Rock Shox Judy 1996 Rebuild
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trailstar82
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https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/Manufacturer+Archive/Rock+Shox+Archive/Service/
Are the stanchions bolted or bonded? Bolted is obviously easier. There are some people that have pressed in new steerers on marzocchi’s but I’m unsure if it can be applied to Rockshox as well.
Antwack
Senior Retro Guru
That’s great, thanks
I just need to find out what year they are.
The steerer is pressed in but the crown is bolted.
trailstar82
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95/96 I would guess. 1” steerers do come up from time to time in the for sale and on the bay. Or you could try the steerer tube swap thread.
Antwack
Senior Retro Guru
Thanks for your advice
Thias
Klein Fan
Those forks will be toast, 85% sure.
Loosen the lower two allen bolts. Make sure, they are still screwed in a few turns then use a rubber hammer (or similar) to pound them in. That will loosen the insides of the fork, that would otherwise prevent you from sliding the stanchions out of the casting. Do just that after fully taking out the allen bolts, of course.
Now look at the totally scraped stanchion surface and get a different fork.
To find a 1" crown for a '96 Judy ( I think it is, because the '95ers had the bolted crowns) is a needle in an hay stack situation.
Loosen the lower two allen bolts. Make sure, they are still screwed in a few turns then use a rubber hammer (or similar) to pound them in. That will loosen the insides of the fork, that would otherwise prevent you from sliding the stanchions out of the casting. Do just that after fully taking out the allen bolts, of course.
Now look at the totally scraped stanchion surface and get a different fork.
To find a 1" crown for a '96 Judy ( I think it is, because the '95ers had the bolted crowns) is a needle in an hay stack situation.
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Antwack
Senior Retro Guru
Those forks will be toast, 85% sure.
Loosen the lower two allen bolts. Make sure, they are still screwed in a few turns then use a rubber hammer (or similar) to pound them in. That will loosen the insides of the fork, that would otherwise prevent you from sliding the stanchions out of the casting. Do just that after fully taking out the allen bolts, of course.
Now look at the totally scraped stanchion surface and get a different fork.
To find a 1" crown for a '96 Judy ( I think it is, because the '95ers had the bolted crowns) is a needle in an hay stack situation.
Do you think they're unrepairable? Are spares not available?
The crown is bolted.
Thias
Klein Fan
Slide them apart and you will know.
Most of those died of lack of maintenance. They do need a regular service. Especially the lower bushings tend to dry up and scrape if you don't take them apart and regrease once a season. Most of those I have seen were not serviced at all. Hence my skepticism.
Oh, and then there is the plastic dampening cardridges - those were notorious for splitting open, too.
If you have a typical Judy of that model year, it wouldn't be uncommon to have all these defects at once. So new cartridge, new stanchion/s new Elastomeres - pricey.
If you compare them to the later Hydracoil Judys (99/00) - those are much more robust, as they have the lower bushings swimming in oil. Those hardly ever fail.
I usually try to get my hands on a really battered looking hydracoil, if I want to repair a 95-97 Judy. The stanchions fit the old castings perfectly. The indides do, too. With slight modifications. You can make it look perfectly original from the outside while having a more modern, less prone to failure Judy for rather cheap. Compared to the all original alternative, that is.
Most of those died of lack of maintenance. They do need a regular service. Especially the lower bushings tend to dry up and scrape if you don't take them apart and regrease once a season. Most of those I have seen were not serviced at all. Hence my skepticism.
Oh, and then there is the plastic dampening cardridges - those were notorious for splitting open, too.
If you have a typical Judy of that model year, it wouldn't be uncommon to have all these defects at once. So new cartridge, new stanchion/s new Elastomeres - pricey.
If you compare them to the later Hydracoil Judys (99/00) - those are much more robust, as they have the lower bushings swimming in oil. Those hardly ever fail.
I usually try to get my hands on a really battered looking hydracoil, if I want to repair a 95-97 Judy. The stanchions fit the old castings perfectly. The indides do, too. With slight modifications. You can make it look perfectly original from the outside while having a more modern, less prone to failure Judy for rather cheap. Compared to the all original alternative, that is.
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I'd do as the above first. If the internals or stanchions aren't any good, you'll be buying a new crown for no reason.
Pretty much the above is true, I've had many a set and while some have been fine, others not so much. You never know for sure until you get the uppers and lowers apart.
