|
Eko Sport, Inc.
Total Air (Englund)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Tom Page
a Cross Country Rider
from York, Maine
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | web | | Strengths: | Simple, light upgrade, adjustable, cheaper than a new shock. | | Weaknesses: | Unscrewing caps to remove air shocks is difficult. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Klein hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I replaced the old beatup elastomers in a Rock Shox Quadra 21R fork with these Total Air shocks, to keep my bike going a couple more years. Still only have 2-3 inches of travel, but air shock works much better and the fork is still almost as light as a top end XC racing fork. I used a little less pressure than recommended for my weight in the instructions to get the right setting. I found I need to take apart 2-3 times per year to clean and lube up with slick honey so everything works nicely, depending on how much riding I do and how much mud I've gone through. I have not had not had any problems losing air. These may not equal a modern suspension fork, but are a good value upgrade if your bike isn't worth a new fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Eko Direct | | Strengths: | Rebuild your fork to better-than-new specs, for minimal cost and labor. Smooth and quiet! ("CLINK" is caused by improper installation.) | | Weaknesses: | You'll have to buy a shock pump, which increases overall cost. Also, I wonder if they'll be discontinued for my older shock before I'm ready to retire it. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Manitou SX | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail Marin with Manitou SX | | Bottom Line: | Overall, this was a great investment. It enabled me to clean out the greasy, slimy, obsolete elastomer-based guts and replace with a very clean pair of air cartridges. An air spring is so much better suited for its purpose than elastomer stacks were.
Installation seems a bit tedious, but simple in hindsight, and I could do it in 1/3 of the time if I had to do again. I actually enjoyed doing it as an evening project over a beer.
A rider complained below of a rebound "CLINK." I strongly suspect he set it up improperly. My first pass thru installation I also heard a clink, but quickly discovered a major install error, described as follows. There are 2 Eko air cartridges, each having an axially movable rod. The 1st cartridge is inserted into the first slider (lower, outer portion of fork leg), and the 2nd cartridge is inserted into the 2nd slider. The rod of the 1st cartridge is secured to the lower end of the 1st slider with a bolt passing thru a small hole in that slider. The OD of the rod is larger than the ID of the hole, so the rod cannot pass thru the first slider. However, the second slider has a much larger hole diameter -- large enough for the rod to pass through. You are supposed to thread a large nut onto the 2nd rod BEFORE you insert the 2nd cartridge into the 2nd slider. The nut has a larger OD than the hole ID, so the nut serves as a stopper to prevent the rod from poking out of the hole. Finally, a bolt and washer secure the rod to the second slider from the outside (the washer has a larger OD than the hole ID). PROBLEM: If you don't follow the directions exactly, it is tempting to incorrectly position the large nut on the *outside* of the 2nd slider. In that case, any time the fork compresses, the rod simply sticks out of the hole on the 2nd slider, and upon rebound, the large nut smacks into the slider, causing a "CLINK" sound. This is BAD - you are getting no spring action from the 2nd cartridge, because it is not fully secured to the 2nd slider. You must remove the cartridge from the slider, install the large nut onto the rod, and THEN insert the cartridge into the slider. Hope this clarifies things a bit! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Largo, FL. USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | TotalAir website | | Strengths: | Infinitly adjustable for all riders. Easily serviced. Simple yet strong design. | | Weaknesses: | I don't thin there are any. | | Bike Setup: | Trek Y3, RS Judy XL converted to air, Cane Creek AD-10 | | Bottom Line: | An excellent way to breath life back into an old fork and the perfect way to set a fork up to meet YOUR needs. I have done everything from agressive street riding and stair decents to pavement to singletrack and and very rooty trails and the fork just soaks it up. 4 inches of very useable travel and the best part is you can fine tune your ride. If you want fast compression and slow rebound, you can do it. No more guessing which springs you should order and then not being happy with the performance. You have INFINITE ADJUSTABILITY! I put the bike up for a year and when I came back to it, I tore the front and rear shocks down and cleaned them and regreased them and they were like brand new. The little pump I bought with it is annoying cause the knob wants to unscrew but some glue will fix that. I would definitly recommend to anyone with an old spring internals fork that doesn't want to buy a new one. These cartridges rock! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Elk River, Minnesota
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Lebenon, STP | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | Total Air web sight | | Strengths: | Holds air
Easy to install
Easy to maintain
Light weight | | Weaknesses: | Inconvenient to adjust | | Similar Products Used: | Judy XLC with stock hydra coil
Manitou black | | Bike Setup: | Giant Warp, Sun rims, Avid mechs | | Bottom Line: | These things work pretty darn good. I was a little skeptical after reading the last review, but I am pleased overall. My fork was very sloppy with the stock oil damping. After installing the Total Air system it really came to life. I don't have any top out noise what so ever. The top out springs are twice as long as the stock ones and they do a great job of controlling the stroke on the top end. I don't bottom unless I come down from something really hard, and when I do is is a relatively minor event. This fork feels much better that my stumpjumper with a manitou black elite, and that is a decent fork. I would recommend this upgrade to anyone whose fork is older than 2 years or so to bring it back up to date. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SGT. ROCK
a Racer
from Grande Cache, AB
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Strengths: | Easy installation
Don't leak
Increased travel
| | Weaknesses: | Harsh top-out | | Bottom Line: | I really wanted to like this product, and initially I did. Replacing the guts of a '00 SID XC solved two problems with this particular fork - air leaks and lack of full travel. In its original form, the SID never got more than about 60mm of travel, even though it was set up in the 85mm mode. The Eko cartridges allowed for full travel, and the stroke was very smooth. The SID was also a real pain to pressure up - very difficult to get the proper psi due to inconsistent loss on pump disconnect. Again, the Total Air solved this problem.
Riding this rebuilt fork for a couple weeks was disappointing. With proper air pressure, the top-out was severely annoying. There doesn't seem to be any rebound damping at all, so you get this constant clunking resonating through the front end of the bike. Eko instructions say reduce the air pressure to solve the problem - sorry, that only reduces the severity, the top-out clunk is still there. As soon as the fork is unweighted, CLUNK... Also, reducing the pressure enough to significantly reduce top-out makes the spring rate too soft, and fork dives into the initial inch of travel too rapidly. There is no preload adjustment to compensate for this.
With good forks available for around $200, paying $110 for this product is stupid. I ended up retiring the SID and buying a new '03 Manitou Black Elite, which is what I should have done to begin with. The ONLY reason to use Eko Total Air is to keep an obsolete fork alive, if you have no alternative. Otherwise, invest your money in a new fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Tahoe Vista, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow up to an earlier review - as suspected a few miles of riding has apparently worked all the excess grease out of the air valves. Now there's not a hint of stiction, just smooth supple travel. This is an upgrade that's starting to grow on me - I think I may postpone my Marzocchi purchase for a few months and just pounce on these guys for a while. I'd still like to see a little less negative (top out) spring in mine - the TA spring seems a bit longer than my OEM. May actually try running stock spring on one side and TA on the other (ala Marzocchi MX) just to see how it goes. Four burnin turds and a solid recommendation for TA. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adirondack Blues
a Cross Country Rider
from Albany, NY
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | All of them! | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | ekosport | | Strengths: | Light, fairly straight-forward installation, fairly easy to adjust. Turned my tired old Judy C into a great handling fork! I love it! Much cheaper than buying a new fork! | | Weaknesses: | You have to remove the cartridges to adjust compression damping. Instructions left a little to be desired- I ended up using the top-out rod and springs from my existing 2002 Judy C and combined them with the total air cartridge- removing one Judy spacer to get 100mm of travel. It took a little fiddling, but I figured it out. | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing similar out there! | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Trek 4900 (whats left of it), Rhynolites, Shimano 959s, Avid mech discs, Total Air Judy C, titec stem, bars, Koobi Au Enduro saddle, SRAM/Shimano drivetrain, blah, blah, blah... | | Bottom Line: | Got a Judy? Get Total Air! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Tahoe Vista, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | TC-Watson Lake-Western States | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld | | Strengths: | Light, inexpensive. | | Weaknesses: | Fragile bits and pieces, stiction. | | Similar Products Used: | None-this is a one of a kind product unfortunately. | | Bike Setup: | Trek VRX; Race Face crank and BB, Shimano XT cass; Judy XC 100mm; Fox Float R, Panaracer Fire XC; misc bits and pieces | | Bottom Line: | Where to start. . .the instructions leave a bit to be desired. The installation process is such that if you get into trouble (no fault of TA), you'll likely need a bit of mechanical savey to get through. The control rod spacers in my kit didn’t fit into the tops of the stanchions without my chamfering (beveling) the corners and flat filing the outer diameter a bit. Had I tried to force them, they’d have cocked and bean a bear to get out. The diameter reducing ferrule that goes into the bottom of the sliders is tricky. It’s a press fit, so you have to get it down in there with the provided spoke without it being cocked in the hole, as the "press" part comes from the final assembly step. Be very careful screwing the cartridges into the tops of the stanchions. If the threads are dirty or you cross-thread they’re trash. Metal stanchion threads vs plastic cartridge threads – guess which loses. Give yourself a couple of hours and lots of space to splash hydraulic fluid around. Haven’t had much of a chance to ride them yet, but they’re very sticky on initial inspection. The stock internals were way smoother than the TA. Took the carts out and put about 20-30 lbs in each and worked them by hand to see if it was the cartridge or the fork internals. It appears to be the cartridges themselves, and I could hear them spitting grease through the damping valves with each large motion. Could be that this will clear itself with a bit of break-in. Once you’ve inspected the parts of the kit, you’ll understand why they’re “affordable”. Might be nice to see an upscale version without as much plastic. Bottom line – good bang for the buck in terms of adjustability, but I’d upgrade the whole fork if I had it to do over again. Marzocchi, here I come. . .or maybe if I sell my truck I could afford a Fox F100X. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tallboy
a Cross Country Rider
from New Orleans
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Total air website | | Strengths: | Light, strong, easy to install, price | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Fuel 80 replaced or rebuilt everything but the frame. | | Bottom Line: | Out of all the crappy components Trek put on the Fuel 80, the Rock Shox Judy C was the worst. I did not have the dough to put in to a new shock so this was the logical answer. It took me 3 hours to rebuild the shock. I went from 80mm to 100mm of travel. I have not serviced the shock at all since installation. Sounds lazy on my part but I have not had any problems with it. I do have to put air in it every so often, but that is every three months or so. Plush movement through the stroke and soaks up everything. I would recommend for those with the budget in mind. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Downingtown, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Bottom Line: | Put these in a Rock Shox Quadra 21R on my hardtail. The old elastimers were crumbling in there and wanted to extend the life of the bike. Used regularly for a year. And now that bike is my backup. Without this upgrade, the bike would be useless. Made the shock better than it was when it was new. Now it wasn't the best shock to start with, but if you want to get some more life out a an older shock, the Total Airs really do work. I did spend a little time fiddling and they seemed to work better after being broken in. A little stiction at first. A little messing to get the pressure where I wanted it. But for a low cost upgrade, it does do everything advertised. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jon
a Cross Country Rider
from Providence, RI
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Direct from Ekosport | | Strengths: | Adjustability, No Stiction, Smooth | | Weaknesses: | Topping out, durability | | Bike Setup: | '01 GT Avalanche 1.0, Judy XC, Avid Mech. Disks, XT drivetrain, Sun Ringle wheelset | | Bottom Line: | I bought this upgrade because my Judy had NO damping after a season's riding. Ordered online from EkoSport website, which needs to be fixed (call them on the phone if you want to order direct, saves time.) Installation was super easy, but make sure you check the condition of your dust seals and bushings. I used the recommended setup for a 170lb rider, i.e. #2, 5 turns out, 150 lbs of air, and it felt amazing. The difference between this setup and my old Judy springs was like night and day, now I can actually steer when I'm descending steep, gnarly sections. Sounds good, right? It is, for cross country riding. After three days of riding I had gained enough confidence in the fork to try some moderate drops. The FIRST one I hit, a little 2.5 footer, caused the fork to bottom out hard. I may occasionally not be the smoothest rider out there, but this wasn't much of a drop. I heard a crack, but the fork still worked and I rode for another hour. When I got home, I pulled the cartridges out to make some adjustments and I found that the little plastic cap on the bottom of the spring cartridge had turned into lots of little pieces and fallen into the bottom of the fork. What's worse, the cartridge on that side was leaking air pretty bad. I called EkoSport and they sent me a pair of new spring bodies and bottom caps for free (Under Warrantee). They were curt but helpful on the phone, and they sent the parts right away, but it still meant a week without riding while I waited. It seems like when the springs bottom, the cartridge body actually pushes the bottom cap off of the slider when the cap hangs up on the O-rings in the cartridge. I don't want this to happen again, so now I run the #2 dampers at 3 1/2 turns out with 155 lbs of air. It tops out with a clunk now, nothing bad, but I'm going to increase the rebound damping to try to fix this.
The bottom line is this: If you ride XC and need a relatively low cost fork upgrade, this is a great way to go. If you're a freerider who likes to wing off of jumps and ledges and such, save your allowance money and buy a beefier fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Walter Guan
a
from Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | Hmm... | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Bikepro (LBS) | | Strengths: | Super smooth! Super light! Cheap! Adjustable... | | Weaknesses: | I did not get robound damper adjustments(It came built into a judy race). The black thingie inside which wears out fast. | | Bike Setup: | SD Mag w/XT levers! | | Bottom Line: | Woot! I have a 3 pound Judy! That has got to be something!
No rebound adjustmens but med was just right so its ok. This gotta be one of the smoothest riding fork. It is way adjustable and a gr8 upgrade. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
berryboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Aptos
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | Wilder | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | transformed a Judy XC, weight reduction, cheap compaired to a new air fork | | Weaknesses: | noisy and harsh topout (returned to LBS), customer service | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | old Rockhopper A1FS, 00 Judy XC, Thudbuster, Mavic 517, XT, Wildgripper Comp S Lites | | Bottom Line: | Transformed the handling and had to adjust to the much lighter front end when climbing. I really wanted to like this upgrade, but returned to the LBS because I couldn't live with the top out clanking. My frame rang like a bell during climbs. After LBS troubleshooting and two unanswered emails to Eko it was back to the store for credit (and a "I told you so" from the proprietor). Too bad. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chad Winslow
a Cross Country Rider
from Sumner, Wa
Date Reviewed: December 11, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | cut your bars | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | super smooth, adjustable damping | | Weaknesses: | i have to pump it up once every few weeks, but after four years, it's not a whole lot to complain about. | | Similar Products Used: | '98 Sid | | Bike Setup: | '98 S-works hard tail, all XTR with '98 Sid. Chris king/517 wheels | | Bottom Line: | well, the bottom line is, i bought the '98 sid, thinking it would be cool, then i realized that it doesn't have adjustable damping, and you have to order a new damper from rock shox according to your weight. well since i weigh a bit more than 160 lbs, i decided to get the englund (Eko) kit. so now i have adjustable damping, and another 20mm of travel (80 instead of 63). overall the product was a snap to install, easy to set up, and all I have to do is pump it up once every other week or so. I've owned the product for about four years, and have not had a single problem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tall boy
a
from New Orleans, LA
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$117.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | Very light weight, cost, and ease of installation. Smooth, plush travel. | | Weaknesses: | Requires routine checks, which should be done with any other shock any way. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Trek fuel 80 2001, syncros hardcore headset, rock shock judy C, Maxxis larsen: mimo front, tt rear, cane creek AD5 shimano hubs, bontranger, rims saddle post handles | | Bottom Line: | I was looking to upgrade from a subpar product and did not want to spend outragous amounts of cash. Besides the great reviews the upgrade just made sense. Low cost and i could add 20mm to the 80mm my judy offered. Plus I could do all the work myself. If something goes wrong I know whats in the shock and don't have to spend time at the shop. As far as performance is concerned well I have never had something so smooth. I ride XC and have been known to kick it up with the bmxters around New Orleans. Weather its flying through the woods or dropping five feet of the loading docks in the wharehouse district the Eko system has performed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
EiA
a
from Asheville, NC
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | Great way to give your old fork a little more life! Excellent when you need a new fork but don't have the cash.
| | Bike Setup: | OOOOOOOLD as dirt Judy xc. When did they come out? '96? '97? | | Bottom Line: | Just make sure you tighten them in the fork leg very well. Once I was riding with a friend who also had the Englunds and one shot out of its leg and popped him in the throat! Another time it missed the target but we spent a half hour looking for it in the leaves after it shot over his shoulder. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Karl Brookes
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Yorkshire Dales | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Mail order | | Strengths: | Easy instalation into Rockshox Judy Race 2001 model. Good range of adjustability | | Weaknesses: | Even with all this adjustment they either spike or bottom out. Noisy topping out is also a major problem, where is the damping? | | Similar Products Used: | Psylo Race 2002, Pace Pro Class 2, Judy Race, RST Mojo Comp. | | Bike Setup: | GT Zaskar Frame, XT Chainset, XTR V Brakes, Carbon bars, USE XCR seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | Save your money and buy a decent pair of forks. Just changed mine for the Pace Pro class 2 fork and there is no comparison. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bubba
a Weekend Warrior
from Valparaiso, IN
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Westville | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | bikekeworld.com | | Strengths: | plush, easy to maintain | | Weaknesses: | can't adjust on the fly | | Similar Products Used: | speed springs, different mcu's | | Bike Setup: | Trek 930 (steel is real), Mavic rims, xt rear der., SRAM front der, Gripshift | | Bottom Line: | I was doing the once yearly greasing on my RST Mozo when the top caps shattered. Well, thanks to mergers and buyouts, I couldn't get replacement parts. I went down to my LBS and bought a Manitou SX-E, basically a bright yellow pogo stick, for $80. I then got the Total Airs. Installation was a little difficult because it's hard to take some of the parts you need of the Manitou stock compression rods. Once they were installed, I was in love!
I weigh 190 lbs and run them at 150lbs, stock rebound, and slightly plusher compression damping --which took all of five minutes to adjust. They rarely need air, and make my bike feel like new again. I ride trails with lots of exposed tree roots and switchbacks, and I feel like I'm riding better than ever. Usually on my first ride of the season, I feel like I'm gonna cry or hurl, but not this year!Of course I was racing indoor bmx all winter, so I stayed in better shape. A SID quality fork for $160!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
CalMTB
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley, CA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | bikeworld.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, very smooth. Makes my front end much lighter. Wide range of adjustability is great. Because the whole kit is self-contained, once you install it, you can simply forget about it. | | Weaknesses: | ??? Perhaps it takes a bit of time to get the performance dialed to your specific needs. Also, 90 bucks can be a bit expensive (but worth it!) | | Similar Products Used: | None. Just old '01 Judy TT coil springs with no rebound dampener. | | Bike Setup: | Spez Hardrock converted to single speed. Riser bar, Avid levers, ZuZu flatform pedals. Otherwise, stock parts. | | Bottom Line: | Great product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Harlan
a Cross Country Rider
from Apex, NC
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | New Light | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | All-Star Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Easy Installation, Approximately 4 ounces lighter than previous setup, 2002 SID SL now weighs an honest 2.75lbs. | | Weaknesses: | It no longer has a lockout, however, I never used the lockout when it was available. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou SX Carbon with Total-Air. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 FSRxc Pro | | Bottom Line: | I was dissatisfied with the performance of the 2002 SID SL and decided to purchase another fork or an upgrade. I decided to upgrade since it was cheaper. The fork now has 85mm of usable travel rather than a claimed 80mm from Rockshox. Fork travel feels more like a White Brothers fork, buttery smooth. The weight savings of 4 ounces adds icing to the cake. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matt
a Racer
from zion
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | anything single track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | the bike shop i work for | | Strengths: | ??? haven't been able to ride it yet | | Weaknesses: | The kit that i ordered was really jacked. i received the package and it didn't include any instructions. it was like building a model airplane. finally go it all together and it felt as though it was bottoming out. | | Similar Products Used: | judy sl(2001) | | Bike Setup: | xt er thing | | Bottom Line: | If your going to buy this pay attention to the packaging. Other wise kudos to Total air for their great help so maybe ill be able to race some time this summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Priester
a Cross Country Rider
from Virginia Beach, VA
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeworld.com | | Strengths: | Ease of upgrade
Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Check air pressure about every two weeks to be sure. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock and upgraded elastamers on my '97 Judy T2 | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale, LX drivetrain, WTB rims | | Bottom Line: | This was my situation, my C-dale is an older M500 that has a 1" steer. I bought it as a rigid fork and paid &^*% trying to get a suspension fork. A LBS pulled a T2 off a trade in and gave it to me for $75. Now I have suspension but it's a stock Judy. I upgraded with some elastamers that a friend had but there wasn't much difference. Getting an entire new rig was out of the question after I bought a road bike. After reading the rave reviews I took the chance. I have not been disappointed. I'm a solid 200 and using the stock setting on rebound and 175 lbs of air. I'm in heaven. Five solid Chilis for both. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bobby
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat.com | | Strengths: | plush ride, easy to tune | | Weaknesses: | leaks air over time | | Bike Setup: | Homegrown FS w/ 98 judy. | | Bottom Line: | I could not believe the difference from my old judy to these. Oh the years wasted on those old pogo sticks... I got the long travel kit and added a little more travel and at the same time I took off just over half a pound of weight. All I can say is that if you have a crappy rock shock get these, sure I have to pump them up every week or two, but it is well worth it... for the plush plush ride.
Quality gets only 4 for the small air leak....
Value gets 6 for turning junk into a new fork for under a $100 bucks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Osos, CA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$106.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bicycle Outfitters | | Strengths: | Easy installation and tuneability. | | Weaknesses: | Top caps look cheap. | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 FSR Enduro with Judy Race forks set to 100mm, Hayes hydraulic brakes, XTR rear and Fox Float shock. | | Bottom Line: | I love my bike, but hated my forks. The original springs were to soft and changing compression or rebound seemed impossible. I purchased heavier oil and new springs wich only made my forks hard and worthless. I wanted new forks, however I did not want to pay the money for what I felt should be an easy fix. I purchased the Total Air system unsure of what to excpect and I love these things. The initial setup and installation was easy. I pumped the forks up and realized I finally had forks that worked. The travel was smooth and consistent throught the stroke. I would have taken my bike to the trails that minute if it wasn't raining and dark. I have now trail tested my forks and have had no problems with leak down or performance. If you have Judy Race forks and you want them to be almost a pound lighter and work this product is for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom Rabinek
a Cross Country Rider
from Garland, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Rowlett Creek Preserve | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$165.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World.Com | | Strengths: | Inexpensive. Good instuctions if you take your time. The compression and rebound damping realy works great. | | Weaknesses: | Outer shell of cartridge and the part that screws into the shock crown is plastic. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | 96 Specialized Ground Control A1 Comp (soft tail) with various upgrades inclueding this one. | | Bottom Line: | I bought this upgrade based on the almost overwhelmingly positive reviews on this site. So far, I have not been disappointed. My 97 Judy XC was fine when it was new but it had seen it’s day and at 215 lbs I had beaten the life out of it. I longed to upgrade to a SID but didn’t want to spend $450-500 so I took the Total Air gamble. I took my time with the upgrade and was very careful to follow the step by step instructions and take note of how the shock comes apart and how the upgrade works. I got the Oil Bath kit and did it at the same time. I am using the recommended settings for my weight. I did the whole thing in one evening. I added some red Lizard Skin boots because the stock black rubber boots were too small with the added travel from the 85mm kit. The Lizard Skins add a classy look to shock and are easy to remove for cleaning. I am a older rider and don’t do some of the crazy jumps that some of the younger riders do, however, this shock upgrade has given me the courage to jump some 24" logs that I would never try with the stock Judy. I have had no air leaks and I run the shocks at 190 psi. Time will tell if this was a good long term solution but so far I couldn’t be more pleased. Total cost of the upgrade including Total Air 85mm kit, Oil Bath kit, shock oil, Lizard Skins and high pressure pump was $165. I am giving the upgrade 5 Chilis for the price and performance but I am holding back one in the overall because of the plasic parts. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Endo
a Racer
from Studio City
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Plastic parts are probably recyclable when you finally get rid of these. | | Weaknesses: | Read on | | Bike Setup: | Kona Ti hardtail with 98 SID | | Bottom Line: | After 6 months of use I regret purchasing these. There's stiction despite the oil bath kit, which leaks. There's a clunk at the top of the stroke despite reinstallation, different compression damping settings and air pressure. The long travel springs gave me a whopping 2mm of extra travel. I should have just paid to replace my worn damper instead of installing these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rod
a Cross Country Rider
from sunnyvale,CA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | bike world | | Strengths: | Brings an old Judy back to life | | Weaknesses: | False hope for a dead '96 Judy XC | | Similar Products Used: | '96 Judy XC | | Bike Setup: | '96 StumpJumper M2 with many XT upgrades | | Bottom Line: | I bought this product because of how (almost) everyone swoons over these. My experience with the upgrade on my '96 Judy XC has been less than bliss. The long travel (72mm) reverse travel springs do virtually nothing to stop the topout from sending a shock right into your hand grips, even over the mildest of bumps. I contacted eko sport and their suggestion did nothing (they did not offer me a softer spring, though this might solve the problem). The short travel (63mm) springs do not have this problem, but then you are robbed of 9mm of travel. The stock travel of this fork was 60mm, so every extra mm helps. I have not been able to get my upgraded fork to eat washboard or big hits as well as the original guts did at 25-35 mph. (I found that the Judy did not come to life until 20+ mph). So I now have a plusher fork, but I yearn and still fiddle for that blend of pressure and damping that takes me where I want to be at 25+mph. Maybe this is too much to ask for a fork with only 63mm of travel. My rating reflects my experience with my fork, so I give it 3 chilis due to my mediocre experience with the cartridges. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mat Wintzer
a Cross Country Rider
from San Luis Obispo
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | ridge trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bike | | Strengths: | Price versus buying a new shock, weight, reliability | | Weaknesses: | No on the fly adjustability, not always compatible (see bellow). | | Similar Products Used: | Rock shocks Judy SL 80mm | | Bike Setup: | Gt idrive 3.0 | | Bottom Line: | Rock shocks gave me a Judy with stantions that are about 5mm longers than standard. This made my upgrade shocks too short. After talking with the engineers at Total air for three days, they sent me some custom springs (for free) that made the kit work perfectley.
This upgrade rocks if you have a Judy and want something better that won't hurt your back pocket too much.
Total Air rocks and Rock Shocks SUCK! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
astro nomenoff
a Weekend Warrior
from uk
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | UPDATE: EKO sport sent me a pair of upgraded barrels and pistons. Virtually the whole shooting match! All I had to do was swap my air caps over and reinstall. The ultimate in customer service, they even paid $4.00 for airmail. The only criticism is of the UK customs, they took 10 days to clear the parcel. To be fair though it was the festive season, I suppose all those gifts took precedence. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
astro nomenoff
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | North Yorks Forest Park | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World, San Antonio, USA | | Strengths: | Ease of fitting, improved performance over stock, weight saving. | | Weaknesses: | quality of materials (plastic components), cost of extender pegs. | | Similar Products Used: | Rockshox RS1 (stock), Manitou 3 (with Englund rebound damper), RST Mozo 4.5 (total poo), Lawwill Leader 3, Rock Shox Judy XL (twin crown) - poo in stock setup. | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS, RS Judy XL twin crown, Deore cable discs (not burnt in yet). | | Bottom Line: | I ordered them from Bike World in USA, 'cos they were the cheapest - only took a week and cost £82 inc postage. Compare that to £105+ in UK shops ("Bad ISON distribution! In your bed!").
I purchased the twin crown fork "extender pegs" in the UK and regretted it. £9 for two plastic rods is a huge ripoff.
Here's the measurement of the rods: 180mm long by 20mm diameter. I'm sur |
|
|
$ 90.00