|
Risse
Racing Gem Cartridge
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Good Damping | | Weaknesses: | As far as I know it is not compatible with newer Judy forks | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox plastic and alumninum damper cartridge | | Bike Setup: | 1992 Specialized S-Works Steel
1994 1" Threaded Judy XC
75mm travel Risse GEM Cartridge, BelRay 10wt oil
White Brothers Springs 1-blue/firm and 1-red/xfirm | | Bottom Line: | Risse has great customer service and the cartridge is very easy to fine tune by changing the oil weight.
I've been riding on this cartridge for over 7 years and while the bike gets fewer miles these days, the Risse cartridge continues to perform. I have a brand-new, never installed warranty replacement Rock-Shox Judy cartridge in my bike-parts pile and it has leaked more oil sitting in a drawer than the Risse has in the last 4 years of riding.
Great niche product. If you have an old Judy (94-97 or so) and find one of these on eBay, snap it up.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nic Huffman
a Cross Country Rider
from Raleigh NC USA
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | roller coaster/ rocky road/ newlite | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | bike shop bills | | Strengths: | durable, simple to rebuild, smooth, adjustable not just in theory | | Weaknesses: | its not free | | Similar Products Used: | i work at a shop, so i get to ride a lot of stuff | | Bike Setup: | litespeed hardtail under 200 lb rider. ~97 judy sl frankenfork with rockshox type 2 coil/elastomer springs | | Bottom Line: | i bought one of these almost as soon as they were available-- maybe 5 years ago. i had broken a plastic Judy cartridge, and then an aluminum one. i serviced the gem damper for the first time in 4 years yesterday. it had leaked maybe 1/4 of its oil probably due to loose fork bushings (and magura rim brakes that can visibly flex the fork). the inside still had perfect black anodizing on it and the seals looked new. rebuild only took snap ring pliers, 5wt oil, and a 2mm hex. i am really impressed with the durability of this unit. it has held up perfectly for 4000 miles and counting. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
shanedawg
a Weekend Warrior
from san jose, ca
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | soquel demo | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | wide range of adjustability, reliability | | Similar Products Used: | stock cartridge | | Bike Setup: | Bontrager hardtail / 97 Judy XC with speed springs | | Bottom Line: | Risse Cartridge improved the ride dramatically and increased travel at the same time. I got the 75mm version and love it. I got mine on sale for a great price but it did not come with the parts for the other leg. I went over to the risse shop and they fixed me up with the missing parts for a great price. Great service and great product! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Skillet Onemangang
a Cross Country Rider
from Maryland
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | CJ Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Greatly improved damping, adjustability, and added travel to my fork. Significantly improves performance on small stutters (roots) as well as big hits. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Judy damper, Englund air | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Vertex TO with Judy SL | | Bottom Line: | Risse customer service was second to none. They gave me tuning advice and helped with the initial set-up. When I did have a problem, they replaced the GEM with no questions asked, no receipt etc. Made a great performance improvement. After sending back my 4th set of Englund air cartridges (loved the performance but they'd always leak), I decided to opt for performance AND reliability. Thus, speed springs with the GEM and the fork is greatly improved and doesn't leave me riding a rigid bike back to the car like the Englunds often did. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark b
a Cross Country Rider
from albq NM
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | lots of em | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | design, adjustability, | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | original damper | | Bike Setup: | s-works ultimate w/ carbon fork xtr | | Bottom Line: | this cartrige will make your fork much more versatile. The adjustment range is quite good, and the performace increase is dramatic. (in my case). Also my first rebuild was free.(they need to be sent back for rebuild) $20 bucks after that, and it only took 5 day turnaround both times. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
lil Judas
a Weekend Warrior
from Boston
Date Reviewed: November 26, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
all of them | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
easy install, great tech support, 1st quality craftmanship | | Weaknesses: |
none so far, maybe could use knob for damping instead of an allen wrench, but that is trivial. | | Similar Products Used: |
just the stock crappy Judy cartridge | | Bike Setup: |
Mountain Cycle San Andreas w. '97 Judy SL (soon to be replaced with a 5travel fork) | | Bottom Line: | I got the 80mm kit and it feels so much better than the stock Rock Shox cartridge. At first it felt a bit stiff but it settled in after a few rides. Also got the WB Judd springs in there as well. It feels very close to my Z2 Bam now - plush, full travel. Takes big hits without the harshness and bottoming/topping out like the stock internals. The Risse guys have awesome tech support and are very helpful, which is a rarity these days. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sam
a Weekend Warrior
from Menlo Park
Date Reviewed: March 23, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
Skeggs | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Effective, plush, reliable | | Similar Products Used: |
Judy cartridge | | Bike Setup: |
97 Judy with Speedsprings | | Bottom Line: | Very Cool. First if was Speedsprings but after four (!) blown Rockshox cartridges, I had enough. This feels better than the stock cartridge ever did. No more pogo, I'm hydraulic! Easy installation too. The guys at Risse are first class. | | Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 100.00
