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Average Rating
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3.52/5
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# of Reviews
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58
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MSRP
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$ 547.95
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Weight
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More Products from unknown
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Description: Dual Air, All Travel System, XXX Sealing System
Travel: 63/80mm
Aluminum Steerer and Upper Tubes
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Submitted by
Ryan D
a Cross Country Rider
from Bethany, Oklahoma
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | Roman Nose | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | used from friend | | Strengths: | Lightweight, doesn't weigh much, opposite of heavy. | | Weaknesses: | Flex's like a mother, Lots of creaking and popping noises, a little too rigid for me...supposed to be 80mm but feels like 40mm. | | Similar Products Used: | RS Pilot C | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Isis, soon to have a RS Psylo SL, Bontrager race discs, avid mech's, LX/XT/XTR. | | Bottom Line: | Hmm...probably won't ever buy another SID...unless I can get under 180 pounds and that would force me to starve myself. I'm kinda scared to ride it...you can actually see it flex when I pop it over a root or rock. It would be a good fork for a light person. I'm gonna go to a Psylo SL...they're a little stronger. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Ogden, UT USA
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2003 | | Favoriate Trail: | Anywhere that cars are not | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Came on bike-price is approximate | | Strengths: | Super light weight- | | Weaknesses: | a little flexy | | Similar Products Used: | judy xc, sid xc, mag 21 | | Bike Setup: | 01' S-works hardtail with several upgrades | | Bottom Line: | I am an above average cross country rider who refuses to ride full suspension (even though I owned and sold a homegrown full suspension bike) I weigh between 155lbs and 167 depending on time of year and excercise level, but this shock hasn't dissapointed me yet. Yes, it is flexy as almost every review that I have read stated, but I love the shock, it soaks up everything that I have thrown at it with no problems to date, and I have logged over 800 miles on it, which isn't much, but I also have two kids, a dog and a family to tend to. I have taken three foot drop-offs, tree roots, loose gravel, hard pack, and everything else that I could find to ride over and never had a problem with the shock. From reading some of the lower articles, I am a lucky one, but I will continue to buy rs products. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shadowlands
a
from Zion National Park
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Mary's Loop | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Light, cush, lockout! | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Last ride was a headshock so no similar comparison. | | Bike Setup: | Superlight, Float RL, XTR, Easton Carbonfiber | | Bottom Line: | No problems yet. I've ridden the hell out of it and 0 problems. The lockout is awesome. A friend of mine races extensively with this fork and has 0 problems. It matches up nicely with the Float RL. No weight penalty! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard
a Cross Country Rider
from Shakopee, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Moab Slickrock | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Eriks Bikes | | Strengths: | Lots of adjustability options. Pretty smooth travel. Lightweight. No reliability problems thus far. | | Weaknesses: | Bushing play. | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy, Mag 21. | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Specialized S-Works FSR. | | Bottom Line: | This is the 2001 model that came stock on my Specialized. First noticed what appeared to be a loose headset about 6 months after purchase. After some further investigation, I determined that the play was coming from the fork. Eriks confirmed that this was a common occurance. Guess I just have to get used to it. Otherwise, this is a pretty sweet shock. Am putting together a new hardtail race bike and was considering another SID until I read the review of the Marathon vs SID carbon on the Mountain Bike Magazine website. The review actually didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know about the SID, but the Rock Shox reply told me something about their company. The old line of "it's within our factory tolerances" may sound relevant to most, but as a manufacturing engineer, I can assure you that it may or may not tell you a thing about how the end product performs. Sun used the same bogus line about tires blowing off their rims and I still have not-so-fond memories of their product's performance (the resulting scars are still there). Sorry about the dissertation, but, in any case, my new bike will have a Marathon fork. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Barry
a
from Edmond,Okla.
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | South boundry taos N.M. | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Lightweight | | Weaknesses: | Leaks air, leaks oil, too much flex | | Similar Products Used: | manitou sxr(very nice fork),manitou spider R,Bomberz-3,judy | | Bike Setup: | stumpjumperpro fsr,xt,xtr,thomson stem and seat post, king 517wheels,time | | Bottom Line: | If your a racer with a sponsered ride this fork would be ok. But if your a week end warrior dont waste your money, Buy a bomber, once its dialed in, your set. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jason
a
from houston,tx
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | light weight and very adjustable | | Weaknesses: | leaked oil but had it fixed | | Similar Products Used: | marzzochi z.2, sid xc | | Bike Setup: | gary fisher supercaliber, full xtr, crossmax | | Bottom Line: |
i weigh 150 and it works perfect for me
if you do your own maintenance then get it. i really dont mind any maintenance when it works this well and weighs next to nothing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2002 | | Favoriate Trail: | Bell Line | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Fresh Air Experience | | Strengths: | Looks good. Lockout feature. | | Weaknesses: | Lockout feature. | | Bike Setup: | Standard fork on Giant NRS 1. | | Bottom Line: | I just bought the 2002 Giant NRS 1 about a month ago. The fork was upgraded from the Judy to the SL. I thought I was getting a great deal as the SL looks better than the Judy and has the lockout feature.
My second time out (3rd hour of riding), the lockout feature became non-existent. Then I remembered the lockout feature non working on a brand new Giant I looked at in Calgary about a month before I bought mine. I became concerned that mine was a dud too.
So then I go to this mtbr.com and begin reading the reviews, which now makes me very concerned. It looks like I can begin to expect red rum to begin leaking from the neg. air valve(I've just looked and it is) and other persistent problems. Not only that, but it seems Rockshox service history is not great either (probably because they're dealing with thousands of returned SLs).
It bugs me that I spent C$3300 (US$2000) on my new Giant and am getting problems already. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rufus
a Cross Country Rider
from Yorkshire, England
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Strengths: | Very plush if you are lucky enough to have a working pair, lock out, light weight. | | Weaknesses: | just about everything, but especially Rock Shox quality control.
Don't ride them in the winter, road salt lifts even previously undamaged paint. | | Similar Products Used: | Pace EVO III, Manitou, Psylos | | Bike Setup: | Hei Hei, lots of Hope | | Bottom Line: | *Less than 50 miles, damper assembly fell off skewer stranding me in the Alps. RockShox France had a very unhelpful 3 week turn around.
*150 miles, air piston retaining pin came loose scoring grooves in the stantion wall - no compression.
*Replacement SID Race crown and Stations had a big dent on sliding surface which managed to get through quality control before anodising and again before teflon coating.
Who is this RockShox quality control monkey?
Finally:
Buy these forks if you like to bore people with tales of how light your bike is.
Don't buy these forks if you ever ride your bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mossy
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | light, full 80 mm of travel, adjustability, plush stroke | | Weaknesses: | fragile | | Similar Products Used: | Z2 alloy, Mag 20, SX-R, Judys | | Bike Setup: | Klein Adept | | Bottom Line: | I really want to like this fork, considering I got a great deal on it. (A friend wanted something else on his Fuel 100). When operating as it should, it works great and I didnt notice undue flexiness. It certainly didnt feel as stiff as my old Z2, but it holds a line well enough.
After about 4 months of normal/light use, I noticed I was only getting about 60 mm of travel. Turns out I had a "air bypass" problem where air was leaking from the positive to negative chamber. As the negative pressure built up, it wouldnt allow the fork to return to its fully extended position. It still rode ok, but it was a situation I couldnt ignore, so back to RS it went last week. They're promising 3-day turnaround at this time, so Im anxious to see if they can remedy the problem.
Can I heartily recommend the fork? Because of my reliability issued, not for someone who has to pay MSRP or close to it. That said, a friend has the identical fork for a longer period and has had no problems.
Wondering if the weight savings of air technology is worth it....
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jon Matthews
a Weekend Warrior
from Bolton UK
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | anywhere big | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | Leisure Lakes Manchester | | Strengths: | Weight, adjustability, lockout, looks, plushness | | Weaknesses: | Slightly flexy when cornering and braking hard | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz superlight anodised blue | | Bottom Line: | After reading these reviews I feel v.lucky. Ive hammered these forks downhill, duel hard cross country. Spent alot of time on South Downs which is sandy component munching terrain. No shock boots and the forks are super plush (although I have maintained them well) The lockout has failed to work once but then started working again. The adjustability is amazing. I am no expert but the seals must be great as there is no evidence of crap affecting the forks internals. Some oil came out of the -ve bottom air chamber when I first attatched the shock pump. Ive been told that this is normal and nothing has escaped since. Fingers crossed the fork will still cary on performing. Could have done with a little more travel and stiffness to match the rear end of the Santa Cruz but you pays your money...and hindsight is a great thing. Overall very impressive but not perfect ( is there a perfect single crown fork? ) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
frag
a
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | fireroads and Singletrack | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Weight, infinite adjustability | | Weaknesses: | There is no simple setup, you have to understand it to set it up | | Similar Products Used: | Marx CL, X-Fly | | Bike Setup: | High-end HT | | Bottom Line: | I have owned this since the y2K version was released, and it has been on my HT ever since, I ride 2-3 times/week, and have raced a few time on this rig.
1) Experiment with the pressures. I weigh close to 200lbs, and at the moment 60+ 50- seems the ideal setup for recreational riding, increasing to 65+/55- for race days.
2) The Oil blow-back. Turn the fork up-side down to change the -ve pressure.
3) Servicing/travel adjustment - its a pain - but its better to get the LBS to sort it out, I spilt a seal trying to service mine, and eventually realised that the LBS would sort it out for me for very little cash.
This is not a downhill fork, its a weight watchers XC weapon, it has way more adjustment than anything I have ever ridden. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Quebec
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Weaknesses: | Bad desing and poor construction ,not reliable ar all. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou Xvert super and Mars | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel | | Bottom Line: | This shock worked fine for about one month and then everything started fall a part, Lock out stoped working, fork travel became stiff and now all kinds of oil are coming out of the air valve! This is unacceptable in a product, especially at this price level and Rock shox have not been very responsive about it either. Never had this problem with old Judy XC or any of the Manitou shocks just put them on and with mininmal maintenance they just keep on going strong. Forget this overpriced under acheiving piece
of SH** ! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Fusco
a Racer
from Elmira, NY, US
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | back yard | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came stock | | Strengths: | light weight fork | | Weaknesses: | I weigh 185 and this fork is squirrelly as Hell. I ride some rough terrain and it flexes all over the place. Last bike had a Manitou xvert, which was a much smoother ride and more responsive than this. | | Similar Products Used: | manitou | | Bike Setup: | trek 9.9 pro, xtr, ralf dolomite wheelset | | Bottom Line: | Fork sucks, Seals popped out, leaks oil, can't wait to get rid of it. It would be a good fork for a lighter rider, or one who is less aggressive, but for me, very disappointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ian stacey
a Racer
from uk
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | Anything in Moab | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | 2 Wheels Stourbridge | | Strengths: | Very nice ride when set up correctly | | Weaknesses: | After 1 ride fork was knocking and had no damping ajustment, black adjuster knob just turned and nothing happened. Forks returned to local bike shop who intern sent them back to the importer Madison, 1 week later forks arrived back allegedly fixed. Next ride I tried to ajust the rebound and the black adjuster just turned nothing happened, so another trip to the bike shop. They intern sent the forks back to Madison in the UK who then allegedly fixed them and sent them back to the bike shop.
Guess what the forks were the same as they were when they sent back. Madison were contacted and asked why they had not repaired the forks, the bike shop and I were told that we had damaged the forks by taking out the front wheel and bouncing up and down on the forks this has pushed up the adjuster mechanism.
No mention of the fact that these forks are brand new and hardly used not only that but Madison dont even want to give the local bike dealer any support.
So that leaves me relying on the dealer to sort me out.
Now who says that big companies like Microsoft bury there head in the sand, it seems like rockshox have a problem with these forks not only that they dont want to support the customer by hassling importers like Madison in giving some customer service.
My advice, nice fork but I will never buy another rockshox product again and I have just blown 5k on a superlight so It looks like its going to have Z1 on, Forget the extra weight and that lock out rubbish I am not buying a product that the local disty cant give service on. | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou,rockshox | | Bottom Line: | DONT EVEN BUY IT YOU WILL SPEND MORE TIME OFF YOUR BIKE THAN OUT, TRUST ME I KNOW AFTER HAVING SPENT 5K ON A DREAM SUPERLIGHT ITS BEEN OFF THE ROAD MORE THAN ON AND THE PROBLEM YES SID SL.
Must say top marks to the guys at Hope Now they know something about customer service Maybe Madison could learn a thing or three.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cackle
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Strengths: | Light, Lock out feature(when it worked) | | Weaknesses: | Quality, Broke after 2 months, missing parts | | Bike Setup: | Superlight loaded | | Bottom Line: | 2001 SID SL, The fork started out well very smooth and the 80mm of travel was plenty for me as a XC rider. I used the lock-out feature on fire road climbs testing the functionality and it worked fine. After the first few rides I noticed a little oil leak on both legs but it did not seam to lose pressure so I attributed it to the design and not bad seals. I always kept the tubes clean and lubricated per the manual. The air spring was easy to make adjustments per the manual and I was just starting to get it dialed when the "clank" happened coming down the driveway. Returned the bike back to the shop I purchased it at. The technician said the rebound/compression assembly came apart inside the fork! He also said the fork was missing parts of the oil seal assembly! What kind of quality control does Rockshox use? I am really dissapointed as this is my first suspension bike with higher end XC fork. I am still waiting for Rockshox to fix the problem. I can't recommend this fork to anyone based on the quality issues. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
M Colt
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | All of Them | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS in Scottsdale | | Strengths: | Nice and Light,I Like the lockout feature. Once you got it dialed in it works great. ex. 80psi for top valve and +10(90psi) or -10(70psi) on the bottom valve. I'm 160lbs. figure it out from there. | | Weaknesses: | a little squirly(very little)BUT It's all upper body Strength and Skill that holds your line GUYS ;-)..... | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou, Zoke, Headshock | | Bike Setup: | Superlight XT, SRAM 9.0, Avid Ti, Thompson post, MonkeyLites, Valiants, Hutchinson Airlites | | Bottom Line: | Buy what you want..I like this shock. Planning on getting the DUKE SL for my next rig. This is an XC fork. Not a Downhiller. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GSlug
a Racer
from Houston
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | WestSide Schwinn | | Strengths: | Works for me and is light. | | Weaknesses: | Lockout broke, rebound doesn't work and it spews oil. | | Similar Products Used: | All | | Bottom Line: | I have two 2001 SID SLs. Both of them came from the factory with lockout that didn't work --I turn the knob the fork does not lockout. My LBS was able to fix one of them.
One fork came from the factory with a rebound adjuster that has no clicks, is really stiff and appears to do nothing ..compared to the one fork that works.
One fork blow-up the first time I used.
I put the same exact pressure in both forks and they fell completely different.
Who is responsible for the quality control at RockShox? Fire the slacker!!
Don't buy this fork unless your sponsored by RS or ride for a shop that knows how to work on the stuff. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Julio Silva
a Racer
from Mexico
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | Chiluca | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | local shop | | Strengths: | travel, lock and weight | | Weaknesses: | Defective design and production line | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou carbon, judy sl | | Bike Setup: | 2001 homegrown/XT/crossmax | | Bottom Line: | I paid 600 bucks for this trash (2001 sid sl), the lockout only lasted for three weeks, after a month the air started escaping (seals), till it blew out on me on an important race.
I hear this fork has production defects, i know at least 3 other folks that have had the same problem.
Now i sent it to warranty at RS, and who knows when i´ll get my new fork, since i live in Mexico.
Bummer
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Famous Aimless
a Cross Country Rider
from Salinas, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | Ones in Santa Cruz | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$497.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Adjustability, low weight, lockout is cool | | Weaknesses: | Redrum spewage, not quite as stiff as my Manitou | | Similar Products Used: | Manitou sxr, RS Indy xc(Blah!) | | Bike Setup: | Superlight wth F & R Avid disc (cool!) Fox float rear shock | | Bottom Line: | The more I ride this fork, the more I like it! At first I thought it was WWAAYY too flexy, but I changed to a shorter stem after the first ride, I think the geometry on my Heckler was a tad different than my new s-light, so my old stem gave me different leverage on the new bike. Shorter stem made a HUGE difference!(I think that's why some radially laced wheels get bad reviews, cause they turn quicker compared to x-laced, making the bike seem twitchy- till you get used to it.) I weigh 150, this shock lets me adjust better for my lbs. I LIKE IT! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hans Hsu
a Weekend Warrior
from Taipei, Taiwan
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$485.00 | | Strengths: | Light, very adjustable.......I like the lock out mechanism....you'll need it for long steep climbs......! | | Weaknesses: | Quite expensive, red rum spurted out when I was adjusting the negative air pressure(a lot of people have been complaining about this problem......Rock Shox should check on it)......the red rum contaminated my new shock pump, oil spurts out when I push the release button %$#@!&$........ Don't screw the plastic cap on the air valve too tight......you might have a hard time unscrewing it...........
The color......really appreciate it if it were electric blue instead of milky blue | | Similar Products Used: | Nada | | Bike Setup: | Giant MCM Team 2001, full xtr...,hayes brakes,time atac....... | | Bottom Line: | I'm very light about 132lbs only so I don't feel much flex when i'm riding........it feels nice and comfy to me...maintenance might be a big problem......don't know if I can find someone who has the right tools and knowledge..... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
D Sims
a Cross Country Rider
from Greensboro
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | airborne.net | | Strengths: | many adjustments,lockout,choice from 63/80mm travel. | | Weaknesses: | alot of maintenance, I got a shot of red rum when I tried to add air to the negative pressure | | Similar Products Used: | manintou,headshock | | Bike Setup: | airborne lucky strike,mavic crosslink rims, XT components, 01 sid sl | | Bottom Line: | so far this has been a good fork. I don't know what these people are talking about when it doesn't hold a line. the first time I bought it I purposely took bad lines to see how it would do and it held them fine. now I am looking for speed the only time it bounces off line is when I am going to slow and have no momentum. I like the lockout. at first I thought it was a little bouncy but I adjusted the rebound and it is fine. I weigh 180lbs and have had no problems with the stiffness. I wonder if the people who submitted the poor reviews even tried this fork and are just trying to sabotage the reviews because they are Marzocchi users. I have never used Marzocchi but I am sure they are good forks. This fork is light and responsive I am glad I bought it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
C
a Weekend Warrior
from Calgary, AB. Canada
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | all trails | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Light
Looks
Feel-Oh so plush
Damping control-rebound and compression | | Weaknesses: | Setup
| | Similar Products Used: | Judy C | | Bike Setup: | Moab - XT everything, Race Face Turbine LP cranks, Crossride wheels, SID SL (obviously), Wildgripper tires. | | Bottom Line: | Sweet plush fork. Feels grest, responds great (not sure what this flex thing is all about but anyway), awesome damping abilities. The only problem I am having with it is the air pressure. The pressure is always there but setting it to the proper psi has been cumbersome. I finally got it to where I like it but it did take some time. I had the most difficulty with the negative air. Seems the valve always was cluttered with Red Rum. But now that I have it - SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! Not confident in the XXX seals to I strapped on a pair of lizard skins. All my worries are now gone. Also got a great deal. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason Thorpe Buchanan
a Cross Country Rider
from San Mateo, CA
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | Waterdog Lake | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$355.00 | | Purchased At: | Talbots Cyclery(EP) | | Strengths: | Cool Looking, Feels better then my Judy Race, Takes the downhills nicely, climbs like scared monkey wearing a ridiculously tight speedo. | | Weaknesses: | When pressurizing it leaks that red rum stuff. While climbing on lock out I somehow blew the compression damping system and sent it back to Rock Shox this morning! | | Similar Products Used: | '00 Judy Race, Cheap Suntour | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Schwinn Homegrown, '01 Sid SL, Race Face, SRAM and Avid. | | Bottom Line: | Cool fork I dunno what the deal with the compression thing is, hopefully they'll get it back to me before my race. If you race or have a light bike and don't want to get the Sid Race(63mm) Get the Sid SL(80mm Lockout). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sammy
a Racer
from Boulder, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | White Ranch | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Strengths: | Very light, lockout | | Weaknesses: | Flex, durability | | Similar Products Used: | Marzocchi Z2 xfly, older sid race | | Bike Setup: | Softtail/Sid race on the rear | | Bottom Line: | This fork is the least durable I have tried yet. The first one had defective seals and had to be sent back. This one already has had the dust seal creep up on it. The travel and lockout are nice, but on big hits get ready for the flex! My Marzocchi weighs more, but I have never had to send it back and I can bomb down anything with it. Don't pay retail for this one! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Colin Chambers
a Cross Country Rider
from North Wales, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | the one I am riding | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bean's Bikes - they rule! | | Strengths: | Light weight
Infinitely tunable
Adjustable travel | | Weaknesses: | Flexy
Squirrely
Can't hold a line in the rough...get the picture? | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy XC on my old HT | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight with Fox Vanilla RC | | Bottom Line: | I weigh 155 and this fork is too flexy. I am sick of having to watch my buddy with a Marzocchi fly down rocky technical sections while I get slung all over the place. Not that I don't love going over the bars, it's just that when I pick a line and am banking around a turn, I don't like to be suddenly two feet off the line thanks to my flexy fork. All it takes to make this fork flex/twist on a downhill section is a small rock, and once that happens, say goodbye to your line.
If you ride trails with rocks and roots on downhill sections, don't get this fork. I am sure it would work great on a race bike if it wasn't so long (makes the front end float on climbs). Yes, it is light, yes, you can tune it however you want, but it just sucks through rocky/rooty terrain.
I am saving some dough to go out and get a Marzocchi. Sure it will add weight to my bike, but the ability of your fork to track straight over technical terrain is well worth the extra pound.
Oh yeah, the fork has started to "creak" like some of the other reiewers'. I noticed this after my last trip over the bars due to an unexpected encounter with a large root cluster. I am taking it in to my local shop to see what they can find. I'll repost if there is a physical problem with the fork. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Downhiller
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | pro-deal, rock shox direct | | Strengths: | light, plush for an air fork. easy tuning, looks good
| | Weaknesses: | flexes a bit too much for me in real hard turns and things like that. | | Similar Products Used: | all sorts of sids, total air forks, white brothers, manitou | | Bike Setup: | s-works ht, full xtr | | Bottom Line: | great fork and i would have bought it full pop knowing how well it works. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Racer
from E. Lansing, Michigan
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | from a friend | | Strengths: | -Very light
-Infinitly adjustable
-Smooth travel
-Hardly any bob | | Weaknesses: | -some flex | | Similar Products Used: | Rock Shox Judy C | | Bike Setup: | Stock Schwinn Moab II with Sid SL, Ringle RPM Lite wheels, Avid SD 25s and many other upgrades..... | | Bottom Line: | This fork is absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe how much faster it made my bike when I upgraded from the Judy. There is almost zero bob, it's incredibly light and very adjustable. There is a little bit of flex, but it doesn't bother me since I'm a scrawny scrawny man.
I hear the maintenance can be a pain, but I enjoy a challenge. I think I'll give it a tune up for Valentine's Day...... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Juny Binamira
a Weekend Warrior
from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$475.00 | | Purchased At: | Flying Ball Bicycle Co. HongKong | | Strengths: | Lightweight (though not as light as Rock Shox claims: mine weighed in at 2.9lbs actual, vs. 2.7lbs claimed, w/ uncut steerer), adjustability, can be used w/ disk brakes, low-stiction for an all-air fork. | | Weaknesses: | A bit fiddly dialing this fork in - had to ride around with the shock pump in my Camelbak the first couple of rides. The fork is a little flexy compared to my previous fork, a Marzocchi z-1 x-fly. The external rebound adjuster is held in place with only an o-ring, and the thing is at the bottom of the right leg, pointing down! Haven't lost it yet, but it sure looks like it'll just fall out someday. | | Similar Products Used: | Y2K Marzocchi Z1 x-fly, Rock Shox Mag 20 | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight, 2001 SID SL, XT hollow-tech cranks and front derailleur, 9.0sl rear derailleur & half-pipe shifters, 12-34t XTR cogset, CT-2 flat bars & seatpost, Selle Flite, Speedplay Frogs, Ritchey Comp Lite stem, Kooka Racha brake levers, Chris King headset & classic hubs, Mavic X618 ceramic 32h rims, Revolution spokes, Hutchinson Python Air Lite tires, ultralite tubes | | Bottom Line: | This is a review of the 2001 SID SL. I bought this fork to replace a Y2K Marzocchi z1 X-Fly 100mm travel airfork which I felt had too much initial stiction in its travel and weighed too much for my svelte SC Superlight. The SID is much smoother and has less stiction than the 'zoke, with the added bonus of being more adjustable and 0.8lb lighter. Some reviewers below complain of the lack of rigidity in this fork - I can't honestly say that I have felt this problem. I'm 5'11" and weigh 150lbs. and haven't experienced tracking problems with the SID. So far, I like the great range of adjustability this fork offers, especially the negative air chamber, which can tune the fork to be ultra-plush initially, for comfy fun rides, or insensitive to small hits, and thereby less prone to bobbing, which I guess, would more suit a racer. I even went ahead and bought the reccomended oils so that I can keep it properly maintained. I think it works very well out on the trail and is a complement to the excellent rear suspension on my Santa Cruz frame. I'll post another review once I've spent more time with this fork, but for the moment, I've gotta give it a 4 out of 5. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tedman
a Cross Country Rider
from east windsor, ct
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | light weight, nice ride for fork weight | | Weaknesses: | very flexy | | Similar Products Used: | manitou carbon, atom 80 | | Bike Setup: | sugar 1 w/mods | | Bottom Line: | this fork is marginal for cross country riding in new england. it's way too flexible. tracking, especially on fast downhills, lacks precision. some of this may also be because the fork does not absorb small, rapid bumps well. i have switched to a zoke atom 80, which is much stiffer and has a much better ride.
having said all that, i think the sl is a very good racing fork, and i am going to put it on a dedicated race bike i'm building this winter. i'm going to put it at minimum travel in hopes that greater tube overlap will help stiffness. i've never had problems with leakage, and i check air about once a week and pump up as required. the fork has been reliable, and it is light, light, light and gives an adequately supple ride for fast conditions.
it does concern me that the sl is being marketed and sourced by rockshox and bike mfrs. as an "all around" fork. it is not! the zoke is better. but for fast, relatively smooth riding, or in races, this fork is perfect. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
M.B.
a Cross Country Rider
from NY
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Light, Looks like factory race stuff, very cool blue contrasts well. crazy plush and sticks like hell in the corners. | | Weaknesses: | I would gain a few ounces for some more stiffness. It,s a real flexy flyer. Leaks like a sieve (sid?). Buy a manitou and leave the pump at home and you will wiegh less overall, and you will ride more. xxx describes the #!@% name of the seals. MORE STANCHION/TUBE OVERLAP!!!!= less slop = less leaks! | | Similar Products Used: | |
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