I'm nearly ready to order a Romic-equipped '04 Turner DHR but I'm concerned about the durability of the Romic shock. There's plenty of bad reviews on them related to leaking compression adjusters and blown shocks. Some folks reckon this was a badly manufactured first batch (back in '03?) and the problems has since been resolved. Any feedback, particularly from '04 Turner DHR owners would be appreciated.
Romic owners - reliability?
- Thread starter toodles
- Start date
I have had very good experiences with Romic. Roger and the guys have taken amazing care of me over the years. I have had 3 Romic shocks on different bikes over the years and have been blown away by the performance. I have only had one warranty/mechanical type issue, and it wasn't as much of an issue as it was me just being anal about my equipment (it was a shock that I got as OE on a frame and I sent it to them to have it fitted with a new coil and re-valved.) Their service was fast and very satisfactory.
My 2...
My 2...
On the top of the forum page there is a "search" tool, click on it and type in romic. You will surely find plenty of feedback. Combine romic with turner and you may find exactly what you need.
Ive had 2 years of great performance from mine.
Had it rebuilt after year one. It's due for another.
Roger and the crew at Romic do a very nice job with CS as well.
Had it rebuilt after year one. It's due for another.
Roger and the crew at Romic do a very nice job with CS as well.
I have learned this summer that a romic shock is like inner tubes, always carry a spare. Out of 5 members on my team running Romics 4 have blown up the 5th only has about ten days of riding on it. Two of the shocks were part of the "bad" batch of shocks the others were not. You will never see me on a Romic again.
I also will not be getting a DHR because of this and a Avalanche is just not worth the money. If I could get a 5th or Fox on the DHR I would consider the DHR for next year. Until then it looks like a V10 for me.
I also will not be getting a DHR because of this and a Avalanche is just not worth the money. If I could get a 5th or Fox on the DHR I would consider the DHR for next year. Until then it looks like a V10 for me.
Ride it. Owning the bike is worth a little uncertainty regarding the shock. I've had 3 of them, on a Karpiel armageddon, and an 03 turner DHR..now an 04 DHR. I had 3 blow at the compression knob. This was from the infamous "period" where they didn't know their tolerances weren't being met by a new machining toy they had purchased. Annoying but not a big deal these days. I've still got one of them which has worked pretty flawlessly since about february.
Honestly though, owning a DHR is worth dealing with the stress of shock choice. A fox DHX will be available pretty soon and chances are, if the person you're buying the frame from has ridden the bike, he already knows if it's a lemon. If not, it's a decent working shock.
Honestly though, owning a DHR is worth dealing with the stress of shock choice. A fox DHX will be available pretty soon and chances are, if the person you're buying the frame from has ridden the bike, he already knows if it's a lemon. If not, it's a decent working shock.
I'll be buying it brand new, but I live in Australia so if the shock does blow I'm stuffed for a bike till it gets fixed which is why I'm worried about the things. I like the Turner but both Avy and Romic don't have much support over here and there's not many other options for shocks for the DHR
I bought a Romic for my Fly (heard the Curnutt rides too rough for lighter riders), absolutely LOVE it compared to the Fox. It lasted about three months before it started leaking oil from the limit screw at the compression knob (and the anti-bob went away), but the guys at Romic are taking care of it for me (under warranty) as I write this. Roger was very helpful setting it up for me at BB and the guys have been great on the phone, I'm optimistic that I'll be quite satisfied in the end.
Glad I kept the Fox though, as a backup.
Glad I kept the Fox though, as a backup.
Well no shock is going to have support any more than romic or avy if you live in australia right?. I've seen foxs, romics, manitous, 5ths, risse, stratos all blow up either on a first run or before they even make it that far. In that respect everything is a gamble but I can say that the newer the romic, the better the quality. Like I said before, I had issues with them last year but the most recent rebuilds/replacements I got were just fine. I put a pretty good amount of miles on my bikes so I feel comfortable saying at this point that there are no latent issues inherent with them anymore. It's just a matter of getting the most recent editions. See if you can find out when the frame was assembled at turner. Otherwise just ride it and find out. If that makes you that uncomfortable, get another frame. Shipping to australia is certainly reason for concern.toodles said:
Toodles,
The turner you would get would have the newest batch of romic on it so it blowing up shouldn't be a problem. I am farily sure that bill (importer) has spare shocks that he will lend to you while it is being rebuilt by romic, if it needs it. Check that out with him. I am fairly sure the turn around is 1 1/2 weeks anyway.
Now just go and buy the bloddy thing :nuts:
-Matt
The turner you would get would have the newest batch of romic on it so it blowing up shouldn't be a problem. I am farily sure that bill (importer) has spare shocks that he will lend to you while it is being rebuilt by romic, if it needs it. Check that out with him. I am fairly sure the turn around is 1 1/2 weeks anyway.
Now just go and buy the bloddy thing :nuts:
-Matt
I have owned three romic shocks. Two from 2003, both blown and fixed. The third shock is a 2004 on my El Cuervo and has worked flawlessly. If the statement above concerning new machines and tolerances are correct, the state of my shocks fit that description perfectly.
I had a Romic on my 02 DHR and one on my 04 - no issues at all! Both worked flawlessly.
ive had my romic now for 3 months, it died on its second ride, got rebuilt at a cost of £110 and has now died again, this time two days into riding morzine and les gets.. thankfully i thought "i`m in les gets the same time as the world champs, sorted, i`ll just go and find the romic stand and get it fixed". wrong. as i find out from every other suspension manufacturer there romic do not do race support, not even at the biggest race of the year :angry:
so i had to buy a fox off the guys at the fox stand (who were incidentally incredibly helpful) for 200 euros.. it was either that or miss out on 6 days of riding because my romic had blown AGAIN.
don`t get me wrong, i love how the shock works more than any other, nice and active but with a bit of platform, but as i see it there is absolutely no point running a shock that is liable to die at any moment and that i`m gonna struggle to get fixed (i`m in the uk). so the fox is on my bike at the moment and the romic will stay as a spare just in case.
mine was off an 04 recoil, so i dunno if that means mine were part of the duff batch or what..
so i had to buy a fox off the guys at the fox stand (who were incidentally incredibly helpful) for 200 euros.. it was either that or miss out on 6 days of riding because my romic had blown AGAIN.
don`t get me wrong, i love how the shock works more than any other, nice and active but with a bit of platform, but as i see it there is absolutely no point running a shock that is liable to die at any moment and that i`m gonna struggle to get fixed (i`m in the uk). so the fox is on my bike at the moment and the romic will stay as a spare just in case.
mine was off an 04 recoil, so i dunno if that means mine were part of the duff batch or what..
shagwell said:
might be, i had a peek inside one of those from a recoil that a peruan racer had trouble with and it was really a mess inside with crooked parts etc. also from the same time period i saw one with a rusted rebound adjuster needle.
but then again ive seen friends on much much older romics that only have normal "structural" problems after long periods of use and no issues like the ones with the newer ones.
When working well, Romic shocks are nice....
If you're worried about service (as I am since I'm on the eastcoast of Canada and California is far enough away) go for the Avalanche. It'll be expensive but in case something goes wrong (and I've never heard of anything go wrong) you can bring it to a moto-shop.
If you're worried about service (as I am since I'm on the eastcoast of Canada and California is far enough away) go for the Avalanche. It'll be expensive but in case something goes wrong (and I've never heard of anything go wrong) you can bring it to a moto-shop.
It's funny.. For the longest time, Romics were like this big, well-kept secret. Extrodinary shocks for a great price that never seemed to break. Then, out of the blue they started breaking left and right and suddenly Romic owners were coming out of the woodwork.
Sounds like they're heading back towards where they started - nobody trusts them, and so they don't sell as many, even though they've gone back to being reliable...
Sounds like they're heading back towards where they started - nobody trusts them, and so they don't sell as many, even though they've gone back to being reliable...
Kind of, but when the failures started, romic customer service handled it so well that you really didn't hear about the failures untill later, and even though the shock had already failed, many people were still completely happy (only when it failed the 2nd or 3rd time were they unhappy).binary visions said:
The amount of reviews on mtbr that gave them 4 or 5 "stars" despite a failure pretty much said it all. Great customer service, flawed product.
First Stratos, then Romic - who's next? Push?binary visions said:
Ahh, Stratos.. Unfortunately, nothing in the world can rescue a product from bad customer service...Acadian said:First Stratos, then Romic - who's next? Push?
My Romic has been perfect for the last 3 years, I just think the shock feels like poo.
Gotta love the BandwagonAcadian said:First Stratos, then Romic - who's next? Push?
Then it's not perfect now is it?Brian HCM#1 said:
What bike do you have it on? Weasel?When they're working like they're supposed to work, they feel really smooth and controlled. I had one get stiff, almost like there was something binding inside of it or rubbing like JM said. It was fixed. I did find I liked the way it felt on my Karpiel more than the turner though. I'm thinking higher leverage ratios over ride the platform a little easier?
Either way......People should own turners. Buy the bike.
I guess I should have been more clear............It hasn't blown in 3 years, and yes the Weasel. When Luc had his Romic serviced at Sea Otter I cruised it around and it was the best feeling Romic I ever felt, mine is just harsh. The old Fox RX felt better.kidwoo said:Then it's not perfect now is it?
When they're working like they're supposed to work, they feel really smooth and controlled. I had one get stiff, almost like there was something binding inside of it or rubbing like JM said. It was fixed. I did find I liked the way it felt on my Karpiel more than the turner though. I'm thinking higher leverage ratios over ride the platform a little easier?
Either way......People should own turners. Buy the bike.
My first one blew - it was part of the bad batch. UPS lost it when it was shipped back to me. Customer service at Romic was good - they sent me a brand new one so I wouldn't have to wait for UPS to go through their whole investigation. The second one works (ask Barbarosa) great.
BrianHMC.... Im willing to bet something is wrong with the Romic you have. It may not have broken into 3 pieces and it may not leak out of the compression knob but there is something wrong with it. Send it to Romic and have them look at it this winter.
got my romic in august 2002--apparently before the infamous batch of romics w/ incorrect part tolerances. overall it has performed well, no oil leakage; i've sent it in once for routine preventative maintenance.
Romic has been good about customizing the valving for my riding and bike. However I think i'll be buying the fox DHX next year, primarily because the fox allows me to dial things in depending on what i'm riding that weekend. The reason I'm hesitating on buying the DHX right now is that a friend of mine (who owns a bike shop) has had problems w/ a top-of-stroke internal clunking issue w/the DHX 5 so I figure I'll wait for the teething issues to get resolved.
In terms of attitude, Romic has great customer service. In terms of being organized and not losing paperwork (for example), Romic has been below average.
Romic has been good about customizing the valving for my riding and bike. However I think i'll be buying the fox DHX next year, primarily because the fox allows me to dial things in depending on what i'm riding that weekend. The reason I'm hesitating on buying the DHX right now is that a friend of mine (who owns a bike shop) has had problems w/ a top-of-stroke internal clunking issue w/the DHX 5 so I figure I'll wait for the teething issues to get resolved.
In terms of attitude, Romic has great customer service. In terms of being organized and not losing paperwork (for example), Romic has been below average.
I probably will.Kanter said:
I saw two blown Fox's that had been PUSH'd in the same day at Whistlerbinary visions said:
But then again I saw two blown Romics, 1 blown Fox RC , 3 blown Swingers 4 blown....You get the picture
I would agree that you should get an Avy if you live anywhere other than the US just for the simple fact of worldwide service availability through moto shops. Every other brand is a crap shoot not worth taking if service turn around is months not weeks.
Yeah I live about 15 minutes from the Santa Cruz/Progressive 5th Element importer and about 1000 kms from the Turner importer. I've never even seen an '04 Turner in the flesh but I have ridden the V10 and all the crap with the Romics isn't encouraging. I'll flip a coin later today and order one or the other. I'l go nuts worrying about this **** for too much longer.
I have a 04' DHR with the romic and I weigh 130ish...I blew it up , but after talkiing to rodger it was just the O-rings they had that were defective, every since he put the new on in and set it up better for my weight/riding style..its been KILLER!!! I loe it, and those guys are great down at Romic. Very helpful!..
bibs said:
130ish.
Bwwaaaahhhhhaaa.
I hope that was a typo
oops yea 230ish!! ahahahhahahahahah
with me it was just blowing a seal...and leaking oil thats all
One of my biggest problems is that everytime someone blows up a Romic, Romic has an excuse. Every excuse seems to be defective this defective that bad machining......Does Romic have any kind of Quality Control at all??
how can you qualtiy control a shock...I think to a point you cannot..but Im not worried about that...shocks ALL blow...as long as they help me when I need it...thats what really matters.