RockShox Reba Race 29er 29er Forks

3.88/5

(16 Reviews)

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Weight : 1772 grams

MSRP : $449.00

Product Description

For 29'ers

Travel: 80/100 (80mm stock)

Adjust: All Travel Spacer (internal travel adjustment)

Spring: Dual Air

Adjust: Positive and Negative Schrader Valves

Damping: Motion Control

Adjust: External Rebound, Floodgate, Compression Adjust and Lockout

Lowers: One piece magnesium, Disc Only

Crown: Forged 6061 Aluminum, Black

Steerer Tube: Butted Aluminum

Upper Tubes: 32mm EA70 Straight Wall Aluminum, Low Friction Anodized

489/509mm stack height

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Reviews 1 - 15 (16 Reviews Total)

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Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by Thelonerider

Date Reviewed: December 31, 2012

Strengths:    Light, adjustible, lockout, clean looks

Weaknesses:    Cost as -- almost -- as much as my bike

Bottom Line:

Got this as an upgrade over the stock spring fork on my Raleigh Talus 29er. It is over 2 lbs lighter, which not only cuts weight, per se, but has improved handling -- the weight is no longer all up front. It allows lockout, but more importantly allows me to adjust compression, so you can ride it "almost" locked out, i.e., very stiff. Since I use the bike around town in addition to offroad this is a major plus.

The fork is fairly simple to set up, even for me, who has never had an air shock before. Fill the top valve (+ air) and the one on the bottom of the same leg (- air) and go! The fork leg has a wieght/air pressure chart on the back for easy reference. I am no longer a lightweight but the fork works fine! When set stiff or locked out there is little or no sag when braking, and it rides smooth over bumps. What more could you ask fer? Well, maybe a lower price...

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Submitted by michael573114 a Cross Country Rider from Connecticut

Date Reviewed: March 17, 2011

Strengths: Great shock, good bump absorbtion, love the remote lockout/adjustor. Lots of fine-tuning ability.

Bottom Line:

Great shock, no real complaints at all. I did have one of the valve seals leak on me, but after 4 years of hard riding with no maintenance whatsoever, I don't consider that abnormal. I did the rebuild myself, replaced all of the seals
and o-rings, and it's perfect again.

I just set it up at 100mm for my new bike, going to give it a try this weekend. At some point this year I'll be selling this with my Paragon, and upgrading to a brand new Reba (Ti dual air 120mm w/maxle).

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Favorite Trail:   Trumbull

Duration Product Used:   More than 3 years

Purchased At:   Cycle Dynamics, West

Bike Setup:   2006 Gary Fisher Paragon, 2011 Lenz Leviathan 4.0

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Submitted by roger a Cross Country Rider from spring hill, tn

Date Reviewed: March 16, 2010

Strengths:    Works smooth very tunable. no complaints

Weaknesses:    Rock Shox needs a good set up plan. You can figure it out by the blogs and google. Dont say Fox

Bottom Line:

built this bike to make a psudo cyclocross bike. changed to make a 3rd mtn bike and put the reba on it. I am a fox guy but this is a great fork not like the pre sram crap and saved scratch too. Works great no gripes. I read the guy from wasilla's review and it was crap. I googled what he wanted and found out how to do it in 5 mins so dont listen to that. you want to save money and have a great fork buy it!

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Favorite Trail:   raccoon mtn

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Purchased At:   blue sky

Similar Products Used:   Fox 32 floats, marz, old rock shox

Bike Setup:   access 29r, raceface dues, xt drivetrain, easton bars, shimano 29r wheels, conti race king,

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Submitted by scremf a Cross Country Rider from Wasilla Alaska

Date Reviewed: January 15, 2010

Strengths:    I'm not sure if there are any. Perhaps if Rockshox provided more details I could actually use this fork.

Weaknesses:    Manual useless, Website useless, no apparent way to even email rockshox to receive technical information.

Bottom Line:

The bottom line is the manual I received is next to useless and rockshox appears to have no usefull information on their website. I need 80mm of travel and the unit comes preset with 100. Only problem is neither the manual or the website has any explanation of how to change the travel even though they advertise that you can. I've heard through the grapevine that there is a spacer inside that will accomplish this. I only wish someone at Rockshox would come to the realization that instructions would be of use to end line users. My other grip is that on Rockshox's website there is not a link to email them, so I can even ask for the instructions. LAME

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Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $400.00

Purchased At:   Blue Sky Cycling

Bike Setup:   Kona Unit 29er, sram x.9 rear derailers and shifters yada yada yada

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Submitted by auxarcs a Cross Country Rider from the Ozarks

Date Reviewed: September 1, 2009

Strengths:    Love the fork, have had no leaks, have added NO AIR IN A YEAR. Price paid is a guess, it came on my ride from the bikesmiths at my shop.

Weaknesses:    No problems with the fork,but the thumb pop-lock has a great knife edge on it which has taken some nice core samples from my knee. They are still using the same style on the new model....go figger.

Bottom Line:

GREAT fork for CC/all mnt riding, NO MAINTENANCE and perfect performance for the past year at about 40 miles/wk average in this here land of roots and babyheads. If you mount the pop-lock, try and fashion some kind of rubber sheath to cover the razor edge on the button!!!

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Favorite Trail:   Glade Top, for today

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Price Paid:    $400.00

Purchased At:   Cycles Unlimited

Bike Setup:   cold hard steel, NINER MCR, do I need to say 29 inch? Are folks still riding those little wheels?

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Submitted by cactus boy a Cross Country Rider from albuquerque, NM USA

Date Reviewed: April 5, 2009

Strengths:    laterally stiff, ie not too flexy. absorbs bumps well and is light enough for a 29er fork.

Weaknesses:    lockout with remote on bar adds weight and not much functinality over lockout on fork leg,

Bottom Line:

works as good as anything else, little down side and is less expensive than similar offerings from white brothers, fox etc.

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Favorite Trail:   otero canyon

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $400.00

Purchased At:   bike coop

Bike Setup:   niner sir 9 single speed

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Submitted by Taras Rybalchenko a Cross Country Rider from Kharkov

Date Reviewed: September 22, 2007

Strengths:    Realiable, relatively light, gently work, clear setup

Weaknesses:    None, but:
1. I've some problems with mounting of remote lock-out manette;
2. Remote lock-out cable is horrible! Derailer cable used.

Bottom Line:

The best 29er fork I ever rode. For asphalt, I think, rigid fork is lighter/better, but Reba is really universal.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $359.00

Similar Products Used:   RST 906

Bike Setup:   BeOne Cikara 29er frame, Shimano XT crancset, XT derailers, Shimano 105 cassette, SRAM Rocket and X.9 Gripshifts, AlexRims rims, Bontrager Jones XR tires, Richey WCS stem, KBIX UltraForm Titanium saddle.

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Submitted by Stephen Lynch a Cross Country Rider from San Diego, CA, USA

Date Reviewed: August 21, 2007

Strengths:    when it's adjusted right, it rides beautifully

Weaknesses:    it's to be expected that it'll require air from time to time. there is something going on where, when one or both of its chambers (+,-) are too low, there is some play in the fork that actually feels like my headset is loose. spooky. haven't been able to figure out the exact cause, nor how to fix it. (please contact me if you know what i'm talking about and have dealt with this before.)

Bottom Line:

more adjustability than seems necessary to me, but to be honest i haven't taken the time to experiment with it that much, except for the +/- pressures.

seems like a great fork, except for the stability issue mentioned above. again, please contact me if you have suggestions.

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Favorite Trail:   San Juan Trail

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Purchased At:   waltworks.com

Similar Products Used:   marzi bomber

Bike Setup:   waltworks custom 29er hardtail.

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Submitted by a Cross Country Rider from Boulder, CO

Date Reviewed: July 25, 2007

Strengths:    Like the positive and negative adjustment. The lock out is great for climbing. It did not come with the pop-loc; has the manual lock on the shock. I think I prefer this, one less thing to break when I crash :). Absorbs all bumps. Relatively light for a 29er shock.

Weaknesses:    Freakin' negative and positive chamber already sprung a leak, gets squishy, had to send it back to Rock Shox. When it happened a dude in Crested Butte who does bike tours said he knew several people who had this problem. He said it might not happen now, in 3 months or in a year but it will eventually happen. Major bummer.

I don't really care for their air pressure recommendations either. I was told there was a forum on MTBR that gave a better suggestion but have yet to find it. (Lots of people "telling" me things, I know, but they all seem to be accurate)

Bottom Line:

When the Reba race works, it works very well. My downhilling improved 3 fold after I got this bad boy.I know Rock Shox had issues with their air shock prior to being bought by SRAM, I thought they resolved that issue. Pretty disappointing that it sprung a leak after 2 1/2 months of use but whattya gonna do? Get it warrantied, send it back and wait 2 months for your shock, great. I'll give it 4 chilis for value just because I got a great deal on the bike but overall, due to manufacturing defects, pretty disappointing.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Ned, Hall, CB, Mtn Lion

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Purchased At:   University Bikes

Similar Products Used:   Reba SL 29er- no problem with this one...yet

Bike Setup:   Came with my Gary Fisher Ferrous 29er

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Submitted by Texican a Cross Country Rider from San Antonio, TX USA

Date Reviewed: March 9, 2007

Strengths:    Very little flex, easy to dial in, rides great. I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised by how well this fork performs.

Weaknesses:    Incredibly, compared to what's out there, the Reba doesn't have any weakness worth noting, in fact, the only weakness as far as I am concerned is that it is a Rock Shox product.

Bottom Line:

After getting over that fact that it is a Rock Shox, I was blown away by how well this works. I have had problems with Rock Shox forks before, but there arent many 29er suspension forks out there, so I gave it a shot.
After six months of abuse, the fork still rides great, and I havent had a single problem. Just finished a rough race this weekend, with lots of rock gardens, loose off camber descents, and numerous step downs, and the fork was amazing - no flex, no surprises, just took whatever was thrown at it and ate it up!!! I must declare that the Reba exceeds even the performance of Fox, and at a couple of $ hundred less, its a bargain.
Now, if they could only offer a version with more travel.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Comfort

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $400.00

Similar Products Used:   Fox, Manitou, Marzocchi, White Brothers

Bike Setup:   Niner EMD, Reba Race set to 100mm of travel, Stan's ZTR 355 rims laced to King ISO disc hubs, X0 shifters and rear derailleur, XTR crank and front derailleur, avid juicy brakes, race face next carbon sl flat bar and seatpost, Maxxis Ignitors, etc...

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Submitted by Steve a Cross Country Rider from Tallahassee, FL

Date Reviewed: January 31, 2007

Strengths:    the Reba (Race) works great. very plush, very little stiction & "set & forget"--at least for me. i've changed the oil in it twice in the year & 1/2 i've had it. haven't had any parts fail on it. the lock-out works fine. like rain-man said, u may wanna run slightly less pressure than suggested, but start where they say (printed on the fork-leg).

Weaknesses:    none really; maybe a little front/back flex, but who cares. i ride cross-country, not down-hill. doesn't bother me.

Bottom Line:

a very nice fork that you won't have to waste time on fooling around with--get on w/the ride. it works well.

"Think Big, Live Large: Ride a 29'er"

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Favorite Trail:   Forest Meadows

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Similar Products Used:   MZ-Atom Bomb. also a good (old) fork.

Bike Setup:   Salsa Dos-Niner w/XT, Reba, BB7's, Cane-Creek "Volos" wheels. "let's go".

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Submitted by John Brownlow a Cross Country Rider from Toronto

Date Reviewed: January 23, 2007

Strengths:    Light, good value, incredibly tunable, lockout, pretty stiff, no bad habits.

Weaknesses:    Not quite as plush as my Fox Float 130

Bottom Line:

It's a really great fork. The best part about it is how tunable it is... massive variance possible by balancing pos and neg pressure, gate etc. Poplok works beautifully and is extremely useful. Not as plush as my Fox but more tunable. The fork to beat in 29ers. Has no bad habits. If you can't get the right feel with this one, give up. Great value when purchased as part of a Niner build.

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Favorite Trail:   the nearest

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Similar Products Used:   Fox Float 130 RL

Bike Setup:   Niner SIR9 w/ Amclassic wheelset

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Submitted by Matt G a Cross Country Rider from Lincoln, NE, USA

Date Reviewed: December 6, 2006

Strengths:    Low maintenance, adaptability, ability to run different amounts of travel, highly tunable lockout/platform, good all-around performance, excellent value.

Weaknesses:    Not a spectacular performer, tall axle-to-crown for its travel (compared to a Maverick SC32, which I also own/ride), some chassis flex (esp. when run at 100mm travel).

Bottom Line:

I like the Reba a lot. It's a good performer, doesn't require a lot of maintenance, is easy to maintain when maintenance is required and doesn't cost a lot. It also looks good on the front of my Dos Niner, as the silver color matches the "Salsa" letters perfectly.

I'd like the Reba more if it had the ability to run at 115mm of travel, yet was barely longer axle-to-crown than the current 100mm travel version. I'm just thankful that a major suspension player is taking the 29er fork market seriously. I had sworn off RS forks in 1997 after a bad warranty experience, but SRAM's decision to invest in the 29er market was what it took for me to give their products another try. I'm glad I did. The Reba is a very good fork.

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Favorite Trail:   whatever trail i'm riding

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   Monkey Wrench Cycles

Similar Products Used:   Maverick SC32, Marzocchi MX Comp, Manitou Minute 2, Manitou X-Vert Super

Bike Setup:   2006 Salsa Dos Niner, 20-inch frame. XTR/RaceFace drivetrain. WTB rear hub; Maverick front hub, both with Salsa Delgado X rims. WTB saddle, Thomson post, Ritchey stem, OnOne Mary bar, Time pedals. Tires vary, but are typically a Bontrager Jones XR front and Kenda Karma 1.9 rear.

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Submitted by fisty a Cross Country Rider from cny

Date Reviewed: December 4, 2006

Strengths:    Not too $. Good performance all around.

Weaknesses:    Frequent oil changes.

Bottom Line:

Im sure forks have a long way to go yet but for whats out there now and any significant difference is negligable compared to what there will be in the future. Definately the best performance value as of now.

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Duration Product Used: 6 months

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Submitted by Rain Man a Cross Country Rider from Australia

Date Reviewed: December 3, 2006

Strengths:    Well built. Easy setup. Multiple settings. Very tunable.

Weaknesses:    A little flexy, but not too bad.

Bottom Line:

This is probably the most popular and best-selling fork on the 29'er market. There are certainly plenty of them on bikes everywhere...and deservedly so, as this is a very good fork.

The greatest problem is in user-tuning, imo. When this fork originally appeared on the market, there was very little knowledge ...apart from the Rockshox manual, on tuning it correctly. This resulted in some bad performance and a lot of confusion regarding the amount of air used to set it up correctly for an individual riders weight and use.

However, thanks to a lot of experimenting and rider-feedback, it seems that most owners have pretty much got it sorted out now.

When correctly set up, this is a very nice fork to ride with. It has such a wide range of tuning, and can easily be set up for just about any type of riding, from super-plush to very firm. The dual air chambers are easily accessed, and a small amount of air pressure can make a big difference to how this fork feels and performs.

The rebound is also rider adjustable, along with the lock-out settings.

Overall stiffness is good, flex only really showing up in AM type of riding situations...but is usually not a problem under XC riding, which is really where this fork is targetted.

I really like the remote lock-out feature on this fork. It works so well once set up correctly, enabling the rider to stand and mash up climbs and hills without front end bob.

All in all, an excellent fork for most XC use, capable of handling some pretty good drops and jumps if asked to.

The fork needs to be serviced regularly like all suspension forks for best performance, and the sliders and seals are best replaced with the excellent "Enduro" line of products when the need arises. The stanchion legs also benefit from a regular spray of Finish Line Stanchion Lube...about every couple of weeks if the bike is ridden regularly.

So...bottom line?

A very good fork, well made and very rider tune-able. Can be set up as plush or firm, depending on the riders preference. Tuning needs to be researched, but I have found that generally, less air pressure is needed than what Rockshox recommends for a riders weight.

Also, 10psi less in the negative chamber than the positive works best for me...right across the range of settings.

A popular and highly regarded fork. i like it.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Local

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   Niner Bikes.

Similar Products Used:   Manitou, WB.

Bike Setup:   NinerBikes One Nine and SIR 9.

Reviews 1 - 15 (16 Reviews Total)

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RockShox Reba Race 29er 29er Forks

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