RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate gravel fork review

RockShox has history with suspension forks for drop-bar bikes, with a Paris-Roubaix special fork released in the early 90s being ridden to victory twice by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in the most famous of the Classics.

A road-going version, called the Ruby, came along too, but was all too short-lived.

Building on that heritage, the Rudy XPLR Ultimate is a gravel-specific fork that adapts plenty of RockShox tech from its mountain bike suspension forks range.

However, it isn’t a recycled mountain bike fork – it's a ground-up design especially for the demands of gravel riding – and it shows.

RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate specifications and details

The RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate isn’t a slimmed-down version of the brand’s SID cross-country fork, but a new design entirely.

The gravel fork is based around slimmed-down 30mm stanchions.

The machined crown and angular lower-leg arch are designed to save weight, compared to a traditional mountain bike suspension fork. The lower legs are heavily tapered to shave weight and only available for a 12x100mm thru-axle.

The Rudy XPLR Ultimate is available in 30 or 40mm-travel options, with 45 or 51mm offsets respectively. It's designed around 700c wheels, but has clearance for hefty 50mm gravel tyres.

I have the 30mm-travel option on test.

The XPLR Ultimate uses the SoloAir spring found across the RockShox range. This system enables you to connect your shock pump to pressurise the air spring, automatically, equalising the pressure between the positive and negative air chambers for an easy setup.

The negative chamber is used to help overcome initial breakaway force and get the fork moving more easily.

Helping to control how the Rudy absorbs bumps is the Charger Race Day damper. This sealed-cartridge fluid damper weighs a claimed 80g and features adjustable rebound settings, as well as a dial-operated lockout at the top of the right leg.

You can directly mount a three-bolt fender to the reverse of the fork arch, or fit a mudguard. The brake hose is held by a secure push-fit cable guide.

The 30mm-travel fork has an axle-to-crown measurement of 425mm, which can disrupt geometry slightly (lifting the bottom bracket and slackening the head angle). Buyers will need to be sure of compatibility before taking the plunge.

At 1,300g, the Rudy XPLR Ultimate is a light fork compared to the competition.

This isn't surprising, because RockShox has done smart things such as shortening the stanchions. If you’re only dealing with short (30-40mm) travel, you don’t need too much overlap, and more overlap (longer legs) only adds weight.

The RockShox fork offers impressive value for money. It's significantly cheaper than its main rivals from Fox, Cannondale and MRP, and has ride qualities that overall surpass those more expensive alternatives.

RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate strip-down

The internals of the Rudy XPLR Ultimate are impressive.

It features an all-alloy construction, with all the parts polished and anodised.

Everything inside is proprietary to this fork.

Our consultant mechanic found the fork quite complex to strip down, so this isn’t a fork I’d recommend for home servicing.

RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate ride impressions

Getting the Rudy XPLR Ultimate set up and working well is quite simple.

Compared to the complexity of modern, top-end mountain bike forks, there’s less to adjust with only the air-spring pressure (for my 92kg frame, I used 168psi) and rebound damping (the speed at which the fork extends following a compression).

A small 2.5mm Allen key is needed to adjust rebound. Rebound damping is as much down to personal preference as anything else. Some prefer to push the rebound damping as close to fully open as possible, liking a fork that returns to its sagged position as quickly as possible.

Fast rebound response helps keep the front wheel following the contours of the ground rather than bouncing off them. I ran with three clicks from fully open.

The sensitive initial stroke helps to remove impacts through the handlebar, from poor roads and harsher washboard surfaces to dry trails and golfball-sized gravel byways. It’s impressive and superior to relying on larger-volume tyres for this smoothness.

The comfort levels I felt with the Rudy XPLR Ultimate more than justify the upgrade from a standard rigid carbon fork.

This fork also brings a significant improvement in control; the Rudy balances stiffness with fast responses better than its rivals. The supple, swift movement maintains front-tyre contact with the ground, preventing the front wheel skittering off-line.

The travel ramps up progressively, which means, at speed on rocky or rooty descents, it never got to the bottom.

This also makes the Rudy one of the best forks around when riding out of the saddle. It bobs less than its telescopic rivals here, managing to handle weight over the bar better, even when compared to the Lauf Grit SL leaf-sprung fork.

Impressively, this is without resorting to using the fork-lockout lever.

When I used the lockout, it offered an almost rigid-fork feel and countered any movement felt when grinding up the steepest climbs, leant over the front of the bike.

The stiffness of the Rudy XPLR is ample to keep the handling of your bike as it should be, but helps the front wheel track superbly and doesn’t dive or deviate from the intended line when sprinting hard.

Among its test counterparts, it’s only outclassed in the handling stakes by the Cannondale Oliver Lefty.

RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate bottom line

Overall, the RockShox Rudy XPLR Ultimate offers the best balance of performance, handling, weight and price of the gravel forks I've tested recently.

Some of its rivals may edge ahead in one element – the Cannondale Oliver Lefty's handling, the KS GTC on price, the Lauf Grit SL on weight, for instance, but the RockShox Rudy Ultimate offers the ultimate gravel suspension fork experience overall.

It delivers out on the trail and impressed our tech expert on the workbench too.