Gone from Fox Vanilla RLC forks which had so many dials and knobs that I had to re-learn the in and outs of fork tuning everytime i touched something, to a Rockshox Sektor RL with two twidly bits. Only problem is, i dont have a manual and it isnt on the SRAM site.
So... what does the blue dial at the top, and red dial at the bottom do please?
Blue is lockout/compression damping and red is rebound.
You'll miss the high speed compression damping the Fox fork delivered if you're sensitive to mid corner support, other than that, the controls are basically the same.
The lockout lever on both adds low speed compression damping to dial out "bob" and eventually lock the fork.
The "c" dial on the Fox fork allows low speed to be tuned when the fork is not locked out to create a platform.
And if you have a flood gate dial on the Sektor, (internal or external) it does the same thing but only when the dial is turned to the "locked" position.
The Fox fork generally delivers more consistent damping as it's an open bath design which circulates the oil through the damper back into the bath to settle out before it's used again.
The RS employs a twin piston damper often referred to as a "cartridge" damper assembly that moves the rebound piston assembly through an oil reservoir which forces the oil up through the compression assembly in the compression phase of the stroke, then draws it back down through the same oil and ports it through a needle and valve aperture to damp the rebound phase.
This method works all of the oil in both phases and cavitates it far quicker reducing the performance of the damper faster.
Despite this, RS recommend the same service intervals as Fox.
It was acceptible when RS forks were about 40% cheaper than Fox, but I can't see any value in it now that prices seem to be similar for both brands.
i'd have stuck with the Fox forks and learned how to use them to extract the performance advantages the damper offers.
Thanks for all the info GTR. Im afraid i dont have the memory capacity to remember all that whilst im out riding. I generally stick all the dials to somewhere in the middle and ride it. I can just about set rebound and know what the lockout does, but the rest i cant feel makes any difference to how it rides (for me anyway). I prefer getting rid of it all so i dont have to worry about it, and assume someone with more knowldeg and skill has set it correctly in the factory. If it moves up and down, and doesnt shoot back up like a pogo, then im happy.
too true!
"It was acceptible when RS forks were about 40% cheaper than Fox"
Interesting remark. What is the equivalent Fox fork so we can see a price comparison?
+1 for what ads_b says
For those of us on a budget the Sektors look quite good imo
Need to replace my 6yr old rlc floats sometime but no way can I afford £500+ for a set of forks no matter who makes em, would rather buy a whole new bike 🙄
Just got some Sektors, havent fitted them yet but for 255 euros you cant complaiin
http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p25685_Sektor-RL-U-Turn-Federgabel-Modell-2011-.html
I put some coil sektors on in place of back box team issue Revs.... half the price, tad heavier and thats about it.
Mackem,
how did you get on with their payment methods? money order?
Trekster - Member+1 for what ads_b says
For those of us on a budget the Sektors look quite good imo
Need to replace my 6yr old rlc floats sometime but no way can I afford £500+ for a set of forks no matter who makes em, would rather buy a whole new bike
yep totally agree.
fork prices are takin the pi££ nowadays imo.
It was acceptible when RS forks were about 40% cheaper than Fox
So the comparison is ~£500 for Fox, and ~£300 for Sektors - about 40% cheaper 🙂
Regarding the price of forks compare the cost of these Ohlins Motard forks, obviously they don't have yokes:
Fox 40's £1429 RRP.
Bit early for an April Fool there LoCo 🙄
ohlins rear shocks for motorbikes would seem to be rather better value for money than the ones they manufacture as the cane creek double barrel too. 😕
Trekster, you've lost me?
Julian, yes they do don't they. However the forks teams [b]Lease[/b] for Motogp were £50,000 per season.
Pikes used to be 40% cheaper than Fox at RRP, and would almost achieve the same performance levels. (apart from the HSC) I own a set of Pikes and love the performance they provide on my trail bike.
But I replaced them with Fox Forks and the difference is palpable.
The Sektor @ £300 is an online deal.RRP is £424.00. Similar Fox forks can be found online at £329 reduced from £729RRP.( this fork used to be £549.00)
I just looked them both up on CRC.
The Sektor still has no high speed compression and still pales in comparison to the Fox equivalent in terms of performance.
And the OE versions differ vastly in terms of construction and performance.
The RS has zero compression damping.
The Fox is open bath porting oil for compression and rebound, offering consitent performance through the damping range even in it's budget and OE spec forks.
OK, I'll admit I cannot compare like for like: I have 2008 F120s QR RL on one bike and new Sektors air on the other.
The Fox is very active and good enough for a sub 1.5kg QR fork. But the Sektors feel better on the trail IMO.
"The Sektor still has no high speed compression"
My Fox has neither high or low speed adjustment. It only manages ~100mm of actual travel. It's noticeably dives - which is OK when you know. And rebound damping is impossible to set correctly - the final detent goes from almost 0 to way to much. On the plus side, it shows no sign of the dreaded stanchion wear despite 1 year service intervals.
On the Sektor, both HS and R knobs adjust in linearly over a useful range. It's just as active as the Fox too. It's 150mm with maxle lite and only 1.7kg. I really like it.
"And the OE versions differ vastly in terms of performance"
That may be it, my Fox is OE. 🙂
You ridden a Sektor then?
When did yu last get the Fox fork serviced?
I've ridden Sektors on our current fleet of Santa Cruz demo bikes and found them wanting. I've tuned the Butcher fork with a hgh speed stack because it dives thru the travel so fast it makes the bike look poor.
We've got a MoCo cart on the way for it, but that only sotrs out low speed compression. It'll fix th brake dive, but mid corner support is non existent on the OE fork.
But I guess you have to be sensitive to it to realise that it's missing.
i.e. a decent rider.
The servce intervals on Fox and RS forks for UK use are 15-25 hours.
for oil change and at least 12 months for a complete service.
Forks work better when they're new.
Could this explain the difference in feel?
And Fox R and RL forks have low and high speed compression settings built into the rebound adjustment to compliment the spring rate if they're correctly set up.
They require regular oil changes to maintain this performance though.
I would have to agree with skyline, They came stock on my specialized pitch pro 2011 and if I set them up to the recomended air pressure for my weight mid corner their all over the place, so I have to set them up harder to stop this, which then causes problems over the rough stuff, rebound between 13-15 clicks any thing less than 10 clicks their to active, trouble is the more rebound you have the less travel you get to some point, I'm 12 stone 7 lbs so about 13 stone fully kitted.
I've tried 85 psi up to 110 psi, 110 psi being what there set to at the moment, I've tried running them softer with a bit of compression blue dial maybe one or two clicks but I can not seem to find a sweet spot on them at all, when your going for it you don't want your forks doing that mid corner it gives you no confidence what so ever.....
julianwilson - Memberohlins rear shocks for motorbikes would seem to be rather better value for money than the ones they manufacture as the cane creek double barrel too.
Not a good comparison that, the consumer-level Ohlins rear shocks like mine are really pretty ordinary- durable but not a market leader on performance by a long way.