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Home | Product Reviews | 2004 Front Shocks | RockShox Pilot SL | ||||
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Submitted by
Brian
from Frederick, MD
Date Reviewed: 4/26/2006 4:54:42 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | Came stock. |
| Strengths: | Plush on the downs. Adjustable rebound. |
| Weaknesses: | Bobby on the ups. No fine adjustment to rebound. Plastic (as opposed to aluminum) top caps. Schrader air cap didn't thread well for me. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Up'd to Marz MX comp eta. |
| Bike Setup: | i-drive |
| Bottom Line: | Good fork for entry level or folks who are new to suspension'd mtbs (as I was). Seemed to require a lot of air adjustment and attention toward the end of its tenure. In my op, not the type of fork to purchase, but the type to come stock. |
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Submitted by
Nathan
a Weekend Warrior
from Kentucky
Date Reviewed: 11/16/2005 7:49:37 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | came on bike |
| Strengths: | Price Surprisingly it's not broken in half yet |
| Weaknesses: | FLeXy sticky unreliable inconsistant |
| Similar Products Tried: | Marzocchi |
| Bike Setup: | KHS team softtail, hayes hfx, XT, etc. |
| Bottom Line: | Okay, I'll try to be nice. For starters, if you have an air leak and a u-cup air seal, it needs to be replaced under a recall. That stopped my air leak almost completely. Now, my list of qualms with this fork is nearly endless. The only lowers I have felt that were flimsier was on a 1999 Jett. Yeah. Just cruising down a trail, you can feel the fork shimmy and deflect this way and that. I lowered it to 80mm to see if it would improve this, but alas, my problems persisted (I weigh 170 btw). The legs are very sticky. This fork is faaar from plush. It almost feels like it has a pedal platform, but it doesn't. The only time that it felt fairly smooth was when one of the upper bushings slipped from the lowers. The next problem I have with it is the rebound damper. On small bumps, it does not work. The fork just harshly tops out with an unsatisfying clunk. The adjuster knob also stripped out the bottom of the plastic damper and now if I want to change the damping, I have to dissassemble the whole fork. This fork has spent almost the same amount of time on my workbench as on the trails. Through all of this, it has somehow managed to live 2 years now, and has outlived one frame headtube. This has been the only part I have owned that I pray breaks. It hates me so much, it still refuses to grant me this. As much as it pains me, I have to give it at least 2 flaming turds for this reason. |
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Albuquerque, NM
Date Reviewed: 9/14/2005 7:37:54 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Foothills Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | Came with bike |
| Strengths: | Don't know of one. |
| Weaknesses: | The shock broke at the dropout on a paved forest road. I hit a bump and flew. |
| Bike Setup: | Diamondback Apex |
| Bottom Line: | Don't use this shock it could kill you. |
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Submitted by
Estiaan Ferreira
a Racer
from Molteno,South Africa
Date Reviewed: 5/29/2005 9:51:43 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | Probike came with bike |
| Strengths: | None except Lockout that does'nt work None further |
| Weaknesses: | In for a service after 2 long rides. Cluking sounds on each bump, rock. Weight.Leaks air Flexy |
| Similar Products Tried: | Rock shox judy tt |
| Bike Setup: | Raleigh RM 5.0 |
| Bottom Line: | This is a S%#t fork I do not recommend it to you. This is A k@k fork that does'nt do his job |
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Submitted by
Ryan Hansen
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: 2/12/2005 12:42:44 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Mission Trails |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | OEM |
| Strengths: | Not too heavy. Smooth rebound. Has enough travel (100mm). Not expensive. GREAT VALUE! |
| Weaknesses: | Absolutely none!! |
| Similar Products Tried: | RockShox Judy SL |
| Bike Setup: | Diamondback Apex. |
| Bottom Line: | This fork is great. It does everything it is supposed to. I've had no problems what so ever. |
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Submitted by
tyler
a Weekend Warrior
from forest grove, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: 1/30/2005 10:20:50 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $200 |
| Strengths: | Good Travel when it has full air. Must have full air for the stiffness to allow good control. |
| Weaknesses: | Blown seal twice, this has spent more time in the shop than on the trail!!! GRRRRRR!!!! Wouldn't recommend this to anyone my size, 210lbs. This fork can't hold the pressure rating at the PSI I need. |
| Bottom Line: | This fork has been a series of frustrations and near misses for me. I am out on a great ride and the seal blows, I loose all my air and the rest of the ride is scary because of the washout from the fork. I have had the seal replaced and took it home, pumped it up for a ride the next day and the seal blew in my garage. Not a great thing. Don't buy this shock. |
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Submitted by
Reed Ellis
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: 12/1/2004 6:16:06 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | fantasy island |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | OEM |
| Strengths: | This fork is great. It is plush, and very adjustable and very easy to adjust via the air pressure. This was my first air shock, and it is much more sensitive to small bumps than my old coiler. |
| Weaknesses: | none that i can find, except for maybe it loosing maybe 5 psi at the end of a rough ride at my favorite trail. thats what a shock pump is for though. this was expected because my LBS told me about it, so i will not knock off any chilis. |
| Similar Products Tried: | this was my first air shock |
| Bike Setup: | 2004 Trek Fuel 80, Yeti Grips, Panaracer Tires |
| Bottom Line: | I only weigh 125 lbs, and i hae the shock set up at 130 psi. I loose very little to no air after rough rides, maybe its just because i'm so light. The fork is good over small jumps, drops, and excellent over rough, choppy xc terrain. i love the fork and see no reason to upgrade. once again, i believe my light weight has alot to do with why all my parts last so long. If your a lighter rider, this fork is an excelent choice. |
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Submitted by
Kevin Ballou
a Cross Country Rider
from Bronx, ny
Date Reviewed: 11/19/2004 11:49:13 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Blue Mountain |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $900 |
| Purchased At: | Jenson USA |
| Strengths: | Worked good for about 3 months, made tons of noise. I took the spacer out to bring it to 100cm travel,worked good for about 2 months. If you are a moderate rider the shock might last longer, but if you want a shock that can take a beating this is not it. |
| Weaknesses: | Seal's dont last shock leaks oil like crazy, and constantly needs air. I would not recommend this shock |
| Similar Products Tried: | Manitou XC |
| Bike Setup: | KHS 504 |
| Bottom Line: | Shock not built well and will not last if you ride aggressively on a regular basis |
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Submitted by
Kona Schultz
a Weekend Warrior
from Denver
Date Reviewed: 8/2/2004 6:41:36 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | All |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $999 |
| Purchased At: | Performance Bike |
| Strengths: | Smooth Ride, long travel |
| Weaknesses: | Required rebuild at 50 miles, loses about half of it's air after a single ride, blew oil all over the shock. This occured not only on my bike, but my wifes as well! The shocks were 2 months old. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Rock Shox Indy |
| Bike Setup: | 04 GT iDrive 2.0 |
| Bottom Line: | These shocks are absolutely worthless. DO NOT BUY, unless you mind frequent rebuilds, and replacing air after each ride. |
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Submitted by
Andrew
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: 5/6/2004 10:24:18 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Cost, travel, adjustable, not a bad performing fork for the cost, damper adjustment and air assit feature that ACTUALLY works. Easy to service and maintain with right tools. |
| Weaknesses: | Weird clunking noise that comes and goes under compression (loose spring?). Air assist lose air in short time. Seal on compression side leaked since first ride! |
| Similar Products Tried: | RS Judy XC 2002, Manitou Scareb Comp, 2003 SID Race, Cannondale H/S Fatty 80 |
| Bike Setup: | Came stock on a GT Zaskar Expert 2004 |
| Bottom Line: | Had moderate expectations for this mid level fork and it didn't excel or disappoint, since this fork is basically a 2002 Judy XC with new chromed upper legs, new crown and lower sliders - the internals are identical meaning maintenance will be easy. Been used to riding the old 96 Judy DH so the first time I rode the Pilot I thought it was way too plush - actually mushy - yuk! Noticed tiny amount of oil on the stanchon tube (compression side) which indicated a leak. Compared to Judy DH which refused to budge unless you hit something sizeable, the Pilot was way too active, especially when doing out of saddle sprints. Solved this by pumping the fork up but then it lost ability to absorb small bumps (Just like RS Mag 21!) but not a problem for general XC riding and urban thrashing. Weird clunking noise (sounds like spring banging against leg internal wall) under compression that comes and goes. Only managed to get 90mm travel even after big hucks but at least it doesn't bottom out easily. Rebound adjustment feature handy and actually makes a big difference but the plastic dial lever is just a cheap part waiting to break. New crown design rigid enough and tracked accurately with almost no brake induced flexs. Overall an adequate fork for what you pay for. Good for morderate weekend XC trail works but if you are planning to go freeriding, get something else like a Sherman or Psylo - even the ancient Judy DH will do a better job than Pilot if you plan to go hitting trail hard and fast. Good for budget conscience but if you want better and can afford to, go Fox RL. |
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Submitted by
Stevie
a Cross Country Rider
from Belgium
Date Reviewed: 3/25/2004 1:12:00 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | Well it do is a fork and the looks are okay. |
| Weaknesses: | May I kindly draw your attention to the fact that all the pilot and judy crap has chromed steel upper tubes. Now what does this mean in practice.... THEY CORRODE!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Bottom Line: | I'm not trying to prevent you from bying this fork, but hell no, I would never buy it again. I also sent an email to RockShox about this problem, but apparently they didn't even feel like they had to answer this email. So byebye RockShox and hello Manitou |
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Submitted by
Wim Bonami
a Weekend Warrior
from Belgium
Date Reviewed: 2/11/2004 3:37:13 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Local forest |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $320 |
| Purchased At: | Trek 6700 |
| Strengths: | -Adjustable rebound -80 to 100 mm -does what rockshox sais it can do |
| Weaknesses: | For the riding i do it's ok, but i guess that if you want to do more serious riding you need a "biger" fork. |
| Similar Products Tried: | manitou sixsport (with ancient:-) materials) |
| Bike Setup: | Full deore, bottom bracket XT, BBB handlebars, magura louise, sram x.0 shifters, bontrager tubeless |
| Bottom Line: | Great fork, does the job for you everyday rider who doesn't jump from buildings. Very nice for XC en some freeriding, but don't go to hard on it because it might bottom out when you come down tò hard. But everything is adjustabele, rebound and airpressure, so it is virtualy impossible to bottom out except when you put to little pressure on it! Clear manual for the fork and the maintenance is very simple. Air pressure adjustment via the top of the fork, beneath a cap. --> Easy to clean and adjust, great for riding! |
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