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Mountain Bike suspension is born. The story of a legend.

In 1987 at the Bicycle Industry's Premier trade show in Long Beach, California, Paul Turner, a Honda motocross race mechanic and Keith Bontrager, a bicycle frame manufacturer, showed a futuristic full suspension bicycle (with front and rear shocks) to legions of naysayers. "It will never work," "it's too heavy," "my arms and legs are all the suspension I need on my bike!" A few people knew the naysayers were wrong.

By 1989, Turner and his wife Christi were manufacturing the forks in their garage, sourcing parts from long time friend Steve Simons' machine shop. Steve's history included developing suspension forks that had revolutionized the off road motorcycle world. Soon they became partners in a new venture -- RockShox.

At the first globally-sanctioned World Championships in Durango, Colorado, 1990, the cycling community had begun to expect downhill races to be won using front suspension forks, and possibly rear suspension. Coloradan Greg Herbold and Canadian Cindy Devine proved the community right by using RockShox to win the first ever World Championship Downhill titles.

The next day featured the cross-country race, where the question was still out -- "Is suspension better than rigid forks when climbing? Does the added weight provide enough of an advantage?" Ned Overends' resounding victory put an end to the question, and a new market was born.

The change had begun.


A history of winning products.

RS1.
Yep, RockShox One. The first product. The fork that launched a new industry -- bicycle suspension. 1989. World Championship proven. Air and oil technology. Come on' everybody, there's a new day dawnin'!

Mag21.
The first magnesium lower legged MTB fork. Continued World Cup, National and World Championship racing titles. Ushering in the age of suspension for all serious mountain bikes. Followed by the Mag21 SL -- SuperLight -- titanium hardware, aluminum steerer, lightweight, high performance.

Quadra.
Low cost performance. Elastomer-based suspension at an affordable price. RockShox image and performance for the masses. A sign of things to come.

Paris-Roubaix.
LeMond, LaSalle, Tchmill -- Winners, champions and legends. Racing and winning on the cobblestones of France in the Hell of the North using the RockShox Paris-Roubaix fork. Setting trends for comfort performance bikes in the future.

Judy.
The name that inspired copycats. The fork that redefined performance. Cartridge dampening systems. Bright Yellow said "Cross-Country" bright red -- "Downhill". Introduced in 1995's race season. One-third of all World Championship medals won using Judy's. More than all other fork manufacturers medals combined.

Rear Suspension.
The world leader in front suspension tackles the rear. Shared technology creates the first true systems approach to bicycle suspension.

SID.
The ultimate in Cross-Country racing forks for 1997. Propelled to podiums on the top racers of the world. Setting a new standard in Air technology suspension.

Boxxer.
Mega-travel, mega-stiff, mega-plush. Six inches of motocross-inspired downhill travel. Developing Hydracoil technology to be used in Judy and other forks in the future.

Dual-Air.
Integrated into 1998 and beyond SID fork designs. Lighter, infinitely adjustable spring rates.

Ruby.
The Paris-Roubaix fork in a stylized one-piece mag lower. The ultimate suspension for long-distance high-performance road riding.

Ruby Metro.
Bringing it down to the masses. Comfort and fitness bike ready. Ideal for commuting and running to the store for groceries.

Judy Hydracoil.
Boxxer technology for real people. Smooth, low-maintenance, supple performance.

SID Rear Shock.
Air technology for the back of your full suspension bike. Super-light, super-plush air shocks bring up the rear.

RockShox Seatposts.
For road and mountain. Turns any rigid-rear bike into a soft-tail, body forgiving, power enhancing machine. Full-suspension performance for minimal cost.

So there you have it, the history and product line of the company that created a new market-bicycle suspension. Mountain and road cycling is more fun than ever, due to the technological advances of the late 20th century. So get on a bike, go check out the planet, and make the world a better place to live in!