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OK, so there's a lot of choice out there if you want a 120mm fork these days. I'm after a fixed 120mm travel fork (this is for definite), currently I have a set of 2007 Revelations at 130mm on my hardtail, which are great but a little too long.
Now I could just put a 10mm spacer in them and keep riding them of course. But I'm suffering from a bout of "shinythingitis" and looking at what else is out there (that and I'm selling tonne of crap on ebay right now so should have a few hundred quid to play with soon perhaps), and having played with a set of SID World Cups today my mind turned to new forks.
I should at this point state I'm a Rockshox fan, Fox I've always felt overpriced and underperform, Manitou I used to love until reliability issues abound (though the new 2011 Minutes do look tempting!) and Marzocchi are still a no no. Oh, and price would be a major factor, thinking I could afford £200 to £250 tops on top of whatever I could sell my current forks for (so probably about £400 all in).
So, what's the difference between Reba's and SID's now? Of course SID's used to be spindly little 28mm stanchioned things, but now they look identical to Reba's. Only Reba's are heavier, and I can't work out why! And what's RL, RLT and RLT Ti? And what does the XX version add? I'm assuming RL means "rebound and lockout", does RLT mean "rebound, lockout and threshold"? And does that mean the "Ti" version is just lighter Ti internals? Very confused, and can't find the info I'm looking for from the sites I've looked at selling them...
Bike is a Genesis Altitude Ti if it makes any difference. Which of the fixed 120mm travel forks would you get, and why? Or should I not bother, and send my current forks to TFTuned and (for a rather princely sum) get them tuned with the PUSH upgrade?
Ermm, depends on what you want. I've always held the belief that SID's are a bit of a waste but that's my opinion. I am running Reba Race's on my Boardman atm, and I've had a go on my mate's custom Giant who has SID's and I have not noticed much difference apart from the fact that the bike in general feels lighter.
If I had to choose again, I would buy Rebas. + you would have a few £'s left to spend on shedding that weight elsewhere, by not buying SID's 😉
Although tbh your Revelations don't sound that bad 😛 although I'm sure you have a reason for swapping.
Hope it helps somewhat 😛
There's a big range of forks you've covered there, from the 'go faster at any cost' SID, through the 'light but solid' Reba to the 'still sensible weight, but XC/ all mountain' Revs.
So, the question has to be what kind of riding do you do?
Personally (and obviously YMMV), I don't see myself as a SIDs rider - I don't race, I don't think I'm particularly fast, and they're not really aimed at me.
I used to have Rebas, and liked them. They were reliable, handled all my riding and just generally did it without any issues.
Revs, on t'other hand, seem to be the longer-travel fork - they run up to 150mm now, which is pretty long. So if you're fixed on 120mm, the Reba would probably be the one to go for, unless you want super-light weight.
Although tbh your Revelations don't sound that bad although I'm sure you have a reason for swapping.
They're not, they're a good fork...
Re-Read my first post about "shinythingitis" 😉
Wouldn't mind something with the newer black box damping too, as the only criticism I have of my Revelation is that it can spike a bit on really big hits, which is a common criticism of the Motion Control damping.
Sounds like You just want a new fork 😉
After reading recent thread on here about RS damping, if You get one with BlackBox damping it will be similar upgrade to getting them PUSHed. You can get a BlackBox damper separate apparently and just swap it with the MoCo one.
I have the 853 Altitude and had 115mm Reba on the front. Now have older U-turn Air Revs. They are stiffer, almost no weight penalty and adjustable travel is a great thing. I was out on a ride with my xc mate, he had 90mm SID on his S-works, I just had wind the fork down to 100mm and Genesis was a great climbing xc machine. Then on the downs set it at 130. Great ride and the Revs are a bit taller then Reba, however it's not that bad, still climbs good, even at 130mm.
Sooo, if I was buying I would get U-turn Revs as they work superb and are stiffer then my Reba.
My mate's SID have different lowers to a Reba, lighter and probably as stiff but I am not sure whether You can run SIDs at 120 like You can with the Reba. But yeah, I would just get U-turn Air Revs.
Any reasons why You want fixed travel only?
Any reasons why You want fixed travel only?
Two fold... One I never ever fiddle with a fork when I'm riding. Lockouts, travel adjust etc. are all a waste of time to me... The second reason is reliability, and Rockshox's U-Turn air system is known for its lack of reliability, whereas the dual air setup has been very reliable for them over the last few years. Everyone I've known with an air U-Turn fork has had issues.
Sounds like You just want a new fork
To be honest, it's mainly that I want white fork lowers, not silver! 😳 Though I would like to give a new Black Box damped fork a go.
My mate's SID have different lowers to a Reba, lighter and probably as stiff but I am not sure whether You can run SIDs at 120 like You can with the Reba.
How are they different? I've not seen a pair of each side by side, looking at photos though I can't see any difference!
So if you're fixed on 120mm, the Reba would probably be the one to go for, unless you want super-light weight.
Was kinda my thoughts too, though the new SID's don't look like there's any penalty to them for being slightly lighter (though tell me if there is, but I can't see it)... That and the 120mm Reba with the 20mm axle is still hideously expensive everywhere, and a SID with a 15mm axle and the same damping etc can be had for £150-200 less from a couple of well known online stores!
It's a shame you want a 20mm axle (I'm assuming), otherwise you'd get an absolutely great deal! 😕
It's a shame you want a 20mm axle (I'm assuming), otherwise you'd get an absolutely great deal!
I'm not too fussed, 20mm, 15mm, QR... Either way to be honest, as if it's a QR I'd just run one of those DT/Superstar style 9mm axles anyway which stiffen things up a load.
Revs are long travel trail forks. I dont know where Reba's fit now as I have SID RLT 2011. There 120mm and work amazingly well. Very light fork but probably not as stiff as the reba's.
My 2p worth: I run SID teams (100mm) on one bike and PUSHed Fox F100s on another and there is a world of difference in terms of plushness and feeling 'solid'.
The SIDs do not feel much different in terms of stiffness, but I certainly get more battered around when I ride them compared to the Fox (they are set up as similarly as I can get them BTW).
So, I would consider whether weight or fork feel is more important to you. What kind of trails are you riding? What condition are your current forks in? I would check whether getting the travel reduced actually reduces the fork length too, otherwise there would be no point getting the travel reduced.
Can your wheels be easily converted to 15mm?
So, I would consider whether weight or fork feel is more important to you.
Suspension performance is easily most important, but I understood the new SID's are supposed to perform remarkably well... Or have I got that wrong? And should I consider the Manitou Minutes as a result (cos they are stiff, and have very good damping supposedly)?
I would check whether getting the travel reduced actually reduces the fork length too
It does on every Rockshox fork I've ever had/taken apart.
Can your wheels be easily converted to 15mm
About to build some new wheels, so front hub compatibility not really an issue as I will choose one to suit.
I recently changed from 2009 Fox F120 RL QR15 to RockShox SID RLT Ti QR15, £449 from On One.
There excellent, really pleased with the change & especially at the price.
It'd be Reba Team 120mm's (Blackbox/20mm maxle) for me, I've been lusting over em for too long & spending money on other stuff I shouldn't really have... oh the joys of "shinythingitis".
Even though there nowt wrong with my current 115 U-turn (older so more reliable? unlike my Rev's) Reba's and 9mm bolt thru axle.
If you search & have a bit of patience they come up for around £380 (or last I looked Jensens & import duty's would be around that).
BUT you ain't a big lad like me so SID's are an option, even the 185mm disc limit, probably nothing that would bother you. So there's no reason why not to go for the SID's, espeically the lovely 120mm's even if they do have the stupid 15mm std axle (why? 20mm was fine). Though worth noting seemingly some SID's only have a 80/100mm travel option not the 80-120mm, so careful if you buy them think they'll convert up...
As for RS model's IIRC its seemingly:
RL - (old SL) standard Moco, & tooled floodgate (adjusted with 2.5 mm hex key internally)
RLT - (old Race) standard Moco, & external floodgate
RLT Ti - (old Team) Ti moco unit, dual flow rebound assmembly (BlackBox), lighter and perform alot better
XX - Same thing as the Ti, with slightly stiffer compression and a hydraulic lockout
Go for the Sids, 120mm travel with 15mm axle. And a bar mounted remote. Locking them for sprinting/climbing becomes second nature after a while.
i'm running 2011 rs rev rlt dual airs with a 20mm maxle lite... they are shimmed down to 120mm travel (i am running them on a turner flux)
they absolutely rock... super-stiff, progressive, plush and perhaps most importantly, i have no problems extracting the full travel from them (i think a set of 120mm rebas or sids will only give you just over 100mm in actual useP).
Mark; I've bin running some Rebas on my RL SS for three years now, and love 'em. 2008 model Teams. I've bought a s/h pair of 2010 SLs, which have gone onto the Lobster. The Teams are going on my 'Dale to replace the Lefty. I want a fork which I can strip and service myself, rather than paying at least £40 a time.
I loves 'em, me. The 'new' ones are great; fiddly to set up, but once you've got them where you want, they work really well. The 2010s feel a bit better, but that might be cos I've just stripped and serviced them tbh. Get the positve/negative air spring pressures right, and they are so supple and responsive.
i'm running 2011 rs rev rlt dual airs with a 20mm maxle lite... they are shimmed down to 120mm travel (i am running them on a turner flux)
Is something else I was considering. Though also wondering is it worth all the faff, this isn't for a hard hitting bike per se, though I'm not the most lithe of riders and for someone of my weight (12st) I can be hard on kit.
i think a set of 120mm rebas or sids will only give you just over 100mm in actual use
Had heard 120mm SID's struggle to give full travel, but I've not had a go on a set. Conversely, my mates 100mm SID World Cup's that I was playing with yesterday had no trouble setting them up to get the full 100mm of travel if required.
I want a fork which I can strip and service myself
Aye, hence wanting to stick with Rockshox. Have owned Pikes, Revelations, Reba's and Boxxers over the last few years, all piece of pee to service myself.
Main thing I'm wondering about though is the SID's now look all but identical to Reba's, but are lighter. What's the difference? And is the black box RLT Ti fork really that much better? I've run several forks with the Motion Control damping now, and like them, though would prefer something that spiked a little less on really big hits (which the Black Box is supposed to improve).
So is there a definitive answer on the Reba Vs SID then?
Literally about to order some 120mm forks in the next few days, will I be better off saving £50 and getting the Reba's, or does the extra £50 and a 150g(ish) saving equate to more performance overall?
Looking at the Reba RLT Ti Vs SID RLT Ti by the way, not interested in the non Ti models, or the XX now I've found out the damping isn't actually as good.
Nobody any the wiser than me? 😕
Depends on how much you weigh and what type of riding you prefer.
I'm 77kg and ride in the peaks.
I've got 120mm Rebas maxle lite with Black box on my Cotic and they're superb!
If you can find some 2010 ones I'd buy them, think Winstanleys had some recently.
I've ordered a canyon nerve xc 6.0 which come with qr reba rl 120mm, are they anygood? 🙂 i went for them as i was hoping i wouldn't have to do much p*ssing about with them to keep them going (unlike fox forks?)
🙂