Muddy Bike UK - Mountain Bike Reviews - fork tag

RockShox Dart 3

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:59:00 GMT

We have been hearing quite a lot about the 2009 version of the RockShox Dart 3 forks and they come in at a reasonable price so in these recession hit times we though it was time to take a closer look.

First off the visual check, these forks do look the part, you wouldn’t know they are at the cheaper end of the scale they come in black or silver but we prefer the detailing on the black one. The list of functions is relatively impressive too, coming with preload spring adjustment and also post mounted lockout. The rebound damping adjustment can be external, so it looks like it ticks all the boxes.

Out on the trails there is a slightly different story, you can tell quite quickly that these are a budget fork selection. There is quite a lot of flex in them while cornering and although they come with a lot of adjustment and lockout ability this is not the same level you would expect form the more expensive forks. Despite all this they do the job they are designed for.

The bottom line on this is they are budget forks and in this case you get what you pay for, if your willing to accept that then you will be please but you can’t expect too much for around £150!

Buy online here from £148

Agree or disagree? leave a comment below!

Fox Racing Shox 36 Van-RC2

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:29:56 GMT

Anyone who has used Fox forks has come to know them as stiff and light but this all come at a price. The 2009 Fox racing shox 36 Van-RC2 comes in at around 2360 grams (or 5.21 pounds) but costs around $900. They have 160mm of coil sprung travel takes in all the bumps with ease. The compression damping is all adjustable to allow you to set it up just the way you want and they feature a 20mm stepped thru axel.

These forks are defiantly very stiff and feel really responsive out on the trails. We took a while to set them up and it made a real difference to the ride quality. Fox was living up to their reputation by supplying 3 springs for different rider weights not something most companies do. This fork is perfectly suited to single track but also at home if you want to fit in a few jumps. It’s a fantastic fork… as long as you can afford it!

Fox Racing Shox 32 F100RLC

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:41:00 GMT

We tested the 100mm travel version and the first thing you notice is how good they look – we were amazed. This version also has a full lockout and lockout force adjustment, they work using the air spring pressure and come in at around 3.38lbs.

When fitted on the bike (they still look good) we found the forks to be very stiff even why going round corners. We found the lockout threshold to work really well it has 12 levels so you can really find what suits you and what terrain you are on. We found them plenty hard enough on the climbs but responsive enough on the descents it also coped with the small stuff really well.

Overall this is a great fork its got all the functionality needed and its light enough to use for XC and looks fantastic. The only negative they might be out of the price range for some people.