RockShox Reba Fork Review

RockShox Reba Review

RockShox Reba mounted on a Specialized Stumpjumper! Looks great doesn't it.

We recently were offered the opportunity to put a RockShox Reba through it's paces and we jumped at the chance to review an icon in the XC suspension fork world. The RockShox Reba has an outstanding reputation in the mountain bike world and we were more than happy to put that reputation to the test. Nobody likes a show-off so we expected to find all kinds of reasons to poke holes in the Reba. Before we get to that, let's take a look at some of the features of the RockShox Reba.

Reba Features and Benefits

The Rockshox Reba utilizes a Dual Air chamber on the left leg of the fork, which if you are not familiar with how that works, here is how it works. The positive chamber, responsible for the down force, adds compression to the chamber making it more difficult to compress. On the flip side, the negative chamber (bottom) controls the damping and basically makes it more difficult for the shock to decompress. So it's like two forces working against each other, one pushing and one pulling and you can fine tune the ride via the pressure you set each to. To summarize, it's a tuneable fork that uses a very simple and low maintenance system to control the ride. We like it already, simple is good.

You can set the RockShox Reba from very firm to very plush and soft, depending on the type of terrain that you ride and your personal preferences. Me, I like soft and plush, I guess I am getting old...or soft....maybe both. Recommended pressure for the RockShox Reba is about 140ish psi for my 200lb frame but I have it set to around 120psi and find that this works best for me. It's up to you and it's nice that the Reba gives you the option.

Drop Dead Sexy Looks make the RockShox Reba a hit!

RockShox Reba Pop-Lock

Super Nice Controls on the RockShox Reba Forks.

If you are an experienced suspension fork rider or you have been riding since before the Pop-Lock was invented, then you know the frustration and wasted energy that a bouncy front fork can cause when you are out of the saddle or really grinding the pedals hard. Front forks can soak up a lot of the energy that would otherwise be transmitted to the pedals and that can be very frustrating.

The Pop-Lock cures all that. The Pop-Lock is a neat little device that allows you to "lock out" the front fork and turn your bike into a much more efficient climbing machine. With the front fork locked, most of the power on every stroke will find it's way to the rear wheel instead of being swallowed up by the squish of the front fork. When you need to get out of the saddle and climb or grind, lock it out and pound. When you want to be back into full on plush mode, another quick flip and you are back to boingy mode. Pretty cool!

RockShox Reba Summary

Ok, we put the RockShox Reba through it's paces for a couple of weeks and were really hoping to hate it. I will admit that I sometimes favor off brand or out of the norm products as I think sometimes the corporate brands take their dominance for granted but it wasn't the case with the RockShox Reba.

To summarize, I loved this fork. It works great, can be adjusted from relatively stiff to nice and plush very easily, requires little to no maintenance and simply worked great. What's not to like? It even sports an attractive anodized finish that looks great and even the knobs and adjusters are aluminum instead of plastic, which makes it feel much higher quality.

If you are in the market for a moderate travel XC Mountain bike fork then you will have to look pretty hard to find a better all around bargain than a RockShox Reba.

RockShox Reba has an MSRP of nearly $599 dollars at your local LBS....check out below what you can save by buying on Ebay. Big money savings.

Specs

Name: Reba Race
Built by: RockShox
Price: n/a
Crown to Axle Length: 480 mm
Stanchion Diameter: 32 mm
Weight (g): 1608 g
Available Colours: Black/White/Silver
Material: Aluminium
Spring Type: Air
Max. Fork Travel: 100mm

RockShox Reba Videos