Rockshox Rudy Initial impressions - a bit mehhh

Finally have some real miles on the Rockshox Rudy, I will tell you what I think about it.

[@geoleo2597]

Over a certain body weight the fork requires more air pressure than the optimum to balance between bottoming out and attaining full travel. With higher pressures you lose small bump compliance. Personally I think air forks are more suitable for lighter riders due to this issue. And coil forks being better for heavier riders. Also with only 40mm of travel there is not much room for sag while attaining that balance. If you set static sag at 10mm you only have 30mm left. Not an idea 💡 amount left to handle the bigger hits.

[@MongoDan]

I would gladly give up "big hit" ability to gain supplyness I was never able to gain this with with fork. This is not an issue I have with my other Rockshox mountain bike forks. Also you can feel the stiction even with the air let out. My follow up to this video has been paused for a long while do to moving to a location that should give me a lot more ability to figure things like this out.

[@geoleo2597]

@@MongoDan mountain bike forks have a lot more travel and therefore have more flexibility for sag and optimum air pressure balance. If you really want a suspension gravel fork you’re probably better off with a 100mm SID. That stiction hopefully is just the seals needed to be broken in.

[@HulaBoy75]

I run mine at 177psi at 92kg on 650 x 47. The tyres at 30psi are there for small bump compliance, the fork is literally for chunkier stuff that is much more aggressive than that surface you're on in this video- to be honest I'd ride that surface on my Defy on 28's! I commute over rougher stuff than that with roots and sharp edged rutted mud and rocks and the fork is amazing. Offers so much more control and comfort. I think for literal 'gravel' such as that surface the fork isnt going to make much difference. To be honest that lane you're on has a better surface than 99% of the actual roads over here in the UK!

[@MongoDan]

The surface I showed is not the only type of stuff I have ridden or will ride the fork on. The road surface there is very rough and is annoying even on the 42mm tires I have on the bike. 28mm tires would be wearing on a road surface shown. Though as of right now I 100% agree with you that "gravel" suspension is for much harsher than expected conditions. To the point I think I would rather have my 29x2.2"+ tires and then I can still have a mountain bike suspension fork on it that is currently more supple than the Rudy.

[@North3rdMedia]

You have a nice day there. I have found a tyre always seems better than a suspension fork for high frequency gravel if you want the fork to work on bigger hit stuff. But one would I would think a fork for gravel would be better at high frequency.

[@MongoDan]

Agreed that a tire is always going to be better at high frequency absorption. just wish the fork was able to add to that ability. I will make more adjustments in the future and try to break the fork in more (there is noticeable stiction). So far, this fork feels lacking in the high frequency department even compared to my mountain bike forks. once I have time on the fork to make a final review I will with all the X,Y, and Z's I have tried, and will tell what made it all work or if it ends up being a fail.

[@rafaahammami9185]

Anyone knows if the Fox 32 TC does any better with that?

[@MongoDan]

@@rafaahammami9185 I would be interested to know as well.

[@HHH0178]

Hi, I would like to know the length of all tapered tube. From where the tapered starts (at 1,5" or 39.8 mm) to where the tube ends (at 1 1/8" or 28.6 mm). It is usually about 250 millimeters, but I need to know the exact length to see if I can mount it on my bike. Thanks

[@MongoDan]

I dont have the fork with me at the moment (just moved and its on a ship somewhere) but I do know that the Rudy steerer is MUCH longer than what you would find on a mountain fork. For reference in the mean time, I had it one my 61cm salsa warbird which has fairly long headtube at 220mm and I had 30-40mm of spacers under the stem. Also, I have found a reference online that states that the steerer is 310mm uncut and that sounds about right from what I remember.

[@HHH0178]

​@@MongoDan ok thanks a lot

[@sawdust1994]

Nice video. Wow, do you live in a nice part of the world. Beautiful scenery! Have a RockShox Sid on my MTB but like the Gravel Rudy. Cool gravel fork.

[@MongoDan]

It is a very scenic area! Just wish it was easier to get out and ride, the traffic on the more major roads makes riding pretty dangerous. For my off-road touring bike I have a Reda I can put on when desired. I will have more on that bike in a future video.

[@duyle557]

The question is what are you trying to do? I ride on rough gravel all the time but my bike is set up for comfort. Here is my setup: Rockshox Rudy 40mm for high speed bumps Redshift Shockstop stem for low speed vibration = this is what you need Redshift Shockstop seatpost for my butt 650b x 47 tires @30psi (tubeless) It is my most comfortable bike I $hit you not. It is more supple than my mtb with 150mm travel high/low compression setting and 2,6 tires @20psi Hope this helps

[@MongoDan]

This might end of being the setup I end up with. I am looking for bigger bump and high frequency damping. Any tips or learned lessons from doing your setup? in my next video I think I am going to try all 4 options, rigid/regular stem, Rudy/regulars stem, rigid/redshift, and Rudy/redshift.

[@duyle557]

@Mongo Dan my advice is as follows from cheapest/easiest to hard. 1. Go tubeless. Lower psi will absorb vibration 2. Smaller wheels with bigger tires. I initially ran 700c x 45/40 and still found it to be a bit rough on the hands. I rode once without gloves like this and ended up with red hands. 3. Get the suspension stem. This is a last but almost guarantee resort but since you got the fork, this is cheaper and compliments each other. It's a bit heavy though but worth it. 4. For full comfort, you'll want the suspension seatpost as well but try the others out first. The fork is really for tracking and any comfort is a side effect. That said, the fork is progressive by design so you won't benefit from small bump compliance. Hope this helps.

[@MongoDan]

@@duyle557 Do you have any tips for tuning the fork and stem to work better together? I have been tubeless for a long time and run about the pressure I need to (mountain and fat bike back ground so not afraid of low pressure).

[@duyle557]

@@MongoDan for the stem, I am running 80mm as I believe that is the minimum for the suspension to work. Any shorter then there is not enough leverage for the stem to move… but you can go longer. As for the fork, given that mine only had 40mm of travel I set the sag at 25% withe the rebound on the faster end-but not at max! I can’t remember since it’s a pain to check. Basically, you need to get all the settings right for everything to work but when you do; tires, stem, fork and seatpost… OMG what a difference. I initially built my bike for bike packing and touring which is why I went overboard on the comfort since I’m in the saddle all day but eventually used this for everything because it is so supple. Single track, fire roads, gravel, hard pack, etc.

[@bmwofboganville456]

Why the 40mm Rudy, not the 50mm? Do you think the Canecreek eeSilk+ would work as well as the Redshift seatpost?

[@CarsandBikes]

I have a VAAST magnesium frame bike with a Redshift stem and Lauf fork. The seat post is an eeSilk. Bike rides AMAZING!!! I just ordered a Niner MCR 9 RDO full suspension gravel bike with the Fox 32 fork. I should have a review on it soon after a few mods.

[@MongoDan]

Cool. I will be trying a redshift stem in the near future. How have you liked the Vaast frame? They seem like a good value. I'm also interested in the MCR content when you have the time to make the review. My gravel bike has been neglected a bit first due to weather and now due to being on the mountain bike a lot more getting ready for a big event. But I will be on the gravel bike a lot in the near future.

[@CarsandBikes]

@@MongoDan i love the vaast frame. Matter of fact it's my 5th magnesium bike.

[@MongoDan]

@@CarsandBikes what other magnesium bikes have you ridden? I have had scandium bikes in the past and currently have carbon and Ti bikes.

[@CarsandBikes]

@@MongoDan I have a Litech (made in Russia), a Lodestar (made in Hungary), Carrera Jabberwock (made by Merida), Saracen Kili Flyer and a Kirk Revolution (both UK). The last 2 are just frames that I just recently procured and will have them sent off for powder coating. All of these frames are in the vintage 2 decades old era. So they are my go to choice for ATB and gravel bike builds.

[@MongoDan]

@@CarsandBikes 👍

[@mosiowaty1573]

Why won’t they bring Cannondale Headshok back to life?

[@MongoDan]

I have a feel that is likely has to do with the additional stack height headshocks require over traditional telescoping forks. Also the minimum space in the steerer would be limiting for air springs and dampers.

[@ousqa]

Have you tried using less air than recommended? Seems if you're not getting all the travel out of it maybe that could help.

[@MongoDan]

I have not yet, that will be one of the steps I take in the future to make it feel better. I can also lower the front tire pressure a bit due to having suspension. For this video I wanted to set it up as recommended and see how it went. One note I will say is that from I think 220lbs and more the recommended pressure is the same, which happens to be the max of 200 psi. Maybe they have their pressure recommendations way off, that will have to be noted if a lower pressure makes it work better. Subscribe as I will have more videos about this fork and the search for suppleness. Also if you have any other video recommendations let me know. I am willing to explore all things cycling.

[@ousqa]

@@MongoDan yeah if you're running recommended pressure it might just be way too progressive with no way to fix it, worth a shot though

[@MongoDan]

@@ousqa I will certainly be trying everything I can to make it most supple and so I can use all the pressure. If I take out too much it might become a bobby mess. I will make a final review once I have time to try out all the options and settings.

[@tekjim]

A lauf fork probably better for the types of road in your video

[@MongoDan]

Probably, the next video for this is on hold for now, but I will post my final results eventually

[@david4903]

I disagree to me it all depends on air pressure

[@MongoDan]

I am still experimenting with the setting on the fork, but it's been a slow process as it's not easy to get out on safe road/gravel rides where I am currently. I will post my final findings later this fall. During that video I will be sure to try a wide range of "reasonable" pressures. I will most likely also service the lowers to see if I can get more suppleness out of it.

[@GT-sc5sk]

Sounds like wrong tires & tire pressure , maybe also fork pressure…

[@MongoDan]

Yeah I have to experiment with it more, also the fork might need more time to break in. I haven't had a lot of time on it since the video due to the weather which is finally starting to improve.

[@randallsmith7885]

I would hope for a fork that deals with washboard surfaces on gravel. Is this not the answer?

[@MongoDan]

@@randallsmith7885 unfortunately I have not been on the gravel bike much lately due to weather and preparing for a mountain bike race. But with the time I do have on it I have my doubts that it would deal with wash boards well at all. But I am still tuning it and it still needs break-in time. Once I feel I have fully grasped its performance and it is fully broken in I will do a wrap up review.