RockShox Judy Gold RL Fork [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

RockShox is one of the leading manufacturers of mountain bike suspension in the world. Being one of the top dogs comes with a lot of responsibilities and RockShox had no issue tackling the affordable market of aftermarket MTB suspension. The Judy Gold RL is a staple in cost efficient upgrades and has saved many riders the pain of having to fork up so much money to either upgrade to factory suspension or even get a new bike. The Judy is the fork for people looking at upgrading an older bike or even a cheaper bike with questionable suspension. Let's see what this customer thought of their upgrade!

Judy Gold RL Review

I purchased this for my 2017 Specialized Rockhopper Comp that came with SR Suntour XCR Air. I was just planning to buy the RockShox Judy Silver TK as it is more budget-friendly. However, I can’t find it online because it is out of stock everywhere. I had a bit of a hard time looking for a new fork as most of the fork that I saw was for thru-axle. My bike as a QR 9 x 100 mm dropout and that gave me a hard time. Until I saw this RockShox Judy Gold RL. It caught my attention as it looks really nice plus I think that it will work pretty awesome too!

So, I ordered it and it was shipped via FedEx and as usual, I had a problem with it cause it got stuck in their warehouse and the FedEx rep said they are going to look into it. Luckily I got it, but it went past the expected date of delivery. (FedEx fault!!)

Let us go to unboxing and installation, the RockShox Judy Gold RL came with paperwork and a starnut. And I really love its black stealthy look! I also did order a crown race as I’ve seen several videos and learned that it is kinda difficult to take it off from the previous fork. Luckily, my old fork came with a split type crown race that was very easy to remove. I measured the correct length that I need and cut the steerer tube accordingly. Installation was pretty easy and straight forward.

After installation, I went to the trail and tried it out! Tell you what, the difference between SR Suntour XCR Air and RockShox Judy Gold RL was night and day. The only thing I miss with the SR Suntour XCR Air as the remote lockout. However, this RockShox Judy Gold RL is compatible with the OneLoc remote so you can purchase it in case you want to. I can say that this RockShox Judy Gold RL is a bit stiff but it is ok for me as I’m not a big fan of super-soft suspension.

"Rebound can be adjusted on the bottom part of the fork. You can adjust it to 6 different positions from fast to slow rebound depending on your preference. I prefer to have it in the middle especially when I’m hitting the trails."

On the top part of the suspension, there is the air on the left and compression dampening on the right. The compression knob has 7 specific points that you can adjust to and has a lockout option which I like when climbing. There is a sticker on the fork that suggests your psi depending on your weight or if you want, you can also use the Rockshox app to help you with tuning. Though the tuning option is not detailed compared to higher-end Rockshox suspension, the app still helps.

Conclusion

"I can definitely say that this suspension performed really well in the intermediate trail that I always go to. I like the way it looks, the dampening, the rebound, and my bike became lighter too! Plus, it made the stance of my bike more aggressive due to its 120mm travel. This fork/suspension is more than what I need and I am pretty sure that this will last a long time!"