fcormier

In another thread, I was pondering about what to do with my suspension forks, a 2000 Rockshox Judy XC and a 2003 Rockshox Pilot C. After doing lots of reading of Rockshox technical and maintenance manual, I have come up with a solution: upgrade my Pilot C from 80 mm to 100 mm and put in a softer spring. I had my shop order the XC28 spring kit and it fits right in! In essence, forks from the early 2000s are compatible with forks parts from 2016!

Earlier forks relied on spacer to change the travel of the fork. My 2000 Judy XC had two spacer in each leg to switch between 63, 80 and 100 mm. Later Judys and Pilots XC and SL had one spacer in the left leg (non drive side) to switch between 80 and 100 mm. The Pilot C, 2006 Judys, Darts and XC28 require to change the shaft that connects the lower legs to the stanchions to switch between 80, 100 and 125 mm. This shaft is compatible between all models.

Here is the compatibility chart I made for forks with 28 mm stanchions using coil springs:

• Forks with no damping:
  • 2005 and ealier Judy TT and C
  • 2006 Judy J1
  • 2007 and later Dart 1
• Forks with HydraCoil/rebound damping
  • 2005 and earlier Judy XC
  • 2005 and earlier Pilot C
  • 2006 Judy J2
  • 2007 and later Dart 2
  • 2012 and later XC 28 R
• Forks with Turnkey damping
  • 2006 Judy J2 Turnkey and J3
  • 2007 and later Dart 2 Turnkey and 3
  • 2012 and later XC 28 TK
• Forks with U-Turn spring
  • 2005 and ealier Judy SL U-Turn (HydraCoil damping)
  • 2006 Judy J4 U-Turn (Turnkey damping)

Sorry for the ramblings, I just wanted the compatibility between these forks to be documented somewhere on the internet. I'm sure it's the same for forks with 32 mm stanchions (Tora/XC32/Recon).

On a sidenote, I read about someone who changed from a coil to an air spring system in his Rockshox. It's not economical, but it can be done because of part compatibility. For the damping, if I wanted, I'm sure I could fit a Turnkey system in my 2003 Pilot C.

Tony412k

Bump.. few years later this is the only article I found with this info. Thank you. Did the xc28 setup you bought still allow you to add air to the air assist on the fork?or did it convert it to coil only.
I broke the plastic and also bent the lower damper rod thst goes under the spring on 03 pilot sl.. trying to source any that would fit it.

Kapusta

One thing to keep in mind is that just because the stanchion outer diameter is the same does not mean the inner diameter is. I know for a fact that 32mm RS Al and steel stanchions are not same internal diameter, and this means dampers are not compatible between them. Not sure about the coil springs.

fcormier

To answer both your questions:
Tony412k You're welcome. There was no air assist to my Pilot C, so I can't say about the air assist. The parts should be compatible between Pilot/Dart/XC28 as mentioned previously. If you want to make sure, check the parts catalogs of every year and compare the part numbers and check compatibility (Pilot/Judy to Dart and Dart to XC28).
Kapusta I haven't looked into the 32mm models in details, I only looked into the Pilot and Judy forks by comparing the parts catalogs of every year for those specific models.

Tony412k

I was able to install xc28 turnkey damper and assembly toy 03 pilot sl.. still looking for plunger and damper rod for the spring side or something comparable