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RockShox Bar

Average Rating 2.4/5
# of Reviews 10
MSRP $
Weight
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Description:
  • Adjust: Positive air pressure via Schrader valve
  • Damping: Hydraulic with IFP
  • Shaft Material: Steel
  • Body Material: Aluminum





Submitted by chris lindstrom a Cross Country Rider from kennesaw, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2007
Favoriate Trail:stanley gap
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Price Paid: $1.00
Purchased At:free flite bicycles
Strengths:cheap
Weaknesses:can't hold air, bottoms out too easily.
Similar Products Used:n/a
Bike Setup:trek fuel 70
Bottom Line:this shock sucks. There's not enough travel, the thing bottoms out if you're 180 lbs plus. I ended up having to pump it to 130 psi so it wouldn;t bottom out, and it ends up not doing anything for me.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:1

Submitted by mad max a Cross Country Rider from Poland
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2006
Favoriate Trail:many
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Purchased At:OEM
Strengths:reliable, dependable shock, got some potential in it
simple but adjustable
no wear after 7000 km (good riding conditions)
Weaknesses:squeaking mounts in the first 1-2 months, solved
it could be more comfortable...(hey, it's cheap)
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:Cube full suspension
Bottom Line:I got almost what I wanted with this damper (bike, exactly). Rear suspension is greatly increasing the comfort of ride, and this shock helps with it. Of course there is some bob present, does not soak every bump, but the difference between susp. and hard tail is overwhelming. It works perfectly when it has to deal with rather not sharp and big obstacles, landing from 50-60 cm is not a problem. You can still stick your a** to the saddle and it will go through rocks, steps, roots, but you will feel them and it's not for a job like this. One more thing, damping slows down at low temperatures, below -5 to -10 °C you got semi-full-suspension ;) (not a fault though)

Adjusting of Bar is easy and affects it - pumping up the + chamber makes shock harder (and bike higher), at maximum pressure you got almost hardtail with no bobbing. Rebound adj. also works well, from really slooooow return to very quick. I have ±8 atm. pumped (middle of range) and rebound fully open - nice riding with some "energy loss" b***s**t :)

I give rating 4/5 but it should be 4.5/5, this is a good stuff.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Adam D a Cross Country Rider from Victoria
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:Rebound Cycle, Canmore, AB
Strengths:low maintenance / no troubles. I usually forget about it.
Weaknesses:See other reviews. probably does not adjust as accurately or move as smoothly as a high end shock.
Similar Products Used:none.
Bike Setup:Rocky Mountain Element 30
Bottom Line:I have had the same good experience as the rider from Bath, U.K. When buying my bike I asked my dealer if the cheaper shock would be a problem. He said with the Element suspension design it would not be. He was right. I am glad I did not pay an extra $1000.00 to get the Element 50 with Fox. I will spend the money to upgrade my front shock instead.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3

Submitted by Ash Kuehn a from Houston
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2006
Duration Product Used:3 months
Strengths:Non expensive rear shock that does what it says it will
Weaknesses:Broke withing 2 months
Bike Setup:Trek Fuel 70
Bottom Line:This shock works for what it is made for. Do not expect a smooth plush ride or a fast rebound. Im rating this shock poorly because the shock broke on me and I do not care for products that break within 2 months of buying. I started noticing the pressure going down and bought a shock pump to air it up. The shock would not hold air for 10 minutes, after a few times up pumping the air valve broke off. The good thing is Rock Shox is buying me a new one.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Colin a Weekend Warrior from Bath UK
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2006
Favoriate Trail:Quantocks
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:Came with Bike
Strengths:Simple to set up and easy to maintain. Lightweight.
Weaknesses:I am on my second one of these. The first was a bit sticky which caused the bushings to wear out prematurely. It also used to make squelching noises. When I took it to my LBS to get the bushings replaced. They decided it was faulty and sent it to the distibutor who sent a new one back. The new one is smooth and quiet. The shock is not user serviceable.
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:RM 2004 Element30 with a with a reba race, fizik Gobi saddle, sram shifters and everything else stock.
Bottom Line:I weigh about 175lb and run the shock at 160. The Rocky Element is essentially a bobless design so I don't require anything particularly sophistcated in terms of a shock.
I test Rode a Trek fuel70 and The BAR does not work well with the Trek frame design. It is a shame that the BAR is getting a bad rep beause of the TREK.
The BAR works just fine when matched to an appropriate frame design.The current incarnation the 2.1 is smooth. This is a good unsophisticated shock requiring only the simplest of maintainence(take out valve core and squirt in some fork oil once a month). Anything more than that requires that you get it serviced by the pros. If you want to do your own shock service then this shock is not for you.
Would I buy another one? Maybe. I'd like to try the cloud nine on the Element first.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:3

Submitted by David Martin a Weekend Warrior from Ridgecrest, California, USA
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2006
Favoriate Trail:any tecnical, fast, downhill
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Purchased At:came on the bike
Strengths:Compression cycle is nice, weight, no stiction, smooth ride, great for trailriding and some crazy stuff.
Weaknesses:A few break-in problems (Slow air leak, really annoying squeak, came with no lubrication whatsoever, etc.) The only adjusment is air pressure, no anti-bob feature, rebound is kind of slow.
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:'05 Iron Horse Warrior Pro, 75mm stem, Answer alumilite bars
Bottom Line:It works. All of the problems I've had were fixable and haven't been a problem since. Perfect for any trailrider/downhiller who is not made of money. I wouldn't buy it if I were thinking about racing cross-country (get the Bar Adjust instead, it has lockout). There is a bottoming resistance feature which is good for drops, and it has a rebound cycle if your worried about getting shot over the bars, you can fill it over 200psi and won't blow out. I've had some pretty hard landings that felt like jumping off a sidewalk. I'm not thinking about replacing it for a while.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by RUSSELL ORRELL a Weekend Warrior from CANBERRA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2006
Favoriate Trail:Mt Majura
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $100.00
Purchased At:Riide Shop
Strengths:softens travelling over gutters , nothing else.


Weaknesses:everything a shock should n't be. Trek cut corners to sell this bike using basement quality rear shock.
Bike Setup:FUEL70 Replaced crappy fronManitous with Marzocchi shocks
XT driveline{replaced 8 speed gear}
Avid rim brakes Gobi saddle
Larson TT tyres Mavic rims
Bottom Line:avoid disappointment avoid rox shocks My mtb racing associates use Fox shocks and don't complain about them. Going to buy a fox soon.
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by tom a Weekend Warrior from pocono pa
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2005
Duration Product Used:3 months
Strengths:None
Weaknesses:Very stiff, came stock on a Trek 70, hard to adjust.
Similar Products Used:Several Fox shocks
Bike Setup:Trek Fuel 70, Race X-Lite Wheels
Bottom Line:Came stock on Trek Fuel 70 I bought used. Fuel is great bike, other than the Rock Shox. Really tough to adjust, they tell you don't run it lower than 100psi...well at 100psi I have practically no travel (145 lbs). run a real low pressure to get travel the bike rides terrible on the flat. I have owned a Fuel before with a Fox shock and it was much easier to adjust. I am going to change the shock next spring. Rock Shox is a total piece of crap. I realize it's a low end shock but come on...it's just crap.
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Hui Chuen Chuang a Cross Country Rider from Penang, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2005
Favoriate Trail:anywhere
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Purchased At:came with bike
Strengths:looks good, light, the seal is good
Weaknesses:almost as hard as rock even for an 80kg person like me on the roughest terrain
Similar Products Used:none
Bike Setup:2005 Trek Fuel 70, Manitou Axel comp TPC lockout
Bottom Line:i can never finish the 3inch travel...i jumped from 2 feet and still feels hard when i land... my fuel 70 felt like a hardtail on rough down hill sections of the trail...
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Fernando a Weekend Warrior from Fremont, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2005
Favoriate Trail:Mammoth Mountain
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Price Paid: $89.00
Purchased At:Ebay
Strengths:Removes the weekness of a URT design bikes (the bouncyness) with rebound control. The shock works when its needed and works with you, not against you.
Weaknesses:None
Bike Setup:Modified Trek Y3. front and back Avid ball bearing disk brakes. Brake Therapy conversion. Preformance Terra Max rims. Zokes Air shock Forks 4" of travel. Sette shorty stem. and ofcorse Rockshock Bar rear shock.
Bottom Line:This shock will take out the weekness of most dual suspension bikes.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5






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