Contents • • • • • • • History [ ] Start [ ] RockShox was founded by Paul Turner in 1989 in, USA. It moved to four years later when Steve and Deborah Simons bought out Dia Compe. Turner raced in his teens. In 1977, aged 18 he established a company that sold motorcycle components. He later worked for the as factory for their professional team. This put him in contact with designers of suspension systems for motorcycles and other motocross industry people.
Finding out the age of Rockshox forks. From vague memory there is a serial number under the crown which has a year on it. They are 2007/2008 Rock Shox.
Simons is a former motocross rider in his teens and early twenties and entrepreneur. He developed heat sinks for Koni shock absorbers to lower oil temperatures and then in 1974 he designed a shock absorber for the company that became.
He then established his own company Dynamic Enterprises which became Simons Inc. Developing pneumatic upgrade kits for suspension forks. This led to his own fork design and manufacture. He had two on suspension forks, one which, for upside down forks, he licensed to motorcycle and suspension manufacturers.
In the late 1980s Paul began riding mountain bikes and with his motorcycle experience longed for suspension. Paul began developing the first bicycle suspension fork. In 1989 or 1990, Turner approached Simons for help designing a suspension fork for mountain bikes. Turner had in 1987, with the help of, presented a full bike with front and rear suspension at the bicycle industry trade show in.
The industry was not impressed. Two years later Turner and his wife Christi were manufacturing suspension forks in their garage with parts bought from Simons Inc, who later partnered Turner when Steve and his wife, Deborah, mortgaged their home to buy out Dia Compe and move manufacturing to Mt. View, California in 1993. The R&D and Marketing groups remained in Boulder, Co. Until moving to Mt. View, Ca in 1994 and then Santa Cruz in 1995.
Manufacturing and Engineering move to San Jose, Ca in 1995. They worked with Thomas Dooley at TDA in Boulder, CO who created the current RockShox logo, and was the creative director for all marketing and advertising. Turner brought in as a test rider and company spokesman.
In 1990 Herbold became the first in riding one of the first suspension forks for mountain bikes made. In August that year the company manufactured its first 100 suspension forks, the RS-1. The start-up was financed by the East Asian bike component manufacturer, the founders, and other investors. Manufactured the next series of forks in addition to the original Aheadset, which the RS-1 utilised.
Later Dia-Compe USA was bought out by Simons & Turner who disposed of its shares. From then the forks were primarily manufactured at RockShox in Mt.View, Ca. In 1992 Turner & Simons, using the RockShox RS-1 design, created a private label fork for Specialized working with Mark Winter.
Mark left Specialized a few years later, joining RockShox in 1995. Growth and IPO [ ] Eight years after inception the company manufactured and sold a million RockShox forks and had revenues of $100 million. The company went public in October 1996, was listed on the Stock Exchange (ticker: RSHX), and raised 65 million dollars ($72 million before deduction of IPO related costs). The company had 300 employees, most in the company's US. RockShox had a market share of 60 percent. Competition and cost savings [ ] Towards the end of the 1990s competition was fierce and profits were thin.
Rock Shox was one of many brands that marketed suspension forks for bicycles, others were Answer Manitou, Marzocchi and RST. During this time Fox Racing Shox also entered the bicycle industry. As the number of direct substitutes to Rock Shox' products increased, the company experienced difficulties in protecting its position as the leading manufacturer in the business.
In June 2000 RockShox moved production to, which saved an estimated $5 million a year. Poison Ivy Hacking Tools: Software Free Download here. In 2001 the company lost $10 million. SRAM takeover [ ] In 2002 RockShox defaulted on a to SRAM. SRAM took over the company and its obligations for $5.6 million. The company had 300 employees in Colorado Springs. In 2002, production in Colorado moved to,. A small test facility remains in Colorado Springs.
Paul Turner has been nominated for the several times but declined.
Have you been tempted by a cheap pair of Rockshox forks online? Found a deal that’s just been too good to refuse? Perhaps you’ve received said fork, but then you’ve noticed a small blemish on the back of the fork crown – kind of like the serial number has been removed?
Rockshox is warning that you should stay well away from such forks. And well, if it seems like a deal that’s too good to be true, than it probably is In a “” on the SRAM website, a Rockshox Authentication Notice has been posted, warning customers of the potential problems and/or dangers of buying Rockshox forks that have had the serial number removed. SRAM (owner of the RockShox brand) states that there has been a considerable increase in the number of Rockshox branded suspension forks sold online which have had the unique serial number removed. If the serial number has been removed you should avoid! The serial number is found on the fork crown, and is typically etched into the metal surface. A number of reports have found that forks have been sold and bought with this serial number scratched off the surface of the crown (like in the image above). And what’s bad about that?
Well aside from voiding any warranty that you think you may have had (RockShox forks sold through authorised retailers come with a 2-year warranty), SRAM is sending out an official warning that forks that have had the numbers removed could be potentially dangerous to use. Or they may in fact, even be counterfeit forks! Have already started to speculate that those forks with serial numbers removed could be OEM forks that aren’t intended to be sold directly to customers.
They could also be from overseas markets, or they might even be forks that have been remanufactured using warranty parts by unscrupulous venders. If you’re not sure what to do the general rule from SRAM seems to be that you should avoid any fork if the serial number isn’t visible. If you are still concerned about your fork you should get in contact with your local authorised Rockshox dealer.