reviving '96-'98 rRS judy DH

[donnie c]

OK so I have an old RS Judy DH somewhere in the '96-'98 range- red lowers. I'm kind of stuck with it as it is on my early to mid 90s Bridgestone with a 1" head tube and it has the 1" threaded steer tube. The bridgestone is returning as my steel hardtail.

So the question is: does anyone know how i might revive this shock to a decent performance level without spending more than it would cost for a new shock? I was thinking of trying to find a new spring set for it, but don't know if anyone still makes them. It rides a bit stiff right now and the damping is a bit out of sorts, but that may just be an oil problem, I don't know. I have not yet disassembled it for fear of the result being worse than the current state of affairs; I don't want to move forward unless I know it is possible to make an improvement.

Any tips would help!

cheers
donnie c

[Shorty]

I would guess you'd be better off getting a newer 1" steerer fork than rebuilding a 10 year old model. I thought Marzocchi still made one. If not, try eBay.

[Pete Hamer]

Check this guy out.

http://www.hippiesuspension.com/hippietechsuspension/id1.html

[dvo1]

Judy DH,...........last Rock shox fork I owned, factory dampener non-rebuildable if memory serves me correctly, I had the white bros. dampener in mine.

Might look here they still have parts.

http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=17572 ;)

[JBergland]

Don,
Your model likely has elastomers vs. springs. Springs would be a little bit of an up-grade. Taking the fork completely apart and giving it a good cleaning/semi re-build is probably your best bet. I wouldn’t put more than $50 into it however. Good Luck!!

JB

[JBergland]

Also, check with some shops... very likely they have an 'ol Judy on the back shelf somewhere for parts or maybe complete...?? Last time I was in there Hollywood had a BUNCH of older forks.

JB

[donnie c]

Yeah, I have heard that Marzocchi offers their forks in 1", but I believe those are unthreaded. I would have to find someone willing to thread it or also make whatever adjustments would be necessary. I'll take a peek at it.

[timmy]

I had an '97 Rock Shox DHO I rebuilt using Englund Total Air Cartridge. It was very easy to install and worked really well. I just went there wed site and I don't remember it being that expensive but at the time I rebuilt mine my brother worked at a bike shop so I never paid retail. Below is a link to there web site.

http://www.ekosport.com/ta_intro.shtml

[donnie c]

well it looks like i could pick up an '05 marzocchi mx comp for about 200, but then i would also have to replace the headset [another 30] and the stem. all said it would probably run me in the ballpark of 250+.

Is it worth it for an old bridgestone MB5, or do I just try to overhaul the judy?

[JBergland]

Is it worth it for an old bridgestone MB5, or do I just try to overhaul the judy?

You also might ask yourself what kind of riding you're going to be doing?? I'd go with overhauling the Judy, at least to start with. Taking the fork apart and giving
it a good cleaning is going to bring some life back… might be just enough for what you need.

JB

[donnie c]

that was my original thinking on the matter. This is the hardtail for more tame conditions and mostly flatter xc+ type riding. as my primary ride and for the burlier stuff i have the FS to play with, so i wanted to keep this one on the cheap, as i hadn't even originally planned to use it much once i picked up the fs.

alright, time to crack it open and see what awaits... never messed with one of these before, but how hard could it be, right?

all else fails i have something to do over the winter.

[JBergland]

alright, time to crack it open and see what awaits... never messed with one of these before, but how hard could it be, right?

The fork should come apart with basic tools with the exception of a c-ring (compression) at the bottom of the legs. You’ll likely need a specific pair of pliers to get these out and back in properly.

JB