Lightweight Long travel....Something's Not Right.
Written: Nov 15 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nearly infinite adjustability, long travel is always nice.
Cons: Lightweight long travel? Come on, who are they kidding?
The Bottom Line: The SID 100 is like trying to mate a fish and a dog...while it may be fun to look at, it's just not going to work.
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| sammy_marvelle's Full Review: Rock Shox SID 100 |
I know where Rock Shox was going with this. They are trying to appeal to the gram-junkies who have been caught up in the long travel hype and are trying to cash in. Unfortunately, long travel and air suspension are two things that don't -- and should never go together.
The SID 100 weighs in at a highly respectable 3.3 lbs due to the fact that it rides on cushins of air instead of coil springs which gives it an almost infinite amount of adjustability (all you have to do is add more air to firm it up, or bleed some out to soften it up) which, for an experienced rider who knows how a fork is supposed to handle, is a great feature.
However, in trying to keep the weight down Rock Shox repeated a mistake they've made on most, if not all, of their forks. The SID is way underbuilt making for a lot of lateral flex which you will notice even going around sharp corners where a lot of pressure is applied to the dropouts (the part where the wheel is attatched to the fork) and will inevitably push your rim into your brakepads. Now for a rider who is 90 lbs. or under, this obviously is not an issue, but let's be honest with ourselves. Most mountain bikers carry a little more heft than that.
Basically what the problem is it would be like taking two lenghts of a section of a wire coat hanger, one 6" long and the other 1" long. Which one is going to bend easier?
Also, if this fork does fall into the hands of a 250 lb. rider or above, you are looking at serious financial disaster. A heavier rider is going to require more air pressure in the chaimbers and one big hit with that kind of load...good-bye seals. It's not a pretty sight.
My advice would be to choose one or the other -- long travel or light weight. If you're looking for a lightweight fork for a racing bike, you really shouldn't be looking at long travel in the first place. The added travel will actually sap a lot of energy from you over the long haul. If you're looking for long travel there are a lot of good options out there, and if shaving a couple of pounds off your front end is what you want, just go easy on the Big Mac's for awhile.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
sammy_marvelle
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Location: Eau Claire, WI, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
A plethora of bicycle knowledge ready for distribution!
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