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Submitted by
Ben
a Racer
from New Mexico
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Signal Peak Race Course | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | A Bicycle Odyssey | | Strengths: | Awesome Fork. No Flex, Great Ride, Tunability, Customer Support, Rolls over objects | | Weaknesses: | Not made anymore | | Similar Products Used: | Indy SL, SID Race, Manitou, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Da Vinci Custom Dual, Action Tec, Dean, IRD, Cane Creek, IRC, DT Hugi, Icon, etc. | | Bottom Line: | Awesome fork, great support from IRD. I don't know why anyone can b**** about the small companies, I've received nothing but awesome products and great support | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterford, Ireland
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Soaks up trail buzz, and large hits | | Weaknesses: | I can't get parts anywhere in Europe | | Similar Products Used: | Judy's and Manitou's | | Bike Setup: | Steel Rocky mountain | | Bottom Line: | I have five thousand miles on my Interloc forks and I still love them. They steer great, they ride even better. 5000 miles with virtually no servicing, I don't think many forks will beat that! The only thing that needs replacing at this stage is the elastomers, unfortunately I can't get replacements in Europe. So if anyone has any ideas where I can get them let me know.
If you want a cross country fork that works really well over virtually all surfaces, and doesn't require servicing, look no further than the Interloc fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brandon
a Cross Country Rider
from seattle wa usa
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | blewitt | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Anti-dive, very little upkeep, simple | | Weaknesses: | weight | | Similar Products Used: | too many, plus the early interloc telescoping forks | | Bike Setup: | Brodie with goodies | | Bottom Line: | This is a great idea and a great fork if you lighten it with the Englunds, however, either I had a "bad" experience with customer support or they just plain suck at it. Whatever the problem I would never buy a product with questionable or non-existant customer help...phooey on them. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BFDeal
a Weekend Warrior
from MD
Date Reviewed: July 2, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Mckeldin | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
It actually works. | | Weaknesses: |
It could be lighter and cheaper, but that's true of almost every well-performing bicycle component. | | Similar Products Used: |
Rockshox, Manitou, AMP | | Bike Setup: |
Obed | | Bottom Line: | I've been waiting to write this until I had a chance to test this fork on a particular trail. I did so today. There is a spot on this trail that always results in a near endo or worse, at least with my last fork. Today, even though I hadn't ridden the trail in many months, I twice rode this spot masterfully. Anyone watching would have thought that I knew what I was doing. So, as reported somewhere below, this fork does go a long way towards preventing endos. It also responds very well to square-edged objects, like roots and rocks that a telescoping fork would ignore, forcing you to lift the front over them to some extent. Objects that might stop you dead at low speed with another fork, you can just plow into with this one. It also does reduce brake-drive. I should mention that I got my fork with Englund air cartridges, an upgrade. Even so, it costs much less than shown above. The weight is also much less. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a cross-country rider
from Concord, Ca
Date Reviewed: September 9, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
When John told me he was designing a fork, I was curious. When he showed up riding the prototype, I was intrigued. When I saw the production version, I was lustful. Now that I own one, I am seduced. There is a noticable increase in stiffness over the Judy that I had been using. The fork truly refuses to dive when I hit the brakes. I am already faster and brake later on downhills (this after riding the fork thrice). The weight of the fork is a mere 3 ounces more than the Judy (I weighed them both), but the TL5 had headset race installed (the Judy did not). The TL5 is plenty supple over the little stuff and takes big hits REALLY smoothly. When you unweight the fork, there is a noticable thump when it tops out, but I can get used to that. However, I have heard that the pivots get loose and sloppy over time, I'll be on the look out. Overall, my initial assessment of the fork is that it is one of the best available. In my mind, it is even better than a Bomber (yes, I've owned one) - so far. The multiple pivots mean that there are multiple opportunities for disappointment. Time will tell. For now, I'll give 5. We'll see if they're deserved. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Unbeliever
a cross-country rider
from
Date Reviewed: December 13, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I don't beleive that a fork can make your ride better
What i believe is that i can help racer fasterFor those who want to know
INTERLOC TL5 was made by the same guy who INVENTED
the Sweet Spot URT designI like it cause it's different
and i like it cause it's lighter than other anti-dive forks
and i like it cause it still looks like a fork | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeremy VanSchoonhoven
a racer
from Williams Oregon
Date Reviewed: December 10, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
My name is Jeremy VanSchoonhoven, I am 15 years old. I have raced as a Junior Expert since I was 12 years old. This last yearI won the 18 and under Junior Expert Oregon State NORBA Championship. Even though I am young, I have done a lot of racing in the last few years. In the last two years I have never found any Product that has helped my racing as much as the TL5 shock made by Interloc Racing of Selma, Oregon. I have had Judy shocks and an Indy shock the last two years. The Indy was a very light SL model. I am a very light rider and hill climbing is my specialty. When I first heard about the TL5 I was concerned because it was 3/4 of a pound heavier then my Indy SL. When you are doing well with one thing sometimes it is hard to try something radically different and new. I was equating good hill climbing with lightness.I can only say I am glad I was willing to break with tradition and try something different. Of course the TL5 ate the down hill alive. It has a non-diving system, that is nothing short of unbelievable. It is ideal for water bars, rough corners, and washboards. When you hit your brakes your front end doesn't dive, ( which not only tends to send you over the bars, but it also eats up some of your travel) instead your front wheel actually moves up and back a little and you roll right over things that otherwise would cause you to endo.The biggest surprise was the change it made in my climbing. The front wheel stays on the ground a lot better with the TL5, so I have more control and can climb faster. I also think becasue the shock is so stiff I don't waste and energy on side to side flex.The last surprise was how much it improved my riding on rough level surfaces. The shock is so efficient that I can stand up and hammer over the rough sections and still have more control. I actually shift my weight further over the front of the bike and just hammer away. I was very happy as a smaller rider to find myself catching the bigger riders on the rough flats.It's kind of funny to see this shock work. You can be riding along thinking this course isn't very rough, then you look down and see your shock working overtime. And the cool thing is you didn't even notice the course was rough.Going from the Judy shock to the TL5 reminds me of when I first went from no shock to a Judy. And I thought I had reached mountain bike heaven when I got my first Judy. I guess, we do learn from experience. It's time for a whole new generation of shocks and it's the TL5. Thanks so much for letting me sound off about this shock. And a special thanks to Interloc Racing for making my riding even more fun!!! And that is the reason I race. Thankfully,
Jeremy VanSchoonhoven | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a cross-country rider
from Gilroy
Date Reviewed: October 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Better than a Judy, Stiffer than a Manitou Ti, but not as stiff or compliant as a Girvin Elite. Compare it to the latest Girvins (K2's) and it's no contest, the Girvin wins hands down. The Interloc was a bit skitchy in tight singletrack and seemed to turn in, oversteer. Quite a bit disconcerting to say the least. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pete
a cross-country rider
from Groton
Date Reviewed: October 20, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Let us all bury the cult of the telescopic fork by repeating after me..Interloc! Interloc! Interloc! Stop the madness, if you ride and ride hard, I mean technical, rocks that'll swallow your bike, monster logs, power climbs on hills that have so many rocks it looks like acne, downhills on loose shale and rock with wet roots thrown in your butt hanging on the rear tire, and your motto is 'Speed kills', for the love of mercy buy this fork! I haven't endoed in a month, I'm so confident with fork, I've cleaned dropoffs at speed my RST with 4.5 can't do! She climbs like a maniac, I'm not forced to keep the front on the ground cause it's not coming back at me, It's stiff, it's supple without the'dive' plush forks are known for, it never never never never dives...not on drops, not on logs, not under braking, it's like a ginsu knife...hell buy two! Seriously, this fork is fun, and of all the forks I've ridden, this is the only one which does everything I've always wanted a fork to do. Nough said. Five stars. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a cross-country rider
from Connecticut
Date Reviewed: October 8, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
This fork rules! I have tried them all. Judy, Bomber, Manitou,
nothing even comes close. This fork never dives. You can ride down
anything. The best proforming cross country fork ever.There was a mistake with the fork when it was shipped. Interloc
promptly took care of the problem and I was on my way.I highly recomend this fork to anyone that rides cross country.
Great proformance, great company, and the fork looks cool!
What more could you ask for. Buy one now! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
alex
a cross-country rider
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 2, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I should sum up this product by saying that front suspension has been changed forever. This fork is incredible.
The Interloc TL5 fork is a trailing link linkage fork which doesn't dive.
Hear that, Judy users? It NEVER dives. The brake mounts to the trailing link facing the down tube. This allows the fork to use the wheel's momentum to slightly extend the suspension and voila: no dive, ever. If you've ever ridden a sickeninly steep, rockstrewn descent with the brakes on full, you may be able to appreciate this. If you're a physicist, you may be asking yourself if this anti-brake-dive thing makes the fork inactive. Well, I thought about this, and after riding it for a few weeks, I can say no. The bump force is still somewhat greater than the brake's extending influence on the suspension, so the fork can still absorb hits while not diving. Unbelievably super cool.The fork is suspended by elastomers with a novel damping system which requires no cartridge, leaky or not. And it works. This system was designed by John Castellano who you all know for inventing the Sweet Spot suspension system and the infamous Ibis BowTi pivotless suspension frame. My fork is fully active on all size of bumps. I've ridden telescopers and they have their problems. If they're super plush, they dive too much. If they're elastomer-based, they're good for small hits and that's it. Regardless of their damping and spring configurations, they still dive, so there's no question.I've used linkage forks like the AMP and the Lawwill Leader3. These have been the most functional forks until now. The trajectory of the axle allows them to step up and over bumps (to gobble them) which allows you to smash into square-edged objects and roll right over them. This is a great trait. The problem with these forks lies in set-up. These forks tend to be slow to start working i.e. they don't always work on small bumps. If they're set up to absorb small bumps, then they dive too easily. If they're set up to fight the diving then they're too harsh. Catch 22. At around $600US, it's in the upper price range, but then again, what good fork isn't? Look at an AMP F4, White SC90, Z1, SL, etc, all in the same price range.
Look at the SL, which is lighter out of the box. Crappy elastomers, crappy cartridge make a light, but crappy fork. To make this telescoper perform properly, it needs springs and cartridge. Once you add those things, the fork isn't light or cheap anymore. The others, they dive. At $600, 3.9lbs, J-trajectory and it doesn't dive, it's a steal.The Interloc is simple, maintenance free and effective. It still has the J-shaped trajectory and so far, its ability to step up and over bumps is very good. It's like the world's first functional fork. ANYONE looking for a fork which finally works should look here. It's made in the USA by the same folks who first mass-produced sidepull brakes and dual-clamp seatposts (idea stolen by Syncros). Don't think this fork isn't refined. It is the most beautifully crafted fork i've ever seen. The machining and forging is first-rate. Smooth finishes and a beautiful grey powdercoat complete this fantastic fork. Don't buy into the telescoper hype! If you know you bike parts and choose function over form and popular opinion, then get this fork!!!
Use your brain and get a killer fork. There aren't too many of these around so you better act fast. I got mine through Cambria mailorder.This is the best thing i've ever bought for my bike. ever. Except for my custom frame, I would easily trade anything off it for this fork. It rules.
Five chilies isn't enough. This fork is the holy grail. | | Overall Rating: |
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