Home | Reviews | Manufacturers | RockShox | 2007 Forks

Login  |  Register

RockShox Tora 289

MSRP $
Weight 2360 grams
# of Reviews 13
Average Rating 3.15/5
More Products from RockShox



Submit a Review

Description:
  • Travel: 85-130mm / 80 or 100mm
  • Travel: Adjust U-Turn
  • Upper Tubes: 32mm STKM Steel
  • Spring: Coil
  • Damping: Rebound
  • Crown: Forged, Hollow 6061 T-6 Aluminum
  • Steerer Tube: Steel



Other Ways To Shop
  • Buy and Sell the from our Classifieds.
  • Shop for Similar Products








    Submitted by mick851 a Cross Country Rider from england
    Date Reviewed: October 21, 2008
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Strengths:got it from bike shop, took it back after 1 hour!!!
    Weaknesses:leaked oil from the rebound, had'nt even rode bike!
    Bottom Line:heard theres a prob with this brand of fork rockshox tora 289 , bike shops had to send forks away to be fixed, going to take a week before i get bike back
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Qui'lan Fett a Weekend Warrior from USA
    Date Reviewed: October 2, 2008
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Strengths:Well, it sucks up bumps. That is my main requirement. I don't notice it much on climbing, so the lack of lockout is not a problem. I took it off my first 3 foot drop yesterday and it preformed fine.
    Weaknesses:I am light at 120lbs and it is perfect for me. I can see how it would be a problem for heavier riders.
    Bike Setup:07 Iron Horse Warrior 6.0 (Great value)
    Bottom Line:As I said, it sucks up bumps, which is my main requirement. I think the most accurate thing I can say about it is I never have to worry about it. I just leave it at top travel and it works its magic.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by CTrider a Weekend Warrior from Griswold CT USA
    Date Reviewed: July 18, 2008
    Favorite Trail:AM
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:rscycle
    Strengths:Looks ok?
    Weaknesses:Not reliable
    Little adjustments
    too soft
    noisy
    Bike Setup:Iron horse warrior 6.0
    Bottom Line:These forks came on the bike and they are terrible. On the second use of the travel adjustment knob it snapped off on the trail, good thing I brought pliers. A couple weeks later it was only getting about 1/4 of the travel. Turns out something blew and oil was getting by the seals. I rebuilt it a couple times and kept happening.They are way too soft as well. I weigh 160 and ride a large frame and I can bottom these out just by pushing down and I would estimate they have over 30% droop(non adjustable).
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by bryce92 a Weekend Warrior from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
    Date Reviewed: June 24, 2008
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Purchased At:Came with my Norco S
    Strengths:The Tora worked great for me for about a month and half, and continued to go down hill from there. The preload adjuster was useful until it broke. The rebound adjustment was probably the best aspect of the fork, while the 100 mm of travel is a descent amount if you are looking for very very light XC riding, which doesn't occur to me. The disc brake only was also another strength.
    Weaknesses:The coil springs broke after a month or so, and for what it is was meant for(XC), it didn't hold up like it should considering I used it pretty much to exactly what it was recommended for. The preload adjuster popped out because of the broken coils, I am guessing. I believe, and have talked to people at bike shops, that the Tora 289 uses cheap coils which result in very short longevity, and unreliable shocks. I am mostly a XC, freeride, downhill rider, and I was disappointed in the fact that the coils did not last very long. I did not take any really hard hits that triggered to the broken coils. It seemed that every day, from a certain point, the forks went downhill on what quality it gave to me on the trails. I am a very light person who weights 135 pounds, and was surprised that even a light person like me somehow triggered to broken coils. These shocks are under warranty, and I will be sending them back. I will not be using these shocks again, as I am buying new Fox Vanillas.
    Similar Products Used:N/A
    Bike Setup:Norco Storm
    Bottom Line:Bottom line is that for the price you are going to pay for the Rock Shox Tora, you are better of buying yourself a better fork. This fork is meant for very light XC riding, if that, and will not provide you with a long life span. The coil springs are very weak, and the preload adjuster will not work to its fullest extent for a long period of time. I do not have anything against Rock Shox, but this is definitely one of their "Fox 40" in their lineup.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by D.C. a Weekend Warrior from south africa
    Date Reviewed: June 8, 2008
    Favorite Trail:anywhere with nice technical downhills and decent hucks!
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $300.00
    Purchased At:came with bike
    Strengths:durable. i cant count the number of times i bottomed out. u-turn is nice.
    Weaknesses:makes a clicking noise. after 15 months the rebound damper had problems.from all the bottom outs the liquid from the rebound leaked into in some other chamber inside the right leg. so i ordered a rs tora 318 solo air. i suppose its a xc fork and i hucked the yhe hell out of it. and my 318 also isnt made for hucks and light freeride so im thinking of gettin a mongoose khyber.
    Similar Products Used:rockshox tora 318 solo air.
    Bike Setup:07 mongoose amasa
    wtb speedisc roms
    rs 318 fork
    hardtail frame
    Bottom Line:i had good times with that fork but now i know to be careful with xc forks.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Scott a Weekend Warrior from Pacific Northwest, WA
    Date Reviewed: April 17, 2008
    Favorite Trail:Anywhere off road
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Strengths:Very adjustable and very easy to adjust. This thing will eat up anything you can throw at it. At times it feels a little to "soft" but thats probably my fault not the shox. This fork came stock on my bike and i have been extremely impressed with it from the day i got it. The TORA is Rock Solid!
    Weaknesses:None that i have found.
    Bike Setup:Iron Horse Warrior 6.0 (stock)
    Bottom Line:I recommend this to anybody looking! Like I said above this thing eats EVERYTHING you throw at it!
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Raymond Lorica a Weekend Warrior from Los Angeles, CA 90042
    Date Reviewed: April 9, 2008
    Favorite Trail:RedBox baby!!!
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:bikesdirect.com
    Strengths:Adjustable from 85-130 mm
    Easy to use, no maintenance issues
    Weaknesses:No lock out feature, but you can buy that separately if you really need it...
    Similar Products Used:Marzocchi Bomber, RockShox Judy XL
    Bike Setup:Motobecane Fantom Comp DS with RockShox Ario 2.2 rear shock and RockShox Tora 218 front suspension
    Bottom Line:For a fork with a coil spring, you can't get much better than this. I've ridden my friends' bike that have an air suspension, and I'll admit it does feel slightly better to have an air suspension, but these came stock on my Motobecane and I'm more than happy with them. I've taken this to RedBox trail in the Angeles Crest Mountains and haven't bottomed out once. For a stock, so called "cheap" fork in the mountain biking world, the Tora's are the bomb!
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Dylan Chernis a Weekend Warrior from pretoria, south africa
    Date Reviewed: February 24, 2008
    Favorite Trail:anywhere
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $300.00
    Purchased At:came with bike
    Strengths:really strong, great rebound adjust, soft spring(bit too soft for jumping).
    Weaknesses:when its set for 130mm travel, it clicks when compressed, so i just twist the u-turn about 120 degrees and its all good. bottoms-out on a 2-3ft drop and i'm 105pounds(i'm 15yrs. high metabolism!). the part where the rebound switch goes into is stripped so now the fork is set for slow and i can't switch it back to fast.
    Similar Products Used:bikes i had in the past had cheap forks except for my last bike which had Spinner Grind.
    Bike Setup:mongoose amasa



    Bottom Line:0n the rock shox website its found under the xc forks but i'd say its a basic all-mountain fork. i've bottomed out more than 200 times and its still good. springs are fine for xc but but they would need to be stiffer for rougher riding. travel adjust is good. rebound adust is great (except for that part that stripped)but other than that clicking noise its great fork and i've had good times with it!
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Edward Louie a Weekend Warrior from Portland, OR
    Date Reviewed: September 15, 2007
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Purchased At:Performance Bike
    Strengths:It absorbs bumps. Doesn't leak. Low maintenance so far.
    Weaknesses:It does not respond much to small bumps only big ones. The stock coil is a bit stiff for me and i weight 140 lb. I have to do jumps or ride some fairly ruff stuff to be able to really utilize the 100mm of travel. The rebound is nice. The preload does NOT seem to do anything. I have tried turning it all the way both ways and the fork feels pretty much the same. Right now i keep it on the lowest setting because i am light. The preload knob feels really loose at times and stiff during other times.
    Bike Setup:Iron Horse Warrior 5.0 stock
    Bottom Line:Not the best fork. I would like it to be more responsive. No lockout. If it came stock then great but i wouldn't go out and buy it. Even if i only get to fully utilize the 100mm of travel doing jumps and riding down ruff stuff the manufacture does not recommend this fork for jumping or downhill.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Zlatko Vlasic a Cross Country Rider from Zapresic, Croatia
    Date Reviewed: July 27, 2007
    Favorite Trail:local trails
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Strengths:Very good absorption, u-turn and rebound adjustment work great, cheap
    Weaknesses:HEAVY!! i miss lock out
    Similar Products Used:dart 2, rst gila
    Bike Setup:Norco charger 07, stock
    Bottom Line:Probably the best XC/AM entry-level fork
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by <Mark a Weekend Warrior from Hertfordshire U.K.
    Date Reviewed: July 16, 2007
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Purchased At:Came with the bike
    Strengths:None i can think of apart from filling the gap between frame & wheel.
    Weaknesses:Horrible, horrible wooden feel. After reading about how good Reba's are, I don't know how Rockshox dare put their name on this junk.
    Similar Products Used:Manitou Axel Super
    Bike Setup:Stock 2007 Giant Trance 3
    Bottom Line:Like a stick stuffed up a drain pipe. Goes up & down but has no feel. The older Manitou on my Scott is ten times better than this. Looking now for a replacement after 300 miles as it's just so awful to ride.
    Sort of junk i'd expect to find on a fifty dollar steel frame bike, not a bike still costing $2000+ in U.K. . Avoid it at all costs. My first experience of Rockshox and it's pretty much scared me away from the brand already. Gona look for some more Manitou's I think.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Garrett a Cross Country Rider from Conway, Ar, USA
    Date Reviewed: February 27, 2007
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Purchased At:www.Bikesdirect.com
    Strengths:Great absorption, nice price, lots of adjustability
    Weaknesses:Lockout has to be bought seperately but you can get a lockout kit for these for about $75.
    Bike Setup:Stock 07 Motobecane Fantom Comp
    Bottom Line:I do not know much about the super high end bikes, but I have ridden on several very nice bikes that my neighbors let me borrow. They are huge xc riders and introduced me to mountain biking for helping them lay sod on their lawn for about an hour. The three of them compete in xc races and frequently win and I have rode about 7 of their hardtail xc “backup bikes” which were all equipped with very nice stuff. These came on my 07 Motobecane Fantom Comp and they work great. I can’t hardly even feel stairs, roots, or bumps when riding in town or on the local single track trails. They seem to handle slightly less responsive than my neighbor’s bikes but they also have several thousand dollar backup bikes and mine cost $595. If you are looking for nice shocks at a reasonable price, give these a try. They do everything I need them to.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Brian Good a Cross Country Rider from Phoenix
    Date Reviewed: January 3, 2007
    Favorite Trail:Dreamy Draw/Sqaw Peak
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Purchased At:Bikes Direct (Stock on the Fanton FS Comp)
    Strengths:EXCELLENT absorbing ability, easy to use U-Turn knob, adjustable ride height (85mm-130mm), adjustable dampening, leight weight design, looks GREAT!
    Weaknesses:Stock coil is a little on the soft side for me (I weight about 165 lbs).
    Similar Products Used:J3, J4 (both only tested)
    Bike Setup:Stock motobecane with a Rockshox Tora 289 front fork and a RockShox Ario 2.2 rear shock.
    Bottom Line:The Tora 289 is a GREAT XC introductory fork. However, for you heavier riders, I would recommend haveing a look into the RECON series (they run for about the same price).

    In order to recieve the kind of perofrmance I want out of this fork, I'm going to have to invest into a heavier coil.

    Otherwise, the performance is GREAT! The adjustable dapening is a real nice touch. It literally abosrbs any bump like a sponge. It's just not the best for drops or heavy jump.
    I have not bottomed out yet, but I've come VERY close.

    Good luck, and happy riding.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:4






    What's New
    » Dinotte Lights Giveaway Contest! Just in time for night riding season, you could win a free lightset from Dinotte»
    » Best Of Mtbr.com! - Highest Rated bikes, parts & gear»
    » Interbike 2008! Read news and info about new bikes and products from the upcoming show»
    Latest Articles and Reviews:


    Quick Poll

    (sponsored by Rocky Mountain Bicycles)
    How has the state of the economy affected your bike spending?

      I spend a lot less
      I spend a little less
      I spend the same amount
      I spend more

    Photo Caption Contest

    (sponsored by Maxxis)

    Enter here

    Contact Us  •   About Us  •   Terms of Use  •   Privacy Policy  •   Advertising
     MtbREVIEW.com  RoadbikeREVIEW.com  OutdoorREVIEW.com
     PhotographyREVIEW.com  VideogameREVIEW.com  ComputingREVIEW.com
     AudioREVIEW.com  CarREVIEW.com  GolfREVIEW.com
    Copyright ©1996-2008 All Rights Reserved.ConsumerREVIEW.com, a business unit of Invenda      RSS Feed