winwood DeeDee 29er..opinions?

[blue4uevo8]

Anyone have one? If so, what do you like/dislike about it?
thanks!

[Goride]

Shh.

We've got one in for test right now. Maurice is out there pounding on it. Look for a full report early next year...

-brad

[Mauriceman]

The Dee Dee is stif fer sure, which is nice. But my test fork does not have any rebound dampping to speak of. I will have to confirm if this is an isolated problem before the review is published, but I'd have to say right now that it doesn't look good for the Winwood.

[DancingBear]

Big Mo, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but you have to tune that fork for you. They come way underdamped, with 2.5w oil. 7.5 or 10w makes a huge difference for us big guys. I hated the fork until I switched to 10w. Now I'm happy with it. Also, the last 5% of turning the lockout/damper knob seems to do about 90% of the adjustment on my fork. Is yours the same?

I don't think the DeeDee is a great fork, it is average, but I think it is pretty good for the money.

[DancingBear]

DeeDee update: The fork lost any damping feel so I pulled it apart. Lo and behold, the right lower stancion was full of oil. Not good. The damper mechanism seems to be fine, I think I just blew the seal at the bottom of the inner stancion. At least this thing is easy to work on.

[OTBSkinloss]

At least this thing is easy to work on.

Hell, I'll buy one on that recomendation alone!
:D

[Mauriceman]

Well me and mike, the wrench at Chile Pepper put 15 weight in there and it did not help. I also hear that there are things you can do to make it workable, but at this time, out of the box, it's not workable for me.

[DancingBear]

Dee Dee update #3: I fixed the leaky seal, but the damper stopped working. The bushings are already worn enough to cause significant play between the stancions. I started off quite positive about this fork, with experiences to back it up, but it already feels clapped-out after only 4 months of limited use, and it has proven to be a maintenance nightmare. I don't think the DeeDee is a good value anymore. I'm going to rebuild it (the parts are really cheap and the fork is easy to work on) one last time and see how it goes, but I'm already looking for a deal on a White Bros.

[Mauriceman]

I have been told that the first few forks had bad bushings. I wonder if yours is one of them. And I wonder if the folks at winwood might be able to take care of you. 877.946.9333

[wooglin]

I'm going to rebuild it (the parts are really cheap and the fork is easy to work on) one last time and see how it goes, but I'm already looking for a deal on a White Bros.
Did you follow up on mf's post yesterday? He mentioned some 29er forks.

[DancingBear]

Maurice, thanks for the heads-up. My LBS got the ball rolling yesterday. Have you had the chance to ride a White Bros 29er fork? If so, what did you think?

Woogi, I already dropped mf a pm. Hopefully he has something good!

[Mauriceman]

I've ridden the White Bros and the Marzocchi and I like the White better cuz it's stiffer. i think what I'd like if I were buying right now might be a White with a thru axle for the most stiffness, or maybe the new Reba, although I've not tried either.

[benwitt11]

you should try the reba. i have seen them at the trek show in madison, and i have been riding an early prototype fork for a little while. it is the stiffest 29 fork i have tried, and i found the adjustablilty of it to be great. the lock out option on the team is a nice touch too. this year they're only available through trek dealers, but go to any gary fisher dealer and they should have one on a bike you can test ride. good luck.