Hi,
I'm looking for any feedback or opinions on the 2012 (or 2011) Rock Shox Sektor R Solo Air forks. I'm looking for some 150mm air forks with a 20mm axle to go on a Cove Stiffee and have seen them for a good price. I just wanted to see how the performance compares to the more expensive Sektors (or Revalations) with more advanced damping. Also is it possible to upgrade the damping cartridge if I find the standard setup lacking to something from the Revelation range as they are surposed to share the same stantions and lower legs.
I don't have much experience of current Rock Shox as I'm currently running 130mm Fox Float Rs (QR) on the frame and don't want to loose much in performance but want to gain stifness and slacken the head angle to get the most from the frame. The bike won't be used for anything too extreme so I don't need the obsolute best adjustability or damping performance
Thanks in advance.
Yes, you can upgrade the damping but it won't be cheap...unless you source a second hand Rockshox fork of similar travel and strip the damping circuit out.
The last time I used the Turnkey damping was when I tested stepson 2's 2008 Rockshox Dart and TBH it didn't feel anywhere near as good as Motion Control. They may have improved it in recent years though.
Thanks for the reply, I'm not sure if this Sektor has Turnkey damping, but hopefully it should work better than a Dart as it's a more expensive fork.
Anymore feedback would be great.
Thanks
The Sektor seems to have the same chassis as the Revelation (v.good BTW) and if it ships with Motion Control damping then it's a must have IMHO.
The name or coding should tell you what type of damping the fork comes with and it does make a big difference. You can pick up better damper units from various places if you buy a budget fork.
I still can't seem to find out which damper the Sektor R uses, but have found out that it's an OEM model.
I've now found the 2012 Revelation RCT3 for £90 more, so that could well be an option if the damping on the Sektor isn't up to much.
I think Sektors are too far up the range to come with turnkey damping. IIRC that's only on Darts and some Toras and Recons.
Got a link?
Motion Control according to RS
http://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/sektor-r
OEM forks aren't necessarily worse than aftermarket, it could just be a plain box and no shock pump, they might even be better (Alloy steerer etc)
🙂
PeterPoddy, a link to the Sektors is below:
Many thanks
Ahh. Apparently there are some Sektors with turnkey damping, but it seems that they are the Sektor TK, not R...
Hmm. No lock out....... 😕
Says R though. Should be MC. Give them a call, Merlin are very helpful in my experience with them.
Motion Control according to RShttp://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/sektor-r
OEM forks aren't necessarily worse than aftermarket, it could just be a plain box and no shock pump, they might even be better (Alloy steerer etc)
Thanks, I did see that but still wasn't sure as I thought only forks with a lockout or adjustable compression had motion control and thought maybe it was just a generic description being used on the SRAM site.
I'm not fussed about OEM as I've bought stuff before and Merlin have been around long enough to hopefully sort out any potential issues.
FYI, I swapped a set of 140mm coil Fox Vanillas (Ace forks) for some air Revelation RLTs last year, and the Revs are a better fork in every way: Lighter, stiffer, more travel and amazingly better damped
(I bought them from Merlin, listed as 140mm, and took the spacer out to get 150mm)
I thought only forks with a lockout or adjustable compression had motion control
So did I! 🙂
TBH, I reckon they might be TKs labelled as R for OEM. It's soooooo difficult to tell from the description though.
If you can afford it, I'd go for the Revs if I were you
FYI, I swapped a set of 140mm coil Fox Vanillas (Ace forks) for some air Revelation RLTs last year, and the Revs are a better fork in every way: Lighter, stiffer, more travel and amazingly better damped
(I bought them from Merlin, listed as 140mm, and took the spacer out to get 150mm)
I can get the Revelation RCT3 for £315, but that appears to have some sort or travel adjust which I don't like the idea of as I like keep things relatively simple (so there is less to go wrong and I can change the oil myself) and the bike is more of a winter hack.
Other options are the Rev RL at £315 and the Rev RLT at £337. All are the 150mm travel 15mm axle versions.
There ok but they are not Fox! I had them with the black box damper fitted.
Hmm. No lock out.......Says R though. Should be MC. Give them a call, Merlin are very helpful in my experience with them.
Just rung Merlin and they say Motion Control, so might well be ordering those!
There ok but they are not Fox! I had them with the black box damper fitted.
Would prefer Fox as I already have some 36s on a full sus and really like them, but don't have a spare £600+ lying around. I can't believe how much they've gone up in price over the last few years!
I have a Sektor with a stiffer spring. It's a nice fork I would reccomend it, especially at it's current price.
The Sektor solo air with MC is a fine trail fork (I have one). But if you can get Revs with travel adjust for that price I'd go for that.
Travel adjust on RS forks is nothing to be scared of - it just works. And it will help you to find the perfect travel setting for your frame. Or you can adjust it down when stopped on the trail to make climbing easier. With hindsight, I should have got the coil sector with travel adjust and hang a little extra weight.
I can get the Revelation RCT3 for £315, but that appears to have some sort or travel adjust which I don't like the idea of as I like keep things relatively simple (so there is less to go wrong and I can change the oil myself) and the bike is more of a winter hack.
I've just got some of those from Merlin and they're not the 'dual position air' version so there's no travel adjust. As you say - that's a positive thing for me, plus the 'dual air' (non travel adjust) ones are supposed to be smoother + more controlled, I don't know if that's true. Although all the RockShox air springs are self-contained so changing the bath oil is exactly the same on every model.
Personally, I think for an extra £90 the Revelations are money well spent. A £600 fork for £315 is a damn good deal!