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will i notice a difference between a judy silver and a sid ultimate?

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Aesthetics43

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I just bought a base model specialized chisel. Im in NW ohio, so no challenging terrain. I also mostly ride urban, side walks, gravel and the occasional easy trail.

My chisel currently weighs 28 lbs. Im planning on swapping the sx eagle derailleur and shifter for GX but im also looking at other upgrades.

I see that this fork switch would save me 2 lbs, but im not sure how noticeable it woudl be? I also love how the blue fork would look with the maroon colored chisel, but obviously thats cosmetic.

Im not a roadie, but i do like the idea of a fast and nimble bike.

What do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
Typically I don't upgrade something until I have to replace a broken part, but many years ago I did upgrade from one fork to another while the old fork was still in good shape. I went from a Tora air to a Reba and was happy with the upgrade. The nearly 2 pound weight difference was nice, and the performance was really noticeable. I got a great deal on the Reba from a friend and was able to sell the Tora to recover most of the cost of the Reba, so it was a no brainer. I have a SID on another of my bikes, and the light weight is nice, but I like how my Rebas ride a little better. I don't know anything about the Judy.
 
#3 ·
For the type of riding you are doing it won’t make much of a difference. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, lightweight wheels and XC tires (like Continental Raceking or Schwalbe Thunderburt) will be much more noticeable.
 
#4 ·
simple answer is a lighter bike (all else being equal) will be slightly faster and more agile based on less mass, with benefits being more noticeable the more time you spend climbing. Detailed answer: you can get more for FREE by eating a bit "leaner" and riding more, losing a few pounds over the course of 2 weeks than you will ever be able to "buy" in upgraded parts. If you like goofing around and popping off curbs and other urban/trail features, dropping 2 pounds off the front end will be extremely noticeable. Not sure what TIRES you are riding, but you will notice far more by swapping to the lightest/fastest rolling tire you can safely use in your riding. It is crazy how slow burly tires are versus small block lighter tires. Based on what you are riding, the best Enduro tires will actually be WORSE for traction and control since they don't have anything to dig into (how they get their insane high performance grip). If you are making the drivetrain changes just for weight, you might want to look at the CASSETTE for max savings and simplicity. e13 and a few other companies make great cassettes that can be cheaper and lighter than SRAM/SHIMANO and are just as good.

But in the end, trial and error is really the only way to figure out what works for you...have fun on the journey for the perfect bike!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Muse MTB said:
simple answer is a lighter bike (all else being equal) will be slightly faster and more agile based on less mass, with benefits being more noticeable the more time you spend climbing. Detailed answer: you can get more for FREE by eating a bit "leaner" and riding more, losing a few pounds over the course of 2 weeks than you will ever be able to "buy" in upgraded parts. If you like goofing around and popping off curbs and other urban/trail features, dropping 2 pounds off the front end will be extremely noticeable. Not sure what TIRES you are riding, but you will notice far more by swapping to the lightest/fastest rolling tire you can safely use in your riding. It is crazy how slow burly tires are versus small block lighter tires. Based on what you are riding, the best Enduro tires will actually be WORSE for traction and control since they don't have anything to dig into (how they get their insane high performance grip). If you are making the drivetrain changes just for weight, you might want to look at the CASSETTE for max savings and simplicity. e13 and a few other companies make great cassettes that can be cheaper and lighter than SRAM/SHIMANO and are just as good.

But in the end, trial and error is really the only way to figure out what works for you...have fun on the journey for the perfect bike!
Click to expand...
Im a light guy already, 155lbs.

Yes that makes sense though. The tires I have are specialized fasttraks, so I think they are already light.

I will look into cassetes

Thank you!
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
ljsmith said:
For the type of riding you are doing it won’t make much of a difference. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, lightweight wheels and XC tires (like Continental Raceking or Schwalbe Thunderburt) will be much more noticeable.
Click to expand...
I will look into lighter wheels! I think my tires FastTraks, are already light
 
#7 ·
You might be better off going to a fully rigid carbon fork given your typical terrain. Your 29" tires probably provide all the suspension you need. That will save 4 pounds!
 
#8 · (Edited)
Find someone selling an inexpensive Reba takeoff. Lighter and better performance for a relative bargain. Deals can be found on new/lightly used wheel takeoffs. I am a fan of XM1700 or XR1700 DT Swiss. Fasttraks are good tires (fast) for the riding you describe. I run them on single track up here in SE Michigan.
 
#9 ·
Once you get past pogo stick forks, the improvements are incremental and most noticed at the extremes. But they are for sure noticeable. I went from a Judy to a fox and noticed a lot more control on rooty downhills and off small drops. Riding on smooth trails? Not much difference.
Carbon wheel set with tubeless tires was a much bigger difference.
 
#10 ·
Almost sounds like you want to lose bike weight to race.

No need to consider weight on a bike if you are just pedaling around. Save your money. A RockShox SID Ultimate will act the same way as a Judy when pedaling in the street. Stick with pedals and grips.
 
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#12 ·
Aesthetics43 said:
mostly ride urban, side walks, gravel and the occasional easy trail
Click to expand...
If this will remain your primary use case, no, the upgrade isn't worth it. If you plan to do more off road riding on mountain bike trails, then upgrading would make more sense.

A couple years ago I bought a BMC TwoStroke that came with a Rudy TK R, it was not up to the demands I had of it in a race. If I was a casual couple hours a weekend for fun rider, I would have never replaced it, but I just didn't get a long with it.
 
#15 ·
I've the same bike, went to lighter carbon wheels, saved a pound easily, Ibis 28 something. Bike is now ay 26.6 lbs. I did notice improvements in accelerating, especially coming out of turns on single track and getting back up to speed. Money well spent. I did not upgrade the original fork as I don't ride technical terrain, so money not well spent.
 
#16 ·
Go for it but remember there is a lot more to chasing weight than just the weight and it depends on bike type and riding conditions/style also. Where you chase weight and where you need to chase it could be two totally different things. iE - you sometimes end up making for a worsening of the ride quality if you are not careful on what change up.
Myself I like a balanced xc bike so if your bike is balanced already I would chase weight in the wheelset and both tires 1st and not the fork. A balanced bike with rotating mass savings would be the most beneficial and felt change you can do.
If your bike is currently front heavy I would chase that fork and front tire for bike balance reason 1st and being a better fork 2nd. Lighter front end to balance bike being more important than a wheel weight change that leaves you a unbalanced bike that has front heavy characteristics.
If your bike is rear heavy a derailment/cassette/rear tire change is what I would pursue 1st for same reason as above. Lightening the front of a balanced or rear heavy bike with a fork change will only make that get more unbalanced ride wise.
If you end up balancing front or back 1st to achieve what you want there then that wheelset/tire change is your next best thing for weight savings that are very evident in how they affect ride. That is not really necessary until you either just want to do it or wear our what you have and need replacement anyways. The balancing will make the bike more enjoyable imo so pursuing that is where I would start on your Chisel.
 
#17 ·
I sort of wonder if you wouldn’t be happier spending that upgrade money on a used cyclocross bike. They’re really good at making boring trails interesting.
 
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#18 ·
Kevin Matherne said:
Go for it but remember there is a lot more to chasing weight than just the weight and it depends on bike type and riding conditions/style also. Where you chase weight and where you need to chase it could be two totally different things. iE - you sometimes end up making for a worsening of the ride quality if you are not careful on what change up.
Click to expand...
I spent years making light bikes, I loved taking entry level bikes and making them as light as possible but this is great advice. One of the first things I always did to lighten my bikes was new tires. I’d get the lightest tires with the biggest volume. Then I realized how terrible the bikes would ride, they would be super easy to take on and off the car, but as soon as I picked up any speed, I felt out of control. Then I sacrificed around a pound to tires and got the best reasonable weight tires and the bikes were so much better.
 
#19 ·
In my experience, a high end fork makes a huge difference on every bike I've upgraded when compared to a more base model. I've done this on several bikes.

Lighter weight (my latest swap Recon->Pike Ultimate saved about 2 lbs), superior dampening, and more adjustability make the high end forks worth it if you can afford it and are trying to get a smoother ride. Because smooth is fast.

I vote for the SID. I've never used one but I have used high end RockShox forks and they always perform better than their lower end counterparts in the same class.
 
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Muse MTB
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