like this fork because the u-turn allows the fork to perform in any situation, I love the adjustability because I usually ride point to point ,25 km ascend (set as 90mm) and 25 km descend (set as 120mm). Highly recommened if you like hard XC
Strengths: super plush, very stiff, reasonably light(for having 130mm of travel), and very affordable
Weaknesses: does tend to bob during out of saddle efforts but thats when you can use the poploc. If you are seated it is pretty efficient though
Bottom Line:
This is for the coil version with U-turn. This fork is extremely plush and cycles through its travel very well. It eats up rock gardens and has increased my comfort(of my hands and arms) a great deal. At the end of the stroke is does become more progressive but I have found this useful as it keeps from bottoming out and this only happens at the very end of its travel. All in all I would highly recommend this fork to anyone who cross country but would like the extra travel to get aggressive.
Similar Products Used: manitou axel, rockshox reba
Bike Setup: fisher tassajara, eggbeater pedals, upgraded drivetrain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Mark Angel
a Weekend Warrior
from Pueblo Colorado
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2006
Strengths: Lateral Stiffness, light for price (4.3#) Comes with Rebound control, Lockout, Compression adjust.
Weaknesses: Poplock on handlebar has too high of a profile because it functions vertical. Horizontal movement would have been more streamlined.
Bottom Line:
My shock is the coil version with compression lockout and U-Turn. I ride it on singletrack and 4 why drive roads. I ride aggressively and take it through some pretty rough stuff. I bought it for the V-Brake compatibility. I believe this shock is basically the Recon with V-Brake mounts. I weigh 187 pounds and I find that the compression is stiff. However the more I ride it, the more I have become accustomed to the stiffness. It absorbs big bumps easily. I started out with the U-turn set at 100MM with sag and now have increased it to 120MM with no noticeable loss of lateral stiffness or stability. I will use the U-turn feature a lot when I'm in the mountains, but I doubt that I will ever use the lockout much. This is because the compression adjustment is really not what I expected. With the standard poplock on the coil version, you either lock it out or have it fully open. If you want compression control you should purchase the "poplock adjust" accessory (available) which will hold adjustment at the handlebar throughout the compression range. The 32MM stanchions give it great lateral stiffness, so therefore the wheel goes where you point it! I love this shock, it gives me everything I need and it didn't cost a mint. I gave it an overall rating of 4 because of the poplock design that came with mine. However, it is a good shock and if you buy it you will love it. If you want one, go to Universal Cycles.com. They have good prices.
