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How reliable are Rockshox forks and shocks?

4K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  petercarm 
#1 ·
I have been looking at a 2011 Specialized Camber Elite 29er for about six months now, which is equipped with a Rockshox Recon Gold 29er fork and a Rockshox Ario RL rear shock.
1) How durable and reliable is this fork and shock.?
2) Are there any know issues with them?
3) Where can I get them serviced when the one year warranty expires?
4) Are parts readily available for these suspension components and how fast is the turnaround when they are sent in for service or warranty issues?

I am accustomed to dealing with Fox, which has great customer service-how is Rockshock ‘s customer service?
 
#3 ·
Any bike shop with good mechanics can rebuild a Rock Shox fork with no problem at all.
I'd say any trained monkey can do that too :D

They're unbelievably simple to work on...I have to hand it to RS engineers for making a brain-dead simple component to work on (forks...I haven't had the pleasure to deal on a Vivid or Monarch, but hopefully I can swap someone my RP for a Monarch soon) :D
 
#4 ·
I have used Rockshox fork's for the past 6 years. Every single fork has had multiple warranty issues - Off center lowers, leaking MoCo units, mis-machined disc brake tabs & failed Dual Air piston o-rings. I don't feel the QC is the best period. Dealing w/ warranty repairs is only as good as the relationsgip w/ your LBS. For those w/o a LBS relationship I have found it painstaking to walk into an LBS and tell them to handle a warranty on a fork I might not have purchased from them (online purchase). I will say I like the features and performance of these forks so I guess I'll have to deal w/ the negatives.
 
#5 ·
I love them because they're super easy to work on. Parts can easily be sourced and their are no special tools required.

I've never had an issue with a Rockshox product either but I'm kind of limited to my exposure, only having time on a few Toras and a Pike. I've got a Lyrik I'm about to tear into for a new bike but dont have any ride time on it.
 
#6 ·
Keen,

QC is a lot better now than it was. With the exception of using a Boxxer on my DH bike I was a Fox guy for my trail bike until this year. My Revelation performs a lot better than the 4 Fox forks I have owned and so far I have had no problems.

I have owned 6 Boxxers, 3 pre-motion control :eek: and 3 post motion control. Only the 2006 was a nightmare out of the box.
 
#7 ·
Keen,

QC is a lot better now than it was. With the exception of using a Boxxer on my DH bike I was a Fox guy for my trail bike until this year. My Revelation performs a lot better than the 4 Fox forks I have owned and so far I have had no problems.

I have owned 6 Boxxers, 3 pre-motion control :eek: and 3 post motion control. Only the 2006 was a nightmare out of the box.
I currently have a 2010 Reba which is a great performer but still had to have warranty parts replacement - offset lowers & knocking U-turn assembly. RS warranty is still spotty imo. RS is easy to deal w/ but making the LBS the middleman is problematic.. If you didn't purchase from that LBS get ready for an uphill climb. RS claims you can take a suspension component , that is under warranty, to any shop to handle the warranty claim.... Well RS hasn't communicated that to the LBS / dealers because 99% of the LBS's I spoke w/ didn't feel justified handling RS warranty claims.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks for all of your inputs about RS. I purchased the Camber Elite 29er yesterday and went on a 20 mile ride this morning on asphalt, smooth single track, lava cap and rocky single track and gravel roads with some very rough out crops of lava caps. I need to play with the air pressure and rebound speed on the Reba Gold fork and the Ario RL shock as well as the tire pressure because the ride was a little rough. The rough ride may be attributed to the speed of the bike, which I can’t monitor because I have not purchased a speed and trip computer yet. I will check the sag tonight and speed up the rebound dampening and ride it again tomorrow.
 
#16 ·
i have owned 1 pair of 1997 indy sl's. they worked well for what they were even though they sucked
then iv had had 2002 judy TT's. i like those alot more than any sun tour off a bike from 08+
then iv had a j3sl. that was the best coil fork i even rode. i bought it used for 40 bucks
 
#17 ·
I have just taken my '01 or '02 Trek 4900 off the hanger and am trying mountainbiking here in the midwest. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that there are many trails around and many are very technical. I cleaned up the bike and found that the right side of the fork at the seal had leaked a little and discolored the fork below the seals and stanchion. I wiped it off with goo gone and it looks reasonable good. How will I know if the fork still is performing as it should? I don't know how or if I had ever changed the preset. I'll take it to the LBS if I need to but if there is a couple test or things to look for it may save me a trip.

Thanks for all your help.

Josh
 
#18 ·
I have had 2x 130mm Revelations and a 120mm Reba Team that have been perfect and very easy to work on. Just recently I got hold of a second Reba Team that has had a number of issues:

1. One foam ring was snagged by the seal so it didn't hold oil on the stanchion on that side (sticky action made me tear it down and find the problem)

2. The bushes were evidently installed before the casting debris had been cleaned from the lowers. There is impacted material pushing out the bushing back plate.

3. There is a 1cm spaced regular spiral scratch in the stanchion anodizing underneath the seal and down to the bottom of the leg. This is very fine but can only have appeared from a manufacturing process.

The fork is currently being warranty returned via the LBS. With this mixed experience, I am comfortable that the product is designed well but there are occasional lapses with the QC.
 
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