Submitted by
DVD
a Cross Country Rider
from South Central PA Date Reviewed: February 15, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$999.00
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
Light Weight (2.9lb)
Weaknesses:
Poor layout of User's Manual resulting in my own mis-use of the product.
Bike Setup:
KHS 704R ('03)
Bottom Line:
I mis-used the fork the first 6 to 8 times I rode it because I didn't go through the User's Manual in detail. I thought I had the same LOOSE HEADSET SOUND type of problem that I had read other reviews about. However I was assuming that the fork had TWO positive air chambers and one negative air chamber. Therefore I put the recommended 120psi for my weight in BOTH upper air caps. Then I set the negative to 120 also. If I had gone further into the User's Manual I would have learned about the Pure Delite system. I mistaked this for a second positive air chamber and WAY WAY over-inflated it. They recommend putting the pure delite in the range of 10 to 60psi. I had mine at 120 (and even higher to play with adjustment). With the pure delite at 120 the bike had a very bad rattle sound in the front end that I tried for weeks to diagnose as a loose headset or something in the brakes or even front hub. Another guy I work with has had the same fork for a couple years and he didn't even know about the Pure Delite chamber and he's never had a problem with his. Are we idiots in PA or had anyone else out there ever had the same experience? Once I set the fork up correctly it works like a champ. Therefor I'm giving this product a 5 out of 5 because you can over-stress the pure delite to extremes like did and it still didn't blow out any seals.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Romulus Luther
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco, CA Date Reviewed: October 14, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Everything in Mammoth
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$420.00
Purchased At:
JensonUSA.
Strengths:
Light weight, good looking, strong climbing ability, service from Rock Shox, easy to adjust, and Do-It-Yourself service is possible with the proper tools since you can download the PDF version of the fork overall guide.
Weaknesses:
Plastic parts, decals wear out, short travel, and not ideal for big drops. It also makes an annoying noise whenever you need to bunny hop something (makes you believe there is a headset problem when there isn't)
Similar Products Used:
Manitou
Bike Setup:
Klein Pulse Race - XTR drivetrain, Chris King Headset, Rock Shox seat post, XTR V-brakes, XT shifters, Avid brake levers, Mavic 517 rims w/ XTR hubs
Bottom Line:
I'm 6'2 200lbs and I ride all over the Bay Area, rain or shine. I've also raced about 10 times in the past 3 years. The reason I bought the SID Race is because Klein suggested my bike geometry would not accommodate travel beyond 85mm. Their quote was, "your bike will feel like a chopper with more travel." I bought the bike in Nov 97 and it came with Manitous that I never once serviced (shameful). Five years and thousands of miles later I bought these SIDs. The owner's manual gives suggestions about servicing intervals but my local bike shop dismissed it as "over-zealous marketing". After less than 2,000 miles the forks gave out at the beginning of a ride on Mt. Tam, so now I trust the OM and not my bike shop. The forks were still under warranty so Rock Shox did a complete overall for no charge except the shipping. I basically got a brand new fork because they said the seals were faulty. I really wanted Fox forks but the geometry issue limited my choices. Klein also recommended air over oil, so that ruled out Marzocchi. I considered the Skareb but since I noticed so many racers using SIDs I gave it a shot. Final verdict - perfect for XC riding and racing as long as big drops are avoided. Sometimes they don't feel as stiff and confident during bumpy high-speed descents so bigger riders like myself may not mind the extra weight of a beefier fork. However, because of the price (sub $500 compared to the extremely expensive Fox line) these babies do the trick.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
MTB Rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Upstate NY Date Reviewed: July 23, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$412.00
Purchased At:
Phat Tire
Strengths:
Don't know yet.
Weaknesses:
Don't know yet.
Similar Products Used:
Duke Race
Bike Setup:
04 GT i-Drive 1.0
Bottom Line:
Watch put for Phat tire. I sent my fork in to Rock Shox for an oil leak brand new out of the box. He was supposed send the fork back to me after servicing and he has refused to do so. He has basically stollen my fork.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from Florida Date Reviewed: July 20, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Santos, Razorback
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
Came with bike
Strengths:
Light, nice looking, works great
Weaknesses:
Squeeks, flexes a lot
Bike Setup:
2002 Trek Fuel 100
Bottom Line:
THe shock has worked great for my type of riding. It absorbs shocks well, and never quit on me. However, it makes a lot of noise coming from the crown. The bike shop has checked it and there is nothing they can do about it, plus Rock Shox cannot replace the steerer tube to get rid of the problem. I am switching to something else.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dennis Romano
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas, NV, USA Date Reviewed: March 5, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Bunker Creek, UT
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At:
Copeland's Sports
Strengths:
I found myself liking the climbing ability of this shock very quickly. I was concerned about blowing the seals since I weigh 228 pounds but to date no problems. Hold air pressure very well. Pure Delight system works as advertised. Dial in the positive and negative air pressures first and then tune in the threshold break point.
Weaknesses:
Very narrow width only allows up to a 2.1 inch tire.
Similar Products Used:
Answer XVert Super, Marzocchi MX Comp Air and Freeride SL
Bike Setup:
Rocky Mountain Instict, Stans No Tubes, Panaracer XC Pros, Sram Rocket Shifters and WTB Ti Saddle
Bottom Line:
I am impressed with this shock. I have dropped an occasional 2 foot drop with no problems. Climbs very well. Can be dialed in to suit you needs. I run mine at 160 positive, 130 negative and 30 pure delight. I weigh 228 pounds. Very light.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Da King
a Weekend Warrior
from Australia Date Reviewed: December 12, 2003
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Strengths:
Nice and light and I like the look
Weaknesses:
Riding the MONT 24 in Canberra Australia I had another competitor ask if I had probs with the Pure Delight damping system and if the forks rattled like a loose head set and this is exactly what problem I had with my SID Race. Big time rattles in fork once rebound was turned up (slower rebound). This appears to be afault of these forks and mine were fixed recently under warranty.
Similar Products Used:
Mazochi (?) Bombers
Bike Setup:
Stock Giant NRS1
Bottom Line:
Get the warranty fix on the Pure Delight rebound mechanism and really start to enjoy these forks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Hank Jien
a Cross Country Rider
from South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada Date Reviewed: October 16, 2003
Favorite Trail:
South Surrey Atheletic Park
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
(came with bike)
Strengths:
-excellent responsiveness on bumps -superlight -good looking -effective rebound adjustment
Weaknesses:
-kind of flexy, you can notice it if you run V-brakes -(heard some bad reputation, eg. inner parts of fork, haven't done any overhaul so don't know yet.) -not good for small dirt jumping or just tiny drops -plastic parts(outside)
Similar Products Used:
2001 Marzocchi Z5, 2003 Marzocchi DJ III, 2000 Marzocchi Z2 X-Fly, Top Gun junk, and RST junk
If we talk about pure cross country, which is exactly what it is designed for, it would be an excellent fork. It absorbs the small stuff better, in other words, an excellent trail fork. The weight is also excellent. Then, when it comes to running V-brakes on it, you'll notice that theres actually flex. Some people don't know what flex is and start using the word flexy but if I hadn't ran V-brakes on it I wouldn't of been able to tell. When the V-brakes are installed, WHILE RIDING WHEN PUSHING ON THE FORK, you will notice that the pads start rubbing the rims. Then when you don't push on it, theres no rub, when you roll the wheel. I think that only discs will solve but maybe not.
This fork is not meant for dirt jump and tiny drops. The kind of "smooth" you get on it is air smooth, and on Marzocchi you get oil smooth. You wouldn't want air maybe Zocchi's system for drops. So I guess this would be the fork if you do pure Cross Country racing but not for anyone that does cross country, dirt jumping, and little drops.
I heard that this fork has bad internat parts...has anyone heard any?...email me if you know any internal problem.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bill
a Cross Country Rider
from OR Date Reviewed: September 11, 2003
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
It was riliable and never lost air. But that is where it ended.
Weaknesses:
Claimed travel that was not there. No compression dampning and kind of flexey.
Similar Products Used:
Almost all crosscountry forks since they started making them.
Bike Setup:
Turner 02 with xtr disk.
Bottom Line:
I tried everything to make this fork work, with many calls to Rockshox. It is just very limited with short travel.(2&1/4 inches) Without comprission dampning, it just spikes through its travel and bottems on any kind of hard hit. I now have a Skarub Super and could not be happier.
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Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Steamboat Date Reviewed: September 10, 2003
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
lightweight....sort of
Weaknesses:
crappy travel, super high maintenence, cheap plastic parts
Similar Products Used:
Judy SL, Manitou Black
Bike Setup:
Yeti ASR
Bottom Line:
I only had the bike (brand new) a month or so before the fork had to be rebuilt. Rock Shox kept saying that the fork had been set up wrong and that was why I was only getting 58mm of travel. When in fact its made with cheap plastic parts that don't hold air or what little oil is needed. I have a hard time with telling anyone to buy this fork. That is unless you want to learn to rebuild forks, or want to support your local bike shop.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mr :p
a Weekend Warrior
from sweden Date Reviewed: July 14, 2003
Favorite Trail:
in the woods..? ;o)
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
smooth travel , weight..?
Weaknesses:
smooth travel , all the 35 mm....;o)
Similar Products Used:
Marzocchi MX comp ETA , RS Indy (with similiar travel)
Bike Setup:
Fitted on an TREK fuel 98 std
Bottom Line:
Great fork for rigid lover XC`ers... For long travel lovers , not...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
g matt
a
from Boulder Date Reviewed: July 11, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
It's light, expensive, cheaply made.
Weaknesses:
It's broken more than it works. Rockshock kept it for 2 1/2 weeks "fixing it"
Similar Products Used:
Cheap plastic toys
Bottom Line:
I've had my new Giant NRS for about 2 months. It's been in she shop for 3 weekends. Two repairs in the shop and one factory repair in CO Springs. If you love to hang around the shop and talk about biking rather than doing it, this is the shock for you. It's cheap crap and the customer service is on par with a standard cell phone company.
CRAP! Avoid!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Montebello Date Reviewed: June 28, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
It's light. It's price is dropping fast.
Weaknesses:
It's not plush or smooth. Has stiction and limited travel.
Similar Products Used:
vanilla, judy, mars
Bike Setup:
Truth
Bottom Line:
After riding for some time and playing around with the fork, I have to take back my initial positive review. I doubted the objectiveness of some MTBR's posts, but now I have to agree with them. This site really is useful and not all "crap" as some big name companies suggest.
The mispresesnted travel is biggest issue that everyone seems to share. Since when did negative travel and bumper compression become travel? I've since gotten a vanilla, and it has a perfect 125mm travel + bumper compression + negative travel. Sure it's smoother and plusher than the SID, but it's in a different class. The point, is I get the travel I expect.
I can see racer's using this fork for obvious reasons, and it can perform well for them, but for anything other than pure racing it will disappoint, unless you're a first time fork user anything will feel better than rigid. But even pure racers can find something better in the Skareb, which is constantly being reviewed as smoother. What then can a racer justify this fork for? It's has more stiction, less travel than its competition. The only strengths are it has is marginally *possible* light weight (but remember the weight is without oil) and is price is dropping rapidly (a good sign??). Oh, I didn't really notice flex,but I'm pretty light. Hey, I'm trying to be balanced and objective with this review.
My initial giddyness over what I thought was a good purchase has turned sour. My judy even felt better (at least it was plush). I don't dislike all rockshox products, but the SID has so much againts it I had to dramatically downgrade it. I have to admit buying any product is a risk, but EXPECTING THAT A PRODUCT MEETS CLAIMED SPECS SHOULD NOT BE!
Please don't consider this product thinking you'll get a nice suspension part. Only consider if you are a serious and old school racer thinking that hardtails and rigids are more fun than a plush ride.
I hope the moderator would remove my initial post, which was posted way too soon.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff
a Racer
from Australia Date Reviewed: June 23, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$389.00
Purchased At:
www.jensonusa.com
Strengths:
Light, Smooth, Lots of settings to fine tune
Weaknesses:
Lots of settings to fine tune
Similar Products Used:
1999 Sid XC, others non air
Bike Setup:
Giant with lots of light upgrade bits
Bottom Line:
Excellent race fork, for those willing to spend the time to fine tune it.
Good fine tuning actually requires that you know what all four settings do and how adjusting any one setting will affect all the other three settings. If you don't understand this, it is a bit more hit and miss and you could certainly end up with any one of the so called problems described by others on this page. Going through a large rang of settings I've been able to induce and REMOVE every described problem on this page (with the exception of oil leaks, haven’t had any).
Installed weight is actually LIGHTER THAN CLAMED!
Nobody rides around with a foot long steerer tube so cut it to length before you weigh it!!! Depending on your frame size and number of spacers you'll find the weight about that clamed. If you’re a true weight weeny you'll drill, hack and file off the extra brake mounts you’re not using too.
80mm travel AS CLAMED!
Just letting the air out the positive chamber is not enough to measure all of the travel. The bumpers are actually compressible so that if you land that drop nose first your wrists will appreciate the last 4-6mm of travel at the bottom. The clunk they don’t make if you top out is due to the 2-3mm of bumper compression at the other end. (turn the bike upside down and pull the wheel up if you don't believe me). 73-74mm + 4-6mm + 2-3mm = Clamed travel!
No noticeable flex, I'm 62kg (137pounds).
To Dave from Thousand Oaks, a new Sid Race comes with a shock pump and instructions if you didn't get them on eBay you can download the instructions, and get yourself a pump, use it first on your positive chamber, bottom out will disappear. Make shore you have some damping pressure then turn the rebound at least a couple of full turns towards the little rabbit, ‘clunking head set noise’ should disappear. If you’re now topping out to much for your taste add some negative chamber pressure. Now if the whole thing feels a bit stiff try more damping pressure and/or dropping both the positive and negative pressures at the same time etc. etc.….. It takes time but once tuned in the Sid Race is heaps better than the old Sid XC.
Happy riding.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David
a Racer
from Thousand Oaks, Ca Date Reviewed: June 12, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$375.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Light, but not as light as claimed. The fork weighs 2.96 pounds, not 2.66.
Weaknesses:
Low travel. I've read other reviews about getting only 73 mm with the spacer removed, but I'm not even getting that much. The fork bottoms out frequently on fairly tame terrain. I weigh 165 pounds. Another problem is an obnoxious clunking noise. It sounds like the head set is loose, or worse. I had it rebuilt and got no improvement or indication that anything was wrong. I'm putting my 2001 SID XC back on. After all, it is only 0.25 pounds heavier.
Similar Products Used:
SID XC, Skareb Super (test ride which made me REALLY regret buying the SID Race) The Skareb is clearly superior.
Bottom Line:
I can not recommend the SID Race to anyone. Maybe I got a lemon, but it's all I have to go on. If you want a great fork get the Skareb Super. It's only 0.25 pounds heavier than the Race.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pat
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles Date Reviewed: May 28, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$409.00
Strengths:
Light. Easity to maintain.
Weaknesses:
misrepresented travel. stiction
Similar Products Used:
skareb
Bike Setup:
Truth
Bottom Line:
The product works well for a race only fork. It's very stiff and has stiction issues, or is it bushing play? When I hit a bump (with rebound damping high) at slow speed, I feel a sticky delay. It reminds that I hit a bump instead of erasing it. The only remedy to this is to decrease rebound damping higher than I'd like, and then I feel a slight top out. Not a good trade off.
The worst part of this fork is that the travel is off. It's only a 73mm fork. The bumper stop mechanically limits the fork to 73mm instead of the claimed 80mm. I emailed rockshox and the rep said he only got 74mm travel. He also said that their catalogue shows a +/- 3mm tolerance, but I've yet to see that catalogue. The website doesn't show it and neither is it advertised as "80+/-3mm". Don't know about the legality, but I think that's a bit shady.
The forks price has dropped considerably and so if one is looking for a light weight *limited* travel race fork, this is it. For general XC, it's not worth the claimed weight advantage. Only die hard weight weenies who really don't care about suspension should get this fork.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Montebello Date Reviewed: April 29, 2003
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$410.00
Purchased At:
phat tire
Strengths:
Light, but I hear that it's closer to 2.9lbs. Great rebound and preload adjustment. You can literally make rebound as slow and gooey as lava are as fast as a pogo stick and everything in betwen. Easier to maintain compared to the Team or World cup version.
Very progressive compression which prevent top outs.
Weaknesses:
Stiction on initial stroke (only noticeable when testing the fork by pusing down when not riding). Inaccurate weight? Only about 73mm travel with the spacer removed. I verified this by removing all negative pressure and increasing positive pressure.
YOu have get a special hex tool to correctly remove the pure and dual air assembly from the upper tubes, though basic maintenance (excluding rebound oil change) can be done without it (it's not recommended, as one could damage the orings of the dual air assembly if removing the + assembly from the (-) assembly while still in the upper tubes.
Similar Products Used:
judy sl 01', manitou mars super.
Bike Setup:
Schwinn moab 2 upgraded with an eclectic collection of light weight parts (20-21lbs)
Bottom Line:
It's a great way to save weight if you're a basic xc rider and not too heavy. It bums me that the weight may be incurrate, since I could've gotten the better rated super skareb at same or nearly close weight, but that could be just as inaccurate. The inaccurate travel is a bummer too.
I've not had a chance to completely test the shock, but the few initials rides are promising. Riding the shock is really quite boring. Nothing to note. It's quiet, and I don't notice bumps. Small jumps are quite boring too. No kick back or arm shock. I just might have it set up right.
I can't tell if it flexes. It seems stiff next to the judy. I've ridden over some technical terrain and it handled fine.
There is some stiction if you like to compress your fork manually, but it's not noticeable on the trail. I can't even tell if the forks moving like I could on the judy. Only after the ride can I see that it worked by seeign the clean wiped uppers tubes.
Obviously, I'll need to try it out more, but so haven't had any QC or flex issues, which sids seem to be infamous for.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose Date Reviewed: March 22, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Skegg's
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$380.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Very light. Works well. Adjustable. I weigh 160, my shock does seem to lose air every week or so.
Weaknesses:
When filling the negative chamber, every now and then a little oil leaks out, makes the pump hard to remove, and the oil can get on the brake surfaces...Also this oil make a lot of air come out when disconnecting the pump...So I really don't know what pressures are in the fork after disconnecting...
Similar Products Used:
Mannitou carbon
Bike Setup:
SC Blur. XT setup
Bottom Line:
This shock overall works great. It handles the bumps well. Great rebound dampening. And the pure delight option on the Race fork seems to work well. Shock is very adjustable. The only problem I've had it the oil that comes out when disconnecting the pump from the Neg air pressure valve...I'm not sure if this is a common problem across different brands, or even with other SID Race forks... I give a high value for the good deal I got on ebay, but 4 for overall rating...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mel
a Racer
from Canada Date Reviewed: March 20, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Canada cup trails
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
Litespeed sponsor
Strengths:
Weight
Weaknesses:
Got bike today and shock came in a plastic bag full of oil.
Similar Products Used:
Sid race 2000, 2001
Bike Setup:
Pisgah and Unicoi with 2003 XTR/disc, Cane Creek tubeles, Easton Carbon seatpost, bar, mag. stem. Sid race 2003 on both.
Bottom Line:
Went to assemble the bike today and the fork came in a plastic full of oil. I never even got to ride it. I am looking to send the fork back. I will put a review once the fork does come in.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
martyn nash
a Cross Country Rider
from wales uk Date Reviewed: February 2, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Llanddowror
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$450.00
Purchased At:
leisure lakes cheltenham
Strengths:
weight, race pedigree, easy to keep oiled
Weaknesses:
takes a lot of riding to get it set up
Similar Products Used:
judy 2001 SL
Bike Setup:
S-works HT 2003 15.5" Full XT Flite SLR Thompson seat post and stem mavic 517 easton monkeylite CT2 low riser
Bottom Line:
Just dont seem to get on with them, thinking of getting a Fox float. give me another couple of months and i will let you know. still experimenting with putting air in them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Doug Moles
a Cross Country Rider
from Lawrence Date Reviewed: January 17, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Perry Lake
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$370.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Light weight, smooth function, pure delight dampening and the positive/negative air chambers allow for lots of fine tuning to dial in a quality ride
Weaknesses:
All these crappy reviews I read about the shock. Makes me worry about how this fork is going to hold up over time. As of now, I have few complaints. The only one now is that the bushing that limits travel to 63 mm comes installed in the shock. If you want the full range of 80mm, you have to have the fork serviced, unless you are proficient at servicing forks yourself.
Similar Products Used:
Manitou Mars CL, Marzocchi Z2
Bike Setup:
Klein Palamino
Bottom Line:
I found this shock via a great deal on ebay. I feel like it's a 50/50 shot whether I'm going to have a good experience or a bad one.(and now I'm probably jinxed) I think weight has some part in the shock's performance. Bigger people (greater than 180) have had problems with the chambers losing pressure, flex in the lowers, broken crowns, etc., but when I talk to people in my range (around 150 lbs) they have nothing bad to say about the shock. Bike store mechanics told me the biggest complaints come from people that don't service the fork as often as the manufacurer recommends because they don't want to have to pay 50-100 bucks every 50-75 hours of riding. Well, if you're willing to shell out list price for the light weight advantages of this fork, proper maintenance is a necessary evil.
$ 500.00
Overall Rating:
Overall Rating:
