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Risse Racing Gem Cartridge Shock Upgrade

5/5 (7 Reviews)

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MSRP : $100.00


Product Description

Risse Racing Gem Cartridge


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Reviews 1 - 7 (7 Reviews Total)

User Reviews

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Tony a Cross Country Rider from Boulder, CO

Date Reviewed: August 4, 2004

Strengths:    Good Damping

Weaknesses:    As far as I know it is not compatible with newer Judy forks

Bottom Line:   
Risse has great customer service and the cartridge is very easy to fine tune by changing the oil weight.

I've been riding on this cartridge for over 7 years and while the bike gets fewer miles these days, the Risse cartridge continues to perform. I have a brand-new, never installed warranty replacement Rock-Shox Judy cartridge in my bike-parts pile and it has leaked more oil sitting in a drawer than the Risse has in the last 4 years of riding.

Great niche product. If you have an old Judy (94-97 or so) and find one of these on eBay, snap it up.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   More than 3 years

Similar Products Used:   Rock Shox plastic and alumninum damper cartridge

Bike Setup:   1992 Specialized S-Works Steel
1994 1" Threaded Judy XC
75mm travel Risse GEM Cartridge, BelRay 10wt oil
White Brothers Springs 1-blue/firm and 1-red/xfirm
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Nic Huffman a Cross Country Rider from Raleigh NC USA

Date Reviewed: November 19, 2002

Strengths:    durable, simple to rebuild, smooth, adjustable not just in theory

Weaknesses:    its not free

Bottom Line:   
i bought one of these almost as soon as they were available-- maybe 5 years ago. i had broken a plastic Judy cartridge, and then an aluminum one. i serviced the gem damper for the first time in 4 years yesterday. it had leaked maybe 1/4 of its oil probably due to loose fork bushings (and magura rim brakes that can visibly flex the fork). the inside still had perfect black anodizing on it and the seals looked new. rebuild only took snap ring pliers, 5wt oil, and a 2mm hex. i am really impressed with the durability of this unit. it has held up perfectly for 4000 miles and counting.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   roller coaster/ rocky road/ newlite

Duration Product Used:   More than 3 years

Price Paid:    $120.00

Purchased At:   bike shop bills

Similar Products Used:   i work at a shop, so i get to ride a lot of stuff

Bike Setup:   litespeed hardtail under 200 lb rider. ~97 judy sl frankenfork with rockshox type 2 coil/elastomer springs
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by shanedawg a Weekend Warrior from san jose, ca

Date Reviewed: June 21, 2000

Strengths:    wide range of adjustability, reliability

Bottom Line:   
Risse Cartridge improved the ride dramatically and increased travel at the same time. I got the 75mm version and love it. I got mine on sale for a great price but it did not come with the parts for the other leg. I went over to the risse shop and they fixed me up with the missing parts for a great price. Great service and great product!

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   soquel demo

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Similar Products Used:   stock cartridge

Bike Setup:   Bontrager hardtail / 97 Judy XC with speed springs
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Skillet Onemangang a Cross Country Rider from Maryland

Date Reviewed: February 16, 2000

Strengths:    Greatly improved damping, adjustability, and added travel to my fork. Significantly improves performance on small stutters (roots) as well as big hits.

Weaknesses:    None

Bottom Line:   
Risse customer service was second to none. They gave me tuning advice and helped with the initial set-up. When I did have a problem, they replaced the GEM with no questions asked, no receipt etc. Made a great performance improvement. After sending back my 4th set of Englund air cartridges (loved the performance but they'd always leak), I decided to opt for performance AND reliability. Thus, speed springs with the GEM and the fork is greatly improved and doesn't leave me riding a rigid bike back to the car like the Englunds often did.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   CJ Trail

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Similar Products Used:   Stock Judy damper, Englund air

Bike Setup:   Rocky Mountain Vertex TO with Judy SL
Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by mark b a Cross Country Rider from albq NM

Date Reviewed: February 5, 2000

Strengths:    design, adjustability,

Weaknesses:    none

Bottom Line:   
this cartrige will make your fork much more versatile. The adjustment range is quite good, and the performace increase is dramatic. (in my case). Also my first rebuild was free.(they need to be sent back for rebuild) $20 bucks after that, and it only took 5 day turnaround both times.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   lots of em

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Similar Products Used:   original damper

Bike Setup:   s-works ultimate w/ carbon fork xtr
Overall Rating:5
Submitted by lil Judas a Weekend Warrior from Boston

Date Reviewed: November 26, 1999

Strengths:    
easy install, great tech support, 1st quality craftmanship

Weaknesses:    
none so far, maybe could use knob for damping instead of an allen wrench, but that is trivial.

Bottom Line:   
I got the 80mm kit and it feels so much better than the stock Rock Shox cartridge. At first it felt a bit stiff but it settled in after a few rides. Also got the WB Judd springs in there as well. It feels very close to my Z2 Bam now - plush, full travel. Takes big hits without the harshness and bottoming/topping out like the stock internals. The Risse guys have awesome tech support and are very helpful, which is a rarity these days.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   
all of them

Duration Product Used:   
3 months

Similar Products Used:   
just the stock crappy Judy cartridge

Bike Setup:   
Mountain Cycle San Andreas w. '97 Judy SL (soon to be replaced with a 5travel fork)
Overall Rating:5
Submitted by Sam a Weekend Warrior from Menlo Park

Date Reviewed: March 23, 1999

Strengths:    
Effective, plush, reliable

Bottom Line:   
Very Cool. First if was Speedsprings but after four (!) blown Rockshox cartridges, I had enough. This feels better than the stock cartridge ever did. No more pogo, I'm hydraulic! Easy installation too. The guys at Risse are first class.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   
Skeggs

Duration Product Used:   
less than 1 month

Similar Products Used:   
Judy cartridge

Bike Setup:   
97 Judy with Speedsprings
Reviews 1 - 7 (7 Reviews Total)

Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

 

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