RockShox Tora 302 Review

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RockShox Tora 302 Fork Review

RockShox Tora 302 Shock

SRAM might have made one of the smartest moves they could have made when they acquired the RockShox brand. Few shocks have such a loyal following and easily recognized name than the RockShox lineup. Instant brand awareness.

SRAM has brought efficiency of scale to the RockShox lineup and they are offering some incredible suspension forks at all price points with one being even better than the next. One of the absolute best bangs for the buck, the RockShox Tora line provide a super burly and rugged suspension fork at bargain basement prices.

The RockShox Tora 302 utilizes chunky magnesium lower legs that slide on a burly 32mm cromoly stanchion that provides very impressive strength and stiffness. The only downside is that the RockShox Tora is a bit heavy compared to some of the higher end shocks. This is no surprise at this price point and it is one of the compromises you pay for the super cheap price. Despite the husky weight, the price and the superb performance will leave you feeling pretty smug about your choice in forks. This is a great deal on a great fork.

The RockShox Tora 302 provides a very simple suspension with just a single air valve to control the spring rate. Despite this, we you should note that even this very basic design has rebound damping that works and works well most of the time. The only time we could get it to stutter was on the long descents where we really stretched the fork out a bit. A small amount of oingo boingo but that is no surpise at this price point. We were pleased that the RockShox Tora 302 did not bottom or top out like some of the budget forks will tend to do.

The RockShox Tora 302 kept our front fork feeling quite solid and composed even when the going got a bit rough and made the hair stand on end. A lot of shocks will perform as well as the RockShox Tora 302 but not many of them will do it at this price point. A simple, maintenance free design that works well and doesn't cost very much. What more could you want from a suspension fork?

The only downside we noted, and this is pretty minor, is that the tire clearance is a touch tight as tire sizes tend to get fatter. 2.3 inches is about as fat as you'll be fitting between the legs of a RockShox Tora 302. This should be more than enough for the style of bike that would require a 100mm travel shock.

If the standard 100mm RockShox Tora 302 isn't quite enough to satisfy your need for boing then an adjustable 85-130mm "U-Turn" version is available as well. Of course it's at a slightly higher price so it just depends on what makes you happy. In our opinion, you won't go wrong with a RockShox Tora 302...it's an excellent suspension fork that offers a simple, clean design that works well and is priced very well.

Buy on Ebay

MSRP on the RockShox Tora 302 is $199 dollars for the standard fork and $299 for the U-Turn version so you can quickly see how much money you can save by shopping on Ebay for your RockShox Tora 302 mountain bike fork.