Reba Race 29er Fork
I had a Reba Race 29er Fork on my hardtail when I first built it up… but I was constantly wrecking from the front wheel washing out and eventually the front wheel failed and the rim got a serious S bend and it was useless. So I dropped the front wheel off at the LBS to get it repaired. But before the wreck I had not been too pleased with the Reba and had told the guys I ride with that I felt it was a poorly designed fork… it was too flexy and did not track well. But after the front wheel got damaged I began to think the flexy and tracking issues where related to the wheelset possibly having some issues and the Reba had nothing to do with it.
But buy the time I got my new front wheel back, I had already gotten a RST M-29 fork and had it installed. It did a great job and I just hung the Reba up on the garage wall. I rode the Padrino with the RST M-29 for about 2 months. Then I got a Fox F29 and rode the Padrino with the F29 for about another 2 months. I then stripped the F29 off the Padrino and installed it on my Full Sus. El Rey and I spent the next 2 months riding the El Rey and began stripping a few parts off the Padrino so I could work on it. The Padrino (hardtail) sat on my bike stand for a while… waiting for some attention.
So, two weeks ago I was in the garage, it was raining out and I wasn’t going to be riding at least for a few days. I stood there staring at my hardtail and finally decided I’d take advantage of the down time and pull the wheelset from my full suspension and change the configuration of my hardtail’s drive train. While I was at it, I decided to re-install my Reba Race 29er fork. I wanted to give the Reba another chance and see if I was just being bias in my displeasure of the Reba during the first two months I had it on my hardtail. So I got the Reba installed, and the bike dialed back in.
A few days later the trails where dry and I was out riding. I didn’t really notice any serious issues with the Reba and things where going well, I was having a great ride. 9 miles in the trail got a bit more technical and challenging. As I was rounding an off camber corner and hammering through it at a nice clip… the front washed right out from underneath me and I had a nasty wreck. I got up and got right back in the saddle. Not even a mile later the front washed again and then a third time. I figured… maybe I’m just tired and my lines are getting sloppy. A week later I’m back at the same trail and as I entered this same technical area I wrecked twice. The first wreck was almost in the same location as before, but this time I had insured I picked a good line, yet down I went. I decided to take a look at the trail and see what I could see. All I found was a slight offset in the trail, maybe about an inch in difference in the offset where other bikers had carve a slight 1 inch rut, but I already knew about this offset, I had always taken the high line to avoid the rut time and time before… and never had any issues. I checked my skewer, my wheelset, the tire pressure, the bike and everything seemed fine. I climbed back on my bike and hit the trail. About another half mile further up the trail the front washed again and down I went.
The following day I took the hardtail, Reba installed out to another tail… Sherman Branch. I ride this trail about once or twice a week. I know every aspect of this trail, every corner, rock garden, log, how to hit it and get the best out of the trail’s features. So as I’m railing through one of my favorite corners, I notice my line drift from the usual tight inside corner outwards, coming out of the corner and going right into another I notice my line drift again… not much, but just enough to change my expected line of attack, just enough to change what I have come to expect out of my bike.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that what I expected originally… the Reba Race 29er fork just isn’t right for me, it’s too flexy and does not instill confidence. It’s unpredictable and it is the source of my wrecks. And considering I’ve had zero wrecks in these same areas with the RST M-29 and the Fox F29 installed on the Padrino, I feel very confident that I have given the Reba all the chances to receive and un-bias conclusion of it’s performance. I’ve had not tracking issues with the RST M-29 and the Fox F29… they track great and hold their lines.
Simply said, “the Reba Race 29er fork does not track well, it’s flexy and does not build confidence in it’s predictability”. I’ll be stripping the Reba off my bike as soon as I can and re-installing the RST M-29.




