[bob29r]

Hello.. I am confused as to why you cannot purchase a Reba SL 29" fork retail. Is this particular model only issued on stock bikes such as the Fisher 29er's ? Is the Reba SL considered a Race ?

Reason I am asking is that I just got a Reba SL off of Ebay and the only difference I can determine from the Reba manual is that the floodgate adjustment for the Race is a finger type dial and the SL requires a hex tool.

I would just like to know if there are any other known differences between these two Reba models. thanks in advance to those that can help me out...

 

[ziggurat22]

If you're talking about the external floodgate on the Race, that's the only difference. To be honest, I don't even know what that does, but on SRAM's website that's the only stated difference/upgrade from the SL to the Race.

 

[bob29r]

Thanks.. yeah that is what I read.. but I don't know the difference between external and internal floodgating either. It might be some marketing technical garbage to entice you to upgrade. And I don't understand why only the SL is not sold seperately.

I also want to know this because the Ebay seller advertised the fork I just purchased as a Race and it is clearly marked SL on the crown. It is more my curiosity that anything else, I doubt the two forks side by side perform any different. Cheers...

 

[holycromoly]

Thanks.. yeah that is what I read.. but I don't know the difference between external and internal floodgating either. It might be some marketing technical garbage to entice you to upgrade. And I don't understand why only the SL is not sold seperately....

Floodgate is actually a valuable adjustment. Here's my best attempt at an explanation. Experts please chime in to correct me and add

Floodgate controls how much travel/firmness your fork has when the compression dial is turned to the lock out position. When locked out with the Floodgate open, you get reduced travel in your fork that feels firm like about 20mm-ish of travel. When the Floodgate is completely closed, the fork has no travel and is truely locked out.

So basically it controls how locked out your fork is when it's locked out Internal means you set it and forget it, no on the fly adjusting as you ride. External means you can tweak it as you ride.

I have external on mine and just simply set it and forget it. I have had the need to do on the fly adjustments while riding.

The more important feature, as least to me, is to have the ability to adjust your Floodgate (internal or external). Forks one model down, like the Tora, do not have Floodgate adjustments and come with a factory preset that is somewhere in the middle, meaning riders cannot truely lock out their fork.

 

[ziggurat22]

Floodgate is actually a valuable adjustment. Here's my best attempt at an explanation. Experts please chime in to correct me and add

Floodgate controls how much travel/firmness your fork has when the compression dial is turned to the lock out position. When locked out with the Floodgate open, you get reduced travel in your fork that feels firm like about 20mm-ish of travel. When the Floodgate is completely closed, the fork has no travel and is truely locked out.

So basically it controls how locked out your fork is when it's locked out Internal means you set it and forget it, no on the fly adjusting as you ride. External means you can tweak it as you ride.

I have external on mine and just simply set it and forget it. I have had the need to do on the fly adjustments while riding.

The more important feature, as least to me, is to have the ability to adjust your Floodgate (internal or external). Forks one model down, like the Tora, do not have Floodgate adjustments and come with a factory preset that is somewhere in the middle, meaning riders cannot truely lock out their fork.

Hold on, I'm confused. Are you talking about the dial on top of the right fork leg that you turn to lock out the fork? The SL has that and you can adjust that on the fly. Are you sure that's it?

I don' t have the pop-loc where I can make those adjustments from my handlebars, but I can reach down and lock out or reduce the travel of my fork with just a twist. According to SRAM, I don't have external flood control, thus can't make such adjustments on the fly.

Unfortunately, I don't have my fork in front of me.

 

[twelve_volt_man]

one more question

Do all 29er rebas have a lock-out, on the ofrk leg, or is only way to lock out the fork with the poplock that attaches to the handlebar??
thanks

 

[Nater]

Floodgate

Is part of the dial on the top of the right leg if you have external floodgate adjustment (EFA). The blue dial on the right leg is the compression lockout knob. The models with EFA will have a little gold knob on top of the blue knob that is the EFA. If you don't have EFA, the gold know won't be there and you have to adjust the floodgate with a little allen wrench.

 

[Nater]

All Rebas have lockout...

Do all 29er rebas have a lock-out, on the ofrk leg, or is only way to lock out the fork with the poplock that attaches to the handlebar??
thanks

Some are PopLoc and some aren't. Those that aren't, you lock out by twisting the blue dial on the top of the right leg. The PopLoc does exactly the same thing (twists the blue dial) but it's cable actuated from the handle bar.

 

[ziggurat22]

Is part of the dial on the top of the right leg if you have external floodgate adjustment (EFA). The blue dial on the right leg is the compression lockout knob. The models with EFA will have a little gold knob on top of the blue knob that is the EFA. If you don't have EFA, the gold know won't be there and you have to adjust the floodgate with a little allen wrench.

Got it! Thanks, now I'm no longer confused!

 

[holycromoly]

Hold on, I'm confused. Are you talking about the dial on top of the right fork leg that you turn to lock out the fork? The SL has that and you can adjust that on the fly. Are you sure that's it?

Yes I am sure.

Reba Race forks (non-poploc) have two dials on the right drivetrain side leg. The large blue dial is the Compression dial. Then, there is an additional small metal color knurled dial that sits on top of it that is the Floodgate dial.

SL and the Race have the large blue Compression dial. But the SL does not have the the smaller Floodgate (Gate +/-) dial as seen in the photo below. Since the SL does not have the dial, you need to use an hex tool to adjust it.

Below is a detail of the assembly. You can see the Compression dial and the top metal "Gate" dial.

 

[bob29r]

HolyCro.. what a killer digi-pic of the Reba gate adj. !!.. I spent hours looking for this information and within 1/2 day I have more info on this subject than SRAM has !! Thanks to everybody for setting me straight.

It looks to me the significance between the two forks is very small.. like negligible.

 

[holycromoly]

I spent hours looking for this information and within 1/2 day I have more info on this subject than SRAM has !! Thanks to everybody for setting me straight...

Your Welcome

The SRAM site is not very helpful at explaining Motion Control and it's properties (compression & floodgate).

The info is buried in the form of a link to http://www.the-red-pill.com

It's not clearly stated what that link will tell you, so why would anyone click on it? But check out that site if you haven't. There videos and photos that are helpful.

 

[bbarend]

If you upgrade to the poploc kit does it change this aspect as well?

 

[Nater]

Which aspect?

If you upgrade to the poploc kit does it change this aspect as well?

The compression lock out or the floodgate adjustment? AFAIK, the floodgate adjustment is external on all of the PopLoc forks out there. The compression adjustment knob looks a little different than the one pictured above with the PopLoc because it need to have a way to attach the cable to it.

 

[holycromoly]

If you upgrade to the poploc kit does it change this aspect as well?

What Nater said.

I'll just add that the PopLoc simply replaces the blue compression dial on the fork legs, subsituting it with the handlebar switch. The Floodgate stays on the fork leg. All PopLocs have external Floodgate.

 

[VTSEAL]

Question regarding compression "adjustment"...

For those that have the knob instead of the Poploc...

Does the Blue Knob make it adjustable through the range pictured on the diagram? I have Poploc, and it is "All or None" - you can use the cable actuated thumb lever on the bar to add 'just a little' stiffness - you either fully lock out or you're fully released. It seems like it would be better to actually be able to set somewhere in the middle if you wanted.

I ride locked out about 95 percent of the time. So it is nice to be able to quickly release the poploc, but since the lever moves the cable through the whole quarter turn or so, it would be nice if there was some kind of tension lock to keep it part way locked out...

 

[ziggurat22]

Question regarding compression "adjustment"...

For those that have the knob instead of the Poploc...

Does the Blue Knob make it adjustable through the range pictured on the diagram? I have Poploc, and it is "All or None" - you can use the cable actuated thumb lever on the bar to add 'just a little' stiffness - you either fully lock out or you're fully released. It seems like it would be better to actually be able to set somewhere in the middle if you wanted.

I ride locked out about 95 percent of the time. So it is nice to be able to quickly release the poploc, but since the lever moves the cable through the whole quarter turn or so, it would be nice if there was some kind of tension lock to keep it part way locked out...

I have a non-poploc Reba SL and I can set the blue knob somewhere in between if I wanted it, it's not simply on/off. I usually ride with the travel full-on, but if I wanted a bit more stiffness without completely locking out the fork, I can do that. I would imagine poploc to be quite useful, say, in a race IMO. However, for regular ride, turning the knob hasn't been an issue.

 

[Nater]

There are 2 versions of the Pop-Loc also...

One is "all or none" like the one mentined above, and there is a Pop-Loc adjust also that has a blue knob on the handlebar mounted lever that you can turn to a point just like the blue knob on the Reba SL. My Pop-Loc has the blue knob...although I don't use it like that. I use my Pop-Loc as an on/off switch.