Shockworks Fly - Ever heard of this fork?

Hi all,

I recently bought this weird fork and, provided there's no info about it online (as far as I know) I decided to open this thread and see if anyone knows this contraption.

I know buying something with no references is basicly playing lottery, but this one was really cheap and – I have to admit it- I had a certain curiosity to see how this abomination worked. If it does the job, then my old bike will rock again! If not... well, if I'd have paid about the same for such amount of metal in bar stock form.

So, the first thing I noticed about the fork is that, plain and simple, looks massive. Not just massive; absurdly overbuilt. I believe it all started as a joke at Shockworks, which eventually (one day of wild alcoholic enjoyment) became a challenge with money involved, and finally, it happened... it was a cloudy night outside the workshop, the wind howling like a mad wolf, then a lightning struck... and suddenly, it was alive (evil laugh on the background)!


With its 45mm legs & 40mm stanchions, it reminds me of a cut-off monster fork a bit. It weighs aproximately ~2.2kg. I wish all the extra aluminium isn't just for the looks (the example of cheapo asian forks which have dual crowns, yet use stanchions thinner than my pinkie comes to mind).

So let's have a closer look. The steerer tube is aluminium, and the fine grooves may indicate it was turned on a lathe.
The upper crown seems to have been cast in aluminium and then machined all around.


It has the only visible adjustment, what seems to be the typical sag adustment dial (0.3-0.4 turns from side to side).


The crown joining the legs reminds me of the front grill in a SUV.


Quite a few machining time here:


The disc brake boss is machined aluminium billet, too. I would normally think they made it this way so you could remove it when using vbrakes and shave some grams, but I doubt whoever designed this cared about weight (or looks, BTW) really much. Axle & bolts are aluminium too.



The V-brake bosses show a relatively (and unnecesary) intrincate design. Since they can't be removed, I hope I can clamp my wicker basket to them, at least.


The travel must be somewhere between 85-100mm (110mm stanchions lenght with the fork unloaded, from crown to legs). Regarding use... dirt? free? park stroll?
As far as the inner workings go, I believe it's coil+sealed cartridge, but the stickers invite me to think there could be an air valve hidden somewhere... under the cap of the other leg? Who knows! I'll have to find/make a tool to open the cap first.

Regarding test rides... they'll have to wait, I must get a wheel first and it's going to take a while.

Well, let's see if someone has heard of it! The envelope may give some clues...

binary visions, I'll sure do, but as I said it will take a while... which is a pity, because if it worked nicely I might had the chance of getting a second one for spares.

Quo Fan, does "345" mean something, or it's just to reach the minimum characters to post?

MMcG, I think it has a certain coolness, too. My old bike looks like it was made from the canibalized remains of other crappy bikes, so the fork should fit at home.
And yes, I googled it, went to mtbr too, and found nothing but vague opinions on other shockworks products.

Quo Fan, I'm not sure how the first part of your sig should apply to the thread...

HAB, w00dy, I know first hand that making a mold is very expensive, and for small series, a low salary + workshop might be cheaper.
I still think the crown is cast and then machined, though; the inner faces are smooth, but the external faces are machined. Perhaps this piece was common to several forks.

Yes, it's most likely a NOS fork. From what I've read (which doesn't necessarily mean it's true), the brand had some relation to Showa and went down about 12 years ago. To add to the mystery, I upload another fork (18cm) from the same seller; it's obvious there are a few similarities between them.

By the way, I managed to contact a fellow rider who imported and serviced the brand for several years; I'll post again when I get a reply... or make a ride report. Whichever comes first.

No, not yet. As I said, my bike needs some stuff to roll, and I'm not in a hurry to get it.
But if you know a "bombproof" wheelset for ~150-200$, that could help.

I'm tempted to build a wheelset with my ex 721 rims just to be able to ride again, but I'd prefer to get something stiffer and avoid future headaches.

Sorry for the late reply, I almost forgot the thread.
Before going further, I must say I'm not experienced enough to properly rate a decent fork (luckily, that doesn't apply here). Also, I haven't used it much either -perhaps 5-6 times since summer- because of a few uninteresting reasons.

Anyway, here's a pic of it after it's first use, a bikepark day:


A few "tech" notes about it:

• Notice the dark deposits on the stanchions; they appear after some use. Since I opened the fork and everything inside looked quite good, I think it must be some sort of dry grease or rubber from the seals (either of which doesn't look too good). I'll try putting a few oil drops and see if it improves anything
• The "Soft-Firm" dial works basically as a preload adjuster (makes the fork slightly plusher-harder), and it's effect is more noticeable for low pressures. At higher pressures, it's quite subtle.
• To have the front caliper properly aligned, I had two put two spacers (M5 washers) between it and the aluminium piece where it's bolted to.
• I'm curious about why one of the holes for the caliper has a slightly larger diameter at first. I'd say the idea was to make the screw head sit flush, but it doesn't have enough diameter to fit a normal head and, also, why just one screw and no both?
• The axle has a 21mm hex screw, which requires you to either carry a ridiculously large wrench or expect a long walk in case of puncture.
• There's a valve hidden under the dial cap, so you can pump air and get the required stiffness.
• The legs are slightly angled in reference to the steerer tube (at least in mine, when brand new). When you see the bike sideways, it looks like I had a serious crash.

And a very brief review:
The fork, well, works. If you sink it, it comes back (which is more than I expected). The most noticeable riding quality is that, lacking a rebound control, it kicks like a crazy horse - a behaviour that gets even worse at high pressures. There's no shock absorption, but rather a fast springy action, which coupled to the front kenda blue groove has given me quite a few nasty surprises in the form of unexpected wash-outs.
I guess I've managed to bottom it out, but I'm not too sure - never felt a sudden "clonck" or noise, but to use the last 1-2cm you must really land hard (perhaps because of the air spring?). Will try releasing some air and see if it improves anything, but on gnarly trail use (without jumps) I use about 60-70% of the travel (which should be around 10cm) so I don't expect much range to experiment.

Despite it's bulkiness it's almost empty, so it's not that heavy. I've not managed to feel the fork more/less stiffer than other medium-range forks I've tried. With the front pads almost worn, you can make the fork resonate and wobble (but that happens with high end forks too, so I'm not sure this proves anything).
Overall, it's what I imagined; a cheap fork that does a very basic job of "killing the edge" of harder impacts. And, as you see, it fits the rest of the bike perfectly.