Set the wayback machine to 1997 - Rock Shox Judy XC overhaul

[merlinmurph]

I have a buddy with an old Specialized and is trying to overhaul his Rock Shox Judy XC fork from '97. He has it apart but the fork doesn't seem to match up with the user manual he has. He has web searched his brains out trying to find doc that matches up with what he has, to no avail, so I thought I'd present it to the vast collective knowledge of the forum.

Anybody have any idea how to overhaul this fork?

Here are his notes to me with pics:

Here's the info.

Fork is listed as a 1997 Judy XC off of a Specialized Stumpjumper 19" M2 Comp that I bought n 1998

SN on the fork is 04EK300758 (I have the bike s/n if you want)


One leg of the fork has a full length spring the other had oil but no cartridge (that I can tell)

There are no obvious c clips holding the bumpers

As far as I can tell the attached pdf is the same as the printed manual I have.

I have not been able to find online any description of a fork setup like mine,

My guess, is that the leg with oil (upper and lower) acts as the cartridge and the seal at the top of the lower/outer leg keeps the oil in.


LMK if you want more pictures.

Thoughts?



TIA,
Murph




BobT fork 1 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

BobT fork 2 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

BobT fork 3 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

BobT fork 4 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

BobT fork 5 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

[.RJ]

There are surely videos on youtube - might have to watch a few before you find one that matches what you see.

These guys have old fork parts - https://specialtyretroproducts.com/

https://www.suspensionforkparts.net/...1995-1996.html

Enduro has fork seals most likely.

[slambers3]

The fork pictured is from like 2004-2005ish, not 1997.

[merlinmurph]

Hmmmm, that's odd about the year. He swears this is the original fork.

Looks like more searching...

Thanks guys,
Murph

[cmbicycles]

Have you reached out to Sram? They have been helpful every time I've emailed about service questions.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by cmbicycles

Have you reached out to Sram? They have been helpful every time I've emailed about service questions.

Thx! Just talked with my bud and he's going to try that next.

Current thinking is that the fork may be a special version made for Specialized, kind of like how Lowes et al have special (i.e. cheaper) versions of appliances, tools, etc. made for them.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

Current thinking is that the fork may be a special version made for Specialized, kind of like how Lowes et al have special (i.e. cheaper) versions of appliances, tools, etc. made for them.

Rockshox has always done forks for specialized, but those were usually specialized branded - i.e. FSX, Future Shock, Brain, etc. The service parts are the same though.

[tellyho]

I find MANY videos on forks of this vintage. I think a little more googling will yield results. It can be a pain to pull this info together on vintage forks.

[benb]

Doesn't 1997 make more sense if this fork appears to only have rim brake mounts?

Weren't discs far more present even in XC by 2004-2005? I had a Marzocchi XC fork I got in the winter between 2004-2005 and it had both rim & disc mounts as it was in that weird transitional period where the top racers seemed to be running one brake or the other depending on what particular course they were racing. The frame I got that year (Giant) also supported either type of brakes, and I ran the bike with rim brakes initially and then switched it permanently to discs in 2006 or so.

[merlinmurph]

New wrinkle.
The fork has a sticker saying "Powered by SRAM" on it and SRAM bought Rock Shox in 2002.

My bud is doing some thinking now.....

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by benb

Doesn't 1997 make more sense if this fork appears to only have rim brake mounts?

Its not like rim brake forks werent available if you had to buy a new one in 2004.

[benb]

Originally Posted by .RJ

Its not like rim brake forks werent available if you had to buy a new one in 2004.

I guess if this was like a "recreational" level fork. It's blurry to me at which point a decent quality fork became only available in disc.

This to me would have seemed like "decent level" as it's got an actual spring as opposed to just an elastomer or something.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by benb

This to me would have seemed like "decent level" as it's got an actual spring as opposed to just an elastomer or something.

Its a Judy. It was a mid-level fork for the time.

[bicycletricycle]

this is a later model judy with steel stanchions, sort of a lower tier fork. Not sure if they even meant for these to be rebuilt.

[FriarQuade]

Greg at Butter Suspension is not only a suspension specialist but a vintage nerd. I would imagine if SRAM comes up short on parts he might have something or know where to look.

I'll second that it might not be worth rebuilding unless there's a goal to keep it all original.