S
Superslinky
Guest
My new Ibex Apogee XT came with a RockShox Duke XC and it never worked right. It topped out harshly
from the first minute I sat on the bike. I have been corresponding with RockShox support and I have
to give them an A for effort. They have answered all of my e-mails within hours and get this: they
let end users do their own warranty work on the guts of the fork. They say it is to get their
customers to be more active in maintaining them. The RockShox rep diagnosed the problem with only my
brief description. I had a bad damper assembly. I had already taken the fork apart once to change
over to 15w oil in an effort to get more damping with no effect. They sent out a replacement part
within a few days, but alas it is the wrong one. So I get to see if they will continue their no
questions asked warranty policy and send me yet another part.
Now I don't want to jump onto the **** RockShox bandwagon that is so much in style now, especially
with the 13 year olds at MTBR, but I was surprised at how under engineered the damper assembly is.
The damper is basically a plunger with an o-ring that bolts to the lower leg and sloshes through an
oil bath in the stanchion tube. So far so good, but the top of the plunger is a plastic assembly
which is only press fit onto the damper rod. I have nothing against plastic, but there is no
retaining clip, no lip on the rod, no kotter pin, only some knurling in the damper rod to keep the
whole thing together. The friction between the knurling and the plastic assembly must resist the
friction of the o- ring and the force of the oil working against the damper for the life of the
fork. What were they thinking? No wonder mine failed, and I'll bet mine isn't the only one, although
most riders do seem to be happy with the Duke XC.
So, I'm kind of fed up with having a crippled bike. I don't know how this repair is going to work
out--for all I know there may be a defect that causes this fork to eat damper assemblies. I will
continue to work with RockShox to get this fork into shape, but in the meantime, I am going to buy a
Marzocchi or Fox and relegate the Duke to some future frankenstein project. It would be a good fork
for a hardtail second bike. So anybody want to jump in with recommendations? I am eyeballing the
Marzocchi MX Pro ETA and the Fox Vanilla 125RL. I want to go coil instead of air for a plusher ride
and generally less headaches. I don't care about the extra pound I will carry around over a XC air
fork. Oh, and I really don't want to shell out $500 or more. I am leaning toward the Fox since you
can choose the amount of travel without buying an extra kit and it comes with a choice of springs in
the box. It also has over-sized stanchion tubes for extra stiffness. OTOH, the Bomber is less
expensive and probably in most ways equal to the Fox. Some people like the action of the Marzocchi
better. Both of these shocks are in stock at JensonUSA. And before anyone says anything about
supporting the LBS, believe me I tried. There is hardly a bike shop in the Midwest that has a
mid-level suspension fork in stock. I called over a dozen shops within a 4 hour drive and none of
them had anything close to what I wanted. When I asked where I would get a Fox or one of the better
Marzocchis, about half of them said 'on-line'. I kid you not. Any comments appreciated.
from the first minute I sat on the bike. I have been corresponding with RockShox support and I have
to give them an A for effort. They have answered all of my e-mails within hours and get this: they
let end users do their own warranty work on the guts of the fork. They say it is to get their
customers to be more active in maintaining them. The RockShox rep diagnosed the problem with only my
brief description. I had a bad damper assembly. I had already taken the fork apart once to change
over to 15w oil in an effort to get more damping with no effect. They sent out a replacement part
within a few days, but alas it is the wrong one. So I get to see if they will continue their no
questions asked warranty policy and send me yet another part.
Now I don't want to jump onto the **** RockShox bandwagon that is so much in style now, especially
with the 13 year olds at MTBR, but I was surprised at how under engineered the damper assembly is.
The damper is basically a plunger with an o-ring that bolts to the lower leg and sloshes through an
oil bath in the stanchion tube. So far so good, but the top of the plunger is a plastic assembly
which is only press fit onto the damper rod. I have nothing against plastic, but there is no
retaining clip, no lip on the rod, no kotter pin, only some knurling in the damper rod to keep the
whole thing together. The friction between the knurling and the plastic assembly must resist the
friction of the o- ring and the force of the oil working against the damper for the life of the
fork. What were they thinking? No wonder mine failed, and I'll bet mine isn't the only one, although
most riders do seem to be happy with the Duke XC.
So, I'm kind of fed up with having a crippled bike. I don't know how this repair is going to work
out--for all I know there may be a defect that causes this fork to eat damper assemblies. I will
continue to work with RockShox to get this fork into shape, but in the meantime, I am going to buy a
Marzocchi or Fox and relegate the Duke to some future frankenstein project. It would be a good fork
for a hardtail second bike. So anybody want to jump in with recommendations? I am eyeballing the
Marzocchi MX Pro ETA and the Fox Vanilla 125RL. I want to go coil instead of air for a plusher ride
and generally less headaches. I don't care about the extra pound I will carry around over a XC air
fork. Oh, and I really don't want to shell out $500 or more. I am leaning toward the Fox since you
can choose the amount of travel without buying an extra kit and it comes with a choice of springs in
the box. It also has over-sized stanchion tubes for extra stiffness. OTOH, the Bomber is less
expensive and probably in most ways equal to the Fox. Some people like the action of the Marzocchi
better. Both of these shocks are in stock at JensonUSA. And before anyone says anything about
supporting the LBS, believe me I tried. There is hardly a bike shop in the Midwest that has a
mid-level suspension fork in stock. I called over a dozen shops within a 4 hour drive and none of
them had anything close to what I wanted. When I asked where I would get a Fox or one of the better
Marzocchis, about half of them said 'on-line'. I kid you not. Any comments appreciated.
