just ordered some 2011 Rev RLT’s (dual air) with the 20mm maxle lite option.

for another £100 i could have ordered the same but as a Rev RLT Ti.

the difference in RRP between the two forks is huge… is it just the ti cartridge and blackbox business that is different?… If this is the case, then the standard RLT must be a bit of a bargain by all accounts?

Ti moco unit, dual flow rebound assmembly, lighter and perform alot better.
That’s not say ing the standard Moco and rebound setup is rubbish, the RLT’s are nice too, just the Ti’s with blackbox damping ride better.

the 2011 RLT has dual flow according to the RS website.

also, the RLT dual air (in qr guise) weighs in at 1,620g as opposed to 1,636g for the RLT Ti dual air (qr)

so it seems it’s a tiny bit lighter but loses the ti’ magical gubbins… but saves you a chunk of cash.

AFAIK the ti cartridge offers similar performance advantages as a PUSH upgrade on the old rev or pike MC damper. That cost £100+ and people paid for the upgrade. The standard MC unit is perfectly fine but riding a pike on my usual terrain just now I’d seriously consider the ti option if I had the cash.

i doubt i’m going to be good enough to benefit from the differences between the two then, so i might as well blow the saved £100 on coke and whores.

i was originally lined up for a pair of 2011 SID RLT’s with 120mm travel but these were standard qr and i figured that i would rather add circa 200g to the front end and gain the stiffness of a 20mm maxle than go for a out-and-out race fork in extended travel mode with twisty drop-outs.

You might not want to read this but I’ve just swapped out a pair of Fox 36 RLCs in favour of a set of Rev RLT Ti forks with a 20mm axle.

The performance of the Revs is incredible and in my view at least, the damping is a heck of a lot better than the Foxs. Yes they are not as stiff but they are almost 1lb lighter and in all honesty I think you’d only notice the reduced stiffness when riding at nine tenths and even then, probably only on something that was pretty rocky.

They feel superior by virtue of not feeling as ‘congested’ as the Foxs. I think, but can’t be sure, that this is due to their rebound damping being better. The fork seems to be able to retain greater composure, which translates to more grip, more control etc, even over fast repeated hits.

I’m genuinely hugely impressed with them, not least because I’m coming to them from such a quality fork already.

I’m saying all this as a testiment to perhaps spending a little more money on the RLT Tis if indeed their damping circuits are different to the ones you’ve ordered.

BTW I got mine through the ‘private memberse sales’ at CRC for £459.

that’s great to hear in respect of comparing rs to fox.

re. the RLT to RLT Ti, i had to draw the line at budget somewhere (my £1,100 proposed budget has now lept to £2,100+), and if the Ti version is similar to the Push tuning option, I guess I could always get my standard RLT’s push tuned in the future if I felt i needed improved damping.

i doubt i’m going to be good enough to benefit from the differences between the two then

Don’t do yourself down mate, the blackbox damping is well worth the extra £100 IMO and unless you actively avoid any rough bits of ground you’d certainly benefit from it.

If the RLTs just have normal Motion Control then they will be OK, but the Ti will be a stunning fork. Especially if you get a through-axle version.

what about Rev XX’s? are they better than RLT Ti’s?

Same thing, with slightly stiffer compression and a hydraulic lockout, personally would go for crown top adjustment as less of a faff. 😀

i quite like the poploc so have specced this on the RLT’s… i like being able to flick it on and off rather than reach down and fiddle with the crown adjuster.

Real world performance difference?

Depends on how much you believe the marketing depts.

Depends on how much you believe the marketing depts.

Are you trolling or do you really think that just because you can’t see the different bits inside a fork that they might work better?

Are you trolling or do you really think that just because you can’t see the different bits inside a fork that they might work better?

No, I think there might be a minuscule real-world difference (if measured accurately) – but the marketing depts. make it sound like a million miles difference, to convince you to part with even more of your hard earned.

In the ‘real world’ out on the bike, it makes sod-all difference IMHO.

Like paying for alloy wheel upgrades on a car – looks much nicer than steelies + hubcaps…. but makes zero real-world difference to performance (although lighter wheels = less rotational weight… so on paper, it might make a difference…)

Xiphon – at what point do the differences between products then start to make a discernable difference, or to put it another way, at what point can you feel the difference?

I take your point to some degree, but for example, I could very distinctly feel the difference between the way the damping works in a Fox 32 Float and the Rockshox Revelation; both air sprung, 150mm forks.

I can’t say I’ve tried the Rev RLT versus the RLT Ti, but your argument seems to be that small differences are not discernable and I think some riders can feel the difference in set up and performance.

It may be that the ‘feeling’ is quite distinct even if the actual difference in terms of say time over a controlled section of track may be quite small. Then again they may not be all that small.

If you ride like a wuss you’ll never notice, but if you ride hard and push your fork you’ll find the simple damper will not feel good… and the upgrade would have been worth it.
The black box dual rate damper thing is worth having if you rag rather than mince.