# How good are RST front forks



## thomasward00 (Feb 7, 2004)

On my fisher advance it comes with a RST Capa C4 front fork, for light trailriding and urban riding, I have never bottomed it out, do there forks hold up? Why don't I see more RST forks on higher end bikes.


Thanks in advance...


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## seely (Jan 20, 2004)

thomasward00 said:


> On my fisher advance it comes with a RST Capa C4 front fork, for light trailriding and urban riding, I have never bottomed it out, do there forks hold up? Why don't I see more RST forks on higher end bikes.
> 
> Thanks in advance...


Their Gila is ok, they are NOT for urban riding though. They flex way to much and are just way underbuilt for any urban riding. Customers have blown them out in under a week of nominal trail use. They are not nearly as adjustable or strong and stiff as offerings from Marzocchi or Fox. Rockshox vs. RST, I feel like I may as well save the 150 and get the RST cause it hardly makes any difference.


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## bike_freak (Dec 24, 2003)

thomasward00 said:


> On my fisher advance it comes with a RST Capa C4 front fork, for light trailriding and urban riding, I have never bottomed it out, do there forks hold up? Why don't I see more RST forks on higher end bikes.
> 
> Thanks in advance...


 RSt forks are known to be low quality. The reason why you don't see many high end bikes with them is it is not the worth the manufacturers money or RST's money ot make higher end fork, no one wants a RST fork on their 3k rig.
But for beginner riders theres nothing wrong with them, with oyu doing urban on them then yes they will eventually give but you will probably get alot more time on them before something seriosly bad goes wrong with them. You would be best just to ride it till it dies, then upgrade, more expensive forks are stronger, lighter, more durable and have ALOT better performance, something I have yet to find on a RST.
Don't take this as a message that you need to go blow your money on a new fork, just means don't be suprised when it does give/break


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## Racer9 (Mar 8, 2004)

I have riden a few trails on my Gila T4 and it has performed very well! It isn't the most stiff fork in the world but it saved me quite a bit of money! It still hasn't fully broken in the 20 hours suggested by the manufacturer so I'll report back later!


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## glenzx (Dec 19, 2003)

thomasward00 said:


> Why don't I see more RST forks on higher end bikes.
> 
> Thanks in advance...


Because they are weak, unreliable, P's.O.S. if you ask me..... and no good mtbike should have those forks installed on them! If you ride a few hundred miles a year or less and are not to abusive to equipment.... they may suffice. But you will probably not have a "higher end" bike then. If you're a serious rider who logs real mileage on rough terrain, and is interested in self-preservation, then you'd want to look at products that were designed to meet your needs. If I spend $2000 on a bike (ha! more like 3K-4K) but put 3K-5K miles on it in a year or two, it seems pretty cheap per mile. I personally have destroyed Manitou and Marzocchi forks, Specialized and Santa Cruz frames and virtually every component out there.... Fox Froks will be the next experiment.

You get what you pay for, despite "riding ability" or whatever.


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

*Rst...*



thomasward00 said:


> On my fisher advance it comes with a RST Capa C4 front fork, for light trailriding and urban riding, I have never bottomed it out, do there forks hold up? Why don't I see more RST forks on higher end bikes.
> 
> Thanks in advance...


they make low end stuff, plain and simple.

i had an Rst 281R and it never broke, it just didn't perform anything like my Zocchi EXR.


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## Jaymz555 (May 11, 2008)

I had rst gila's on my specialized hardrock, i used to do loads of xc and they were fine but i've started doin downhill and they wernt doin too bad, they r ok 4 jumping but when you hit the roots at speed they dont move.... but then i hit a tree and they have bent back into my frame so i need new forks anyway


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## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

If your fork bent back into your frame there is a really good chance you'll need more than just a new fork.


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## gumbymark (May 25, 2007)

Ummmm.. this thread is 4 years old chances are the OP has replaced either the fork or the bike because I don't think RST's would last 4 years of riding.


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## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Jaymz555 said:


> I had rst gila's on my specialized hardrock, i used to do loads of xc and they were fine but i've started doin downhill and they wernt doin too bad, they r ok 4 jumping but when you hit the roots at speed they dont move.... but then i hit a tree and they have bent back into my frame so i need new forks anyway


LOL yea. Mine lasted me a couple years.Thats about it.


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## SlimTwisted (Jun 14, 2006)

Wow, who the hell dug this thread up out of the dust bin?


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## WrenchDevil6 (Apr 3, 2008)

Jaymz555 was doin' some serious research when he decided to answer a four year old thread. It's all good though, at least he was reading and looking for information on his own, instead of walking in and his first post being a question about an easily [Search]ed issue.

Welcome to the forums Jaymz


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## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Yea WD.
Welcome to the forums Jay.
I wish the search feature was used more often as well.
It's funny, I didn't realise this thread was so old.....at first I thought it was from earlier this year, until gumby pointed it out.


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## athomas (Apr 6, 2008)

rst forks are no good. i had one of the gila forks on my specialized hardrock. i blew it out doing little stuff, no major drops or jumps or anything. not to mention the fact that it didnt perform what so ever.


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## spazzy (Aug 15, 2004)

i have a RST 191 c4 on my first bike, it advertised 63mm of travel and i got maybe 30 out of it, now its on my campus beater bike, its more then served its purpose as suspension for getting me hooked on mountain biking, and then getting thrashed, rusted and rode in the snow, sleet and rain without any maintence at college, not super high quality but gets the job done...well somewhat


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## IARider (Mar 30, 2008)

I have an RST gila on my specialized hardrock and I can tell you one thing, if I had the money to buy a new fork I would in a heartbeat. The thing weighs a ton and there is absolutely no dampening what-so-ever. It has preload knobs to "adjust" the preload, but that doesn't do anything. As hard as I may be on it, it will serve somebody starting out that isn't going to do much for hard riding. Keep it on the streets, easy trails, and dropping off of curbs and it should serve you reasonably well. I think that if it was about a pound lighter it wouldn't be so bad.


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## jkoebel (Feb 3, 2008)

My girlfriend says the same thing as you, IARider -- her Hardrock Sport has an RST front fork that weighs double the weight of the bare frame just by itself, and even after being serviced by the LBS, it's set as soft as it possibly can be set and for all intents and purposes, it's a hard front fork with no suspension at all.

I'm buying her a Fox fork and XTR drivedrain soon, though -- so it'll be the most bad-ass Hardrock ever.


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## Blu Falcon (Apr 26, 2008)

WrenchDevil6 said:


> ...instead of walking in and his first post being a question about an easily [Search]ed issue.


You just described me. I'm so ashamed.


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## pacoverde (Nov 13, 2008)

i am 13 love dirtjumping my trek 3700 the frame is a tank, but sux inthe air with such a long wheelbase. anyway it has rst 191 pieces of $hit that have like 5cm of travel and one time whe i landed the forks stuck down and there was a pile oil on the ground, but these forks seperate are like $60 so i guess dont flatland 25 foot jumps on your xc bike that cant even handle wheelies. but then i looked closer and the forks bent alittle in, and i didnt even nose land.


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## LOVELESS (Aug 15, 2008)

pacoverde said:


> i am 13 love dirtjumping my trek 3700 the frame is a tank, but sux inthe air with such a long wheelbase. anyway it has rst 191 pieces of $hit that have like 5cm of travel and one time whe i landed the forks stuck down and there was a pile oil on the ground, but these forks seperate are like $60 so i guess dont flatland 25 foot jumps on your xc bike that cant even handle wheelies. but then i looked closer and the forks bent alittle in, and i didnt even nose land.





> 05-12-2008


............


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## danoalb (Dec 19, 2005)

*Depends on what you get*

The RST First fork and above are killer. They are just as good and better than most high end forks at half the price. On the other hand the lower end forks are total junk except for the Omega TNL 100 mm, great fork for the money. The Gila's are total garbage. Believe me if you try the higher end RST products you WILL be suprised on how good they are.


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## aballz (Sep 12, 2008)

lol isn't as bad as 03-17-2004 though.


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## geoseilo (Mar 12, 2009)

I want to buy a fork for cross country use not too expensive and i am thinking of rst omega rl. Does anyone know anything more about that fork it seems to be a good cost/quality product.


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## timageous (Feb 4, 2009)

RST stands for Real Simple Trash! Get off that thing before you get hurt!


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## geoseilo (Mar 12, 2009)

Can you be more specific ?


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## konastinky07 (Apr 3, 2009)

I agree, rst dose stand for real simple trash!

I had a pair on my old bike and i was only 10! I blew them out within 2 weeks of light trial riding!

I then got another pair later after getting a pair of suntours, and first week riding doing like 6 ft drops, i snapped the arch full on and bent the lowers to the point where they were almost vertical!

I now have a kona stinky 2007 and i have even blown out a pair of drop off triples (bad fork) And i'm looking into getting a pair of totems, 66's or 2006 rc2x 888's.


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## Flystagg (Nov 14, 2006)

man how many times must this thread be revived before this issue is put to bed.

My one rst experience was slapping an rst gila on my dirtjump bike that my friend had laying in his garage while I saved up for a new fork. I cleaned and lubed the thing, but it still had so much stiction it almost passed for damping. I bent the crown off a 5ft drop.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I'll contribute to this four-year-old thread.

My Hardrock came with a Gila on it. It was awful. It had a little travel for a while, and then it stopped working at all. I cleaned and rebuilt it. There's a spring in one side and nothing in the other. It didn't get any better. Changing to the old R7 that's on the front now was a huge improvement.

I've done some off-roading on rigid forks too. At least rigid forks track well. The RST had a fair amount of flex. Funny that it could have that but no travel... It's easier to get a rigid fork over a root than that boat anchor.


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## vk45de (Feb 1, 2009)

timageous said:


> RST stands for Real Simple Trash! Get off that thing before you get hurt!


It's been 4 years, he's probably crash into a tree, sawed off his leg, and grown a new one by now


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## yumseyo (Sep 9, 2008)

*rst capa t10 fork any opinions?*

Hi All,

I am looking for a replacement fork for my wifes Downtube9 folding bike. I am considering the RST Capa T10 20" model, because a threaded steering tube is available or the SASO MEKKEM Carbon Fiber Recumbent fok but it is twice the money and I have to figure out if the existing steering mechanisms would fit a non threaded fork. I think it will if I change the headset but have to figure a locking mechanism to keep the fork in place.


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## rushhenn (May 12, 2013)

this is a 10 year old thread, but rst probably did not change.


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