Mountain Biking - Specialized FS (future shock)? and etc

i just picked up a frame/shock combo this past weekend, and it was a specialized rockhopper aluminum frame (stripped of its red paint so it's bare metal now), but the fork is a specialized FS futureshock. I heard of these before from almost a decade ago, but back then I was only in 6th grade and didnt know too much. can anybody tell me how the fork performs? comparisons would be great. on it were also a profile boa stem, zoom 170 handlebar, and sugino cranks. havent heard too much about these products either, any help would be great, thanks!

Originally posted by tFUnK
the fork is a specialized FS futureshock

I don't think I can provide much more info but as I recall, the Specialized Futureshocks were rebadged RockShox.

makes sense, thanks... they were probably the judy xc correct?

Originally posted by tFUnK
makes sense, thanks... they were probably the judy xc correct?

Been a long time actually. I almost wanna say they were Quadra21s or something like that. They're fairly old.... ca 1993 or 1994 I think.

Talk about old skool!:D

The Specialized Future Shock was a Mag 21 with Specialized's own lowers. Unlike the Mag being alu. the lowers on the Future Shock was alu. The Profile stem is a descent model, and the Zoom 170 is a 170 gram bar. These were real popular in the day, durable, and dependable.

you guys know a lot more about this than i do... it seems that i am currently buying stuff that were popular when i first was interested in bikes about 5-6 years ago. what are the mags? something to do with magnesium? how good are they compared to some forks today?

The Mag 21 was Rock Shox's high end fork for a while. I would have to say that you'll be much better served with a new fork for the bike for a variety of reasons. For starters, a lot of the problems that surfaced 5 or 7 years ago with forks have passed. They are generally more responsive to rider input and easier to tune for your riding style than the older ones are. But, it's also really difficult to find parts for them. If you blow out a seal or the cartridge inside the fork (if memory serves and your fork has a cartridge to blow) it will be very difficult to find replacement parts. I have a 1996 Judy FSX, the carbon version of a Rock Shox fork that was made for Specialized. I recently tried to see if I could rebuild it, but came up pretty short on the parts end of things.

the judy future shock only had a carbon cover over the legs i believe..w/ a fancy brake arch too (drilled). the cartridges on those forks were really weak and prone to cracking/leaking. i think there was a recall on them at one point to change the cartridge to and aluminum one instead of the stock plastic. It runs on an MCU (microcellular urathane) that was ok in certain temperatures. if it was really warm, it'd get soft...if it was cold, it'd get super hard...and the elastomers were also prone to splitting. it wasn't much lighter (if at all) than the Judy SL at the time..it just looked cool and costed a heck of a lot. another problem w/ those forks (the Judy's) was the bushing. they were quite weak and get sloppy kinda fast...feels almost like you have a loose headset when you rock the bike forward and back w/ the front brake on..

Yes, the Judy FSX was far from perfect. But, it's kind of a classic and the rebuilding project is just for fun. As a rule, and as my first post implied, old forks have suck and should be replaced. I've got a SID on the bike that had that Judy FSX on it, and will probably replace that in the next year or so.

ImprezaDrvr and Mashimaro,

I'll bring this back from the dead.... I have a carbon judy on my '95 Klein Attitude (just the legs actually) that I *obviously* need to rebuild. I noticed, ImprezaDrvr, that you had some prior, albeit unsuccessful, experience trying to find parts, etc. Can you give me any possible leads as to where to go? I am limited on funds at the moment, so outright replacement is out of the question. Not to mention, I'd have to buy a fork with the same outside diameter stanctions (I hope I remembered the name of the inner legs correctly), as I have the infamous one piece stem handlebars, and the headtube is HUGE.

Thanks!

TTT,

I've got my LBS checkingon it, but figured you guys might be able to give some direction.

Kleinrider- I'll PM you when I get the name of the shop in Albuquerque that has some parts for that fork. Can't guarantee that they'll have everything, but I know they have some stuff.

Just PM'd you, klein.

If it costs very much to fix you fork, though, hold off and save pennies for a new one. You can get good forks cheap on some websites out there. Pricepoint.com has a good bargain basement and closeout selection.

I have no honest opinion, I've only been riding a FS bike for 5 years now the other years has been with a Giant Hardtail with a rigid fork on it, I miss that bike.

kleinrider,

Have you tried looking for 'Judy' parts? They should be a direct bolt on (28mm stanctions?) if you can find a set of judy lowers from 94 to even the 00's...i think. Internals will be hard to find since they used the MCU spring back then...i agree w/ imprezadriver that you should probably try to save your pennies up for another fork. Good luck.

:beer:

the thing is that even if one does opt for a new fork, then one would still have that old fork laying around, not of much use but nonetheless a shame to just throw away. :( what to do..?

well, i don't know how safe it is..but if it's still rideable, then you might want to sell it for cheap. i think it'll cost you way too much to fix it up. You'll have to buy new lowers, bushings, springs and cartridge...that was pretty expensive back in the day.. i actually ended up buying a first generation Z2 bomber ('97) instead of rebuilding my '95 Judy XC long-travel. It would have been a bit cheaper than buying a new fork so i waited.

It was a nice fork at the time. Pretty much higher than the yellow Judy SL's but only because of cost and it's marginal weight savings from the aluminum bits and drilled brake arch. The lowers are just covers i believe..?

anyways, keep your eyes peeled for some used forks if you have a tight budget.

peace:beer:

Thanks for all the help guys! It's definitely ridable, just not "up to par". I'm searching....I'll let you know what I find.

I'd really hate to get a new one, just love the way it looks, but if I have to - I have to. If I do have to replace, do you guys think finding a fork with 28mm stanctions (or whatever they are) will be difficult? I can't just pop out the whole thing and slide a new fork in. That's the only "disadvantage" to the MC2 (in my book anyway).

the thing is that even if one does opt for a new fork, then one would still have that old fork laying around, not of much use but nonetheless a shame to just throw away. what to do..?

Can you say "tricked out beater bike"? That's where my old forks go after they aren't on the good bike anymore. Just an excuse to have another bike!

Originally posted by ImprezaDrvr


Can you say "tricked out beater bike"? That's where my old forks go after they aren't on the good bike anymore. Just an excuse to have another bike!

yep my mag is now on the SS steel frame. i still have to get a "good bike" now that i've tossed the specialized frame