Mountain Biking - Rockshox 2004 models, and more

Hi guys. Is it just me or are a lot of bike companies not going with RockShox this year. I see them going with Marz, and Matibou more.

Is there a reason? Maybe RS isn't cutting them a good deal? Or just RockShox isn't up to par this year?

This would be a personal thing but really Marz is slowly migrating to other markets besides dh and fr. And with the 888 has a definate racing contender. Its xc stuff is looking good too now. (for racing)

Manitou has really stepped up in the last 2 years and is generally getting a lot more respect and offers decent prices.

Personally I don't know of any bikes here sold without Marzochi forks except high end dhillers that have a) boxxer or b) dorado. I think RS is getting the stagnent rap :)

Consumer demand is possibly part of it all. With so many great frames out there all fitted with Shimano drivetrains, forks are probably becoming more of a sales differentiator than they have ever been before.

RockShox has a bit of a low reputation in the market these days, and preference seems to be switching to Manitou, Marz, Fox etc, particularly for mid- to high-end bikes.

Manufacturers and dealers will put on whatever sells best - few companies would actually put true performance ahead of sales potential.

Just guessing here, but maybe since Sram now owns RockShox, they're only providing package deals with the big companies. il.e., we'll give you a good deal on a Sram component group and a RS fork, but we won't split the package.

Just an assumption.

L8R

Yea I agree with A2, you dont see SRAM stuff on any new high end mtn bikes, however I really like their new trigger shifters and hopefully some bike manufacturers will sign on for those

RS still appear on many high end cross country bikes. They make some of the lightest XC forks in the world. I wouldn't hesitate to run one for those purposes, but for freeriding I'd stick to Marzocchi.