New 2003 Romic top Crown for Rock Shox Boxxer

Romic has been quite busy lately designing new and exciting products. Two weeks ago at the NORBA NCS #1 in Big Bear, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of their new 2003 Boxxer upper crowns; which now has an optional integrated stem.Last season I was using their top crown, which I had mounted to my Turner DHR with 2001 Rock Shox Boxxer. Unfortunately when I got my new V10, I was forced to part with it, as it didn’t fit. Its drop was just a tad short for the V10’s head tube, which is a little bit taller than the Turner I had. I’ve been anxiously waiting this new crown! This new top crown has all the same great characteristics as last year's model. You also can be sure that this new crown meets the high quality standards expected form Romic products.

Hats off to the artist behind this beautiful CNC work of art, Darren Murphy of Romic. He said it was one of his favorite design challenges thus far, but he sure came through! The new crown has the same solid double clamp mechanism as last year’s, but the steerer tube clamp bolt has been increased to 5mm (up from a 4mm), the drop has been increased 0.25”, the lines/contour are much smoother and now the option of a 50mm (which is what I have) or 65mm integrated stem.

Install is a breeze! No stem to center - just properly tension the headset, tighten all the bolt and you’re all set! I choose to use a headlock, but it’s not a necessity. This it my first time using an integrated stem/crown (Stoke) combo and I only have a few rides on it, but my initial impressions are quite positive. It feels much stiffer than the OE Rock shox crown and Thomson stem I was running. The steering is more precise and no more worries about having your stem twist on you when crashing.

Will give future feedback after I spend more time on it. In the meantime, for more info please visit Romic’s web site at www.romicmgf.com