We tested the RST Rogue 27.5in fork in Issue 110 of Singletrack magazine, where it was the hands down winner when it came to value for money.
While there was a big array of forks on show at Eurobike, there’s not too much by way of changes, with RST focussing on meeting the needs of the growing e-bike market with a few tweaks to construction to improve strength and stiffness.
Bigger changes are within the big wheel, big travel category – freeride Stitch and downhill Killah forks for 29ers have been beefed up with 38mm stanchions. They’re going to be released with coil springs initially, but air sprung options are being worked on and tested by riders at the moment. Redesigned to take up to 29×2.6in tyres, these are mahoosive forks available in Boost and Super Boost for the kind of airtime that most of us only see on the telly.
Probably more relevant to those of us with a sense of mortality is the Rebel, an upside down fork with trail riding intentions. Available with 15×110 and 20×110 Boost and Super Boost sizing, they might fall into the category of ‘because you want to be different’ although RST says that the ride is supple and responsive, and that the slight flex in the fork can help reduce arm pump.
While all of that was on display, the new electronic dropper post came out of a closed cupboard. This, we’re told, is close to being ready to head to production, but they want it to be right before they go there, so RST will take whatever time is needed to get things right.
It’s operated by radio frequencies rather than Bluetooth, as this provides a much longer battery life. If you stand clear of the returning dropper, you’ll get 2,400 cycles from it, but if you’re squashing it with your tush then you’ll reduce that to 900 cycles. It will come in 31.6 and 30.9 diameters, and will come in 100mm, 125mm and 150mm drops. The battery and radio control gubbins is in the canister shown here, while the replaceable motor is inside the bottom of the post.
The claimed lag time for the post from pressing the button is 0.6seconds. We’ll admit we’re not too sure about that actuator – even if, as planned, they switch it from white to black, we’re not convinced it looks like the kind of thing that’s easy to hit in a hurry, or in gloves. Hopefully this will see a bit more refinement before the production version is released.
