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Fox Racing Shox
Float RP23
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Submitted by
Dirty Dirty
a Cross Country Rider
from Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | The Devil's Backbone | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Mike's Bikes | | Strengths: | I love the ability to throw this in propedal for climbing and the fact that it still absorbs hits while engaged. This shock absorbs huge jarring blows over rocks down to tiny chattering hoof prints on fire roads. | | Weaknesses: | The propedal lever can be difficult to reach on quick transitions from descents to climbing. | | Similar Products Used: | None, this is my first FS. | | Bike Setup: | GF HiFi pro | | Bottom Line: | The RP23 came stock on my bike. I haven't really ridden anything else to compare it to but it has honestly exceeded my expectations by far. I am still figuring out whether to ride with the propedal in "2" or "3" but this shock has none of the wasted energy from pedal bob I was concerned with and all of the upside I was hoping for. One descent on my ride is over dirt and exposed stone and the shock does an amazing job of keeping the rear tire engaged instead of bouncing around which I didn't expect at all. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Guillaume
a Weekend Warrior
from New York, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | "My Favorite Trail" at Blue Mountain in Peekskill, NY | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | Larry at Mountain High Cyclery | | Strengths: | Plush, light, highly adjustable. | | Weaknesses: | Air valve sits right next to ProPedal lever. Must reach down to change propedal. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox RP3, Fox Float R, 5th Element Air. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Santa Cruz Heckler with Fox Vanilla RLC 32 and a bunch of mid to high-level parts. | | Bottom Line: | I upgraded from a 5th Element Air, which was a nice shock - light, great pedaling platform, reliable - to the RP23. Most noticeable is how much more plush the RP23 is (with the ProPedal off) than the 5th Element. It soaks up much more of the small trail chatter as well as the bigger hits like logs and square rocks. This shock has improved the handling of my Heckler and has breathed new life into the limitations of a simplistic single-pivot design.
My expectations were high, since I currently own two Fox forks and have previously owned an RP3 and a Float and have (with exception of the Float) been nothing but impressed with Fox products. The RP23 has so far lived up these expectations and more.
The ProPedal actually works and is not a gimmick. There is a huge difference in how the bike handles between the different ProPedal levels! I currently have the lever set to level 2, which I find plenty stiff for steep climbs. Most of the time, however, I leave the ProPedal off and let the shock soak up all the technical stuff.
I only have two complaints: The first is that the lever and the air valve are too close together. When I reach down to flip the lever, the air valve stem seems kind of in the way at times. I'm not sure why Fox felt it had to put the two so close together. My second (minor) gripe is that you must reach down to adjust the ProPedal, thereby taking one hand off the handlebars. This is not always convenient or even possible, for example if you happen to be maneuvering through a technical section of the trail. I understand that this is an inherent characteristic of the ProPedal system, and the benefits far outweigh this weakness. But I have to admit that it was nice not having to deal with flipping a lever with the 5th Element. However, both of these are minor inconveniences neither detract from the performance and quality of this shock.
Overall, I am once again impressed with this Fox product and will continue to buy their suspension components as long as they maintain this level of quality. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jez
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne VIC Australia
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Awesome performance, great adjustability and ProPedal settings | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float RP, RockShox SID, Manitou Swinger 3-Way | | Bike Setup: | Stock 08 Giant Trance0 with full X0 SRAM/Avid Juicy Carbons, Crank Bros Acid 2 Carbons, Schwalbe Racing Ralphs, Lizard Skins Peaty Grips | | Bottom Line: | The back end of the Trance is pretty amazing, and the RP23 makes it even better. The RP23 is very sensitive, feels bottomless, and very adjustable. Easy to setup, too. The flickable lever to ProPedal setting is great: off road, leave it off, or set it to 1. You won't need more. Commuting or on really smooth singletrack, setting of 2. The 3 setting is for complete lockout, and you'd only over use it on smooth asphalt.
For those who have suffered the shock packing down, I feel your pain. My Float RP did that, and it sucks. Fox know it happens and fix it under warranty, in my case, even after the warranty period had expired, so hang in there and get it serviced - they've fixed the problem now. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a
from Brevard, NC
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Pisgah whatever | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$325.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | It's light. Pro-Pedal really helps on the gravel roads and smooth singletrack climbs. | | Weaknesses: | Works better going up than down. | | Similar Products Used: | Vanilla R (turd), Cane Creek AD12 | | Bike Setup: | 99' SuperV900, Z1 FR SL, raceface stuff, xt, sycross big box wheels, etc.... | | Bottom Line: | This would be a glowing review if i wrote it in the first month. It did give new life to my trusty but aging SuperV.
I just can't get this thing to work for me on the downhills. When the sag is set to the recommended amount, it climbs nice but is too harsh on the downhill and i can't get all the travel out of it. We have some some pretty rough trails here with small jumps, i'd like to get full travel out of it. If i decrease the air pressure enough so that it feels right going downhill, the bike sags way too much on the climbs.
Part of this is not the shock's fault by my own for running a big fork on this bike, but really i expected a lot more from this shock given all the hype around it.
I ran a Cane Creek AD 12 for years. The RP23 is not in the same league with the AD12's plushness. But then the AD12 does not climb like this RP23.
The shock is off the Push soon, maybe a HV sleeve too. I'll report back to see if they can balance this out for me. Meanwhile i'm looking into the Uber mod for the SuperV.
Happy Trails | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
xchaotic
a Cross Country Rider
from West Yorkshire
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Hellhole Rocks | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Blazing Saddles | | Strengths: | Propedal is what I need, this is my first FS bike and I was very worried about losing energy going uphill. Not so with this shock! Just set to propedal on the fly and it's stiff as it needs be, on "2" it still soaks the occasional bump without problems, and downhill set it to off, and off you go indeed, this thing soaks roots, rocks and just floats thought any terrain. | | Weaknesses: | None so far, it still sobbles a tiny bit on "2" but, if you're certain about road being smooth, you can set it to "3". | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | Stock Marin Wolf Ridge 2007 | | Bottom Line: | The name says it all - it really floats through terrain and handles it all nicely. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dina Pang
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, TX
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Cameron Park Waco, TX | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with my Titus Racer X Frame | | Strengths: | Propedal is amazing. I haven't touched my hardtail since I started using this | | Weaknesses: | None | | Bike Setup: | Titus Racer X, Fox F80 RLC, Fox float rp23, Sram X.0 shifters and RD, XT crankset, XT FD, FSA K-force flat bar, FSA SL-K seatpost, thomson X4 stem, chris king headset, American Classic Disc Wheelset, Shimano XT Disc Brakes | | Bottom Line: | Propedal is all you need. You just stick in in that option and forget about it. I've got friends that have ridden behind me and they tell me that my rear shock is so responsive to the terrain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jasen gomez
a Cross Country Rider
from morenovalley,ca. usa
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | sycamore canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | californiacyclery | | Strengths: | so far it has taken everything i have thrown at it, rides great. Propedal is fantastic. | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | roco air | | Bike Setup: | GT I-drive-5 1.0 all 08 xt | | Bottom Line: | i ride this bike everywhere and jump off of everything the shock performs perfect. The propedal 3-way is great for climbs and long singletrack. Really happy with this shock!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Todd
a Cross Country Rider
from Raleigh,NC
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Works flawlessly | | Bottom Line: | This shock is great. The propedal setting provide enough variety to keep me happy and the open position floats through the rough stuff. Zero problems with the shock and it transformed my 06 Stumpy FSR into a real mountain bike versus the Triad that the bike came with. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim K
a Weekend Warrior
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | 3 stage | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | I've only ridden it for one week, but so far it kicks ass. Formerly, I rode a Norco XCS 1 with a Stratos Helix Pro rear shock (for many years). Thanks to Norco for replacing my frame and shock after my old frame cracked at the welds, I now own a Fluid 1.0 with an RP23 rear shock. The pro pedal works awesome on climbs and flats! Flip the lever and you have a great descender. I'll update this review later if any problems arise. Many thanks to Rob at Home Hardware in Kincardine (the best bike shop in Ontario - located in maybe the most unlikely spot) and Norco who stand behind their products and put their money where their mouth is. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | As mentioned above. | | Bike Setup: | As mentioned above. | | Bottom Line: | Works as advertised. I have a problem giving it a value rating since it was a replacement, but I have to rate it from my own experience... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg
a
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike (Mongoose Canaan Team) | | Strengths: | When it works, it seems to work well. | | Weaknesses: | Reliability | | Similar Products Used: | None (first soft-tail) | | Bike Setup: | Came standard on my new Mongoose Canaan Team | | Bottom Line: | Very disappointed. On my first ride (40k's), it seemed to work well after spending time getting the sag perfect the night before. Next ride (following weekend), i noticed there was a lot more sag so i pumped it up to get it back to the recommended amount for my weight (9mm). The pressure had not dropped so i assumed it was a settling-in thing. The alarm bells should have rung!! Next ride was a 230km MTB marathon. After the first 1km, my shock started to sag. After 2km, it was almost totally bottomed out (allowing about 2mm of travel). At the first checkpoint i checked the pressure - it had not lost any pressure!! Pumped it all the way up to 250 bars - no change, just bottomed out a bit less. So i rode over 220km's with practically no rear shock. Any hard bump, it totally bottomed out - i just hope it didn't damage my frame!! Also damaged my crank-ends (severe scratches/gouges) on rocky sections of the ride since i was sitting so much lower to the ground, not to mention my back-ache from the unusual riding position (felt like i was on a BMX). Bought the bike specifically for that race so very disappointed that it failed when i needed it most. Finished the race in 14 hours - not something i wanted to do on a hard tail.
Phoned the dealer and they're happy to fix it under guarantee (which is to be expected) but i'm afraid the damage has been done. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matamua
a Cross Country Rider
from SLC, UT
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | big water/pipeline/drycreek | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$380.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | 3 propedal settings WITH POSITIVE STOPS! adjustable rebound | | Weaknesses: | I'm still breaking it in, but it doesn't feel like it has as flat of a compression curve as my float AVA did. | | Similar Products Used: | Float AVA, Spec. brain, coilovers | | Bike Setup: | 05 Dakar XC Expert - 06 Minute :03 (130mm), 08 Fox rp23, X.7, Avids, Weirwolf 2.1s, FSA cranks/rings, PC991, PG970 cassette, spd pedals | | Bottom Line: | bottom line = dope. The positive stops in the lever make a huge difference (if you have ever ridden an rp3 and rp23, you know what I'm talking about). P3 is like a full lockout, but if you hit a medium to big size bump, it will still suck it up, so you have all the benefits of the lockout, with the benefits of an active shock (but it doesn't soak any little stuff up). I paid $380 at REI, but I can return it whenever, for whatever reason I want. You can't do that anywhere else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Downhiller
from Glenwood, NY USA
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came on bike | | Strengths: | Propedal works very well, I like the 3 stages of adjustment. | | Weaknesses: | More rebound clicks/range needed.
My biggest problem with this shock is that it really does not ramp up at all at the end of its stroke. I think this has more to do with my long travel application(6"). It works well when I am out of the saddle but if I am sitting it sucks up all the travel. This only occurs when I have it "open" if propedal is on it just feels to stiff and does not use all my travel. | | Similar Products Used: | 5th air, RP2, float, swingers and just about every coil shock made for a DH bike. | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Giant Reign 0 stock except for tires. | | Bottom Line: | Great shock if it holds up to my abuse but it really needs some more end stroke dampening.
Should probably not be on a 6" bike? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Mannheim
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Odenwald | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | HiBike | | Strengths: | Minimizes Pedal-induced bobbing, lightweight, easy to set up | | Weaknesses: | none discovered so far | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float | | Bike Setup: | Intense Tracer, Fox F100 RLC Fork, setup for cross country and marathon. | | Bottom Line: | This is just a "first impression" statement after having ridden this new shock for just a couple of times.
Compared to my initial Fox Float which came with my Intense frame back in 2000, this RP23 has reduced pedal induced bobbing virtually down to nothing. The bike climbs effortlessly now and I'm amazed how well the improvement meets my expectation of this investment.
Unfortunately, having read through the statements of riders who have used this shock for longer timeframes by now, I wonder if the problem of the notoriously "stuck down shock" still persists.
As far as the 3 different settings for Pro Pedal are concerned, I still have to dial that in to find out which setting works best in which terrain. Bur so far, I'm really happy with this shock.
Will post a review a few months from now to provide some more detailed feedback! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J. S.
a Weekend Warrior
from Foster City, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Waterdog Lake | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$329.00 | | Strengths: | lots of adjustability + tuning options. The 3 pro-pedal settings for quick ride quality changes | | Weaknesses: | None yet. Made slight squishing sounds during compression when it was new, but these went away after a month or 2. | | Similar Products Used: | Romic Coilover | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Truth 2003 black frame, XTR drivetrain, RF NextLP carbon cranks, Fox Float 100, Avid Ultimate V-Brakes, Chris King hubs + Mavic rims | | Bottom Line: | Great performance so far during this past year. The RP23 replaced my old Romic coilver which came with my 2003 Truth. The Romic was a solid performer, but maintenance was a royal PITA, so I took a chance on the RP23. The RP23 felt just as plush, but is much lighter and more adjustable with the 3 Pro-pedal settings. It's been a worthwhile upgrade for my venerable Truth. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Tyler
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Tyler State Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$313.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | Serviceable. Pro Pedal works perfectly so far. The (3) three setings are distinguishable from each other. Rebound range of adjustment is realistic. Very smooth and has failed to "bottom" yet. Sag setting is easy. Light weight. | | Weaknesses: | May not be quite enough shock for some long travel rigs or very heavy riders. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Swinger, Fox Float | | Bike Setup: | New full suspension Cross Country Kona, XT (or better) equipped. A few upgrades here and there. 4' of travel front and back. | | Bottom Line: | It's working the way it's supposed to. (knock on wood) Seems to makes my bike faster and handle better. I'm a 160 pound guy on a medium travel XC bike. Seems like a good fit so far. Best rear shock I've ridden. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trey
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Co. USA
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Monarch Crest Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Push Industries | | Strengths: | Easy to set up, plush, great pedal platform. The on/off for ProPedal is a great feature. | | Weaknesses: | Spendy... but all bike gear is spendy. | | Similar Products Used: | Fox Float, Fox Float RP3, 5th Element | | Bike Setup: | I had this on a Trek Fuel with a Fox Float R100 fork | | Bottom Line: | I bought this shock from Push Industries when my Float R crapped out on me. It was like buying a new bike. I have since bought a new bike that had a Float RP3 and I really miss having the on/off feature that the RP23 offers. It's a great improvement. The shock is really plush and plays real well with the Fox Float fork.
I probably spent too much for this but since it was 'Pushed' I feel like it was worth it. I'm just biding my time with my new shock until I send it into Push. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tcm
a Weekend Warrior
from dallas
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | the one in my backyard | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | came with frame | | Weaknesses: | this baby is stuckdown!!!! | | Bottom Line: | this is an update to my earlier review. at the 5 month mark this shock stuckdown. i had really enjoyed it up to this point. i will say that fox serviced the shock and turned it around in 8 days. with that i am impressed. when the shock works it works great but now i am wondering when the next stick down will occur. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terry Reis
a Weekend Warrior
from Birmingham
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Any Severn Stanes | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | RaceCo Cycles | | Strengths: | Easy to set up and works very well. | | Weaknesses: | Stuck down after 3 light months riding | | Similar Products Used: | RockShox MC3R | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel EX9 (2006) Fox Talas RLC Fork. | | Bottom Line: | Initially I was over the moon with this shock. It performed far better than the RockShox MC3R which it replaced. But after very light use the shock stuck down while out on a ride. After some digging about on the internet I found there was advice on the Fox Website about this (which only says return to service centre). So obviously there is a problem here. I would have considered myself unlucky except I was out with a frind at the weekend who has a brand new bike with a Float Shock on it, the same design but simpler. On his first ride out he suffered the same problem. The weather hasn't been particularly cold here yet so I don't think we can look to that. Seems there may be a basic design flaw with this shock. I note I am the second poster to relay this fault.
I switched to Fox for better reliability, so far I am dissapointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robb
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ USA
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Milagrosa, Upper 50 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$370.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Very smooth, light, adjustments that actually do something. | | Weaknesses: | Durability | | Similar Products Used: | RS Sid, Float R | | Bike Setup: | SC Superlight, F100RLT, SRAM X.0 | | Bottom Line: | I purchased this shock as an upgrade from a Float R (which lasted 18 months without incident). For the first 4 weeks, this thing was the bee's knees. Then it blew up and leaked nitrogen into the air chamber and all it's performance was shot to hell. So, I sent it back to Fox. 3 weeks later, I receive my repaired RP23. Again for the first few weeks...the performance was priceless. But I am more that just a bit frustrated with the durability of this product. I am chalking it up to "runt of the litter". But in order for this shock to rate 5/5. This thing better come back and never bother me again. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tcm
a Weekend Warrior
from dallas
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Boulder Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Very light weight and very easily adjustable. extremely simple to set up and use. | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | fox float rl, fox float rc, fox float ava, manitou swinger 3 way, manitou swinger 4 way | | Bike Setup: | 2006 intense 5.5 with rp23 shock. | | Bottom Line: | this shock has done the job quite well so far. it is very simple to set up. set the sag and then ride in each of the 3 presets until you find the one that works for you. once you find the setting that works for you, just leave it alone.
haven't changed the settings since about the third or fourth ride.
this shock is much easier to set up than the manitou swinger 4 way but is also less adjustable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bungle
a Cross Country Rider
from Western Australia
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$325.00 | | Purchased At: | Malaga Cycles | | Strengths: | Lightweight shock that delivers the goods. Three modes of propedal makes finetuning easy. | | Weaknesses: | None so far, but there will be plenty more abuse thrown at this shock. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Radium | | Bike Setup: | 05 Specialized Stumpjumper Pro FSR, Fox RP23, Rock Shock Revelation 409, Shimano XT Running Gear, LX Hydraulic's, Thomson Elite Seatpost,Easton Bars and Stem, Mavic 729 with DT Swiss Front Hub and DT Hugi Rear. | | Bottom Line: | Three modes of propedal....What a great idea....Once you find the setting that you like, the other two settings are really just wasted.
Not having a lockout is no real great loss if you have your propedal and shock setup right you dont need the lockout.
What a great shock.......if your contemplating the upgrade, just do it, you wont regret it> | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pete
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, AB, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Sulfer Springs | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$260.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Cafe, Canmore | | Strengths: | I was using a 5th element Air shock for 2 year until the dampener completely crapped out on me. Putting on the RP23 was the closest thing I could do buying a new bike...and I was not disappointed.
The lockout is much easier to use than the RP3 and there's a noticeable difference once engaged. It goes from a fantastic fast downhill to climbing with a simple flick.
It's easy to dial in for a specific riding style and I haven't had to touch it since. | | Weaknesses: | None to speak of yet. | | Similar Products Used: | 5th Element Air (brutal) | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur | | Bottom Line: | What an upgrade from the 5th Element air. I got a great deal on it ($300 CDN from my LBS) as they were offering this upgrade to anyone that had problems with the 5th.
It's an outstanding upgrade at a great cost. Many of my friends ride the RP3 with no problems...the RP23 has all the same riding characteristics but easier to use and hassle free.
I would recommend this to anyone when buying a bike new and looking for an all-around trail shock or for anyone that's looking to upgrade an older shock. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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