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Eko Sport, Inc.
Total Air (Englund)
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Submitted by
Tom Page
a Cross Country Rider
from York, Maine
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | web | | Strengths: | Simple, light upgrade, adjustable, cheaper than a new shock. | | Weaknesses: | Unscrewing caps to remove air shocks is difficult. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Klein hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I replaced the old beatup elastomers in a Rock Shox Quadra 21R fork with these Total Air shocks, to keep my bike going a couple more years. Still only have 2-3 inches of travel, but air shock works much better and the fork is still almost as light as a top end XC racing fork. I used a little less pressure than recommended for my weight in the instructions to get the right setting. I found I need to take apart 2-3 times per year to clean and lube up with slick honey so everything works nicely, depending on how much riding I do and how much mud I've gone through. I have not had not had any problems losing air. These may not equal a modern suspension fork, but are a good value upgrade if your bike isn't worth a new fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Eko Direct | | Strengths: | Rebuild your fork to better-than-new specs, for minimal cost and labor. Smooth and quiet! ("CLINK" is caused by improper installation.) | | Weaknesses: | You'll have to buy a shock pump, which increases overall cost. Also, I wonder if they'll be discontinued for my older shock before I'm ready to retire it. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Manitou SX | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail Marin with Manitou SX | | Bottom Line: | Overall, this was a great investment. It enabled me to clean out the greasy, slimy, obsolete elastomer-based guts and replace with a very clean pair of air cartridges. An air spring is so much better suited for its purpose than elastomer stacks were.
Installation seems a bit tedious, but simple in hindsight, and I could do it in 1/3 of the time if I had to do again. I actually enjoyed doing it as an evening project over a beer.
A rider complained below of a rebound "CLINK." I strongly suspect he set it up improperly. My first pass thru installation I also heard a clink, but quickly discovered a major install error, described as follows. There are 2 Eko air cartridges, each having an axially movable rod. The 1st cartridge is inserted into the first slider (lower, outer portion of fork leg), and the 2nd cartridge is inserted into the 2nd slider. The rod of the 1st cartridge is secured to the lower end of the 1st slider with a bolt passing thru a small hole in that slider. The OD of the rod is larger than the ID of the hole, so the rod cannot pass thru the first slider. However, the second slider has a much larger hole diameter -- large enough for the rod to pass through. You are supposed to thread a large nut onto the 2nd rod BEFORE you insert the 2nd cartridge into the 2nd slider. The nut has a larger OD than the hole ID, so the nut serves as a stopper to prevent the rod from poking out of the hole. Finally, a bolt and washer secure the rod to the second slider from the outside (the washer has a larger OD than the hole ID). PROBLEM: If you don't follow the directions exactly, it is tempting to incorrectly position the large nut on the *outside* of the 2nd slider. In that case, any time the fork compresses, the rod simply sticks out of the hole on the 2nd slider, and upon rebound, the large nut smacks into the slider, causing a "CLINK" sound. This is BAD - you are getting no spring action from the 2nd cartridge, because it is not fully secured to the 2nd slider. You must remove the cartridge from the slider, install the large nut onto the rod, and THEN insert the cartridge into the slider. Hope this clarifies things a bit! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Largo, FL. USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | TotalAir website | | Strengths: | Infinitly adjustable for all riders. Easily serviced. Simple yet strong design. | | Weaknesses: | I don't thin there are any. | | Bike Setup: | Trek Y3, RS Judy XL converted to air, Cane Creek AD-10 | | Bottom Line: | An excellent way to breath life back into an old fork and the perfect way to set a fork up to meet YOUR needs. I have done everything from agressive street riding and stair decents to pavement to singletrack and and very rooty trails and the fork just soaks it up. 4 inches of very useable travel and the best part is you can fine tune your ride. If you want fast compression and slow rebound, you can do it. No more guessing which springs you should order and then not being happy with the performance. You have INFINITE ADJUSTABILITY! I put the bike up for a year and when I came back to it, I tore the front and rear shocks down and cleaned them and regreased them and they were like brand new. The little pump I bought with it is annoying cause the knob wants to unscrew but some glue will fix that. I would definitly recommend to anyone with an old spring internals fork that doesn't want to buy a new one. These cartridges rock! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Elk River, Minnesota
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Lebenon, STP | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Total Air web sight | | Strengths: | Holds air
Easy to install
Easy to maintain
Light weight | | Weaknesses: | Inconvenient to adjust | | Similar Products Used: | Judy XLC with stock hydra coil
Manitou black | | Bike Setup: | Giant Warp, Sun rims, Avid mechs | | Bottom Line: | These things work pretty darn good. I was a little skeptical after reading the last review, but I am pleased overall. My fork was very sloppy with the stock oil damping. After installing the Total Air system it really came to life. I don't have any top out noise what so ever. The top out springs are twice as long as the stock ones and they do a great job of controlling the stroke on the top end. I don't bottom unless I come down from something really hard, and when I do is is a relatively minor event. This fork feels much better that my stumpjumper with a manitou black elite, and that is a decent fork. I would recommend this upgrade to anyone whose fork is older than 2 years or so to bring it back up to date. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SGT. ROCK
a Racer
from Grande Cache, AB
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Strengths: | Easy installation
Don't leak
Increased travel
| | Weaknesses: | Harsh top-out | | Bottom Line: | I really wanted to like this product, and initially I did. Replacing the guts of a '00 SID XC solved two problems with this particular fork - air leaks and lack of full travel. In its original form, the SID never got more than about 60mm of travel, even though it was set up in the 85mm mode. The Eko cartridges allowed for full travel, and the stroke was very smooth. The SID was also a real pain to pressure up - very difficult to get the proper psi due to inconsistent loss on pump disconnect. Again, the Total Air solved this problem.
Riding this rebuilt fork for a couple weeks was disappointing. With proper air pressure, the top-out was severely annoying. There doesn't seem to be any rebound damping at all, so you get this constant clunking resonating through the front end of the bike. Eko instructions say reduce the air pressure to solve the problem - sorry, that only reduces the severity, the top-out clunk is still there. As soon as the fork is unweighted, CLUNK... Also, reducing the pressure enough to significantly reduce top-out makes the spring rate too soft, and fork dives into the initial inch of travel too rapidly. There is no preload adjustment to compensate for this.
With good forks available for around $200, paying $110 for this product is stupid. I ended up retiring the SID and buying a new '03 Manitou Black Elite, which is what I should have done to begin with. The ONLY reason to use Eko Total Air is to keep an obsolete fork alive, if you have no alternative. Otherwise, invest your money in a new fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Tahoe Vista, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adirondack Blues
a Cross Country Rider
from Albany, NY
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | All of them! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | ekosport | | Strengths: | Light, fairly straight-forward installation, fairly easy to adjust. Turned my tired old Judy C into a great handling fork! I love it! Much cheaper than buying a new fork! | | Weaknesses: | You have to remove the cartridges to adjust compression damping. Instructions left a little to be desired- I ended up using the top-out rod and springs from my existing 2002 Judy C and combined them with the total air cartridge- removing one Judy spacer to get 100mm of travel. It took a little fiddling, but I figured it out. | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing similar out there! | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Trek 4900 (whats left of it), Rhynolites, Shimano 959s, Avid mech discs, Total Air Judy C, titec stem, bars, Koobi Au Enduro saddle, SRAM/Shimano drivetrain, blah, blah, blah... | | Bottom Line: | Got a Judy? Get Total Air! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Tahoe Vista, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | TC-Watson Lake-Western States | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld | | Strengths: | Light, inexpensive. | | Weaknesses: | Fragile bits and pieces, stiction. | | Similar Products Used: | None-this is a one of a kind product unfortunately. | | Bike Setup: | Trek VRX; Race Face crank and BB, Shimano XT cass; Judy XC 100mm; Fox Float R, Panaracer Fire XC; misc bits and pieces | | Bottom Line: | Where to start. . .the instructions leave a bit to be desired. The installation process is such that if you get into trouble (no fault of TA), you'll likely need a bit of mechanical savey to get through. The control rod spacers in my kit didn’t fit into the tops of the stanchions without my chamfering (beveling) the corners and flat filing the outer diameter a bit. Had I tried to force them, they’d have cocked and bean a bear to get out. The diameter reducing ferrule that goes into the bottom of the sliders is tricky. It’s a press fit, so you have to get it down in there with the provided spoke without it being cocked in the hole, as the "press" part comes from the final assembly step. Be very careful screwing the cartridges into the tops of the stanchions. If the threads are dirty or you cross-thread they’re trash. Metal stanchion threads vs plastic cartridge threads – guess which loses. Give yourself a couple of hours and lots of space to splash hydraulic fluid around. Haven’t had much of a chance to ride them yet, but they’re very sticky on initial inspection. The stock internals were way smoother than the TA. Took the carts out and put about 20-30 lbs in each and worked them by hand to see if it was the cartridge or the fork internals. It appears to be the cartridges themselves, and I could hear them spitting grease through the damping valves with each large motion. Could be that this will clear itself with a bit of break-in. Once you’ve inspected the parts of the kit, you’ll understand why they’re “affordable”. Might be nice to see an upscale version without as much plastic. Bottom line – good bang for the buck in terms of adjustability, but I’d upgrade the whole fork if I had it to do over again. Marzocchi, here I come. . .or maybe if I sell my truck I could afford a Fox F100X. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tallboy
a Cross Country Rider
from New Orleans
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Total air website | | Strengths: | Light, strong, easy to install, price | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Fuel 80 replaced or rebuilt everything but the frame. | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Downingtown, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Bottom Line: | Put these in a Rock Shox Quadra 21R on my hardtail. The old elastimers were crumbling in there and wanted to extend the life of the bike. Used regularly for a year. And now that bike is my backup. Without this upgrade, the bike would be useless. Made the shock better than it was when it was new. Now it wasn't the best shock to start with, but if you want to get some more life out a an older shock, the Total Airs really do work. I did spend a little time fiddling and they seemed to work better after being broken in. A little stiction at first. A little messing to get the pressure where I wanted it. But for a low cost upgrade, it does do everything advertised. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jon
a Cross Country Rider
from Providence, RI
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Direct from Ekosport | | Strengths: | Adjustability, No Stiction, Smooth | | Weaknesses: | Topping out, durability | | Bike Setup: | '01 GT Avalanche 1.0, Judy XC, Avid Mech. Disks, XT drivetrain, Sun Ringle wheelset | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Walter Guan
a
from Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Hmm... | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Bikepro (LBS) | | Strengths: | Super smooth! Super light! Cheap! Adjustable... | | Weaknesses: | I did not get robound damper adjustments(It came built into a judy race). The black thingie inside which wears out fast. | | Bike Setup: | SD Mag w/XT levers! | | Bottom Line: | Woot! I have a 3 pound Judy! That has got to be something!
No rebound adjustmens but med was just right so its ok. This gotta be one of the smoothest riding fork. It is way adjustable and a gr8 upgrade. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
berryboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Aptos
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Wilder | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | transformed a Judy XC, weight reduction, cheap compaired to a new air fork | | Weaknesses: | noisy and harsh topout (returned to LBS), customer service | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | old Rockhopper A1FS, 00 Judy XC, Thudbuster, Mavic 517, XT, Wildgripper Comp S Lites | | Bottom Line: | Transformed the handling and had to adjust to the much lighter front end when climbing. I really wanted to like this upgrade, but returned to the LBS because I couldn't live with the top out clanking. My frame rang like a bell during climbs. After LBS troubleshooting and two unanswered emails to Eko it was back to the store for credit (and a "I told you so" from the proprietor). Too bad. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chad Winslow
a Cross Country Rider
from Sumner, Wa
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | cut your bars | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | super smooth, adjustable damping | | Weaknesses: | i have to pump it up once every few weeks, but after four years, it's not a whole lot to complain about. | | Similar Products Used: | '98 Sid | | Bike Setup: | '98 S-works hard tail, all XTR with '98 Sid. Chris king/517 wheels | | Bottom Line: | well, the bottom line is, i bought the '98 sid, thinking it would be cool, then i realized that it doesn't have adjustable damping, and you have to order a new damper from rock shox according to your weight. well since i weigh a bit more than 160 lbs, i decided to get the englund (Eko) kit. so now i have adjustable damping, and another 20mm of travel (80 instead of 63). overall the product was a snap to install, easy to set up, and all I have to do is pump it up once every other week or so. I've owned the product for about four years, and have not had a single problem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tall boy
a
from New Orleans, LA
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$117.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | Very light weight, cost, and ease of installation. Smooth, plush travel. | | Weaknesses: | Requires routine checks, which should be done with any other shock any way. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Trek fuel 80 2001, syncros hardcore headset, rock shock judy C, Maxxis larsen: mimo front, tt rear, cane creek AD5 shimano hubs, bontranger, rims saddle post handles | | Bottom Line: | I was looking to upgrade from a subpar product and did not want to spend outragous amounts of cash. Besides the great reviews the upgrade just made sense. Low cost and i could add 20mm to the 80mm my judy offered. Plus I could do all the work myself. If something goes wrong I know whats in the shock and don't have to spend time at the shop. As far as performance is concerned well I have never had something so smooth. I ride XC and have been known to kick it up with the bmxters around New Orleans. Weather its flying through the woods or dropping five feet of the loading docks in the wharehouse district the Eko system has performed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
EiA
a
from Asheville, NC
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | Great way to give your old fork a little more life! Excellent when you need a new fork but don't have the cash.
| | Bike Setup: | OOOOOOOLD as dirt Judy xc. When did they come out? '96? '97? | | Bottom Line: | Just make sure you tighten them in the fork leg very well. Once I was riding with a friend who also had the Englunds and one shot out of its leg and popped him in the throat! Another time it missed the target but we spent a half hour looking for it in the leaves after it shot over his shoulder. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Karl Brookes
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Yorkshire Dales | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Mail order | | Strengths: | Easy instalation into Rockshox Judy Race 2001 model. Good range of adjustability | | Weaknesses: | Even with all this adjustment they either spike or bottom out. Noisy topping out is also a major problem, where is the damping? | | Similar Products Used: | Psylo Race 2002, Pace Pro Class 2, Judy Race, RST Mojo Comp. | | Bike Setup: | GT Zaskar Frame, XT Chainset, XTR V Brakes, Carbon bars, USE XCR seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | Save your money and buy a decent pair of forks. Just changed mine for the Pace Pro class 2 fork and there is no comparison. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bubba
a Weekend Warrior
from Valparaiso, IN
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Westville | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | bikekeworld.com | | Strengths: | plush, easy to maintain | | Weaknesses: | can't adjust on the fly | | Similar Products Used: | speed springs, different mcu's | | Bike Setup: | Trek 930 (steel is real), Mavic rims, xt rear der., SRAM front der, Gripshift | | Bottom Line: | 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!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CalMTB
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley, CA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | bikeworld.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, very smooth. Makes my front end much lighter. Wide range of adjustability is great. Because the whole kit is self-contained, once you install it, you can simply forget about it. | | Weaknesses: | ??? Perhaps it takes a bit of time to get the performance dialed to your specific needs. Also, 90 bucks can be a bit expensive (but worth it!) | | Similar Products Used: | None. Just old '01 Judy TT coil springs with no rebound dampener. | | Bike Setup: | Spez Hardrock converted to single speed. Riser bar, Avid levers, ZuZu flatform pedals. Otherwise, stock parts. | | Bottom Line: | Great product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Harlan
a Cross Country Rider
from Apex, NC
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | New Light | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | All-Star Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Easy Installation, Approximately 4 ounces lighter than previous setup, 2002 SID SL now weighs an honest 2.75lbs. | | Weaknesses: | It no longer has a lockout, however, I never used the lockout when it was available. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou SX Carbon with Total-Air. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 FSRxc Pro | | Bottom Line: | I was dissatisfied with the performance of the 2002 SID SL and decided to purchase another fork or an upgrade. I decided to upgrade since it was cheaper. The fork now has 85mm of usable travel rather than a claimed 80mm from Rockshox. Fork travel feels more like a White Brothers fork, buttery smooth. The weight savings of 4 ounces adds icing to the cake. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matt
a Racer
from zion
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | anything single track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | the bike shop i work for | | Strengths: | ??? haven't been able to ride it yet | | Weaknesses: | The kit that i ordered was really jacked. i received the package and it didn't include any instructions. it was like building a model airplane. finally go it all together and it felt as though it was bottoming out. | | Similar Products Used: | judy sl(2001) | | Bike Setup: | xt er thing | | Bottom Line: | If your going to buy this pay attention to the packaging. Other wise kudos to Total air for their great help so maybe ill be able to race some time this summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Priester
a Cross Country Rider
from Virginia Beach, VA
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld.com | | Strengths: | Ease of upgrade
Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Check air pressure about every two weeks to be sure. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock and upgraded elastamers on my '97 Judy T2 | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale, LX drivetrain, WTB rims | | Bottom Line: | This was my situation, my C-dale is an older M500 that has a 1" steer. I bought it as a rigid fork and paid &^*% trying to get a suspension fork. A LBS pulled a T2 off a trade in and gave it to me for $75. Now I have suspension but it's a stock Judy. I upgraded with some elastamers that a friend had but there wasn't much difference. Getting an entire new rig was out of the question after I bought a road bike. After reading the rave reviews I took the chance. I have not been disappointed. I'm a solid 200 and using the stock setting on rebound and 175 lbs of air. I'm in heaven. Five solid Chilis for both. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bobby
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat.com | | Strengths: | plush ride, easy to tune | | Weaknesses: | leaks air over time | | Bike Setup: | Homegrown FS w/ 98 judy. | | Bottom Line: | I could not believe the difference from my old judy to these. Oh the years wasted on those old pogo sticks... I got the long travel kit and added a little more travel and at the same time I took off just over half a pound of weight. All I can say is that if you have a crappy rock shock get these, sure I have to pump them up every week or two, but it is well worth it... for the plush plush ride.
Quality gets only 4 for the small air leak....
Value gets 6 for turning junk into a new fork for under a $100 bucks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Osos, CA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$106.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bicycle Outfitters | | Strengths: | Easy installation and tuneability. | | Weaknesses: | Top caps look cheap. | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 FSR Enduro with Judy Race forks set to 100mm, Hayes hydraulic brakes, XTR rear and Fox Float shock. | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Rabinek
a Cross Country Rider
from Garland, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Rowlett Creek Preserve | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$165.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World.Com | | Strengths: | Inexpensive. Good instuctions if you take your time. The compression and rebound damping realy works great. | | Weaknesses: | Outer shell of cartridge and the part that screws into the shock crown is plastic. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 96 Specialized Ground Control A1 Comp (soft tail) with various upgrades inclueding this one. | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Endo
a Racer
from Studio City
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Plastic parts are probably recyclable when you finally get rid of these. | | Weaknesses: | Read on | | Bike Setup: | Kona Ti hardtail with 98 SID | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rod
a Cross Country Rider
from sunnyvale,CA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | bike world | | Strengths: | Brings an old Judy back to life | | Weaknesses: | False hope for a dead '96 Judy XC | | Similar Products Used: | '96 Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | '96 StumpJumper M2 with many XT upgrades | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mat Wintzer
a Cross Country Rider
from San Luis Obispo
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | ridge trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bike | | Strengths: | Price versus buying a new shock, weight, reliability | | Weaknesses: | No on the fly adjustability, not always compatible (see bellow). | | Similar Products Used: | Rock shocks Judy SL 80mm | | Bike Setup: | Gt idrive 3.0 | | Bottom Line: | 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! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
astro nomenoff
a Weekend Warrior
from uk
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | UPDATE: EKO sport sent me a pair of upgraded barrels and pistons. Virtually the whole shooting match! All I had to do was swap my air caps over and reinstall. The ultimate in customer service, they even paid $4.00 for airmail. The only criticism is of the UK customs, they took 10 days to clear the parcel. To be fair though it was the festive season, I suppose all those gifts took precedence. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
astro nomenoff
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | North Yorks Forest Park | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World, San Antonio, USA | | Strengths: | Ease of fitting, improved performance over stock, weight saving. | | Weaknesses: | quality of materials (plastic components), cost of extender pegs. | | 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. | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS, RS Judy XL twin crown, Deore cable discs (not burnt in yet). | | Bottom Line: | 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!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jimmy
a Cross Country Rider
from Jefferson City, MO 65109
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Local Shop | | Strengths: | Saved my 97 Judy from going into the trash. Way better feel than the stock internals. Ability to use an oil bath, so the bushings can actually be lubricated. Easily adjustable for different rider weights. | | Weaknesses: | Slightly inconsistant damping, but a very minor issue. | | Similar Products Used: | Mountain Speed springs (they helped, but old judy damper cartridges weren't capable of controling springs). | | Bike Setup: | '95 mongoose IBOC comp;single speed,salsa gordo rims,2.4"motoraptors! | | Bottom Line: | I would recomend these for anyone who wants to make their rock shox work better, much better---even if you own a SID. Great product with simple instructions. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a Cross Country Rider
from Palo Alto, CA
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Lightweight, very plush, straight forward instructions. Holds air well. | | Weaknesses: | can't think of any other than cheap looking stickers | | Bike Setup: | 21 lb. Ellsworth Truth | | Bottom Line: | I upgraded my 2000 SID SL with these cartridges. I installed them as per the instructions and what a difference! The action is much more plush, with much less stiction, and is more active. They don't need reinflation very often.
The fork's weight went UP 28g though, mainly because the SID SL is already all air.
Definitely a worthwhile upgrade. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Walt Quandt
a Cross Country Rider
from West Bloomfield, MI 48324
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Poto | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld | | Strengths: | - Low Cost
- Straightforward installation
- Tuneability
- Works as advertised (rare these days) | | Weaknesses: | - Not fully tuneable without disassembling the fork (a nitpick for the price) | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | 1999 Fisher Joshua F2 / Ryno Lite Wheels / Bontager crowbar riser - otherwise stock | | Bottom Line: | My 1999 Judy SL was shot due to a neglected maintenance schedule and too many mud rides. After installing the Total Air cartridges, it feels like my buddy's SID XC. I weigh around 225 lbs and so far it works fine at the factory recommended settings. I can't comment on long term durability, but if it extends the life of my Judy for one more riding season, I'll call it a worthwhile upgrade. So far, it works as advertised so for the price, I'll give it 5 red hot flaming turds. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
G.
a Cross Country Rider
from Denton TX
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Oak Mtn/B.U.M.P. Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Local Shop | | Strengths: | MUCH better suspension than Judy elastomers, esp. for light riders. I had nothing but softies loaded in my Judy, but she still wouldn't give me full travel. Ride XC 1-2 times weekly for years w/these & no probs. | | Weaknesses: | It is kinda a pain to pump them up every week or so. Some people like fiddlin' with their bikes though. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Judy XC Elastomers | | Bike Setup: | '96 Bondrager Race, Judy | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy a bike Just to put these in your forks, but if you think your relationship with JUDY is getting stale, these may just be the ticket. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christian Waterstraat
a Racer
from Naperville
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | climbing and technical | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Like I saw someone else write: "This is my Judy?" Turned what I thought a lousy fork by today's standards into something plush for the small stuff, yet can swallow the big hits. Sort of feels like it turned my '95 Judy SL into a fork that feels almost like a SID. Great installation instructions, great tuning directions, and simple enough to not to worry about the parts becoming obsolete, since the wear parts are just O-rings. The forks I have been using are rather old and Rock Shox will not support the parts needed for them anymore. This is a way cheaper option than turning them in for their "pioneer program" at Rock Shox. Will be replacing the internals on my '98 SID with EKO, since the rubber seals blew. | | Weaknesses: | Maybe one small thing is that they don't have the on-the-fly adjustability. Takes about five minutes of work to dial in a fork with EKO. Have yet to see long term durability, but if there is an issue, all the parts that are going to wear out only cost like 4 bucks to replace. | | Similar Products Used: | No other shock upgrades, but just a 95' Judy SL, '98 SID, and 00' SID XC. | | Bike Setup: | Trek OCLV, '95 Judy SL, 8-spd Shimano XT | | Bottom Line: | I have been really impressed with this package since it is a great way extend the life, or improve the performace of an old fork. The instructions they provided were completely awesome because they broke the installation down step by step, and answered any question that you might have had. The product works simple enough, well enough and I have not had any problems with it during racing or XC, especially after this weekend, racing on fist sized rocks the whole time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Endo
a Racer
from Studio City
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | EKO | | Strengths: | Don't know yet | | Weaknesses: | Not much fits right so I'm still trying to install it. | | Bike Setup: | Kona King Kahuna, 98 SID, XTR. | | Bottom Line: | Unbelievalby poor quality control. At every step of installing the kit I've run into tolerance issues. First the cartridge threads on the caps didn't fit my SID so they sent me new one's. Then the oil bath kit leaked all over the place. It turns out the ferruls at the bottom of the fork were too long so I had to file those down. Now the tool to screw down the cartridge doesn't work on one of my new caps. One chili for all my trouble. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Hagan
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bartram's Trail, Tuskegee Alabama | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Direct | | Strengths: | Light, adjustablity, | | Weaknesses: | no weaknesses (the upgrade is only as good as the fork it's in) | | Similar Products Used: | pretty much all cross-coutry air specific forks, | | Bike Setup: | Specialized RockHopper Disc (first bike I've ever bought off the show room floor, that I didn't build myself, cheapest too) | | Bottom Line: | The Judy C sucks from the factory, bottom line (hey it came on the bike and I don't have alot of money right now). The cheapest upgrade is the Total Air cartriges, maybe the best versus price available. That said....... My inital out of the box recommended setup was not to my likings. I like slow dampening, not many people do apparently. Everyone at the EkoSport office rocked, they hepled me with special parts that normally don't come in the package that would setup the fork the way I like it. And that is customer service at it's finest. So after a month and alot of setup time (I'm picky it takes this long for me to setup brakes too), my fork acts like I want it to. Definitely the cheapest air fork I will ever own, and possibly the best customer service which makes owning the Total Air a good purchase for me and anyone else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chad Gailey
a Racer
from Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Devils Gulch, Washington | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$107.00 | | Purchased At: | EkoSport.com | | Strengths: | Super plush and lightweight. Coming from a '97 Judy stock setup to Air made a huge difference. Not only did it increase my travel from 63mm to 85mm, it significantly decreased the overall weight of the fork. The adjustability was a major plus as well. I definitely recommend air to anyone riding an elastomer or spring setup now. | | Weaknesses: | The recommended pressure settings are a bit low for anyone who may encounter big bumps. If you ride hard cross country, I would increase the pressure by 10 psi from the recommended pressure for your weight. The other thing I noticed is that the rebound dampening is not quite as plush as I would have liked, but, the weight savings is worth it. If you really like a soft return, increase the rebound screw inside the cartridge. Last but not least, don't try to install them if you don't have snap-ring pliers, it's way too frustrating otherwise. | | Similar Products Used: | Sid SL, 2001 Judy SL. | | Bike Setup: | '97 Klein Attitude w/ mission control(oh yeah!); '98 XT full groupo, Bontrager race wheelset/Mavic SUP 217 Wheelset(bombproof), '97 Judy XC w/ upgrade. Everything else is little crap that you don't care about. | | Bottom Line: | A good upgrade for someone with a budget, or an older fork that can't be replaced without significant changes to other components(i.e. 1 1/4inch stem tube). Simple and functional, this fork requires virtually no maintenance. If you blow a seal, simply replace the cartridge. It holds pressure extremely well; I haven't had a problem yet. And to top it off, the company is awesome. They really take care of their customers. For about $100, you can't beat it. Air is teh way to go!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Unicoi | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$117.00 | | Purchased At: | Ekosport | | Strengths: | Strong, smooooth, plush and lightweight (though I installed these into a SID which only dropped the wieght by an ounce or so). Great customer service. | | Weaknesses: | Nothing really. It seems harder to hop due to an elongated compression curve...but this its strength. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox SID XC | | Bike Setup: | '99 Specialized FSR XC Pro, Race Face Cranks, Rock Shox SID XC, XTR. | | Bottom Line: | I am a bigger rider >200 lbs and was having difficulty keeping my 99 SID XC within it's recommended settings without bottoming out and/or damaging it.
Last weekend, one side completely blew out and instead of sending them to RockShox, I opted to try the Total Airs due to a higher pressure and 85mm of travel.
My first impression was WOW....cushy. While most of the posts here refer to making a Judy into SID, I think I just turned my SID into a Marzocchi.
One caution, be carefull when screwing the cartridges into the tubes as the SID threads are 'finer' than other shocks. I am not sure if it was a defect or my fault that one cartridge wouldn't go in, but the very friendly folks at Eko Sport immediately shipped me another screw cap for free. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mario Javier
a Weekend Warrior
from Oakville
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Kelso Conservation | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Burlington Bicycle Company | | Strengths: | Ease of installation.
Revived my old 96 Judy XC
Price
Dependability | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | White Brothers spring | | Bike Setup: | 97 Joshua X-0, XT and Raceface equipped. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow up review I did earlier. I just want everyone to know that I had this product now for 3 years and I am very much impressed. This product is so good and dependable, I am surprised fork manufacturers not getting this product and incorporate it into their fork design. White Brothers did it and I don't see many of their forks on bike. What give?
Anyway, buy this product and you will be happy! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robb
a Weekend Warrior
from Beaverton Oregon
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hagg Lake | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$89.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld.com | | Strengths: | Awesome upgrade for the Judy, no more crappy blown cartridges!!! | | Weaknesses: | None so far, takes awhile to figure the right amount of adjustment though | | Bike Setup: | Trek ZX 7000 | | Bottom Line: | Can't believe my 97 Judy XC's could be this good, just took the right innnards! Would recommend these to anyone looking at upgrading or purchasing a new front fork. I figured I'd try these before spending $200+ on a new set of forks- glad I did. I was amazed by the excellent customer service and expedient FED-EX shipping by Bikeworld.com. All and all worth the $$. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Gritzmaker
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO USA
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Most in the Winter Park/Fraser Valley area | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$79.00 | | Purchased At: | BiekWorld | | Strengths: | 85 mm of travel, Weight, Ease of installation, ease of Maintenance (overhauls), Tunability, no oil mess, NOT RockShox! | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou
Rockshox | | Bike Setup: | '99 Specialized Stumpy M2 | | Bottom Line: | 3 years ago I bought a Mango M2 Stumpy from my LBS. The frame was to die for and the bike climbed like a bat out of you know where.
The only thing that sucked was the crappy Judy T2 that came stock on it. Since I knew this going in, I had them order me a Judy cartridge kit. They threw it on a few weeks after I took it home and it made a noticable difference fom the un-dampened elastomer.
It worked fine for about uhhh..3 weeks until my first race. Halfway through the race, it became very un-dampened again...blown cart. I took it back into the shop and they put another one in. Three months later, it happened again, same symptoms. They opened this one up and all the oil was missing from the cartrige, blown again! They replaced this on but told me that it was probably my fault for riding it so hard. HUH? I ride XC, not DH!
This fix lasted through the '99-'00 season, last season I didn't race last year because we landscaped a new home. First ride out this season, SPROING, no dampening!
I had been looking at alternatives since the first season. I really wasn't too impressed with the White Bros. cartridge, and didn't want to do springs w/o dampening, So I looked closer at the Total Air. I figured since White Bros. uses them in their racing XC forks, I'd give them a try.
Ordered them Monday from Bikeworld.com for 80 bones along with a HP pump, and some Slick Honey. Had them Fed-Exed overnight for $10 (incredible), put them in Tues P.M. (at the same time pulling the Rockshox stickers off), Rode them yesterday afternoon for the first time.
Uhhhh...what are these, and what did they do to that piece of junk fork I had three days ago?
Amazing! Very little fork-bob, very plush, very responsive. I carried the pump along with me to play with some different pressures and ended up at this:
rider weight: 195 lbs.
180 lbs. in each leg
#3 rebound insert, turned six times in.
The #3's felt a little quick to me rebound wise, so this A.M. I put in the #2's turned 5 times in, and will ride them tomorrrow and reply as to the effects.
If all I have to do is put air in them every little bit, no biggie. I take a minute to check my tires before each ride, so why not check the shock?
These are not for those riders who like to have something set up at the bike shop and then leave it alone for 3 years. But for someone who doesn't mind a little TLC for their bike, these are the ticket!
p.s. my Judy(w/alum steerer & crown-thank you Specialized) with the Total Air weighs under 3lbs. Very Nice. The best $115 I,ve ever spent on any bike!
As of now 5 Monster Super-Hot Chillis | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Toasterboy
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | many | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Light, VERY plush, very active. Literally like getting a new fork. | | Weaknesses: | high pressure air isn't worry free. Oil Bath kit is 10 bucks! | | Similar Products Used: | stock Judy, SID, many marzocchis and manitous. | | Bike Setup: | Jamis dragon, Custom build, Judy w ti kit, oil kit, enduro wipers and englunds. | | Bottom Line: | I was blown away over the forks trail performance. It is jus several times better than any stock rockshox part. the weight savings are nice, and the handling is superb. I was just concerned over the forks big hit durability.
Well, today i jumped off of planters and picnic tables for about 3 hours on my XC bike (sorry baby!) and the shocks never even bottomed hard using 150 psi, and about 5 turns out. My can creeks held up really well too.
I know there aren't "freeride" cartridges, and picnic tables aren't very big, but the fact that it took them so well is proof that these things will take some abuse. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Biff
a Cross Country Rider
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | ekosport | | Strengths: | Light, smooth, active. | | Weaknesses: | I think they should specify that these are not to be used for freeriding, DH, or any other kind of agressive riding. Smaller, lighter XC riders will probably like it. | | Bike Setup: | 00 Judy Race, upgraded to 4" Total Air kit. Giant NRS, built up with XT/XTR. | | Bottom Line: | This is my second set of Total Air cartridges on two different bikes. The first set was older ('97?,) and I wasn't that happy with them. The new set is a year 2000 model, and it is a huge improvement. The newer model holds air better, is more active, doesn't come loose from the fork, and doesn't make any noises. Also, I get a full 4" or travel. I couldn't be happier with the newer Englunds; they dropped the weight off of my Judy fork and were cheaper than a SID. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Toasterboy
a Cross Country Rider
from nasvegas
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | lock 4 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | WOW, IS THAT MY JUDY? and its pretty light | | Weaknesses: | Instructions somewhat sparse. Compression rods need to be made of aluminum. Adjusting compression damping somewhat of a mystery still. Had to ditch some of my TI hardware. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Judys, Tweaked judys, SIDs, an AMP F3 xc, and air marzocchis. | | Bike Setup: | Jamis dragon, XTR/raceface/thompson/cane creek chrono steel wheelset. | | Bottom Line: | Holy Shi+ are these still my old forks? Just finished sticking a pair of englunds in a set of Judy SLs and like most of the other people here I am completely blown away at the difference in feel.
Lets put it this way. Remember back in 95 when you first tried a set of MCU judys after riding MAG 21s for a while? It's that same warm and fuzzy feeling all over.
The travel has about a 3mm dead spot half way through the travel, but overall the action is several times better than the stock judy. Hell, even a judy fully tuned with springs and new rebuild won't even compare to this.
The ride is just so active and responsive. the only part where it is lacking is big drops where the travel can be used too easily. Increasing pressure can help, but you sacrifice small bump compliance (where these things are wonderful).
Stock judy felt pretty good,but Englunds are heavenly.
Quite literally the action is on par with some of the higher end marzocchis (taking travel into consideration), except you still have the flexiness of the Judy crown/arch.
I havent had many rides on them, so no comment on durability, but overall there is no reason not to get them. It really is getting a new fork, with all the benefits, in some familiar packaging. Probably the most significant bike purchase Ive made other than frame and wheelset. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrick Doran
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Auburn Ravine area | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | Ekosport | | Strengths: | Lightweight, smooth, cheap, absorbant of any type of terrain, and very underrated. I prefer this over my friend's Marzocchi Z2 and Z5 air shocks. | | Weaknesses: | Lack of illustrations in instructions, bad instructions become worse when oil from shock explodes all over the paper during dissambly of Manitou SX. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z2, Z5, Manitou SX, Rockshox Judy Race, Rockshox Judy XL, Rockshox Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | Klein Attitude Comp with Koski riser bar and Manitou SX shock upgraded to Englund Air cartridges. No other mods needed. | | Bottom Line: | Manitou SX sucks, I won't lie there. It sucks on stairs, it sucks on DH, it sucks on XC - but it is full Alluminum body, stanchions etc. So when you upgrade it with a light air shock, it is a very high end shock in both weight and performance. So far this air shock has been extremely good at taking anything from fast XC trails, to stairs, to 3 foot jumps on concrete. KLEIN USERS LISTEN UP - If you have a stock Manitou SX this is a beautiful option to go for. There is no reason to buy a new shock when you can get this upgrade, if you don't think your Manitou sucks as it is....uh try a RIGID fork, it'll smooth out your ride better than an SX. I'm not kidding either, the SX is a bouncy piece of crap that transfers energy in the form of bouncing instead of absorbing things. The englund air shock doesn't even have dampening and it STILL dampens better. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Las Vegas, NV
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike King | | Strengths: | Adjustabilty, is all this product has going for it. | | Weaknesses: | Plastic threads and seals. | | Bottom Line: | I have gone through 2 sets of these total air pieces of junk. Now that the second set has blown up, I am opting to buy new forks. I really liked them at first and they lasted for a while, then they went boom. I would buy another pair after they fixed the plastic threads and poor seals. I'm not a heavy or pounding rider, but I think these would be better for smaller riders in wet climates. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
reverendswampy
a Cross Country Rider
from baltimore
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$89.00 | | Strengths: | LIGHT, can actually tune and service them yourself w/ very little effort. | | Bike Setup: | custom Cannondale, sub 22lbs. | | Bottom Line: | On my '97 Judy SL, weight for the fork dropped to 2.5lbs! It was tuff for me to get the rebound dialed in originally, but nearly three years latter I haven't changed a thing with my fork. Great product for XC type riding, however, I would never put this on a freeride or douwnhill type bike. Also, I think this is a product geared more for the technical type rider, not someone who simply bashes through the bumps. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig Mckinnon
a Cross Country Rider
from Kirkland WA
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Chickmin Ridge | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | The Manufacure in Co | | Strengths: | LT wt easy to maintain | | Weaknesses: | Plastic top threads | | Similar Products Used: | spring, bumpers, cartrage | | Bike Setup: | 96 Fat Chance Buck Shaver w/ XTR and USe post etc.. | | Bottom Line: | The England works well for me. Got the england pump w/ the swivel and I add air less as often as I add air to my tires.
I got some good info from Gregges Aurora bikes. They sold me the new samiri seals and wipers. The shop dude has expermented w/ Judys for years. He said w/ the 97 Sl I have and the England's the shock weighs 2.5 lbs and I've noticed the wt reduction and better preformance.
Good product unless your a N' shore or downhill dude I guess. Great setup for my x-county type riding.
I tryed the 80 mm setup and quickly set it back to the 60 mm setting. I don't know why peolpe NEED all this travel on their bikes. Maybe they belive all the hype in MBA. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Rochester, NY
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tryon | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Park Ave Bikes | | Strengths: | Great upgrade for not much layout. Increases stock travel. Shed grams. Better quality travel. Tunable. | | Weaknesses: | Plastic Body(not a problem) | | Similar Products Used: | Judy SL, Psylo SL, SID XC | | Bike Setup: | 97 GT Pantera Full XTR AVID Ultimate Levers Grip Shift Psylo SL | | Bottom Line: | I used these for about 2 or 3 months on my Indy XC then the bushings went so I have these great carts for sale if anyone is interested. Still have original package and receipt. Will part for $60 or best offer. Shipping included. E-mail me with ?'s. Fit 97 and up Indy C and XC, Jett T2 and XC. 75 mm of travel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JB
a
from Alamogordo, MN
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | BPP | | Strengths: | Price, weight, improved ride, good customer support | | Bottom Line: | I bought Total Air to put into the Manitou SX that came on my FSR. It cut about 4-5 oz. of weight and greatly improved the forks performance. The fork has been ridden hard on XC trails in NM and CO without failing. I have noticed air leaking slowly from one cartridge. Over 24 hours the pressure would drop from 150 to 40 psi. I contacted the manufacturer and within a week I had a replacement. If you want to upgrade a mediocre fork like a Judy or Manitou SX this is a good inexpensive alternative. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Manassas VA
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | mail order | | Strengths: | smoother travel when new, great alternative to a new SID, adjustability | | Weaknesses: | not easy to adjust, 40.00 air pump required, blow it on the trail and ? | | Bike Setup: | Older Cannondale/Judy XC | | Bottom Line: | If you don't want to spring for the SID, get the Englund. However, after over 3 years on the same cartridges, the travel is decreasing some and stiction is coming back. But there's nothing like being able to hit curbs without hopping the front wheel...just a nice 'hiss' and you're over. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: January 14, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | mailorder | | Strengths: | Ride is better than standard elastomer shock | | Weaknesses: | Cartridge blows out, rendering shock useless
Requires air pump
Difficult to set precise air pressure
More stiction than oil/coil setups | | Bike Setup: | 1997 AMP | | Bottom Line: | I ran out of money building my AMP and had to go with a cheaper RockShox elastomer shock. Later I installed the Englund system - big mistake. It lasted less than a month before blowing the seals. Installed new cartridges from the manufacturer, according to directions - blew out those too. What air spring users don't tell you is that your fork is completely useless once the air spring is gone - friends with oil/coil suspension at least have some capability left. I ended up getting a new fork. I had a friend who got a DirtWorks OTIS system for his Indy and he's still riding his - greases the springs once a year & that's it - no cartridge maintenance at all. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keith
a Cross Country Rider
from Arizona
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Strengths: | price,weight, eko sports(mfg) has tuning guides, parts and information to help you on line. | | Weaknesses: | constant maintenance, not as reliable as springs/mcu | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 98 stump with xt/xtr
| | Bottom Line: | I replaced the internals of my original judy t2's (JUNK) with the TA's and had a major improvement in ride, and handling over all terrain. Disappointed about constant maintenance like grease and 0-rings but happy about the performance,cost and tech support. They have never blown up or broke. NOTE: I used the 85mm TA's on my t2 and it made the front of my bike sit up higher, changing the geometry. The TA's are a great way to upgrade your bike without spending a lot of money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kam
a Weekend Warrior
from L.A., CA
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$18.00 | | Purchased At: | yahoo auctions | | Strengths: | Light
Easy to Tune
Easy to Install
Nice & Plush after break-in
Only $18 new on a yahoo auction!!! I'm one lucky dawg!!! | | Weaknesses: | the rider??? | | Similar Products Used: | nada | | Bike Setup: | '99 jamis dragon
sram 9.0sl 8sp. stuff
lx hollowtech crankset
avis 20 v-brakes,1.9 levers
kore cockpit
lx/bonty mustang wheelset
99 judy sl w/ ENGLUND TOTAL AIRS | | Bottom Line: | man, these things are awesome. my fork weighs considerably less, i think it may have lost a .5 lbs atleast. i hear in a judy c or xc, these drop the weight by almost a pound!!! i weigh 165 lbs. and have the pressure set at 155 psi, w/ the #2 rebound adjuster set at 5 turns out. Perfect!!! very smooth travel, and I have abused them from my first ride out. the best $18 i will ever spend in my life!!!no more bouncing off the rough stuff, my front wheel in planted to the ground!!! THANKS ARLO ENGLUND!!! if you have a judy,jett,indy or a manitou sx, and have a $90 to spend, get these things!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vacationman
a Cross Country Rider
from CA.
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | flume trail, Tahoe | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Purchased At: | cambtria | | Strengths: | ease of adjustability, weight | | Weaknesses: | none so far.
| | Similar Products Used: | sid xc | | Bike Setup: | Y-five 0, mavic wheels, avid mechanical disc up front, arch supreme out back, judy xc with ENGLUND TOTAL AIR | | Bottom Line: | Great product! After initial break-in (figuring out the tuning) it's been an asset to my bike. I noticed the weight at once, and there have been no downsides to this product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Don
a Cross Country Rider
from Lafayette, CA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Flume | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Eko Sport online | | Strengths: | Thoroughly dependable. Extremely easy to maintain. | | Weaknesses: | Selection of construction materials, but the nylon body has held up. Get a Water Pack so you have a place to stash the pump.....just as a precaution. | | Similar Products Used: | Indy XC, Judy XC, SID (vicious price) | | Bike Setup: | 97 Fisher X1, AD10 Rear Shock, XT/XTR, Avid Arch 40, Judy XC w/Total Air. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow-up to a review I posted 1.5 years ago. Still have the same shocks and have yet to replace a thing but air and grease. I have abused my bike and have replaced many of the original components due to failure. But the Total Air takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Have yet to blow out on a trail. I put new Honey in there every month or every 300 miles of hammering, it's so easy.
Weighing in at 220# former track racer, I pump up these tubes to 240 LBS....yeah, beyond spec....they hold up great.
The others that haven't had satisfactory experiences just needed to understand how these gems work, apply some honey and avoid major bleed offs from the pump.
I have increased the Habaneros from 4 to 5 for durability and value.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mephesto
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere I can find one... | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike and Hike | | Strengths: | -Plush
-Usable travel :so much more than stock Judy internals (ok, so I'm using '96 Judy's)
-save weight (though that's the least of my concerns)
-No leaks (as yet, I've had them for almost a month now and they hold up after some heavy off road riding)
| | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | None, though I used speed springs on one side and elastomers on the other previously. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Ground Control A1 Comp, LX/XT, Judy XC/air internals | | Bottom Line: | Excellent Product! I hadn't been riding for sometime and the elastomers in my fork got totally wrecked, decided it was time for a change. It was between spending S$500(about US$280) on a new fork(2000 SID XC) or S$200(about US$110) on these. Though I've heard horror stories of leakage, I figured it's be better to go for the cheaper option as I'm just a recreational rider, once a week off road, or thereabouts.
Best $200 I've spent on bike parts! No regrets at all! Though I have spent the rest of the money I saved on getting my bike back up to smack (new seat, new tires etc.).
I'm heavy, 190lbs, and these things hold out, never bottoming out, no leaks whatsoever.
I guess if you're looking for an affordable upgrade, this has to be it! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Mannion
a Weekend Warrior
from Central Coast Australia
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Kariong Fire Trails | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | The price and adjustability ,more travel,easy to fit. My 96 Judys XC where stuffed and faced with the prospect of forking (HA HA) out $900 for some sid's....no thanks | | Weaknesses: | Air Leaks in one side...but it turns out that the batch I have are very old and have since fixed the problems and it's all covered under the warranties | | Similar Products Used: | Never seen anthing like it..... | | Bike Setup: | GT BACKWOODS,XTR,DEEP V'S,RAPTORS,CLIPS,JUDY XC/AIR'S,blah blah blah | | Bottom Line: | Being on the other side of the world has it's disadvantages .
This company is the more than helpful and customer service is second to none. Within 24h I had a responce to my email with a full detail of how to correct any problems and an offer to do the fix at the factory at no cost.
Even as they are...they ride great..
Just remember...good things come to those who wait and these are well and truly worth it.
Found some tunning tips at the angryasian site.
The Bottom Line....If your shocks are stuffed and you don't have a money tree growing in your back yard. You would have to be mad to pass these guy's up. Every one who's been on my bike since doing this little fix wants them...
DO IT.....DO IT NOW....Stop reading this and go get some...
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stick
a Cross Country Rider
from western Maine, USA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Bath Cycle and Ski | | Strengths: | affordable alternative to a new fork, simplicity, ease of airing up | | Weaknesses: | AS OF PRESENT none | | Bike Setup: | 1996 Klein Attitude with '97 Judy SL | | Bottom Line: | I never liked the Judy SL from the start but with Klein's 1& 1/4" steerer my choice of fork options was narrowed down to just this one at the time of purchase- Nov. '97 With the Englund cartridges it is like I have a NEW fork. I weigh 175 lbs. and the shop aired the fork to 180psi to begin with. I found this to be too stiff and harsh and after experimenting have settled to running between 120 - 130 psi. Ihave ridden with the pressure down to about 100 psi- it's so much better to be able to get some adjustment out of the Judy finally....... I found the original damping adjustment knob to be useless from one end to the other.. Have had to add air about every 2-3 weeks depending on how often I ride. The damping in the cartridges is pretty much ok for me, the bike, and my riding requirements--- certainly a vast improvement over original Judy internals.Since I have only used the new cartridges 3 months I will give 4 chilis. We'll see about durability and dependability over the long haul.......... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stick
a Cross Country Rider
from western Maine, USA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Bath Cycle and Ski | | Strengths: | affordable alternative to a new fork, simplicity, ease of airing up | | Weaknesses: | AS OF PRESENT none | | Bike Setup: | 1996 Klein Attitude with '97 Judy SL | | Bottom Line: | I never liked the Judy SL from the start but with Klein's 1& 1/4" steerer my choice of fork options was narrowed down to just this one at the time of purchase- Nov. '97 With the Englund cartridges it is like I have a NEW fork. I weigh 175 lbs. and the shop aired the fork to 180psi to begin with. I found this to be too stiff and harsh and after experimenting have settled to running between 120 - 130 psi. Ihave ridden with the pressure down to about 100 psi- it's so much better to be able to get some adjustment out of the Judy finally....... I found the original damping adjustment knob to be useless from one end to the other.. Have had to add air about every 2-3 weeks depending on how often I ride. The damping in the cartridges is pretty much ok for me, the bike, and my riding requirements--- certainly a vast improvement over original Judy internals.Since I have only used the new cartridges 3 months I will give 4 chilis. We'll see about durability and dependability over the long haul.......... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Traverse City, Mi
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | that one with the dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$62.00 | | Purchased At: | City Bike | | Strengths: | light weight
ease of installation
| | Weaknesses: | durability
constant adjustment necessary | | Similar Products Used: | Sid, Mars forks | | Bike Setup: | Homegrown w/ xtr, Judy SL | | Bottom Line: | These things a unreliable little peices of crap. I installed the carts and they worked fine for about 2 months. Then one started leaking a little bit more than the other. Then it COMPLETELY DEFLATED on me one day when I was riding. I aired it up and within 50 ft it had lost all pressure again. Then the other cart made a loud "POP" and I was left with a bottomed out shock. I am a light rider (135 lbs) and a mechanic a bike shop (4 years). I know a good product when I see one and these are not it!! If they held up they would be fine.
BE AWARE THAT IF YOU BUY THESE YOU ARE TAKING A CHANCE... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rab Young
a Cross Country Rider
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Minch Moor | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$115.00 | | Purchased At: | bikeworld.com | | Bottom Line: | Whoops, pressed the wrong key. This should be read in conjunction with the last posted email from me.
3/ The instruction that the metal Scraeder valve caps are integral in sealing the cartridge is good advice. For long enough I used the plastic cover to screw the cap down. This isn't any good as the plastic cover revolves on the cap before the cap is tight enough, therefore air leak. Once I had sussed this out, no more air leakage probs.
In a recent C2C (St Abbs to Robin Hoods bay) epic, 250 miles in four days I took the shock pump along but didn't require it, the forks didn't leak air.
On the whole, this is a brilliant product and even taking in to consideration the above probs, it's still worth 5 chillies. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tjapi Vanderput
a Cross Country Rider
from Jakarta, --, Indonesia
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | all | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World | | Strengths: | Clever design, weight. Ease of installation, about 20 minutes. | | Weaknesses: | Plastic cover around the valve cap could be made to a better fit. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | GT frame, XT-XTR, Mavics, R/S | | Bottom Line: | A very clever design that works as claimed. Maybe some said that air is not so good for damping, I say air is not an easy medium for damping but with a good and well thought design it works perfect. The seals are working as it should, so far. The whole package is light and installation is very easy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
HT
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | **Listed on previous post** | | Weaknesses: | **Refer to previous post** | | Similar Products Used: | n/a | | Bike Setup: | 00 Klein Mantra | | Bottom Line: | Well I didn't lose any air pressure over a day and a half. I checked the pressure before I left for the trail and it was at 150psi. I inflated each leg to 200psi to suite my weight and style.
I finally got to the trail and gave it all I could give. Due to the PSI I had it on, the ride was a bit stiff. It went over stumps and such just fine although on the stiff side. I think my ideal pressure would be around 170-180psi. Other than that, I didn't come across any problems. Hopefully I won't blow these babies out.
The Slick Honey I put on it made it pretty smooth also. I give 5 chilis for that.
So is it worth it??? If you have money to spend and can't afford SIDs or other air shock suspension forks. Like someone said in another review, "A poor man's SID."
Well it's sad to say that I'm taking the fork off and replacing it with a 2001 SID XC. The Total Air fork will be placed on a future project bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
HT
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | -Firmer setup than stock coil springs
-Smooth compression
-Adjustability
-Came with decals and Slick Honey | | Weaknesses: | -Installation instructions SUCK!!!
-Materials could be better | | Similar Products Used: | First experience w/ front air shocks | | Bike Setup: | 00 Klein Mantra with mucho upgrades
| | Bottom Line: | Installation was on a 2000 Manitou SX.
Make sure you have plenty of time to kill and don't lose your patience. The installation instructions were very vague and hard to understand. I had to put on my thinking cap on some of the instructions. The worst thing was the incorrect parts name. Total Air called it one thing, Manitou called it another. I had to put some parts on by trial and error. In the end it worked out just fine. Total installation time took about 2 hours. 30 minutes of that was just staring and saying HUH???
I inflated each shock to 150psi and retightened the compression bolts. After that, I inflated the shocks to 200psi. With me sitting on the bike (220lbs) with no movement, the fork compresses less than 0.5 inch. That's amazing compared to the stock setup. With the factory preload knob turned all the way (pre Total Air), compression would be almost an inch!!!
I did the front fork bounce test like a madman and it held up pretty well. I haven't been on the trail yet to really test it out. I'll test it thoroughly on Friday and will post another update.
So should you get it? Depends if you have money to throw away. So far I am satisfied. Only time will tell if I wasted my money.
I'll tell you also if I lose air or not like people have been reporting.
5 flaming eggrolls for being cheap.
1 for Overall because I haven't field tested it yet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
96Klien
a Cross Country Rider
from Pasadena, MD
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | GW/Fredrick | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | The smooth feel, weight (not that it matters to me), adjustable. | | Weaknesses: | Greek install instructions where difficult to translate 1.5 hours from Sunday ride. | | Similar Products Used: | SpeedSprings, SID (ACK!) | | Bike Setup: | 96 Klein Attitude, XTR, '98 Judy w/ EA | | Bottom Line: | I have not had any problems with leaks, but I found the 45psi (install pressure) was too weak to line up the rods and the compression bolts. I cranked it up till I heard the rods tighten and lined up the rods. I have no idea where a screw driver was needed during this step, but whatever works (see last review).
Smooth ride, worth the price to sup up an old fork on it's last leg. I would have got a SID if I was buying new, but cant fit it on the old frame. Gotta love Air-Headset/ stearer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Timo
a Cross Country Rider
from Albershausen/Germany
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | weight, price, installation | | Weaknesses: | so far none | | Similar Products Used: | Original JUDY XC 98 | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail Titan with XTR-components | | Bottom Line: | When I wanted to upgrade my JUDY, I read some of the reviews on this site. Due to this, I decided to try the ENGLUNDS. As I was warned about the two main problems (turning screws with installation and leak problems), I was not that surprised when I first had difficulties to tighten the compression screw at the bottom of the fork. This was easy to solve with a long phillips screwdriver (costs 3$ here in Germany)-see bppbike.com. The second point was a leakage problem in both cartridges when I started to use them. I lost pretty much air during the night, not during riding. I wrote a mail to BPP and got a prompt answer that I should use new lubricants and a new main seal. Here in Germany, you can easily get those seals for some pennies as they are metric! It worked fine and after two days of small problems, I had a fork which was incredibly improved to the original JUDY! Much better performance and very easy to adjust. Since 5 months, I just check the air every 2-3 weeks - no leakage at all. I have to pump up my tires much more often than the ENGLUNDS. Last week, I made the Transalp Challenge here in Europe. 8 heavy stages in the Alps with more than 18.000 altimetres were no problem for the ENGLUNDS - the original RS-forks had more problems by far. Thus, before going for a new fork, try these ones. These 90-100$ are worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B J
a Cross Country Rider
from Upstate NY
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Strawberry Fields | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Weight. Ease of install and adjustment. Totally reliable
| | Weaknesses: | Took a little time to find the sweet spot. | | Similar Products Used: | SID XC | | Bike Setup: | GT XCR1000 XTR and XT. | | Bottom Line: | This was one of my first upgrades on my '96 Avalanche LE, and it was easily my favorite. Installed in my Judy XC, there was an improvement of a good fork into an excellent one. I had no problem specing this fork on my new XCR frame when I built it up, and it compliments the Fox Air shock on my bike nicely.
3 Years + 2 Bikes + 1 Happy Rider = 5 Stars. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug Andrews
a Cross Country Rider
from Wilmington, Delaware
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Super plush, light, rarely bottoms out, inexpensive, easy to install | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | stock Judy SL | | Bike Setup: | 99 Specialized Fsr. Stock except for Total Air | | Bottom Line: | A great upgrade that is inexpensive which totaly transforms the stock fork. Light, inexpensive, super plush, easy to install definatly worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Newman
a Weekend Warrior
from New York
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Plattekill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Feels great, light, and takes a lot. | | Weaknesses: | None really | | Similar Products Used: | Judy, Jett etc.. | | Bike Setup: | GT, mainly XT, mavics | | Bottom Line: | Great product. I had one setback, and the guys at customer service were superb. Worth the 90 bucks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Micke
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | +Price
+Weight
+Performance
+Adjustability
+Excellent customer support | | Weaknesses: | -? | | Similar Products Used: | No air-shocks.
Standard RS Indy S with elastomer
Standard RS Judy XL with type 3 springs | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Joshua Z0 -97;
RS Judy XL + Englund 100mm TAC
RS SuperdeLuxe rear shock
XT/XTR
Mavic X317 rims/Formula carbon hubs/DT Comp/Ritchey Z-Max WCS
Formula Hydraulic disc brake
Selle Italia Chiarpucci El Diablo Flite saddle
Raleigh M80 -98
RS Indy S + Englund 47mm TAC
LX/XT
Weinmann Zac19 rims/STX-RC hubs/DT Comp/Nokian Boazabeana X
RS Suspension Seatpost
Selle Italia Flite Gel Saddle | | Bottom Line: | Wow, what a difference these upgrades made for my bikes!
Easy to install, easy to tune, easy to maintain......
Recommended settings a bit to harsh for my weight (85kg), riding terrain (roots, rocks, ascents, descents) and riding style (look a root - let's see how fast I can ride over it!)
so now I have them tuned like 140 psi, adjusters 2 - 7 turns out. Soft, reactive for medium to big hits and seldom bottoms out...
Had some trouble with the original rubber pads to the Indy, they moved inside the fork and eventually broke, but after an email to BPPBike they quickly sent me the new urethane ones - for free!
All in all; Excellent value for money | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blake
a Cross Country Rider
from Cortland
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Bear Swamp | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Price, Weight, Longer travel, Ease of Install., Buttery smooth ride. | | Weaknesses: | None yet. | | Bike Setup: | 21" Custom Elite frame, 96' Judy XC, 85mm Englunds, XT, XTR, Kooka, Crosslands, USE XCR Seatpost....21 lbs! | | Bottom Line: | Wow what a difference...duh. why did I wait so long?
Talk about smooth! A poor man's SID! Best upgrade yet. If you have an older shock use these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Racer
from Wisconsin
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Weight, ease of installation, simplicity. | | Weaknesses: | Had a leaky schraeder valve that was immediately remidied with a new valve core...free of charge. | | Bottom Line: | This transformed my wife's totally worthless Judy T2 into a 85mm long travel wonder which I now run on my race bike. I ordered mine direct from EKO Sport. The customer service was superb. The regular shock pump was out of stock so they sent me the deluxe for the same price. I had a minor problem with the schraeder valve on one cartridge that was easily remidied with a new valve core, which was sent free of charge by their totally cool staff.
This is a great upgrade for a lousy OEM fork. For $150 you can get the cartridges, pump, and some slick honey to put it all together. It sure beats the heck out of spending $600 on a top notch air fork that will be outdated when the new top notch forks come out next year.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
minty
a Weekend Warrior
from victoria, bc, canada
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | birth control | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | none, these thing hinder the performance of an otherwise mediocre elastomer stack | | Weaknesses: | not that light, leak air, linear spring rate, little useful damping | | Similar Products Used: | stock elastomers, speed springs, judd springs | | Bottom Line: | these units are really hurtin, i mean if you're really unhappy with your fork, get a new one, if your bottoming out hard, change something else like add bottom bumpers, if you have no cartridge damping stick to elastomers, these cartridges really lick ass. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
a Cross Country Rider
from montreal canada
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | light | | Weaknesses: | air pressure needs to be checked, they can blow, not very blush, bolts in the bottom of fork can stay stuck since the internals can rotate while turning the bolt | | Similar Products Used: | sid, | | Bike Setup: | high-end components on a 2.8 pound frame | | Bottom Line: | worked well or even great at first but then the cartriges blew out on me. so they were a 4 out of 5 but now they are 1 out of 5 | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SFA
a Racer
from NJ
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | good damping lightweight | | Weaknesses: | rough compression, noisy topout | | Similar Products Used: | mcu, coil, mcu/coil, other air, tpc | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Rockhopper Comp FS lx xt | | Bottom Line: | This is a great upgrade for a low end fork. It has good damping and is smooth. Its adjustability range is real big. Just some things that are bad are the large amount of plasic components in it, the topout is noisy, and the compression is a little rough for some reason. If some important parts were aluminum I wouldn't mind the extra weight for the durability. If you want a high performance fork just buy some of these and you will be amazed at the difference. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frank Loos
a Cross Country Rider
from Herrenberg, BW, Germany
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Schönbuchrandweg (Germany), Hunters Creek (USA) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | The fork can be tuned easiely to the trail (Paved Roads, Fire Roads, Single Trail)and weight (Back-pack). Sufficient damping for my ride style. Easy to install in a RS-Jett T2. Goog Value. | | Weaknesses: | Looks flimpsy, thin tubes, spot welds, plastic etc. (But seems OK for the Price). Damping adjustment requires opening of fork and carthridges and replacement of orifices. But it is tough to design a retrofit kit, who allows tuning by dials, or set screws. Damping a little bid weak for downhills. But who rides downhill with a hardtail and a RS-Jett T2. | | Similar Products Used: | Medium and soft springs, various spacers. Bikes with other forks, like the RS-SID. | | Bike Setup: | Simoneli Steel Frame. Complete 94 Shimano LX. Rock Shox Jett T2. Built by Radsport Holzcer, Herrenberg (Germany). | | Bottom Line: | I was not happy with the helicoil springs. The medium springs were fine for road and fire road driving, but too stiff for cross country rides. The damping was not sufficient even on mild decents. Adjustablity by changing the spring preload was quite poor.
Than I tried Total Air. I thought even if it is junk, I am not wasting a fortune. Out of the box they look flimpsy and I had my doubts about function and reliability.
But I am an engineer and working in aerospace, so my ideas about workmanship and designs are usually different from the bike industry.
But installation was simple, damping was OK out of the box and spring tuning is simple. I made the same observation than others, that the recommended pressures are a little bid high. After a while I found proper settings for my rides, commute to work on roads and fire roads and trial riding on weekends.
So fare no leaks, evrything works just fine. I am pumping my tires more frequent than the shocks.
Service: I have not needed it yet. But the installation tool was missing and I got it very quick. People were very friendly at the phone.
I am positively impressed. Good Value. I can recommend it to everybody who likes to improve the performance of his undamped spring/elastomer fork (Indy, T2 etc.).
You will not get a RS-SID or any other high price fork, but you will see a fair improvement. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terry Shulze
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Being able to tune the fork | | Weaknesses: | Need care in keeping dirt out of cartridge. No leaks as yet, I put air in my tires more often. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Trek with suspension seatpost, modified Indys | | Bottom Line: | Opps, after posting my long winded explanation (see below) on how I tuned the Englunds, I helped a friend set his forks up. He had purchased a used Indy C fork and upgraded to the long travel rods.
When we were changing the rebound valves, I noticed that the smaller orifice was on the number 1 valve - not the number 3 that I had posted below. The manual is correct when it says the number 1 valve is the "slow" valve. That is, it slows the rebound down.
He is about 160lbs, rides cross-country and is more aggressive than me in his riding style. His forks are now set at both number 1 rebound valves - one set at 10 turns out and the other at 5 turns out. He's running 120 lbs of pressure in the fork.
He is very happy with the fork, very light weight and good dampening - and didn't cost much! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terry Shulze
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Being able to tune the forks very easily. | | Weaknesses: | Keeping the dirt out of the internals when tuning. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Trek with seatpost, Long travel (75mm) Indy forks | | Bottom Line: | As a bit of background, I used to race offroad motorcycles and was the technical editor for a dirt bike magazine. I have designed and built my own forks and shocks.
The Englunds are a good product, but for the life of me I can't imagine why the manufacturer would suggest changing the dampening out on the trail. In order to change the dampening you have to open the body of the shock. Which means dirt can easily drop in, a likely proposition if you do it while out riding. On a motorcycle suspension the parts are made of metal, but the Englunds are made of plastic!
I dropped in the long travel rods when I installed the Englunds. I set the fork up the way the instructions said - ugh! The instructions for my weight (175lbs) said 170-180 lbs of pressure. WAY too much, I dropped to 150, then 130, then 110. Finally the fork was stroking.
Next came the compression dampening (actually the spring loaded system is a Low speed compression dampening system, there is no high speed adjustment). The forks would bottom slightly when going down steep hills with the front brake loading the fork. However, when dropping off a 1' drop off (my biggest drop) the fork absorbed the impact without bottoming which indicated that there was enough compression dampening. I then started to back down the compression dampening to make the fork more plush. I ended up with 6 turns out in one leg and 10 out in the other.
Rebound dampening required BOTH of the number 3 (stongest) rebound valves. This made the front end much more precise, especially when cornering at speed. The reason for 10 turns out in one leg was to increase the effect on the rebound. Rebound dampening will only occur on the Englunds AFTER the compression valve blows off. I set up one side (10 turns) to extend the period of rebound. (The rebound is a fixed orifice so it is essentially a high speed rebound adjustment.) I also noticed that with the number 3 valves installed the compression dampening increased. I expect that the larger fixed orifice of the stock valves actually allowed a fair amount of air to bypass the spring loaded valve.
With the stock rebound valves the fork was just as bouncy as with the elastomers. My suggestion to anyone who has never tuned suspension before is to try using the number 3 (stongest) rebound valves and then reduce the dampening if it "packs down" over washboard surfaces.
Last suggestion - KEEP DIRT OUT OF THE SHOCK, only adjust the dampening under the cleanest conditions you can manage. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Ukiah, CA
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | any where | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Easy to tune, lightness | | Weaknesses: | Not exactly easy to install (I have the Manitou SX kit)take about 3-4 hours if all goes well). Like all air shocks it stiff over the little stuff. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Manitou SX, stock 98 Judy | | Bike Setup: | Klein Mantra Comp- Stock | | Bottom Line: | I can finally get the full travel out of the fork and my 1" driveway lip doen't feel like a boulder any more. Also I have been able to get the front and rear suspensions to work together- the bike came with a Fox Float R rear shock which has always been smoother than the stock Manitou SX front- now the front and back have a nice smooth feeling.
Note- the cartidges did lose more than the specified amount of air in the instructions till I put a few miles on them and the seals seated- now the air loss is minimal over the course of a week or two. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Carver
a Racer
from Plainville GA
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | McIntosh reserve | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Ease of instalation and tuning. Great customer support! | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | stock judy | | Bike Setup: | Homegrown with handbuilt wheels, Rockshox post for an aging back, xt/xtr drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | This upgrade has transformed my fork. Having gone through dampning carts for two years I installed the 85mm travel englund kit and the oil bath kit. After some break in time the fork is much more plush and controlled. Having rebound dampning makes all the difference. Owners of older Judys, If your stanchion tubes and bushings are good, should consider this instead of a new fork | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Olson
a Weekend Warrior
from Co Springs, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Ute Valley Park | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Extremely good support, even out of warranty. They changed the design of their shocks and sent me the new parts, at no charge. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Judy | | Bike Setup: | Garry Fisher Ziggurat | | Bottom Line: | I am 6'6" 265 pounds, and I was a little worried about using this shock upgrade but it has been great. At my weight, I tend to punch holes in the rubber bumpers that the cartridges rest on, but I called BPP and they have since switched to urathane. Much better. I also had some trouble with the original control rods, but by the time I had a problem, they had re-designed them and when I called they sent me new ones (approx 9 months ago). I'm sure my weight makes me their worst case scenario but the shocks have held up great.
The trails I ride have lots of 1' stair like sections and several 2'-3' drops. I blew out the original damper cartridge in my Judy in 3 months. These cartridges make the trail a lot more fun!
Great company, great product! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pedalinbob
a Cross Country Rider
from MI
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | potowatomi | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | light, simple, excellent customer service, good ride | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | z2 x-fly | | Bike Setup: | big sur with sc92ul, superlight with sxr | | Bottom Line: | these are very simple, but i realy goofed. i tried to take apart the lower seal and damaged the o-ring. i called bpp and they told me just how to repair it, and sent me a new part for free--i did buy some slick honey from them, though.
i did not like the sc92ul fork at first. i tuned it, tuned it some more, rode it for 10+ hours per directions, and it still felt stictiony. it did loosen up quite a bit, especially after i tore it down and relubed it.
i was in the process of relubing and replacing the triple seals with the slick kit (the triple seals are responsible for the high stiction) when the damage occured, and i will review the fork after further testing.
i think it, and the TAC's, will be much, much better than before. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Bridgeman, MI
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | cheap, easily adjustable, greatly improve ride quality | | Weaknesses: | delicate valves | | Bike Setup: | Judy T2 with Englund Total Air Cart. | | Bottom Line: | These cartridges completely transformed my fork. My T2 started out little better than an Indy, and now it's more plush and responsive than my dad's Judy XC's.They were too easy to install and can easily be adjusted to suit the terrain and riding style. There is no stiction and they're nearly impossible to bottom out. The only problem I found was that they're not really plush all the way through their travel. The last little bit is a bit rough. Other than that, they're great. Teh bottom line is that these Total Airs can turn a decent fork into a great one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from USA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Island Lake | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Added a great deal of adjustability and plushness to my 97 Judy XC shock. | | Weaknesses: | None encoutered yet. Installing was somewhat difficult but no more than what could be expected with an upgrade such as this. I called the manufacturer, BPP, for some technical support and got a quick return phone call which was impressive. | | Similar Products Used: | 97 Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | GT Zaskar (hardtail) | | Bottom Line: | Because the total air kit replaces the Rock Shox guts with the improved air cartridge, the shock becomes an entirely different unit. No more stiction, much more plush, and highly adjustable. It's the best upgrade I've done in years.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Weight, adjustability, ease of use once installed, ability to use whole travel. | | Weaknesses: | Fairly stiff, had some problems installing (fault of forks not Total Air). | | Similar Products Used: | Judy XC stock internals | | Bike Setup: | Raleigh RSP 250 Judy XC '99 | | Bottom Line: | Increased travel from 63 to 85 mm, at £20 more than a Rockshox travel kit would have cost. Steering is more precise and I am getting much more travel, I'm able to use all of it.
However, even after playing with settings, its not all that plush - I'd say it is on the very 'firm' side. However, it is getting plusher with use. The TA shock pump works really well and my forks are rarely losing any air. I had some difficulty getting all the internals out of my old forks in one side at least.
In short, the forks are lighter, stiffer and I get more travel. I would have liked a plusher feel to soak up the small hits, it is still a bit rough over, say baked mud (we should be so lucky in the UK!) - I have tinkered extensively with the settings for plushness, preload and rebound, so maybe the feel will improve further with more use.
I am using the bike on reasonably challenging cross country and trails, some slightly technical stuff but in no way serious downhill, trials or anything like that.
They have been totally reliable for me and a good upgrade but I can't say I am 100% satisfied. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Cedar Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | The shocks really work on my RockShox Judy XC. I was ready to throw it away until I installed the air shocks. | | Weaknesses: | The shocks leak air and have to be topped off every day before a ride | | Similar Products Used: | Speed Springs and strock Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | Trek Y Bike upgraded to all XT. | | Bottom Line: | these air springs lightened my shock considerably. The installation was very easy.
I lost one of the plasic collars that surround the valve cap. Other than that, these shocks perform well. I have bottomed out a few times; but no harmful aftereffects. they still work.
I have used them for over a year with no noticable wear or other degradation in performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MRT
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Dagmar, Chico's Wild ride | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | - Adjustability
- Light weight
- Ease of installation (on Indy)
- Reduces bouncy elastomer ride
- Performance does not vary with temperature variations
(like elastomers)
- Easy to overhall. | | Weaknesses: | - Quality control (leaked air out of the box) but was
fixable by tightening.
| | Similar Products Used: | Tried many different forks, but none with similar upgrades. | | Bike Setup: | 1998 Giant ATX 970. Michelin Wildgripper Lite S, VP-135 clipless pedals, LX brakes, Kool Stop red pads. I ride wet conditions often. | | Bottom Line: | This product proved to be a cost effective way to turn my Indy C Long-Travel into a dampened, smooth traveling fork.
I was about to toast the Indy after one season and spend $500. on a higher-end fork, but decided to go Total Air, considering $500 represented about half the cost of my bike. I've learned the "don't upgrade latter" lesson now. I'd also like to plug my LBS, Bay Sports located Pickering Ont. They could have sold me a new fork, but pointed out that I'd be better off not buying a $500 upgrade for a $1000 bike. Their after sales service is amazing.
I get more traction during muddy climbs because I have adjusted the fork to not sink during out-of-saddle pedaling, which helps keep more wieght on the rear wheel.
During downhill runs, I have better control, along with real dampening (something that was non-existent on the Indy).
This upgrade is great if you like to fine tune. The options
you have are rebound damping, air pressure (preload) and compression damping.
All-in-all this was worth the $90. Cdn I paid. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Silver Spring, MD
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Plush, responive, and light.
OUTSTANDING PRODUCT/TECH SUPPORT. | | Weaknesses: | Some attentiveness is required to set up properly | | Similar Products Used: | TA 2nd Generation - 2 1/2 years | | Bike Setup: | M2 Stumpjumper Mongrel - Judy w/85mm 3rd generation TA
Rider weight: 145# | | Bottom Line: | This is the best upgrade I've made to my bike since I got the M2 frameset.
I just got the new 85mm 3rd Generation TA's after riding the 63mm 2nd generation (long strut) TA's hard for 2 1/2 years.
As good as the 63's were, the 85's are a quantum leap better.
[Note to those with problems: TA's are very sensitive to setup. Even five psi change in pressure is a big difference. Too much air will make them ride unnecessarily hard and possibly increase stiction. Don't give up until you've tried to adjust them.]
Over the years with the 63's, one scratched piston (BPP replaced the set immediately), one rebuild, and a habit of checking the air each ride (same thing I do for my tires) was a small price to pay for excellent performance from the Judy (do people still use elastomers?)
When I finally broke the rebound spacers in the 63's I called BPP on a Monday. They sent out new 3rd generation TA's THAT DAY for the upgrade price of $50.00. I consider that to be excellent service in any industry. Ross gave me some tuning tips based on the setup I was using on the old ones and I ended up having a great day at Gambril that Saturday.
Within a few days I was back on the phone to BPP - buying a set of TA's for my wife's Quadra21. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Presswood
a Racer
from Austin,Tx.
Date Reviewed: December 26, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
City Park | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Light weight, Adjustability,Price,performance ratio,Customer Service!! | | Weaknesses: |
Fairtly frequent service intervals needed | | Similar Products Used: |
Manitou Pro XC (stock internals & Englunds)Judy SL (stock internals & Englunds)Marzzochi Atom Bomb | | Bike Setup: |
Proflex 857. Judy SL | | Bottom Line: | Performance,adjustability & weight savings for the money cannot be equaled with any thing else currently on the market!I had leakage problems with the 2nd generation cartridges installed in a Manitou Pro, but Dereck @BPP was relentless with giving me his time & parts to get the problem resolved to general satisfaction.Over A Year ago , I went with a Judy SL & Englunds & have been really impressed with the setup. I ride 3 days a week in Very rocky conditions & only ck. air pressure about every 3 weeks & see almost no leakage!This fork setup is not quite as Buttery smooth as the Marzzochi Atom Bomb, but is close enough & is 13 ounces lighter!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joa
a Weekend Warrior
from Karlsruhe, Germany
Date Reviewed: December 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
light, highly adjustable, affordable, no elastomers | | Weaknesses: |
relyability, pump | | Similar Products Used: |
Judy T2, Judy C3/T3 | | Bike Setup: |
'98 GF Zig Judy XC, blue seals | | Bottom Line: | I've reviewed this product a year ago, they still ride great... I've sold my bike to a friend since (never heard any complaints about the Englunds in his Indy SL, but gave him the original internals as well), and upgraded to a Zig with the stiffer Judy. Changed to Englunds immediately afterperformance went down. 25h service intervals, messing with oil then. '98 Judy is one of the stupiest products i've ever bought. Thus go Englund! The weight pay-off is significant, you can realize it as soon as things get steep. Never had a problem, but it's understandable that there's a reliability issue - even if it's just mental. Didn't stop me in some marathon racing and jumpig around, however.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pat Murphy
a Racer
from San Diego Ca
Date Reviewed: December 15, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Whitmore Gulch | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Inexpensive, Long Travel, Tunability, Customer sevice | | Weaknesses: |
Leaks. Seals Break, Constantly Adjusting | | Similar Products Used: |
SID, Superfly, Z4 Flylight Air, Judy | | Bike Setup: |
Specialized M2 full XT, Mavic 517 Hoops, Marzocchi Z4 X fly | | Bottom Line: | When I first installed the product I like it because it gave me a different feel. After about 3 weeks I started to have trouble with them. When it rebounded it would top out, it would squeak like hell. It never seemed to hold air. I called Ross at BPP (nice guy)gave me set up advice. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. I had that fork apart after every ride. I had to send one of my cartridges back because it was blown. Thought my problems were solved, but they weren't. Kept riding it and after every ride, there was significant air loss. Put the cartridges under water to check for leaks, and there were none. I am 215 lbs. and I think that my weight might be part of the problem. The tuning is infinite like they claim, but when you are around my weight, there is only really one true setting you can use. I feel bad about giving a poor review on this product because Ross and the guys at BPP offer so help. But I am riding a Marzocchi Z4 X FLy now and that is what I expected form the Englunds. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed
a Cross-Country Rider
from NJ
Date Reviewed: December 1, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
All of them | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Light weight, easy to adjust to your weight and riding style, easy to install. | | Weaknesses: |
none yet | | Similar Products Used: |
Nothing air | | Bike Setup: |
Ellsworth Truth,WB SC90
with Englunds and helix expert rear shock | | Bottom Line: | At first I was skeptical about putting air cartridges in my SC90, but after a couple of months of some pretty intense riding on them they have performed incredible. I hope this reveiew doesn't come back to haunt me. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ryan
a Cross-Country Rider
from austin, tx
Date Reviewed: October 29, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
emma long | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
light,
easy set up,
inexpensive,
very adjustable | | Weaknesses: |
delicate innards | | Similar Products Used: |
stock '96 judy XC
'98 SID | | Bike Setup: |
C'Dale CAAD3
'96 judy XC
raceface | | Bottom Line: | Super easy to tune... i weigh 135.
very rocky here... never bottoms out. can be set up very stiff for smooth areas or plush for nonstop hits. be careful with the plastic valves as they can be damaged easily.
great product overall.
five flaming serranos. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike
a Cross-Country Rider
from bloomfield, nj
Date Reviewed: October 23, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Plush ride
Increased travel
Light weight | | Weaknesses: |
Fine tuning the shock to your liking.
Installation. | | Bike Setup: |
Custom installation on a Manitou Carbon SX fork on a full suspension Klein. | | Bottom Line: | These cartridges are absolutley the best way to improve the ride and handling of your bike.They have singlehandedly made the bike more responsive and have added more travel and a plush ride on any size hits. I have them on my other bike as well and have never had a problem with loss of air, blown seals, etc. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross-Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: October 21, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Lightweight
Good feel
Standard schraeder valve makes inserting air easy | | Weaknesses: |
None yet | | Similar Products Used: |
Standard Judy XC elastomers
Speed Springs
Rock Shox SID | | Bike Setup: |
Gary Fisher Big Sur, 95 Judy XC fork with Englund TAC internals | | Bottom Line: | The Englunds have turned my Judy into a 'Poor Man's SID'. I don't know if it's my imagination or what, but the fork feels much more solid with the Englunds in it than it did when I had Speed Springs in. Much better feel too, especially since you can adjust the feel so easily by changing the air pressure in the fork. I've had no air leak problems with the Englunds. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Voice In The Wilderness
a Weekend Warrior
from DC
Date Reviewed: October 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Light
Increased travel
Tuneable | | Weaknesses: |
Inherent air stiction
Poor quality control | | Similar Products Used: |
Almost every fork made | | Bike Setup: |
Kona Explosif/Judy DH | | Bottom Line: | I have the 85mm travel Englunds. Out of the box they leaked due to faulty valve cores and loose shrader valve. BPP didn't seem suprised. Bought a set of valve cores and wrench for $5 at auto store which fixed leaks. While the Englunds are tuneable and offer an increase in travel over the stock Judy innards, they transmit an initial shock before they move on big hits, and don't soak up small vibrations as well as mcus or coils. As a result long, rocky downhills fatigued my arms. Overall, I'd be hard pressed to call the Englunds much of a performance upgrade unless you don't ride rocky terrain. Although if you're a racer the weight savings might be worth the cost. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Old Cranky Guy
a Cross-Country Rider
from Alexandria, VA
Date Reviewed: October 20, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Wakefield or Fountainhead | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Light, Tunable, Easy to rebuild, Excellent Customer Service | | Weaknesses: |
Original rubber compression pads less than wonderful (this has been fixed) | | Similar Products Used: |
Stock RockShox guts | | Bike Setup: |
Indy SL, Trek 930 hard-tail | | Bottom Line: | This is a wonderful upgrade. About 18 months ago I was looking to swap-out my fork, but couldn't really justify spending big $$$ on something nice that was going to be bolted on my fairly low-end (but beloved) rig. The Englund seemed to be a good compromise -- more tunability and even lighter weight (the Indy SL is really a light fork to start with). I installed the cartridges and the transformation was incredible. I can now adjust spring rate and damping, and there are no elastomers to get stiff in cold weather. I've had no real problems with longevity -- my cartridges are 18 months old, and have been rebuilt once. They have about 3000 miles on them -- a mix of dirt riding and urban commuting. Just keep'em lubed and clean, and there are no problems. No significant air loss either -- they started to get a little leaky just before I rebuilt them. New o-rings made them good as new. Special mention has to be made of their customer service. It is EXCELLENT! I've ordered rebuild kits and an upgraded set of compression pads with no hassles. The website is informative, with tech info as well as sales propaganda. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mr_rangr
a Cross-Country Rider
from Pasadena, CA
Date Reviewed: October 19, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
El Prieto | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Plush, cheap! | | Weaknesses: |
Slow leak (no surprise with an air shock) | | Similar Products Used: |
None | | Bike Setup: |
Trek Y-3 with Rock Shox Indy C long travel (75mm) | | Bottom Line: | I bought these as a cheap upgrade for my Indy shocks until I could/can afford a really nice suspension fork. It's been SUCH a good upgrade that I just can't justify replacing my fork yet. The performance and adjustability is very good, and you just can't beat the price for such an incredible upgrade. | | Overall Rating: |
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