Rockshox 35 gold – Real life feedback

Anyone got any feedback on the Rockshox 35 gold fork?

I’m looking for a fork to fit to a new hardtail and on paper the 35s seam to be good value and with the 35mm stanchions fits the bill.

I have a set of revs on my old 26er hardtail at 120mm travel still seam pretty plush with the moco damper. On the full sus I have 140mm pikes with the RCT damper. And to be honest I can’t really tell the difference in how sensitive they are. I guess that’s because I ride the two bikes differently.

I realise that the 35s are budget forks, but I would expect any of the 32mm stationed forks to ride in a similar manor with the moco damper but to be stiffer. Or is there something I’m missing?

I have some 35 Golds in 29er 150mm 44mm offset. For comparison I also have Lyrik Ultimates and Zeb Ultimates all in the same travel and offset. I also have had a Pike 29er.

The 35s are OK. They aren’t as adjustible or as sophisticate as the Lyriks but they work. Inside they are basic and cheap but that is reflected in the price.
The finish is good.

I have added 2 tokens to ramp the compression up a bit which has worked well. You can feel more stiction in the seals once the fork gets dirty and used. The Lyrik wiper seals feel better for much longer.

Hope that helps

How upgradable are they? That could make a big difference- not suggesting to buy a fork with the intention of upgrading, but knowing the options can make the purchase easier.

I’ve been impressed with mine.

Came on the Scandal – I would have gone for something like revs or rebas normally but covid/brexit is limiting choices.

They felt noticeably better than the Rebas on the bike that I sold but I guess most of that is down to the fact they haven’t been hammered for 5 years.

While they are at the budget end of the proper fork market things have moved on so they are likely to be better than older forks?

They are quite heavy (for someone who wanted Rebas).

I also got a pair on the Scandal. 29er 130mm travel. They seem very smooth and plush. The only other forks I’ve used to compare with are Fox F80s on a 2008 26er Giant Anthem. The 35s are much more solid and less “twangy”. Also much smoother. However, they do get through the travel rapidly and I have added 1 token…may need to add a second. Seem good for budget forks but maybe low-speed compression adjustment would be nice.

I have a pair which came on a Whyte last year.

Really stiff so no noticeable deflection, reasonably responsive and sensitive, performed better after a strip down and re-grease/oil change.

They are a decent functional fork. Not much in them between a revelation and pike select for normal use. Bar weight, in 27.5 guise mine weigh 2.45kg.

The only reason I would change them to a pike would be to save c500g/1lbs in weight.

I got a pair on my Scandal too, set at 140mm though.

They’re not as good as the Pikes on my FS but better than older Revs etc. Under the choose two ‘rule’, they’re cheap & stiff.

I (Briefly) had a pair of the 29er flavour earlier this year – I bought a frame and fork second hand, but because I was moving nice/known good stuff across from my existing hardtail, I sold the 35s without ever trying them.
Two immediate impressions: They seemed a bit chonkeh compared to the basic Fox 34s I was already using, and all the digging around I did seemed to unearth that you couldn’t fit gubbins for other RS 35mm platforms inside, as you can with the higher range stuff. Something about different thread pitches, from what I remember. That may have changed since then, of course.
I’d suggest also looking at the lower end Fox 34s if you can find them at a reasonable price, or the Marzocchi Z2s. Sadly the days of bargain OEM Fox sales are long gone.

As above, I’ve got them on my Scandal too.

Pros:
Better than old rockshock Motion Control forks. And they were generally pretty good.
Stiff

Cons:
Heavy
Not as good as Pike/Lyrik or even Rev/Yari. But I’d say good enough that you notice it when you look for it, not when you’re just hammering down a trail.
Not upgradeable (the stanchions are cheaper thicker aluminum and not butted hence the weight).
A bit of stiction, you can see them bind whilst pedaling on the road they don’t bob. But you cant feel that on the trail.

I’d say they suit the price point perfectly. If you’re building a hardtail you don’t need massive travel and super damping as you’re limited by the rear end’s lack of either. If you’re building a £3000 sub 30lb enduro bike, you’ll probably want to save the weight and match the rear suspension.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
It seems that the consensus is that they are good for a hardtail and for the money. It might even be worth dropping of the lowers (I’d do anyway to check if there is oil) and switch the wiper seals for the low stiction ones.
I’ve got a month or two to mull it over.

I almost fell off the chair seeing this Rockshox 35RL Gold add.

Clicked on the link out of stock

My brother and I have a GT zaskar and a On One scandal.
We both have RS 35 gold forks.
Did a lower leg service on them as both up around 50 hrs.
Removed lowers, drained oil, cleaned foam seals, regreased wiper seals and added good quality fork oil.
Forks on both bikes feel much much better than they ever did.

Anyone know why this is the case? Or have similar?
Poor quality oil used from factory?

Rockshox have a tradition of not putting enough oil in the lowers, not sure if it still happens. But I suspect it’s just that they’re now nicely broken in, and also now they’ve got all fresh oil etc so those nicely broken in parts are all at their best.

I have just listed these for sale: https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/381720710197780/

Only replaced due to the bargain Lyriks from CRC recently.

I have noticed my 130 mm forks are now sitting at around 145 mm.
Not sure if this was the case before servicing the lowers.
Is this normal? What would cause this?

Brothers are sitting around 130 mm, where they should be.

@andydunne12

They are travel adjustable via the rockshox all travel spacers.

The fixed spacers that come in them can also be cut down to increase travel.

It’s possible you haven’t put the spacers back.

Ye I am not too sure mate.
I didn’t take any spacers etc out.
I just dropped the lower legs.
Are the spacers in the uppers or lowers?