[One Pivot]

MRP stated they have no interest in the end user tuning their forks. Thats a pretty big turnoff for me. At nearly a grand, a fork with no HSC and no tuning seems incredibly far behind the curve. Everyone elses product is setting a pretty high bar for the high end.

Its basically a old coil motion control pike from 2005.

 

[RaymondC]

Its basically a old coil motion control pike from 2005.

I think you might be under selling it a little.

My only real complaint is I wish it was a little more stiff. The stiction in mine was completely sorted with using thicker oils, I'm now running Supergliss 100k.

 

[ungod]

I was told coil service+Chocolux internals+norglide bushings was $140 total.

Curious to hear if anyone else is getting back their Chocolux/Norglide rebuilt Ribbons and has something to say about them.

I think the air forks are $20 more than the coil forks to service.

Mine has been breaking in and it is a major improvement, I'm very happy with it on ride after ride. I rode a new trail in my area recently that was the most technically difficult trail I've ever been on (it was like an unpolished Captain Ahab). The fork was incredible the whole way.

Unfortunately I'll be selling it soon because it's new bike month for me and my new frame is 29".

 

[GT87]

I was told coil service+Chocolux internals+norglide bushings was $140 total.

Curious to hear if anyone else is getting back their Chocolux/Norglide rebuilt Ribbons and has something to say about them.

I don't think those prices are right, unless they're cutting you a deal for some reason. Prices on their website for full coil rebuild + Choco upgrade + bushings is $120 + $40 + $100. When I spoke to them they said the the chocoluxe internals include parts for both the damper and air spring (perhaps it's less than 40 for coil chocoluxe upgrade since it's just the damper?), and they also said that the majority of the striction reduction in the new forks is due to the chocoluxe internals vs the norglide bushings, so they are not pushing people to upgrade the bushings prematurely.

 

[PHeller]

When you pay for the internal/bushing upgrade you don't need to pay for the rebuild because they essentially rebuild the fork when they do the upgrade. From what I understand, they are treating the bushings as a warranty upgrade because of the problems people were having with them.

 

[GT87]

When you pay for the internal/bushing upgrade you don't need to pay for the rebuild because they essentially rebuild the fork when they do the upgrade. From what I understand, they are treating the bushings as a warranty upgrade because of the problems people were having with them.

I didn't realize that, thanks for the clarification. I thought it was $40 just for the parts

 

[GT87]

I was told coil service+Chocolux internals+norglide bushings was $140 total.

Curious to hear if anyone else is getting back their Chocolux/Norglide rebuilt Ribbons and has something to say about them.

I don't think those prices are right, unless they're cutting you a deal for some reason. Prices on their website for full coil rebuild + Choco upgrade + bushings is $120 + $40 + $100. When I spoke to them they said the the chocoluxe internals include parts for both the damper and air spring (perhaps it's less than 40 for coil chocoluxe upgrade since it's just the damper?), and they also said that the majority of the striction reduction in the new forks is due to the chocoluxe internals vs the norglide bushings, so they are not pushing people to upgrade the bushings prematurely.

When you pay for the internal/bushing upgrade you don't need to pay for the rebuild because they essentially rebuild the fork when they do the upgrade. From what I understand, they are treating the bushings as a warranty upgrade because of the problems people were having with them.

I didn't realize that, thanks for the clarification. I thought it was $40 just for the parts

So, I just looked at the service price list on the MRP website again, and it pretty clearly says "Pre-MY2020 35mm forks can opt for the full Chocoluxe™ parts upgrade at the time of service for an additional $40." Sounds pretty clear to me that the $40 an additional fee to upgrade the chocoluxe parts when you're already paying for service. If you're having an issue that they deem to be a warranty issue then yeah you'll probay get your fork service for free, but otherwise I think you're paying for the upgrade and the service.

 

[PHeller]

Whatever.

I was going off what MRP told me at Sedona Bike Fest.

She said coil service + Chocolux + bushings was $140. How or why, I don't really care. That's just what she told me.

It sounds like maybe the bushings get replaced if they are found to be defectively tight, otherwise they are left alone. Hence why I got the impression from my conversation with her that they would replace them as part of the service. In this case that would be a "if necessary" type situation.

 

[GT87]

Whatever.

I was going off what MRP told me at Sedona Bike Fest.

She said coil service + Chocolux + bushings was $140. How or why, I don't really care. That's just what she told me.

It sounds like maybe the bushings get replaced if they are found to be defectively tight, otherwise they are left alone. Hence why I got the impression from my conversation with her that they would replace them as part of the service. In this case that would be a "if necessary" type situation.

Whatever? Is there a problem?

 

[PHeller]

Yes. I'm annoyed that the MRP person I talked to last weekend quoted me a different number than they are advertising on the website.

Then I went and worded some things foolishly that you spent the time to try to correct. That's my fault.

Personally, I'd think the coil version would be cheaper to service as its got less seals. Perhaps less stuff impacted by Chocolux as well.

Per the website and other places they've advertised the Chocolux upgrade, its:

$120 + $40 for coil
$100 + $40 for air

Not sure what's going on with the bushings and if they are being replaced via warranty (if defective) or pretty much always going to cost $99.

It doesn't help that these aren't the easiest dampers to tear apart, so it's probably not cost effective to buy all the parts from MRP do it myself or have a local, cheaper guy do it.

 

[GT87]

Yes. I'm annoyed that the MRP person I talked to last weekend quoted me a different number than they are advertising on the website.

Then I went and worded some things foolishly that you spent the time to try to correct. That's my fault.

Personally, I'd think the coil version would be cheaper to service as its got less seals. Perhaps less stuff impacted by Chocolux as well.

Per the website and other places they've advertised the Chocolux upgrade, its:

$120 + $40 for coil
$100 + $40 for air

Not sure what's going on with the bushings and if they are being replaced via warranty (if defective) or pretty much always going to cost $99.

It doesn't help that these aren't the easiest dampers to tear apart, so it's probably not cost effective to buy all the parts from MRP do it myself or have a local, cheaper guy do it.

No worries. I agree, that would be annoying.

Genuinely not trying to be pedantic or argumentatilve here, just trying to consolidate good info, but the website lists the prices at:

$120 for full coil rebuild, +$40 for chocoluxe upgrade
$150 for full air rebuild, +$40 for chocoluxe upgrade

Yes, bushing replacement is listed as $99. And, if they were deemed defective, I have no doubt that MRP would replace them for free. But, I'm not sure where that concern is coming from... I haven't heard of the fork having bushing issues, but maybe I've overlooked it. Per a email convo with someone at mrp, the new norglide bushings are only a minimal improvement over the old bushings, and that most of the friction reduction that they're claiming with the new forks is coming from the chocoluxe internals. Also, I've been to talking to Craig at avalanche about getting a cartridge damper for the ribbon, and he mentioned that the bushings are not an issue with this fork, and that most of the friction is coming from the damper and spring.

I agree with the original premise of the thread.... the reviews are all over the place, especially in regards to the damper, very polarized. FWIW, I've been super happy with my ribbon air, but I don't have a lot to compare it to, as I tend to dial in and maintain my stuff and ride it for years, rather than demoing and upgrading a lot. My last fork was a XF trace rl2, which was solid but basic, and the ribbon has been a big upgrade obviously. Also got to use a rental 36 grip1 for a whole enchilada day, and it was great but I'd say the ribbon air outperforms it overall.

 

[ungod]

No worries. I agree, that would be annoying.

Genuinely not trying to be pedantic or argumentatilve here, just trying to consolidate good info, but the website lists the prices at:

$120 for full coil rebuild, +$40 for chocoluxe upgrade
$150 for full air rebuild, +$40 for chocoluxe upgrade

Yes, bushing replacement is listed as $99. And, if they were deemed defective, I have no doubt that MRP would replace them for free. But, I'm not sure where that concern is coming from... I haven't heard of the fork having bushing issues, but maybe I've overlooked it. Per a email convo with someone at mrp, the new norglide bushings are only a minimal improvement over the old bushings, and that most of the friction reduction that they're claiming with the new forks is coming from the chocoluxe internals. Also, I've been to talking to Craig at avalanche about getting a cartridge damper for the ribbon, and he mentioned that the bushings are not an issue with this fork, and that most of the friction is coming from the damper and spring.

I agree with the original premise of the thread.... the reviews are all over the place, especially in regards to the damper, very polarized. FWIW, I've been super happy with my ribbon air, but I don't have a lot to compare it to, as I tend to dial in and maintain my stuff and ride it for years, rather than demoing and upgrading a lot. My last fork was a XF trace rl2, which was solid but basic, and the ribbon has been a big upgrade obviously. Also got to use a rental 36 grip1 for a whole enchilada day, and it was great but I'd say the ribbon air outperforms it overall.

My .02: I think it depends a lot on what travel you're running...and, perhaps, how your bushings are sized. On the forums I've noticed a lot of people who are running theirs at 140mm and absolutely love the fork. Mine at 165mm was terrible on small bumps until the recent chocoluxe upgrade.

 

[PHeller]

Yea bushings, or at least stiction was brought up a lot in early reviews.

Like you said though, that might have been due entirely to the internals and not the bushings.

Dare I say it, but there might even be some advantages to drop a GRIP, Charger RC, tuned older Charger damper etc into the Ribbon. The nice thing about an Avalanche damper is that it could be moved to future forks provided the range of travel adjustment in the cartridge is there. That might be my one complaint about the Avy dampers - Craig didn't design them to be swapped between 140mm and 180mm forks.

I have noticed quite a few recently rebuilt and Chocolux upgraded Ribbon being sold shortly after service. You can't help but think that people are still a bit disappointed with the performance, but who knows. Upgrade-itis is quite common in this sport.

 

[Curveball]

Well, at last I got mine out on the trails and can report that the Chocolux made no discernible difference in performance. I wasn't the least bit disappointed before, but the upgrade doesn't seem to have done anything.

 

[unrealityshow]

I've only had one real ride since getting the Chocolux upgrade on my Ribbon air, and the fork feels like crap. I'm at the correct sag, but it feels very harsh, but still dives really badly while braking. It has me thinking about getting one of them new Fox 38s.

 

[ungod]

I've got a few more rides on mine with the chocolux, about a dozen total so far.

My most recent was a 20 mile ride with about 2200ft. of vertical. The final mile or so was on pavement so I was out of the saddle pedaling, and the fork was super sticky again. All of my pedaling was going into the rear shock and the fork was basically locked out.

I store my bike hung up on the wall by the front wheel so the fork is inverted. After a night of bathing the foam rings the fork was back to being plush again.

I think they really need to switch away from whatever oil they're using. If I didn't have a new bike on the way in the next week I'd change the oil to something good.

 

[GT87]

Sound like a setup issue.

 

[GT87]

I've only had one real ride since getting the Chocolux upgrade on my Ribbon air, and the fork feels like crap. I'm at the correct sag, but it feels very harsh, but still dives really badly while braking. It has me thinking about getting one of them new Fox 38s.

Sounds like a setup issue. What are your settings like?

 

[unrealityshow]

Sounds like a setup issue. What are your settings like?

With out the fork in front of me I know my positive spring is at 100 psi and the negative spring is at 110psi. I'm right at 240 lbs kitted up. Those numbers put me right at 20% sag. Rebound seems right, handlebars come up quickly without the wheel leaving the ground. I'll check again when I get home.

 

[GT87]

With out the fork in front of me I know my positive spring is at 100 psi and the negative spring is at 110psi. I'm right at 240 lbs kitted up. Those numbers put me right at 20% sag. Rebound seems right, handlebars come up quickly without the wheel leaving the ground. I'll check again when I get home.

That's a lot of negative pressure... way on the high end of the acceptable range, which could be contributing to the brake dive. I'm curious what your other settings are, and what your riding style and terrain is like. For reference, I'm about 170lbs, run equal pos and neg pressure, 3-4 clicks compression from open, and ramp control in the middle of the range. My fork is supple on small bumps, rides high in the travel, uses full travel and has never bottomed harshly.