Submitted by
azzerman
a Weekend Warrior
from North wales
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2009
Strengths: adjustability, size so you can hide the shabba graphics, what were they thinking?
Weaknesses: bloody awfull graphics, why were they not a removable sticker, iv considered getting the lowers proffesionally sorted, cos i like the fork that much, cammo gun tape lads.
Bottom Line:
Without being a tart, iv had a few sets of forks, some big some heavy some expensive, this fork has been working great for around 60-70 hours solid bike time, from all day north welsh xc, to a solid week of dirt jumping, to some thrashings from downhill, i do try and get air off what ever i see too.
last week after a trip to betwsycoed to see the new dh track being built and riding elsi, the fork was being used, coming down from elsi really is a fork eater too, come off twice its really pointing down technical, good fun.
wen i got home it was weeping oil so off to tf for the works, mine is an 07 model so its having all the revised parts replaced because i really do like this fork, single crown not heavy, cheeky flick when its airbourne, dont miss that second crown, im not one for playing with all the settings, i dont get off on that, i get off on not thinking about my setup wen the trees are flyin past, at speed it pays to concentrate on whats ahead, not weather the compression speed is to the right decimal point (yawn).
top fork i even heard if your not happy you can convert it to coil, which makes loads of sense instead of buying a whole new fork. so bottom line is get it sorted of dodgy bits and fit and enjoy, nice axle system too
Strengths: Works great, very light, highly adjustable.
Weaknesses: Flex like fragile trees under the storm.
The fragile structure of the fork can't avoid flex and seals go loosing stiffness. After these 5 dhs, the door is open for the oil go home, free like a bird.
Bottom Line:
Well, if you go really small and slow, you wont be worry with this genuine Rock Shox product. It is a giant XC fork. Definitely , it is not a DH Fork, believe me.
It works great and you will loose hours adjusting it, but it won't work the half time until the oil leak.
Even while working, you will notice tons of flex.
I trade my Totem by anything. What do you have? Sorry by the joke... I will try a Fox 40, until there I'll use my old and good 2003 Monster T.
Submitted by
ShiroUtsuri
a Weekend Warrior
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2008
Strengths: plushness, very smooth. the low speed compression is awesome.
Weaknesses: appearance!!!
Bottom Line:
At first I am skeptical about this fork because this is an air fork. I prefer coil since I am heavy built. but after using the totem solo air I was converted . . .a believer . . . at least I can say now that air shocks too can be at par with coil. If you would want a fork that really performs and has all the adjustability you wanted, this fork is for you. it is even smoother to Fox VanR 36 . . .the low speed compression is really working. the only downside about this fork is the looks . . . I don't like the bulge appearing at the lower legs and the design too of the decals are not that appealing. I prefer the design of 07 and 06 66 forks and Fox 36 forks . . .they are simple yet elegant. by the way this fork is light considering the size of its stanchions. mine weight around 2.6kgs compare to the 2.45kgs of Fox VanR 36 and 3.1kgs of 66RCV.
Strengths: Tracks really well. Excellent weight margin versus rigidity, tracking.
Weaknesses: none I can think of
Bottom Line:
An incredible fork, especially for the money. I have put the boxxers away to set up the bike for trails this season, but the trade offs have been slight. The Totem is accurate, plush and fells bottomless. There is no doubt the boxxer is more suited to its specific territory but for all-mountain the Totem is exactly what I needed. I was worried about losing clearance on the already low sunday but I needn't have worried. This is an extremely capable fork which now shares duty with the boxxer over the year. Hats off Sram, another solid product to go with the vivid [which has transformed the bike] No, I'm not a fanboy but hell, results baby, results.
Strengths: external adjustments along with a 40 mm stanction
Weaknesses: not the best quality because the adjustments didn't really make a difference when it came to the trail.
Bottom Line:
not the greatest fork out there and not nearly as good as the fox 36 series or marzocchi's 66 series either if I were you I would go for one of the other fork series I've listed. One thing about this fork is its not for everyone so if you try it you might either love it or hate it. (if your going really big you may want to consider it.)
Bike Setup: transition dirtbag sram x9 drivetrain along with fsa gravity components avid juicy seven brakes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bobby Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2007
Strengths: It is very nice. Squishy and Stiff
Weaknesses: I can't recall
Bottom Line:
The only thing I can come up with is that after the fork sits for awhile it needs to be cycled a few times before it feels nice and buttery, like it normally feels while you're riding. I'm not sure what this is caused by but it really doesn't ever affect the ride quality. On the trail this thing feels really plush, but sit it in the garage overnight and the first couple of cycles and it feels a bit funky, and I'm not really sure why. < Its all True but you push on it a couple of times and its set. IDK why it happens either, maybe the Solo Air piston gets moved around when its not cycled...
Bike Setup: Azonic Eliminator, hope mono M4, Romic Shock, Rockshox Totem Solo air .......
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike S
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Barbara, CA
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2007
Strengths: Super light, strong 40mm legs and 7 inches of travel. Mass external adjustability. Lube kit for changing oil with drain plug at bottom of fork leg, easy dust seal removal, etc.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
This shock has definitely taken my riding up a notch or two.
Probably one of the best single crown shocks made for 2007.
Strengths: Stiffness to weight, plush, very tweakable, monsterous
Weaknesses: See below
Bottom Line:
This is a bit of kit that certainly has presence. Mammoth tusk's spring to mind when I look at the tubes,although don't think these are too heavy for all mountain use, the're easily light enough for all day rides. Solo air spring makes a very slight knock when bars are lifted although this is only when I'm not sat on bike. RS know about this and say that the sound is the solo air spring re-sitting it's self on it's perch when unloaded and that the 40mm stanchions amplify sound. Who knows, if it gets worse then I'll send them in. The performance however is awesome,super plush (if you want it) with very precise tracking over the rough stuff due to the stiffness, also the adjustments really affect the action of the fork. I've set mine for small bump sensitivity on the low speed with big hit resistance on the high speed, which is spot on for the type of riding I do( long knarly singletrack riding with the occasional 8 to 10 foot huck). The motion control lockout is great for climbing which I do a lot of, and the adjustable threshold again actually works. The 170 sherman this replaces was by no means a bad fork but there's no way they compare to these in terms or performance,stiffness and dialability, I also think the same can be said for the 36van that I've ridden on a mates rig but to a lesser extent. I've had no time on any 66 so can't compare. Bottom line, even though it's early days I consider it a bar raising effort from Rs and hopefully it'll stay that way. A good fork for the hardcore trailrider through to the bar spinning park rider and all those huck meister shorers in between. One last thing, I went 1.5(20% stiffer).Merry Xmas
Strengths: This fork is really plush. The damping system feels really refined, and works exceptionally well. Love the ability to adjust the high and low speed compression, rebound, and floodage all externally. All of the controls and caps are nicely machined out of aluminum. Light for a 7" travel fork. Extermely stiff, 1.5" steerer is sweet!! Maxle 360 is also awesome and makes removing the front wheel super easy.
Weaknesses: The only thing I can come up with is that after the fork sits for awhile it needs to be cycled a few times before it feels nice and buttery, like it normally feels while you're riding. I'm not sure what this is caused by but it really doesn't ever affect the ride quality. On the trail this thing feels really plush, but sit it in the garage overnight and the first couple of cycles and it feels a bit funky, and I'm not really sure why. Oh and the sticker set that comes with tthe fork is possibly the lamest thing I have ever seen, none of them are remotely cool looking in any way. Not sure what rockshox was thinking on that one...
Bottom Line:
This fork is BURLY!! There is no way to truly get a good idea of how big this fork is until you see it in person. It looks huge!! I have the 1.5" version and the whole front end just looks massive. That translates into major stiffness on the trail. This fork feels like a triple clamp, stiffness wise. But you can still rail tight berms, switchbacks, and heck even throw an x up if your feeling frisky without smacking your fork's upper leg into you top tube, what a concept!!! As for performance I can say honstly say that this is the best feeling long travel fork I have ridden to date. The small bump performance is great yet it handles larger hits and drops well. The fork ramps up nicely and feels bottomless on the trail. I have to hand it to rockshox with the new mission control. I think most of the credit for the exceptional performance this fork exhibits on the trail is manily due to this new damping system. This fork seems to ride a bit higher in its travel, which allows it to soak up larger impacts really well while still somehow preserving small bump sensitivity. Brake dive is very minimal if not completely non-existent. The rebound feels smooth and the overall damping range is pretty wide so you can set it up to suit your own preferences/riding style. Overally I am totally impressed with this fork. So, before this fork became available I was describing to a buddy what the perfect fork would look like... And then the totem came out and it has everything I had listed, everything, exactily, to a tee. So the only thing I was worried about was the fact that I haven't owned a rockshox fork since my sid sl in 2001 and I was worried that this fork might not quite deliver in the perfomance department. Well after thuroughly railing this fork any initial concerns I had about its performance and overall trail worthiness are long gone. It is even better than anticipated. They've definitely made me a believer.
My LBS isn't very helpful with getting me parts.
So i'm planning to buy online.
I'm converting my 2-Step to Solo air.
I'm planning to order the following parts.
Rock Sho Read More »
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I just purchased a totem solo air via good 'ole pinkbike. It arrived to me with 5psi of air, and once the air spring is pumped it proceeds to lose ~5psi every time the fork is comp Read More »
Hello people,
I have specialized big hit 2.
I want to pimp it :D ,...... (1). I want suspension forks which are not heavier than the stock ( A stock big hit 2 use rockshox d Read More »
Howdy,
I've got a 2009 Totem Solo Air which replaced the 888RCV that came on my bike. I ride it for everything, but will be racing DH on it now. This is my only bike so in my atte Read More »
