2020 RockShox SID Slims Down – And Gets New 120mm Trail Option

The RockShox SID has been around since 1998 as RockShox’ top end, no compromise cross country race fork, and the new 2020 Rockshox SID SL is no exception. Everything on it has been tuned and whittled down and lightened to make a fork that comes in at under 3lbs (1326g) for a 100mm travel XC fork.

2020 RockShox SID SL

There’s a new, Race Day Charger damper (that itself is a marvel to behold) and the DebonAir air spring has been tuned to keep the fork higher in its travel and ready to use the 100mm of travel. Interestingly there’s no 27.5in wheel version at all for 2020 SIDs as RockShox doesn’t see the demand. It’s 29in wheel only, with a bolted thru-axle for lighter weight. Stanchions are 32mm, with a brand new 32mm chassis to go with it for minimum weight.

Of interest to racers with older SID forks, the new Charger Race Day damper is retrofittable into 100-120mm SID (and Reba) forks going back to 2014(!).

There are two levels of 2020 SID SL – the Ultimate and the Select. The Ultimate, as you’d expect, has every bit machined and polished. The new fork crown is machined and anodised aluminium and there’s no longer a carbon crown/steerer option. Despite this, the new 2020 SID SL comes in at 1326g, which is 166g lighter than the existing SID Carbon. All forks will come with 44mm offset.

RockShox SID SL Ultimate

The 2020 SID Ultimate will cost £779-£849, depending on whether you have a lockout. All forks now feature SKF wiper seals for ultra low friction. The Maxima Plush damping fluid used is said to reduce friction and keep the damper quiet too.

The lockout (of course there’s a lockout, it’s an XC race fork!) on the SID range is a neat, manual lever that turns 90° to lock the fork solid, yet a gentle pressure the other way springs the lever back and unlocks the fork. If that’s too much time/effort, there’s also a TwistLoc lockout option – with a ‘Twist to lock, push button to release’ action. This will also work on the new SID Rear Shock too.

RockShox SID SL Select

The 2020 SID SL Select still uses the same 32mm chassis and stanchions, but swaps in the slightly beefier Charger RL damper and lockout knob. Its claimed weight is 1468g, but then it costs a more reasonable £579-£649.

2020 RockShox SID

Confusingly, there’s a new fork called the SID, which is a little misleading as it’s a world away from the full-on head-down race machine that is the SID SL. The new SID (perhaps ‘SID Trail’ might be a better name?) is also 29in wheel only, but it features beefy 35mm stanchions (up from 32mm of the SID SL) and 120mm of travel. We think this is going to be a very interesting fork to watch.

The new RockShox SID also comes in two versions; the Ultimate and Select. The SID Ultimate features the Race Day Charger damper, a less carved away 35mm chassis and crown and a bolt-on mud fender. It features 44mm offset and comes only in 120mm travel. Weight is 1326g (around 3.4lbs) which is still pretty light for a fork with the same stanchion size as a Pike.

The Rockshox SID (ahem Trail) will come in 120mm only and will be available in Ultimate (£869-949 – 1468g) and Select (£679-£749 – 1671g) versions. Again, only in 29in wheel.

There’s a lot going on with this new SID range. For a start, Rockshox has managed to drop the weight by 166g over its carbon-crowned previous flagship SID Carbon, without using carbon, and then there’s the 120mm SID Select, which we feel will suit racers who ride their race bikes away from the race track, fast XC trail riders who love nothing but getting a PR round the Llandegla Red and for trail riders who live somewhere where there’s only the odd rock and root to get in the way of a fast loop.

All of these forks should be coming into stock right now, so get on down (if you’re allowed to…) and check them out in person. Also, stay tuned for our 2020 RockShox SID First Ride Review…

And also see rockshox.com for more details on the 2020 SID range.

Review Info