After some saddle time on the new 20mm thru axle Rock Shox Reba Team, I thought it was time for an update on how things are going.
Reality Bikes and Skateboards
I ran into one major issue when I went to install the new Rock Shox Reba. I looked around my inventory of mountain bikes and everything was 6 inches of travel or higher! This is a major problem when you are trying to review a 120mm travel suspension fork. I was now on the hunt for a mountain bike that would be a good balance for the 120mm travel Rock Shox Reba Team.
I called up my friends over at Reality Bikes and they hooked me up with a demo Santa Cruz Blur LT (linked 2009 model…test bike was last years model). The Santa Cruz Blur LT is known for accepting a wide range of forks from 100mm all the way to 140mm, so I knew this 120mm travel Rock Shox Reba would be a perfect fit.
Reality Bikes and Skateboards is a really cool shop just outside of Cumming, GA. If you are ever in the area…stop by and say hi. For more pictures of the shop…take a look at the gallery below.
First Impressions: Rock Shox Reba 20mm TA 120mm Travel
Rock Shox Reba: Post Mount Disc Brake Mounts
The move to post mounts on forks for 2009 was a great idea. We started to see this transisiton on several lines over the past year or so, but for 2009…almost all of the mountain bike suspension forks come standard with post mounts. What does this mean for the 160mm rotor riders? No adapter! As you can see by the picture above, I mounted the Avid Juicy 7 disc brake caliper straight to the fork. This allows for easy installation and adjustment.
Rock Shox Reba: Overall Fork Stiffness
The overall stiffness of the Rock Shox Reba 20mm thru axle is much better than previous models. The older Rock Shox Reba suspension forks actually feel much flexier in comparison. With the little (or no) weight penalty, I would recommend that you purchase the 20mm thru axle version. The fork tracks through turns and technical sections of trail with much more confidence…even at the 120mm setting. Adding to the overall stiffness, SRAM redesigned the crown and lowers, so this adds to the stiff feel of the fork. You will notice that the lowers have the power bulge that used to be reserved to the Rock Shox Totem and Lyrik.
Rock Shox Reba: Suspension Travel
The travel on the Rock Shox Reba is very linear without a harsh bottom out. When set up correctly, the suspension travel is very plush, but this comes at the expense of some pedal induced action under hard mashing. The remote mounted compression lockout eliminates this action completely in my current setup. The damping and rebound is easy to adjust and keeps the front tire on the ground and contolled. The introduction of the Blackbox Damping System to the Team model is a nice upgrade for this year and it makes the fork feel more controlled than previous versions.
The Dual Air spring system in the Rock Shox Reba Team is highly controllable. You can really tune the Reba to exactly how you want it to feel on the trail. This is something that I have really liked out of my previous Rock Shox Reba suspension forks.
Rock Shox Reba: 20mm Thru Axle
The Maxle Lite from SRAM – Rock Shox is the best thru axle design on the market. It is easier to use than your conventional quick release and the Maxle Lite is the lightest thru axle on the market. For thru axles…it doesn’t get any better than the Maxle.
Rock Shox Reba: Negative Feedback
- Graphics – I am not a fan of the new graphics for 2009. The gloss black finish attracts dust from the trail quicker than last years rough gun metal gray. I also prefer last years Rock Shox Reba graphics package. It had more of an expensive look than this years decal package.
- Dual Air – This is a positive and negative. With dual air spring systems, it does take longer to dial the fork to your liking. If you are finding that the sweet spot is out of your grasp, set both chambers equally as a starting point.
Rock Shox Reba: Conclusions
As you can see, the review is going remarkably well. Stay tuned as we start wrapping up the review process and start the final review of the 2009 Rock Shox Reba Team 20mm TA.
 ROCKSHOX REBA TEAM FORK ’09 |
