Submitted by
kymac
a Cross Country Rider
from Windsor Date Reviewed: September 26, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Maybury
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
great travel and response, like the fact that they have the lockout for street riding, durable
Weaknesses:
broke the seal in less than 2 weeks and leaked lube all over my driveway and garage :( - needed to send back to rockshox
Similar Products Used:
marzocchi comp
Bike Setup:
giant XtC
Bottom Line:
great product but i know rochshox have had problems with the DART 3's - great to have but be ready for a turn-in perhaps
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mtbike13
a Weekend Warrior
from Brampton, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: September 25, 2008
Favorite Trail:
all
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Great fork for the money.
Weaknesses:
None yet.
Similar Products Used:
RST Garagabe.
Bike Setup:
Gt frame to much to get into.
Bottom Line:
I put about 500 miles on this fork with no problems. It has never done anything like the others have camplained about. For the money it's been great.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
markatshermanbranch
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC Date Reviewed: September 7, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Sherman Branch
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
REI.com
Strengths:
The only positive I can think of is that it still has a warranty.
Weaknesses:
Apparently a bad batch were made and sent out in early to mid 2008. I've had TWO now that have failed by leaking oil (causing the lockout to stop working, among other things).
The first one failed in under two weeks, and the second one in about 5 rides.
Similar Products Used:
N/A
Bike Setup:
2008 Marin Alpine Trail 29er.
Bottom Line:
I would not consider buying another fork in this series until the manufacturing problems are taken care of.
I've been without my bike for 3 weeks now, waiting for REI to perform a simple warranty repair or replacement. Nobody at all is making any effort to keep me updated about what is taking so long. And hopefully I'll get a brand new fork back, rather than some used refurb job.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
db(UK)
a Cross Country Rider
from Sheffield (UK) Date Reviewed: August 24, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Dark Peaks
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
Leaking oil after 4 weeks :(
Bike Setup:
Pinnacle Peak 4(UK)
Bottom Line:
Try Others, the Shop say this is a Manufacturers Fault& no time frame on when they get the seals, total bobbins
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe H.
a Cross Country Rider
from Bakersfield, CA, USA Date Reviewed: August 21, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Rancheria Rd.
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Bottom Line:
I work in a bike shop and cant stand this fork. I have three very popular bikes with them on it and to say the least, I could rebuild them blind folded Ive done it so many times. What pisses me off the most is rockshox and the bike companies wont send out a recall action notice and to top it off, rockshox wont send me the new kits until after we have a problem so even though I have four more forks with the bad serial #'s, I gotta wait until I get a pissed off customer in the store before I can have them. Im one smartass comment away from cutting the bike frames in half and defecting them all.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Alex Katz
a Weekend Warrior
from Nipomo, California Date Reviewed: August 20, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Cheap, Works well, Lockout, External rebound adjustment, Preload adjustment.
Weaknesses:
Leaks oil, A little heavy, The left fork leg developed a crack, it had never been rashed and only had street riding on it
Bike Setup:
08 Specialized Rockhopper Disc
Bottom Line:
A ok economy fork. if you want a good trail fork, buy it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dajake22
a Downhiller
from Temecula Date Reviewed: August 7, 2008
Favorite Trail:
SuperMan
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$140.00
Strengths:
I didn't like anything about these forks except the price
Weaknesses:
I went through 4 pairs of these forks in under one month. If you go off a drop off bigger than 2 feet these forks will break and leak everywhere. It is worth the extra 100 bucks to buy the rockshox toras i haven't had any prob. witht the toras
Bike Setup:
2000 specialized stumpjumper
Bottom Line:
Do Not Buy
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Fuzzypoodle
a Weekend Warrior
from oregon Date Reviewed: July 28, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
with bike
Strengths:
takes a beating, adjustments
Weaknesses:
have to swap spring to change stiffness
Similar Products Used:
suntour
Bike Setup:
giant xtc 2
Bottom Line:
Great fork thats light for the price range and takes a beating. between rebound lockout and preload you got tons of set up options. The one thing i have found is that with the stock spring it still bottoms out easy. i'm about 135 and i bottom it out regularly. i do thrash on it. doing 3 or 4 foot drops i'm sure isnt what this fork is deisgned for. but i'm about to retire the thing. just waiting for my reba race to arive in the mail. works great on trails. As for leaky darts people complain about. take it to your bike shop and they will put all the new 2009 internals in your dart.
bottom line is: you want a cheap light fork that lasts than go ahead and buy one.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DmitriX
a Weekend Warrior
from Pembroke Pines Date Reviewed: July 10, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Marcham
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Bike Tech
Strengths:
I like the stiffness of this fork, but thats all
Weaknesses:
constantly liking, preload doesn't seem to work, and the only feature that worked ok the "lockout" just broke last week, have not had a chance to take the bike back to the shop, i will soon
Bike Setup:
specialized rockhopper
Bottom Line:
if this fork comes with the bike, i guess there is no way around it, but avoid if possible, i've ridden cheaper forks that had less features and worked well.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
AWG1111
a Cross Country Rider
from La Verne CA USA Date Reviewed: July 10, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Marshall Cyn Webb Cyn
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$190.00
Purchased At:
Roys Cyclery
Strengths:
It seems lightweight and more adjustable as far as rebound lockout, and pre load as other similar priced shocks.
Weaknesses:
I found a pool of oil that had leaked from the rebound adjust one morning. Very disapointing to say the least. I took my bike to the shop where I purchased it and they called SRAM. Apparently SRAM is aware of the problem and sent out a repair kit immeidiately. It still took around 7 business days to get here by ground.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Giant XTC2, SRAM X-7 componants(upgraded from X-5) Hayes Disc Brakes.
Bottom Line:
My bike has been in the shop for 11 days and it is finally going to be ready at 6pm tonight. I ride around 60 mi a week so not having my bike really sux. I would be weary in purchasing this fork unless you know for a fact the repair kit has already been installed. I will post another review once I have tested my shox after the install of the kit.
Happy Trails
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Yield
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto Date Reviewed: June 29, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Seemed to handle light trails fine... while it worked
Weaknesses:
As the last review said, the shock blew on me already. I came to unlock it the other day and found a nice big puddle of oil. Leaking out where the bottom rebound adjustment is. So far I've ridden this about 5% of the time on some light trails and 95% to commute. Pretty weak!
Similar Products Used:
n/a
Bike Setup:
Marin 29er
Bottom Line:
This came on a new Marin I just bought. Thought it would be an ok fork as it had a fair amount of adjustment and came with lockout. Obviously it's another case of get what you pay for. Unless they do a redesign to fix the problem I would stay away from this fork.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason
a
from Adelaide, SA, Australia Date Reviewed: June 3, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$140.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint.com
Strengths:
None so far. I haven't even had a chance to ride on the fork and it is already broken!
Weaknesses:
Massive oil leak below rebound adjust. Rebound adjust pops off when fork is compressed (probably because of all the oil leaking through it).
Similar Products Used:
Suntour
Bike Setup:
Converted Mongoose Otero, with SRAM X.7.
Bottom Line:
Don't buy these forks until this problem is fixed as there is no product support from sram. They have also not issued a product recall. The first 4 digits of my serial # are 50T7... I have read similar reviews about this problem on other forums. The affected forks seem to be dart and tora. The lower oil washer on the rebound adjust side is dodgy and leaks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tenorclef
a Weekend Warrior
from UK Date Reviewed: May 23, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Eston Hills
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Local Cycle outlet
Strengths:
Lots of flex
Weaknesses:
have'nt seen any so far
Bike Setup:
Proflex 455
Bottom Line:
Considerably better than my previous suspesion folks, these ones work. Appear very lively and if i'm on flat roads i can switch off the suspension to solid folk settings. Thats a handy little device to have on the folks. For the price i would expect them to last quite some time. I'll post another review if they don't.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Phil Cash
a Weekend Warrior
from Christmas Island Australia Date Reviewed: March 23, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Taiwan - on Giant MCM D LTD frame
Strengths:
They work as advertised at first, but for how long...
Weaknesses:
The chrome plated (definitely not stainless steel) tubes are very poor quality. Serious rust and pitting has set in after only six months, compromising the shocky seals.
Bottom Line:
While I live in a tropical environment, I would still expect better than 6 months before such poor quality becomes apparent. Warranty support in Australia was neither surprised nor interested in the problem; advising me that Dart3 are the bottom of the range, you get what you pay for, and that their all-alloy forks are $600-700 if I want to order them (as if, after my current experience. Very unimpressive for a fork supplied on a brand name carbon fibre frame MTB.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mythologio
a Cross Country Rider
from Philippines Date Reviewed: November 13, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Light, all options and adjustments are working. good looks and less expensive
Weaknesses:
none so far, i will make another review after a year of use
Similar Products Used:
Dart2 and Dart1
Bike Setup:
BIXS Hardtail for this fork with XT Group '06
Bottom Line:
Perhaps Rock Shox's answer to economic problems here in PI for those who want to have a good quality fork at reasonable price, here's the answer. Install it now on your XC ride.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bernie
a
from Laguna, Philippines Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Bolinao Trails
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Light for its category considering it has stainless steel stanchions, works and functions well.
Weaknesses:
none so far, i will make a review again if ever there will be a cons later.
Similar Products Used:
Reba
Bike Setup:
Haro Flightline Expert '08 see Haro website for the specs
Bottom Line:
For those whose not so in dropping off-bikes, this is one of the best choice on buying fork. Best for race and commuting, a fork that works like a fork not fancy forks. If you're planing to assemble a commuter, or mild ATB bike this is a good choice.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Daniel A
a Weekend Warrior
from Kissimmee, FL, USA Date Reviewed: September 28, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Santos
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
OEM - On the bike
Strengths:
Great shocks, good adjustments, cool features.
Weaknesses:
It's not a high-end shock but it works just great
Bike Setup:
2008 Rockhopper
Bottom Line:
The Dart 3 is much, much better than the Dart 1 which comes on a lot of "cheaper" bikes. You have vital adjustments that cheaper shox lack. It is nice and soft, yet firm enough that you don't bottom out. If you want it stiffer, just turn a knob; you want less rebound, turn a knob. You cannot compare it to a 4 times as expensive FOX suspensions, but for what it is I must say it's the best one out there in it's price class. A lot of people just don't fine tune the springs and may get a less desirable ride. I bought a different firmness spring after i bought the bike to match my weight. The spring kits can be had anywhere for $20-$30 and you can swap it out in a matter of minutes yourself. Once it is set up, me and my friends couldn't tell they were riding a $200 shock and thought it was much more expensive. I would highly recommend, if you have the chance, to go with the Dart 3 vs. the Dart 1. These are also available in 80mm, 100mm (which I have) and 120mm. Overall, i gotta give it the best value rating, however because I know there is better stuff out there (not however in its price range), I gotta go with an Overal Rating of 4.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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