Product Image:
Product name: RockShox Domain RC
Price paid: £315 inc delivery
Score (out of 10): 10
Review:
Not seen much talk about Domains on the forum so thought I’d do a quick opinion. I will start by saying I really didn’t NEED to change the Yari’s from my stock Haibike as they generally worked well for me and my type of riding but I just couldn’t help myself when I saw a brand new set of Domains on the bay for just £315 delivered (29”/180mm).
Prior to buying these I had spent quite some time reading the bushing thread (all 49 pages of it) at Tight Bushings = Harshness | Mountain Bike Reviews Forum (mtbr.com) which got me quite interested in checking bushings in future. It’s a bit of a faff but it does seem this is the No1 reason for overly sticky forks. So before fitting the Domains I stripped them down, did some measurements and whilst I was there I made sure they were lubed OK from the factory (they were). I had also planned to fit some SKF green wipers as I did with the Yari’s because they definitely help reduce stiction. I had every idea though that I was likely going to need to burnish the bushings to get them spot-on, given this very low spec of fork and the sheer number of riders who had found problems on various forks from all manufacturers.
So on pulling out the stock wipers/sponges I did a drop test on the uppers which actually showed they weren’t too bad. I then measured the drop-out width (without wheel) and had 109.5mm. I spaced the dropout to the regular 110mm boost width and there was a marked difference, the uppers slid all the way down instantly. Out of interest, I then spaced to 110.5mm and it was very similar to the response at 109.5mm. So 110 was definitely the sweet spot. I also couldn’t find any movement in the bushings so it wasn’t like they were TOO big either.
This short video shows the fork drop at 110mm spacing:
It goes without saying that I also had to check the wheel hub width too (stock Haibike) which surprisingly was 110.02mm so that was about bang-on. On rebuilding with the correct lube everywhere and SKF’s they do feel very nice I have to say. Of course I am only on the MC damper but it will do for now as I had the same on the Yari’s. It seems I got really lucky because so many people have had problems with bushings on various forks, even high end versions from both Fox and RS.
Out on the bike and I have to say they are definitely better in terms of stiction than the Yari’s which I was surprised with – it seems most people get increased stiction when going up on fork diameter because theres more seal material involved everywhere – wipers, airsprings, damper seals etc. In any event there was no need IMO to burnish them, possibly it could have helped a little but given the cheapest burnishing tool I can get was going to rush me about £175 I couldn’t justify it.
Fore/aft flex is definitely reduced compared to the Yari’s though and overall they just seem nicer everywhere.
In short I think they are a cracking set of forks for the money. Yes they are a bit heavier than the Yari’s but I really couldn’t care on a 25kg ebike. I honestly can’t see a better way of getting a brand new, decent, stiff 38mm fork for less money so overall I would say they are a 10 out of 10
Product name: RockShox Domain RC
Price paid: £315 inc delivery
Score (out of 10): 10
Review:
Not seen much talk about Domains on the forum so thought I’d do a quick opinion. I will start by saying I really didn’t NEED to change the Yari’s from my stock Haibike as they generally worked well for me and my type of riding but I just couldn’t help myself when I saw a brand new set of Domains on the bay for just £315 delivered (29”/180mm).
Prior to buying these I had spent quite some time reading the bushing thread (all 49 pages of it) at Tight Bushings = Harshness | Mountain Bike Reviews Forum (mtbr.com) which got me quite interested in checking bushings in future. It’s a bit of a faff but it does seem this is the No1 reason for overly sticky forks. So before fitting the Domains I stripped them down, did some measurements and whilst I was there I made sure they were lubed OK from the factory (they were). I had also planned to fit some SKF green wipers as I did with the Yari’s because they definitely help reduce stiction. I had every idea though that I was likely going to need to burnish the bushings to get them spot-on, given this very low spec of fork and the sheer number of riders who had found problems on various forks from all manufacturers.
So on pulling out the stock wipers/sponges I did a drop test on the uppers which actually showed they weren’t too bad. I then measured the drop-out width (without wheel) and had 109.5mm. I spaced the dropout to the regular 110mm boost width and there was a marked difference, the uppers slid all the way down instantly. Out of interest, I then spaced to 110.5mm and it was very similar to the response at 109.5mm. So 110 was definitely the sweet spot. I also couldn’t find any movement in the bushings so it wasn’t like they were TOO big either.
This short video shows the fork drop at 110mm spacing:
It goes without saying that I also had to check the wheel hub width too (stock Haibike) which surprisingly was 110.02mm so that was about bang-on. On rebuilding with the correct lube everywhere and SKF’s they do feel very nice I have to say. Of course I am only on the MC damper but it will do for now as I had the same on the Yari’s. It seems I got really lucky because so many people have had problems with bushings on various forks, even high end versions from both Fox and RS.
Out on the bike and I have to say they are definitely better in terms of stiction than the Yari’s which I was surprised with – it seems most people get increased stiction when going up on fork diameter because theres more seal material involved everywhere – wipers, airsprings, damper seals etc. In any event there was no need IMO to burnish them, possibly it could have helped a little but given the cheapest burnishing tool I can get was going to rush me about £175 I couldn’t justify it.
Fore/aft flex is definitely reduced compared to the Yari’s though and overall they just seem nicer everywhere.
In short I think they are a cracking set of forks for the money. Yes they are a bit heavier than the Yari’s but I really couldn’t care on a 25kg ebike. I honestly can’t see a better way of getting a brand new, decent, stiff 38mm fork for less money so overall I would say they are a 10 out of 10
