Rockshox Solo air and base-range coil Sektors- talk to me

MTBR reviews are abit scathing (ones a muppet/not the forks fault).

Experiences? I don’t have a lot of money to throw at forks and these are just ‘enough’ to warrant buying new.

Are they good? Or just very very crude forks on the trail?

Ones with just rebound are ok, but a bit basic damping wise, if your used to decent compression damping they’ll probably annoy you.

I can feel decent compression forks. However I can’t afford them. Bloody shitty **** 55 pieces of **** breaking on me.

MTBR reviews are abit scathing

I’ve never read them. I suggest you do the same. They want knobs and buttons and bling prices.

They are just as good as any other RS forks build quality wise (I’ve actually had a set to bits this very morning)
Set the sag/air pressure, adjust the rebound and then all you’ve got is lock out to play with. What more do you need?
I’d have a set like a shot, they feel just as good as my Revelations. In fact, it’s hard to see where the difference is, and I REALLY mean that. Internally identical from what I can see, probably just a different MoCo unit.

I can feel decent compression forks

????

Hora, do you mean fixed travel RL coils or just the basic R models that only have the rebound damper?
RL’s are ok, r’s less so as they just work on a rebound damper and no compression damper and the oil height for damping.

I have some Recon Solo Air with Turnkey damping. They might not have the tune-ability of more expensive forks, but they are one of the most reliable, smoothest feeling forks I’ve had. More exotic damping systems seem to need more TLC in my experience whereas these just keep working.

Sektor RLs are what I’ve had in bits today.

I have coil u-turn Sektor RL’s Hora, not the bottom of the range but considering the price for new ones, I think they’re a bargain and if you find a 2nd hand pair even more so. I like the feel of coil, and they have rebound, compression and lockout, not to mention travel adjust which is handy, especially if your swapping from Frame to frame 😉

Loco I was looking at the R’s on Merlin but also these: http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/forks-shocks/rockshox-suspension-forks/rockshox-sektor-tk-soloair.html

Edit RL’s are out of stock at merlin 🙁

The 55’s with the shims you sold me ripped but the amazingness was only fleeting

I second the above comments…
I got some Sektor coil RL DPCs just before crimbo…..theyre fantastic for the price……theyre fantastic fullstop!!

What on earth do you do to forks?

For what its worth, I don’t think there are any really ‘bad’ forks out there nowadays. Apart from once you take ownership of them obviously.

When I bought the P7 it had the Tora solo air on them. I thought I’d probably be possessed with the urge to upgrade them before too long. But to be honest, they’ve been absolutely bloody brilliant! Can’t fault them at all. Not remotely bling. They just do the job. Ok, they’re not the lightest in the world. But if you can live with that….

I have coil Sektor RL’s wasn’t too keen at first, fitted the stiffer spring, love them now. Very well made for the price. Not as plush as other forks but far nicer than anything else at this price point I have seen/used.

OK so I’m going to draw a comparison Sektor and Revs which I’ve had on the same bike (TranceX)

I bought the 2011 150mm Sektor Solo Air RL and fitted them. They are light, plush and stiff enough. But I was never 100% happy with the MoCo compression damper as it was always a bit divey. I thought this was my fault running the fork too long and using a lot of sag. Increasing the compression damping really just affected the plushness. Sure enough, when I dropped the travel to 130mm and put more air in, things improved a lot.

I then moved these forks to my HT. I got the 2011 150mm Rev dual-air dual-flow RL on the Trance X. With a bit more neg-air, I run these at ~140mm and sagged normally. The behaviour of the minimum compression damping is way better – it does not dive at all. You completely forget about the suspension action. Finally a fork to live up to the Maestro suspension!

Oh great. Depressing.

Sorry Hora. I’m not saying the Sektor is a bad fork – far from it. It’s just noticeably not as good as the Revs. But the Revs are normally a lot more expensive, for good reason.

PSA merlin has 2012 Revs RLT for £339. Bargaintastic.

I can afford to pay circa 200 – it’d need to be 0% at over 300 though!

Oh great. Depressing.

If nobody had told you, you’d never have known.

Remember, I’m still using your old Lyriks. Fantastic forks those, why you let me buy them is beyond me…. 🙂

PP – they’d be broke if I still owned them. Trust me. I break every new set of forks I get. No idea how. They just implode internally 😆

It’s not possible to break them. It just isn’t. There’s a few tubes, a spring, and some oil.

Bouncy bouncy
Washy wipey
(No filddle fiddle)
Bouncy bouncy
Washy wipey
(No filddle fiddle)
Bouncy bouncy
Washy wipey
(No filddle fiddle)
Bouncy bouncy
Washy wipey
(No filddle fiddle)

etc………
🙂

I don’t faff with my suspension. I work out how to set it up, then leave it alone (Bar servicing) until I sell it several years later.

I had another set of Lyriks- the DH/mission control cart broke twice (its a sealed unit). The dial ‘froze’ solid. Nothing could move it.

I very, VERY much doubt it’s a ‘sealed unit’. I’ve opened many ‘sealed units’ and repaired them. Nothing cannot be mended!

Hmm not under warranty though. Its not worth leaving little ‘spanner’ scour marks anywhere incase they refuse/send them back if you muck up.

Plus you forget I know the internals on your Lyriks- I opened them/repaired them 😉

MiCo not a sealed unit, seals are replaceable (although not available from Rockshox)
You can jam the adjuster rods by forcing them against the stops, also dirt ingress can be an issue.

There are some RS damper units (basic rebounds) that are swaged/punched shut and will usually fall apart if you try and strip them.

Are you any good with 55 TST2’s? Think it needs the shimstack (oil level and possibly internal seals looking at). I don’t ‘use’ the TST2 lockout function, the shimstack converted this to a high speed compression dial. I was also hoping to run a taller shim stack…if of course the forks aren’t fubarred..

Hora can you not just remove the shims so the ports are permanently open and use them as rebound only while you get round to sorting them?

I don’t know the insides of these forks so am just guessing. Do you have a link to a tech page and a description of the problem with them?

Hora, I can have a look at them , no problems.

hora – Member
I can afford to pay circa 200 – it’d need to be 0% at over 300 though!
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #

If your budget will ‘only’ stretch to Sektors then so be it, they are far from awful just not as good as more expensive forks but by comparison you do feel like your getting what you pay for and a little bit more. They are plenty capable and with an upgraded spring tons better. If I had more budget i would buy something else but I don’t so these are more than fine.

MiCo not a sealed unit, seals are replaceable (although not available from Rockshox)

Agreed. RS don’t like you repairing things for 17p do they? 🙂

I wish I live nearer to you, LoCo, I’d be battering your door down for a job if I did!

Hang on. Mazz can drop a micro cart in. The other leg wont be ti. So non-micro ti.

Hmmmm ideas? Will solve the tst2 issue. Just not sure it £110 worth?

Send them to Loco ASP. Cheaper than a second hand set that you don’t know the history of.

Or keep an eye on these 😀

Fox Vans 160

Go for the micro cartridge if your convinced the other one is beyond repair of will cost more to repair.

What is wrong with it anyway?

For what it’s worth, I reckon the basic coil sektors are the best ‘cheap’ new forks going at the minute, I’ve had a pair that have had very little TLC and haven’t skipped a beat. Worth getting the right spring rate or factoring in the cost of a new one as the u-turn units ain’t cheap.
I thought the air ones were horrible, though the fancier damping ones may be better.

Sektor coil RL DPC (140-110) 20mm axle
added dual flow rebound damper from LOCO

great forks..like a mini lyrik – far better than my old pikes.
no diving, and really supple/

Ok! Just need to find Sektor coils cheep 😀

What size are the rebound unit o rings on a 2008 lyrik, anyone know?

loco I’ve got sektor solo airs. how much of an improvement will marzocchi 44 rc3s be over them?

Hora- I’ve got a set of Sektor RL’s on a shelf somewhere you can borrow if you want to try some, they’re tapered steerer though.

Hmm, I’m potentially interested in these. I’d get the 140mm DPC with normal 9mm QR though, are they going to be like wet noodles?
My DT Swiss EXM 130mm 9mm QR are plenty stiff enough for my mincing riding…