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Submitted by
chris mitchell
a Weekend Warrior
from henderson, nv
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | bootleg canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Strengths: | works very well when it works. takes the small bumps well and handles the big bumps like butter. | | Weaknesses: | it flat blew up on me once. bottom of a short steep hill, shock rockets it's innards upward and shoots oil all over me. | | Bike Setup: | jekyll | | Bottom Line: | fox fixed it under warranty. unfortunately all three of the fox shocks products i have purchased have crapped out in under a year though. the engineering is quite simple so if you are mechanically inclined you can learn to perform your own service. it seems bike shop employees love fox shocks but they also get their stuff serviced free. one honest bike shop employee layed it out for me honestly, "the forks are great but you have to have a spare to put on while your other one is being serviced". | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason Tan
a Weekend Warrior
from Auckland, NZ/KL, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Woodhill/Kiara | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$680.00 | | Purchased At: | Adventure Cycles, Auckland | | Strengths: | Not heavy for the amount of travel it's got, very good quality finish (anodized metal knobs, etc), super plush | | Weaknesses: | Paint chips off real easily. No big deal | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi DJIII, Manitou Mars, RST Gamma | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler, Deore/XTR, Julie brakes, cheapo wheelset | | Bottom Line: | Bloody plush fork, especially for someone like me who weighs 130lbs, it's hard to get a long-travel fork suited to my weight. Could only ever get 90mm travel from my DJs but that might have been solved with a lighter spring. Anyway, these forks are super-adjustable; use the correct weight spring and you'll be happy with it. They're not cheap, but worth every cent. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew McCulloch
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas NV.
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Bootleg Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Stuff | | Strengths: | Everything. This fork is super plush, adjustments work, 5" of travel, not too hevy, and looks cool. | | Weaknesses: | Makes a knocking sound sometimes, its just the springs rubing on the spacers. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox and Manitu crap, and Z1 bomber and Durt Jumper 2 | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight, custem built with XT and LX parts. valant rims and avid brakes. | | Bottom Line: | For a 5" travel fork, there is no better on earth. The knocking sound is not heard on the trail just when on the street. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan Smith
a Weekend Warrior
from Rochester
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Covert | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Bottom Line: | This is a update of a previous review I submitted ages ago.
The clunking gets worse but the sticking lock out has eased off, still sticks a bit though!
Overall I love these forks but that clunking really starts to bug you on a long ride. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Cormier
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Springs, CO USA
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | 123bikes.com | | Strengths: | Stiff torsionally, good tunability, not a lot of pedal bob for a 5-incher. Seems more sturdy than RockShox with Tulio Thru-axle. | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox Duke SL U-Turn, Psylo Tulio | | Bike Setup: | Turner 5-spot, SRAM, King, XTR, Mavic, Thomson, Easton, etc. | | Bottom Line: | I have noticed a little noise that sounds like the coil spring hitting the inside of the stantion tubes. It is subtle and doesn't bother me.
I weigh 210 lbs and the Yellow fat boy spring works great for me. I use all the travel on most rides. The sag is correct.
The compression and rebound knobs work well.
This is a great fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Francisco
a
from Monterrey Mexico
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Smooth on the small stuff | | Weaknesses: | To much Flex. Compresses to much when pedaling. Terrible big hit capabilities. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzochi Z1, Minute, Talas 125 RLC, Maverick Fork (the Best) | | Bike Setup: | Foes FXR with the works (Curnutt Shox, tubless tires, all XTR etc) | | Bottom Line: | If you are an aggressive rider do not buy this fork. As much as I tinkered with this fork I could never get to the point where I felt comfortable. I tried different springs and when that didn’t do it I tried different oil weights but I just couldn’t get the feel I wanted. Another thing that annoyed me was that it moved too much under pedaling, you have to lock up the fork, if not you’ll feel your poggoing all over the place. When going through big hits such as jumps or G outs and the fork bottoms out it has a tendency to rebound in a very weird way that it just doesn’t inspire confidence. IF YOU WANT THE BEST TRAIL FORK OUT THERE BUY A MAVERICK FORK. I have been riding this fork for about a month and it’s the stiffest fork I have ever ridden. Imagine a fork that’s as light as a SID but as stiff as a Boxxer. I can climb better on this fork than I ever did on the Fox and descend like never before. If you don’t want to shell out big $$$ then go with the Minute or the Z1 or even the Talas but do not buy a Vanilla. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Neville
a Cross Country Rider
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Plenty available on the secondhand market. | | Weaknesses: | Noise :
These forks have made a knocking sound since new. Sounds like a loose headset, and drives you nuts.
Fox Service Support:
Rebound adjustment broke under warranty. Shipped back to Fox in USA, but they refused to fix them unless I paid for it, even after purchase receipts were faxed over. Eventually I pursuaded them to courier back to me at their expense under warranty, but they still have not been fixed. | | Bike Setup: | Giant NRS. | | Bottom Line: | Seemed good at first until the knocking became apparent, and the rebound adjustment broke. I was disappointed at the lack of response from Fox while the fork was under warranty. This lack of service is simply not acceptable. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
theodore jump
a Weekend Warrior
from austin, tx
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | emma long metro park mx trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Hammerhead Bikes | | Strengths: | Plush, reliable, stiff, tunable, easy maintenance, designed for 7" disc-brake rotors - yay! | | Weaknesses: | slow-speed compression doesn't make MUCH change ( but does make a difference ), lockout adjuster usage usually changes slow-speed compression ( not that this really makes a huge difference ). Possibly develops crown-creak from constant hard use of a Clydesdale like me, original fork developed bad creak after two weeks. Fox replaced uppers w/o qualm very promptly and have over 1000 uninterrupted miles of service since. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Terralogic, Fox Float, Rock Shox, Marzocchi Marathion, FR SL, MX Comp | | Bike Setup: | Titus QuasiMoto 5.9" travel, Vanilla RC rear shock, Vanilla 125 RLC front, carbon stuff, aluminum stuff, CK stuff, big tires | | Bottom Line: | I've been very happy with the fork, changed oil / seals at 6 months usage and found it a lot easier than I expected. I would heartily recommend this fork to pretty much anyone, if they're weight-weenies than maybe send them to the Float.
The "infamous knock" I don't hear any of, but then may that is because I use a fair amount of preload and that keeps the spring pressured? Hard to say.
I got a pretty good price, but the MSRP is pretty dang steep. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Todd
a Weekend Warrior
from Pleasanton, CA
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Adjustability you can actually feel, alot of tuning options. Very tight steering feel. | | Weaknesses: | The knobs are a bit too tight, sometimes moving one will move another one. Not a huge deal... | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox crap | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Tazmon - Risse Astro5 Rear, Fox V125 Front | | Bottom Line: | I love this fork! Works well on my current frame, bought it with the intention of going to a 03-04 Heckler in the future, which it should truly shine on. It does make the popping noise that some people complain about, but its not a nuisance for me at all... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jose Rodriguez
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, Colorado
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Indian Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Janson | | Strengths: | No flex. Maintenance free. No need to adjust stupid levers and knobs | | Weaknesses: | It only comes in black | | Similar Products Used: | Roch shox and Manitous for many years | | Bike Setup: | Sugar and Paragon, good, usable stuff like XT and RaceFace | | Bottom Line: | I bolted this thing to my two bikes and I have never regretted doing so. The best fork ever. Plush, stiff, trouble free, and it works. I like to ride and I hate adjusting crap each ride. These forks were bolted to the bike as they came out of the box and since then I have put the long miles in them and they work as good as the fist day; all I do is keep them clean. I would not consider buying any other fork. I'm giving these forks five flaming turds because I'm as happy as a pig in mud. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from austin, tx, usa
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | street | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | bucksbikes | | Strengths: | very plush with a good solid feel in hard turns. | | Weaknesses: | audible "spring slap" inside stanchion when fork is unweighted. not a big deal though. | | Bottom Line: | this fork is amazing! one of the best i've ever ridden. been working in bike shops for about 8 years and get to ride a lot of different suspension setups. it's very solid in the turns, no noticable flex or stiction. extremely plush on landings. great damping features. the blow-off threshold adjustment makes for great urban sessions.
i know everyone wants to complain about that noise. it's not a big deal. just a little spring slap in the stanchion. an old shop trick to solve this is to find the thinnest diamter innertube you can get and stretch it over the spring. 700c tubes usually work great. this has solved "spring slap" problems in the past. a lot of other of other forks do this too. hope this tip will help others. if you can't handle a noisy coil spring, get an air fork so you can hear the constant sucking noises. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jimmy amaral
a Racer
from gilroy
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Its the best product on the market today. I came off a 6" travel jr.T and was skeptical about it, but after the first ride i knew i made the right decision. I went down in travel and i still got faster! | | Weaknesses: | none. | | Similar Products Used: | marzocchi jr. t | | Bottom Line: | simply the best, no question about it. FOX did there homework and I give them an A+. THERE JUST THE BEST! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tony Rat
a Weekend Warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Coed y Brenin or fast singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Leisure lakes Cheltenham | | Strengths: | Precise steering and very plush from the box, adjustable, different springs included, pretty light, look the business. | | Weaknesses: | Lower leg paint finish flakes easily. Damping could be a bit faster, occasional slight noise over stutter bumps as if there is a air pocket in the damper. None are major. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z1 and Z3's. RS Judy's. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Enduro with Hope E4's & Hubs on 219's, Raceface & XT running gear, Thompson, Easton & WTB components. | | Bottom Line: | I have a 2003 fork and don't seem to to have the problems others have had.
The Enduro front & rear suspension now feel balanced allowing me to go faster than ever before with much more control.
I am far more confident thanks to these forks (and a decent bike behind them). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Weekend Warrior
from Dallas,Tx.
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | My fork came out of the first batch of 2003 forks. I had to wait 3 weeks for it, and it was worth the wait! I read all the reviews below, and have not experianced any of those problems. My fork is still as solid as the first day it was put on my bike.I have ridden it hard 2 to 3 times a week for 9 mos. now, and I am a Clyde at 242lbs. If anyone should screw one up, it should be me! | | Weaknesses: | None,but I could have a complaint if I used the lock out. | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 Psylo SL, One flexy fork! | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Ellsworth Id with all the chi-chi's! | | Bottom Line: | Love this fork, and would buy another in a heartbeat! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
phil rowlands
a Weekend Warrior
from blackwood
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | coed y brenin | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | stif | | Strengths: | extremely plush / laterally very stiff | | Weaknesses: | slightly annoying that using the lockout upsets compression and rebound adjustment - I intend to invest in a remote lockout when available - I here there's one on the way | | Similar Products Used: | manitou magnum r (pogo stick) | | Bike Setup: | santa cruz heckler '03 with 5th element rear shock - 5" front and back. | | Bottom Line: | Haven't had any of the issues seen by other reviewers - no knocking - even after 6 months riding / no problems apart from the one gripe about the adjusters this is one top piece of kit. This fork complements my O3 Santa Cruz Hecker perfectly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David M
a Cross Country Rider
from Eugene ORegon
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | How do you narrow it down? | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Paul's bike shop | | Strengths: | Smooth as butter, lock out, adjustability, tough. | | Weaknesses: | Other than this is an expensive piece of equipment I haven't found any issues, "No knocking" in 3 months of hard cross country riding. The guys I ride with who have this fork don't have any issues or knocking either. So, all is good. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocci Z-1 and Bam Z-2. The Fox compares with my 130mm Marzocci. | | Bike Setup: | 99 Santra Cruz Heckler. Old School now and what a sweet ride. This bike is still getting better and with Stable platform technology soon it'll continue to improve. Hard to justify a Blur or anything else when a ride is this spot on sweet. Anyone looking to save some bucks and looking for a good all mountain ride, pick one of these up on e-bay or some where, custom paint it and you'll have one sweet new ride for yourself. | | Bottom Line: | I think the Fox 125 rocks. I haven't had any knocking or other performance issues though I have primarily ridden in cross country, hard though, in the 4" setting. It's taken my bike to the next level of performance and comfort. I am making more tough technical steep sections, smaller 3.5ft drops, roots, rocks, lava and the like which are out here in Oregon everywhere. Nothing but aces here. I strongly recommend it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$480.00 | | Purchased At: | PricePoint | | Strengths: | Positively none. Well, it is all black....... | | Weaknesses: | knocking that feels like a loose headset. using lockout changes compression setting. | | Similar Products Used: | all of 'em | | Bike Setup: | '03 santa cruz heckler | | Bottom Line: | Fox Forx Sux! The knocking described by virtually every reviewer below will drive you nuts. Fox claims that this knocking is just part of the design - I claim that this knocking is just part of a POOR design. Due to poor quality and weak customer service (i wanted a refund for this crappy product), I have to give this fork the finger. I also give it just one flaming pile, which what this fork really is. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ArrowJumper
a Racer
from Northwest, WA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | FOX | | Strengths: | Smooth as butter until the knocks come out. I pretty much agree with the reviews below. So I will just go off that! | | Weaknesses: | I easily bent my fork (dirt jumping). I do not case often, but when I do I expect my bike to hold up! So I sent the fork in for warrenty. I felt that a possible poor heat treatment of the alloy must have been the cause. I was kinda discouraged about the customer service I received after sending my fork in for repair. They gave in some but the repairs were still expensive. Now, after two full days of jumping the wonderful knocks are back. The knocks are only a nusence, but dirt jumping is best experienced with a silent fork. Such a large company should provide exceptional customer service. The fork is a little weak for dirt jumping. I do not feel Brian Lopes should represent this product. Not unless the company is willing to back it up 100%. Which they are not. My paint chiped alot. I dont care so much about aesthetics except it was due to a poor powdercoat, and the chips mainly happened around the dropouts which made for uneven seating of the wheel axle. I must say other aspects of the forks engineering are exceptional. On another note. During the short time that I raced the WIM series the local Fox racer/product rep raved about how great the forks and shocks are. His bike was set up with a 5th element with a fox sticker. How tacky is that? | | Similar Products Used: | Lots! | | Bike Setup: | First used on a 2003 Bullit....Now it is on an Arrow DSS. | | Bottom Line: | Buy Marzocchi! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Light....for a coil/oil fork with 5" of travel. Strong and smooth. | | Weaknesses: | See the bottom line | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z1 FR | | Bike Setup: | Turner 5 Spot | | Bottom Line: | I just can't give these forks a good rating. I know that they work fairly well, but the negatives are just too much:
1)Knocking. Just like many of the other reviewers here, I noticed the fork knocking after about 1 hour of riding....and it never goes away after that. It's most noticable when the fork is unweighted while climbing a long hill. It sounds like a loose headset. It's enough to drive you crazy. Noise during long, slow climbs is the worst.
2) Compression Adjustment: Activating the lockout causes the compression adjustment knob to turn. Every time you lock the forks out, you change the compression setting....unless you use 2 hands. Who want's to stop to make adjustments every time you want to lock the forks? It takes a decent feature and makes it unuseable.
3) Lockout - The lockout only works in the fully extended position. It's not a defect....it's a feature. The ETA on Marzocchi forks locks down with the flick of a switch...much better.
I wish the forks had worked better. I really wanted to keep the Fox. THat darn knocking was just too much. Add the other issues and forget it.
I ordered a Marzocchi Z1 FR fork. It'll be heavier, but I know it will work better and doesn't have any of the annoying problems associated with the Fox Vanilla RLC.
Bottom line: THe Fox fork is not ready for prime time. Buy this fork if you are a deaf weight weenie that doesn't mind paying for features that don't work correctly.
I could kick myself for not going with the Marzocchi in the first place. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mista Blix
a Weekend Warrior
from Minnestrohta
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Speedgoat | | Strengths: | Clean asthetics and stiff. | | Weaknesses: | Clank, bonk, clunk, bang. Adjuster stack binds. Sounds like it is breaking all the time. | | Similar Products Used: | All of them. | | Bike Setup: | Surly 1x1 (80mm, current), Turner RFX (125mm) and Ellsworth Isis (100mm) | | Bottom Line: | So, I've now run my Vanilla RLC in all travel modes - currently settled at 80mm on my SS.
The thing is clanging like a mother. The damper side has recently developed a nasty clunk about halfway through its travel and of course the left side spring has clanged all along. Oh yeah, the adjuster stack is a nightmare although I do appreciate the lockout on long standing climbs on the SS. Too bad it un/readjusts the rebound and low-speed compression settings every time I use it. Then again, the latter has never demonstrated to me that it does anything other than spin.
Not to totally trash Fox - it is a pretty fork and is stiffer than the pre-03 Z1s, but my new '03 Z1FRQR20 pimp slaps it into noodly oblivion.
Oh yeah, I thought I was smart and cut the plastic shrink wrap off my "red" (heavy) spring thinking it was sloppy QC at Fox. Reading some other posts/reviews this was their apparent attempt to resolve the left side clanging. Seems like a real half-arsed solution to me. Funny, never had those issues on a Zoke.
So, it's bought and paid for but otherwise disappointing. I've never had to do anything other than change springs and oil in my Zokes. This Fox is like an annoying high maintenance girlfriend. She looks good, but you know she's gone in a heartbeat when some that "performs" better comes along.
F80X..???
--Sean | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gordon
a Cross Country Rider
from Magpie, Vic, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Dave's handywork | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Ted's, Footscray | | Strengths: | Oodles of adjustability with the spring pack as well as the dials. Able to adjust everything on the fly which is great when first setting up...eg bottomed out: one more click please... | | Weaknesses: | From other reviews, the knock is normal and it doesn't affect operation, so I don't care about it. Compression lockout works but you don't need it & I hate the concept of accommodating the whingers who think that you lose power through your front suspension...its your pedalling, guys. | | Similar Products Used: | Judy XC, SL, Pilot C (puh!!) | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose Wing Super with a Stiffy. (Me too now that I have this fork). | | Bottom Line: | Adjustability should make it suitable for a wide range of XC riders. The travel issue that someone else found seems weird, I have no problem bottoming out when the preload is low and there are two guys I ride with using the same fork with only praise for it. Serious honesty check for RS & Marzoccchi. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Hood River, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$425.00 | | Purchased At: | Discover Bicycles | | Strengths: | Stiff, stiff, stiff. Plush, plush, plush. | | Weaknesses: | Noise. Inability to get anywhere near 5 inches of travel. | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z-1. | | Bike Setup: | Turner XCE with King/WTB wheels, avid disc brakes, and XT 8 speed parts. | | Bottom Line: | Another rant about this fork's noise. I wish I would have read the reviews before choosing it. Have never gotten over 4.5 inches of travel, either. Lockout lever always dragged on compression dial, so anytime you used the lockout more than twice, the compression dial was fully open.
So, bless Discover Bicycles. They tried and tried to make this fork right. Many calls to Fox (response--what problem), three tries at refilling damping cartridge. Still no luck. Still noisy and somewhat "loose" feeling, even after 50+ hours. Thankfully, they swapped the fork out for a new TALAS RLC which has been perfect, though not quite as plush.
It's sad to see Fox stub their toe on this fork. Such a great company, with such great products, but now they seem to be avoiding owning up to this issue. I rode a marzocchi Z-1 for three full years. All I ever did was change the oil twice a year. It never saw the inside of the shop after I first bought it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Pac. N. West
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Plush, almost infinite adjustability, stiff - on the fly lockout works great and with blowoff can be co-adjusted and used to provide minimal travel. | | Weaknesses: | A little knocking - which is less disconcerting than Marz swishing, spring clanging and rebound clunk. | | Similar Products Used: | Marz - many diff years and models from atom bomb to 03Z1Fr (great forks but time for a rebound damper update) - RS - many diff years and models air and spring (all garbage except the original) | | Bike Setup: | Heckler & Cove Hummer - good components with Fox Forx's | | Bottom Line: | Fox 125 RLC is a very good fork -- if you ride mild to serious technical terrain get one it is the best "suspension worthy terrain" single crown fork available. If you ride S.Ca. fireroads and buff track use a rigid fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pgo
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Great balance of stiffness and plushness. Very little bob on climbs. Consistent. Easy to service, and Fox has been responsive. Comes with multiple springs that allow adjustment of stiffness/travel. | | Weaknesses: | A little noisy, but see below. | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox Duke XC | | Bike Setup: | Superlight | | Bottom Line: | This is a great fork and far superior to my prior RochShox. I too had a problem with the noise, but it turned out that when I changed the spring, I had mistakenly cut off the shrink wrap that is in the center of the spring. Without that plastic wrap the fork was rattling unbelievably. I called Fox and they immediately sent out a new shrink wrap, explained what its for, and explained how to put it on. Simple. I got it in about 2 days. Put it on with a blow dryer. The plastic almost entirely solved the noise. I also note that on some springs, the shrink wrap can rotate off center (higher or lower on the spring--away from center where it should be), which would lead to the same problem. Since I fixed that problem, the fork is working flawlessly and has almost no noise (not as quiet as an air sprung fork, but close). Great fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stuart
a Weekend Warrior
from LA ,CA
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | anything technical | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle johns | | Strengths: | Sucks up a lot of hits , feels really plush compared to other forks in the same travel range . Looks good . | | Weaknesses: | The damn knocking that everyone metions is not a figment of their imagination , I've ridden the thing for close to a year and it's worse than ever . The other thing is that the lock out ( which barely works anymore ) is too close to other controls on the top cap and it's hard to use it without screwing up your other settings . | | Similar Products Used: | RS Pshylo , Mars z1and Shiver DC | | Bike Setup: | Was on uzzi SLX , now on " freeride" hard tail . | | Bottom Line: | I've seriously abused this fork over the last year , huge , steep roll-ins and up to 8' drops when it was on my uzzi and now it gets ridden on the trails almost every day with some night time urban ( lots of concrete flat landings ) rides too . IT HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN !
But , I have to say that the knocking is driving me mad and it does not exactly instill confidence when you are trying to step up to something out of your comfort level .
Still , I love it and after trying all of it's closest competitors I would still buy it over all of them . | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
steve
a
from bellingham, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | 911--RIP 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | stiff and light. also it movement is buttery-smooth right out of the box | | Weaknesses: | that annoying little knock on climbs...same as everyone else. i have 30 hours now on the thing and it hasn't gone away. i have also ordered the red spring, as the stock one is too light for my 195 lbs. i bottom out this thing just riding trails with 1-2 ft drops. | | Similar Products Used: | z1 bomber, man. rx, | | Bike Setup: | heckler, raceface, hayes, xt/xtr, gazz duals | | Bottom Line: | great fork for bombing down trails, but not so much for big drops. go with a qr20 if you are heavy and/or like to go down hill more than up. i like to climb as much as i like to descend, so this was a nice fork for me. however, i am almost 200 lbs and if i was a little more daring, i would've gone with the jrT.
great fork, but problems and the inabiltiy of fox to offer a solution make this a "wait until next year" buy. i hope this helps. and if you figure out how to get the knock to go away, please drop me a note... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gerry
a
from Lakeland
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | This is to correct an error in my previous review. I just noticed I put in 1 year instead of 1 month as the length of use of the product. Actually it is now going on 2 months and I am still having the same knocking noise on every little or big bump I hit. No change in review, just length of use. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GERRY
a
from LAKELAND
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | <
|
$ 519.00
