Submitted by
outsidecenter
a Weekend Warrior
from grand junction, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2010
Strengths: supper stiff, adjustable travel, bomb proof... lets me climb and ride the local stuff and then step up to full on freeriding at the ski resorts
Weaknesses: a little big for just trail riding, the factory recomended settings were way too stiff and I'm a bigger rider
Bottom Line:
was a little hesitant due to the old reviews. I was assured that they had fixed the loss of travel issues. And the customer support is top notch. This thing has been great so far. There was a definate break in period, this thing is stiff. Bottom line, for one fork to do it all on my one bike to do it all I couldn't ask for anything better.
Bike Setup: santa cruz nomad, two step air totem, hammershcmidt, x-9 drive, elixer cr brakes, crank brothers iodine wheels
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Myke Berna
a Weekend Warrior
from Winters, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2008
Strengths: Uhhhh, it was supposed to be the tits.
Weaknesses: It falls so far below the mark it's sad. And I feel like a sucker for listening to RockShox customer service over and over abotu how they got it licked 'this time' for sure.
Bottom Line:
I wouldn't recommend this fork to anyone....and either does Rockshox since they're not selling it aftermarket any longer. I'm just done with this fork. After the initial failing, it would just go from feeling fine and then diving thru the travel with very little effort, to feeling fine again. Could not trust the fork. Rockshox's answer was to convert it to Coil. Great....but that was a $250 upgrade I paid for to get the 2-step!! Now after riding for a year, they still haven't figured it out, and I've done thru two sets of complete right side damper assemblies because of failing damping qualities. It's as if RS doesn't know what's wrong, so they just keep sending out parts hoping something fixes it. NOT HAPPY!
Anyone want to trade my Totem for their Marz. 66ATA????
Strengths: good looking stiff and strong fork for freeride
Weaknesses: do not know why RS makes them them with 2-step option - 135 mm I never use this option and floodgate too... If you ride in cold weather - you should control air pressure
Bottom Line:
good for for everything - FR, local DH events, trail... had some issues with travel (stoped on ~160mm) but solve this problem quickly. Want to try coil version because do not like how the air works - and you should always control pressure (especially in cold) The biggest plus - you can quickly adjust it for weight or ride conditions. Never get it punch.
Submitted by
michael orr
a Downhiller
from Washington,USA
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2008
Strengths: burrrly and bad ass, looks great and has smooth response, maxle is sweet, and sram gives great support at events
Weaknesses: the gettin her stuck in the 135mm or there abouts. It sucks worse than the fact that the fork was released to soon-cause it rained on my ridin parade. oh, the brother who commented on the infant sticker pack..thanks for mentioning that point. I agree! what is the target market, with the price there should be custom MEGADETH stickers and other stuff interesting to us who can afford em.
Bottom Line:
I love the fork soooo much that I am getting a SOLO air and staying in bed with this baby, cause she is hot. the two step thing was a novel idea and when I want to really climb on a bike I'll just grab my rig that climbs well. Please get some better stickers as I put all mine on my 9 year olds bike. Since SRAM and my shop took care of me I will give high marks and forgive. Thanks for the race support guys.
I just finished working on a 2 step air with the travel adjustment issue. I was able to fix it for the customer but the main thing you have to watch out for with the 2 step is air pressure. make sure to literally check it everytime before a ride. If your pressure falls below the minimun settings and you run the fork oil will get into the air chamber and it will remain in a lower travel setting. similar to cavitation in a rear shock. Pump it up and you should be fine.
Submitted by
Ragnar Schaa
a Weekend Warrior
from Germany
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2007
Strengths: ***FOLLOW UP REVIEW*** look below ;)
Weaknesses: quality control.....
Bottom Line:
have mine since september 06, got new one in april because of creaky crowns....6 weeks later the new one has creaky crown again......will see what german distributor has to say...I really like the fork when its working but downtime ist starting to pi$$ me off...
Strengths: Very stiff, fantastic adjustability and tuning options, incredible dampening. Looks great too!
Weaknesses: Rockshox released a product with a manufacturing defect. It's also very expensive.
Bottom Line:
I had the travel reduction problems but all has been fixed by Rockshox. As of last week the upgrade kits should be available to all that are experiencing this problem.
The fork feels fantastic, the dampening is very good and can be tuned to any taste. The 2-step option work great, it lets me get the most versatility out of one bike. Freeride mode at 180mm and trail bike/climbing at 135mm. The fact that the fork is fully functional and spring rate and dampening are unchanged between travel setting is a huge plus, and puts it ahead of the game against most previous travel adjustable forks.
It's too bad they had to release the production models before fully testing them.
Weaknesses: I'm another one with a travel problem. It sucks to spend that much money and get a fork with a design flaw.
Bottom Line:
Just a comment on a post below that says to take off the 2-step cap and release the pressure to fix the travel problem. This does not work, or at least did not work in my situation.
I guess I have to take it back to my lbs and see what warranty will do for me.
Submitted by
Jimbo
a Weekend Warrior
from Kamloops BC
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2007
Strengths: The travel adjust is a great feature, fully functional at either travel setting. It's a massive looking fork, without being overweight. The Maxle is an excellent feature.
Weaknesses: Rockshox have a flaw in the 2-Step feature that they have been unable to fix. I am on my second fork. On each fork it fails to return to full travel within a few rides.
It is expensive.
Bottom Line:
As stated in the weakness section, I'm on my second fork and it is doing the same thing as the first one. By the 4th ride I can no longer see the 180mm markings or the 3 lines above it. This problem was only supposed to be in the earlier models, but it is obvious that is not the case.
I'd steer clear of this fork until Rockshox sorts out the problem. It is a shame that they are relying on the customer to do their product testing.
On the good side, the dampening feels amazing, and completely adjustable to suit the rider's needs. I believe when they fix the problem it will be a top level fork. Until then they don't deserve anything other than the lowest rating.
Weaknesses: Too much of a difference in the travel, would be better at 180mm & 150mm
Bottom Line:
Super fork with the best bump absorption of any fork I've tried. Rock Shox has the dampening dialed on this fork and have come a long way in the past couple of years. They're now running neck in neck with Fox and Marzocchi for design and quality. The fork is super adjustable too. You can dial it in pretty much any way you want and the Mission Control can be sued as a lockout for climbing - sweet! The Maxle also rocks, I hated swapping wheels on "old-school" 20mm axles. Now I can quickly swap wheelsets for any condition of riding. The only thing I don't totally like is how much the 2-step lowers the front end. For me a 150mm & 180mm fork would be ideal because the 135mm setting is a bit too low for the Nomad. 3 Flamin' Chilis becuase this thing is sooooo expensive, RS has to bring the price down.
Weaknesses: its brand new on the market and obviously has a prob or 2..
Bottom Line:
been riding mine now for 3 months, after 1 week my fork refused to return to 180mm (stopped at 165mm) after traveling the fork for car transport. the 2step top cap obviously has an issue which has been confirmed by german distibutor and is replaced quickly if you have a problem. actually it can be easily fixed by letting off pressure and opening the 2step topcap to let the pressure, which has blown by the internal seal, off again. besides that one instance it has not let me down, its incredibly stiff, has mind-boggling adjustability and 2step + floodgate is excellent for pedaling up to your trailhead. this is my first air fork and i'm still not 100% comfortable with the feel of going thru travel, seems it does bog down abit. have raised the oil level and mixed some 6,25 weight oil which gives me the more progressive feel i'm looking for. There are lighter sc longtravel forks out there for 07 but its stiffness is a good trade off, it feels like a dc! airvalve + rebound knob are somewhat exposed at the bottom...time will tell. i figure the 08 modells will probably be much more reliable and will have tweaked damping characteristics after getting a years wrth of rider feedback. they are not perfect, but pretty close for a first year release, if you're capable of doing the odd tweak yourself get them, if you want a no-brainer fork wait a year
Weaknesses: That sticker pack... Sram, really who is your target market with a $1000 fork?
Bottom Line:
Props to Sram for developing a product that is years beyond their competitors. This fork seems lighyears ahead of the offerings from manitou and marzocchi for 2007. It's a pretty remarkable amount of features to pack into 40mm stanchions and still come close to 6 lbs. For me, the travel adjust feature is dynamite; it's great to be able to ride the fork hard in it's shorter setting. Ladders and smaller slopestyle tracks are much more enjoyable with a lighter, shorter fork in comparison to my old 66. The mission control dampening is fantastic too... very easy to use and incredibly effective. The floodgate feature is great too, try finding that elswhere in a 180 mm fork. Any honestly, I loved the fact that i didnt need to buy an adapter to run a 203 rotor... was that really that hard to finally do?
The fork seems to lack that some small-bump sensitivity that my 66 had, but has a much more predictable and smooth movement through its travel... It ramps up without feeling harsh and feels much more nimble that many marzocchi's due to running with a bit less sag and negative travel.
Lastly, a lube port on the lowers? Seriously sick. This is a product that is finally worth its price in the freeride market.
Similar Products Used: Marzocchi 66rc & vf, Jr. T, Manitou Sherman Breakout Plus, Fox Talas RLC, Shiver DC
Bike Setup: Yeti as-x, saint brakes, xt drivetrain, dhx 5.0, mavic 729's, minions, etc.... mud.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Shane Ferguson
a Downhiller
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2006
Strengths: this fork is incredibly stiff and has more useable adjustments than most other forks plus it looks great
Weaknesses: release date on the 1.5 model is still a couple months away so I will ride the 1 1/8 model and get the 1.5 later
Bottom Line:
This fork is just what I have been looking for, if it performs half as good as they say it should it would still be awesome. Haven't had it long enough to state the durability side of things but first impressions are very high, can't wait for the 1.5 model and have this one as back up, we all know forks blow up. I'd say anyone looking for a single crown fork for freeride this is the ticket. don't take my word for it, buy it and be blown away. Well I will write again when I have had more time on it.
Similar Products Used: everything from the Fox 36 to a Manitou Dorado
Bike Setup: 07 Transtion Bottlerocket, full saint with a durace rear derailleur and road cog, king hubs and all ti bolts
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brett
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2006
Strengths: Stiff, New Maxal Axle, 2 Step adjustment and lockout
Weaknesses: Air guidelines may be a bit over stated I don't think i can quite get the stated 180mm of travel
Bottom Line:
Although these forks maybe a little heavier than the original 36ers, they more than make up for it in versatility. Out of the box they where a little stiff but after a few ridesand air adjustments have loosen up. Set the geometry to the slackest head angle (66.5) and let the forks do the rest by dropping back to 135mm on the climbs. point it downhill and open up to 180mm. High and low speed compression take care of the lumpy bits and the mission conrol effectively maintains the lockout threshhold on those long climbs back to the top. Buy these if your keen to climb what you decend and anything in between
Bike Setup: 06 Specialized SXll Trail, Fox DHX 5.0 Shock, Sram XO, Avid Juicy 7, Minion 2.7 front Highroller 2.5 rear.(weigh 77kgs and have 80psi in the forks)
I have seen lots of info going from the troublesome 1st Gen 2-Step Totem into the rock solid Solo Air configuration. Having a 180mm fork with travel adjust would lend a lot of ver Read More »
Anyone had this problem? I was at Whistler (2500 miles from my LBS) called SRAM and they gave me the "send it in" answer. Now that I'm back, I'm gonna have to send it in, as my L Read More »
Hi All,
I have a 2010 Totem Air 2-step and used the travel adjust on a steep up hill.
Fork compressed and held fine at the reduced travel setting for the climb, but when I re Read More »
Hi All,
I have a 2010 Totem Air 2-step and used the travel adjust on a steep up hill.
Fork compressed and held fine at the reduced travel setting for the climb, but when I re Read More »
Remember to contribute deals you find to this forum...
Heres one I found: RockShox Totem 2 Step Suspension Fork White
[URL="http://www.bikewagon.com/Forks-Headsets-Suspension Read More »
