# Rock shox SID...so light



## stevenb (29 Aug 2007)

Got my new Rockshox SID delivered this morning.
They are soooo light.
Can't wait to get them on the bike.
Going to upgrade my headset at the same time.
Roll on Friday...then I'll be testing it XC style at the weekend.

I got these forks as being only 12stone 10lbs I'm 14lbs lighter than I used to be and so I think this fork will be more than robust enough for my ample 5'9" frame.
If I'd been much heavier I think I'd have gone for a REBA fork.
Plus I like V-brakes...so the SID was a good choice.


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## Peyote (29 Aug 2007)

Twang!

They really are silly lightweight forks. Ideal for XC racing you little whippet you!


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## stevenb (29 Aug 2007)

Tell me about it....the 'Race' model which I have are so light it's unreal....I almost expect them not to work...lol
Best stop stuffing my face with cakes and gaining precious pounds like I have been of late.....


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## barq (30 Aug 2007)

They are really lightweight forks those SIDs. You'll have to report back on how they ride.


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## stevenb (30 Aug 2007)

Will do mate. I've heard that they best suit lighter XC riders...e.g 14 stone and under. But I'm sure there are more heaviers riders that are using them ok.
Now I've got my new cassette onto my off-road wheels I'll be able to go off road again......yeehaaa.


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## barq (30 Aug 2007)

I haven't used Rockshox since, oooh *sucks through teeth* my old Judys a few years back. I hear they've really got back to top form the last year or so and SIDs are a classic race-proven fork.

You've put them on the 6500 listed in your sig? Nice bikes the 6500s.


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## Steve Austin (30 Aug 2007)

'14 and under'

You joking right? They flex so bad for heavy/hard riders. I thought i had a flat tyre last time i rode some sids. Great forks, but you need to be a skinny rider to be able to use them.


Happy riding, just stop eating


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## stevenb (30 Aug 2007)

Steve Austin said:


> '14 and under'
> 
> You joking right? They flex so bad for heavy/hard riders. I thought i had a flat tyre last time i rode some sids. Great forks, but you need to be a skinny rider to be able to use them.
> 
> ...



lol....maybe I was a little conservative with my estimate. I'm 12st 9lbs so I should be ok. You've put them on the 6500 listed in your sig? Nice bikes the 6500s. Yep.....will be getting them on the bike tomorrow morning along with a new headset. My bike is the 2005 model. Grey and Orange. Bought it off ebay just a couple of weeks back. They are nice bike indeed.


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## stevenb (31 Aug 2007)

Oh well. Got the forks and new Aheadset supplied and fitted. £40. bargain...the Aheadset is a BBB parts jobbie with 36 deg bearings....a good one. Got my positive air pressure and negative air pressure sorted....and then sorted the 'Pure Delite' pressure. Going to bung the off road wheels on and go for a spin.


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## stevenb (31 Aug 2007)

Well.....my verdict after my first ride. Excellent!
I setup the fork pressures spot on it seems. Got a medium setting on rebound and a good natural sag...ooo er missus....
The ride was positive. The forks allow for excellent climbing.
I tested it on loose stones, compact gravel, sand, dusty tracks with bracnh roots, uneven bumps and wallows etc etc and tarmac. A proper fork.
I reckon this will make cycling on the roads quite good too.....seeing as Imight well be doing commuting to and from work.


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## barq (31 Aug 2007)

Excellent! 

Took me a few goes to get my last few pairs of forks (Marzocchi, Fox) perfect so it sounds like you are doing pretty well.

I'll never forget the first time I rode my Fox forks. I took a really bad line on something and assumed I would stack it... suddenly I found myself out the other side and doing ok.


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## Peyote (1 Sep 2007)

I'm glad that you're happy with them Steve. I'm the same as Barq, haven't used Rockshox for years but I was very happy with my Duke XC's before some b*st*rd nicked my bike.

Ah well, I'm more a Marzocchi fan these days having been using Manitou for a few years between.

Enjoy the SIDs!


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## Globalti (3 Sep 2007)

I bought a set of SIDs four years ago, second hand, my first ever suspension forks. They had just been refurbished by Tim Flooks and I paid £140 for them. Since then they have given me reliable service and I have never touched the air pressure. However the anodising is beginning to wear thin on the stanchions and there is the beginning of some play between stanchions and sliders so I phoned TF, who confimed that they are nearing the end of their life. His recommendation for a replacement? A set of Rebas, which he says are a little stiffer than the SIDs. I must admit that the SIDs are becoming disconcertingly floppy in recent months so I'm looking forward to seeing the difference with the Rebas.


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## stevenb (3 Sep 2007)

I was going for the Reba's....but they are disc brake mounts only....and I don't do disc brakes...shame as i agree that they are a very nice fork indeed. 
I'm hoping with regular maintenance the SID's will last me 4-5 years. That'll please me enough.....I've never owned a bike longer than 3 years.


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## barq (3 Sep 2007)

Peyote said:


> I'm the same as Barq, haven't used Rockshox for years but I was very happy with my Duke XC's before some b*st*rd nicked my bike.
> 
> Ah well, I'm more a Marzocchi fan these days having been using Manitou for a few years between.



Bad luck about the bike!  I did actually acquire some Dukes from a mate (they came off a Specialized Epic) but the steerer was cut so short they were useless to me. Pity because they looked nice (and rode nicely, on the Epic anyway). Never tried Manitou, but I'm a big Marzocchi fan.


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## christian dieu (8 Sep 2007)

For XC use I just use Pace RC31s. I have tried SIDs in the past but found they provide such little advantage that I would rather have some really light forks and use RC31s.

Using them on a very XC Orange at the moment weighting in at 21lbs

http://www.fizzypeach.co.uk/fizzypeach/Orange.html


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## Kirstie (9 Sep 2007)

SIDs track like a shopping trolley.
Good luck with them...


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## stevenb (9 Sep 2007)

I guess I'm lucky then...because mine are perfect.
Perhaps the beefed up Aheadset I have fitted and the fact I weigh only 12.5 stone is why they're ok.
Still...time will tell.


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## christian dieu (9 Sep 2007)

stevenb said:


> I guess I'm lucky then...because mine are perfect.
> Perhaps the beefed up Aheadset I have fitted and the fact I weigh only 12.5 stone is why they're ok.
> Still...time will tell.



When talking XC rider and weight I wouldn't exactly use the word "only" when saying 12.5 stone


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## mickle (19 Sep 2007)

Ive got SID World Cups on my Vertex and love em (and I weigh 16bigfatstone). 

They are less flexy than my old Mag 21 XLs!


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## Globalti (1 Oct 2007)

Just voted ourselves a divvy at Friday's AGM so I'll be ordering some Rebas this morning. I'm looking forward to seeing how much they improve the handling of the bike and my own confidence on downhills.


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## alfablue (3 Oct 2007)

I have some SID SL's (2001 vintage), I really like them, they seem to track fine, and they work so well I am virtually unaware of them doing their job. I am also a lardy 12.5 stones. Maybe there is a lot of variation between specific models...?


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## gillan (4 Oct 2007)

got the world cups

very light

i must be used to them because whenever my mate has a go on the bike he thinks that the headset is lose and that there is something seriously wrong with the front end

they are going into their 5th season (2008) although this one doesn't really count


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## punkypossum (4 Oct 2007)

The sid's look very nice...I'm after an 80mm fork upgrade for my bike, but somehow a 300-odd pound fork seems overkill on a £300 bike... Think i'm better off finding a tora or similar...at least i can just about afford them...


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## stevenb (5 Oct 2007)

punkypossum said:


> The sid's look very nice...I'm after an 80mm fork upgrade for my bike, but somehow a 300-odd pound fork seems overkill on a £300 bike... Think i'm better off finding a tora or similar...at least i can just about afford them...



try Merlin Cycles mate.
They sell Rock Shox forks cheap.
I got my SID race forks for £180.


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## Globalti (8 Oct 2007)

Well it's Monday morning and on Saturday I fitted my Rebas (£207.00 from Merlin). So far I'm feeling pretty depressed about them. The good points: they are plush and smooth and much stiffer, allowing me to blast over stuff, which would have unsettled me with the SIDs. They are black not red so the bike looks better (frame is a Ti Global).

Bad points: they are about an inch longer so the geometry of the bike is altered, to keep an aerodynamic position I have had to remove the spacer on the stem to drop the bars, which have ended up about 15mm higher. I expect I'll get used to that but the biggest issue in my mind is THE WEIGHT! I have just spent £207 to increase the weight of my beautiful lightweight racy Global by 350 gms. Not a lot you might say but the bike feels heavier and slower, quite dead and leaden in fact. I am seriously disappointed and hoping I'll get used to this, otherwise I'm going to trade them for a pair of SIDs. Watch this space.


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## Chris B (8 Oct 2007)

I've just aquired a set of Dual-air Revelations from merlin and just taking them out of the box was a suprise - a 130mm fork that weighs far less than my old 80mm Marzocchis. Nice knobs and that.

I'll be reducing the travel down to 115mm (internal spacer) before fitting but I do expect my geometry to be messed up as per Rigid Raider - but Marzocchis are traditionally very tall for their travel.

Be interesting - I've got a rigid singlespeed version of the bike that will get them fitted (for days I'm feeling fit) so the difference between them will be strange.


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## stevenb (8 Oct 2007)

My old Manitou Axel Comp forks were really no good at all for my bikes geometry. When changing to the SID's I got the steerer tube cut 20mm shorter than the Manitou's were and I have reveresed by Bontrager select stem. The stem still has a very slight rise but now I feel far more comfy on the bike...now I sit on the bike....where as before I felt like I was sitting behind the bike.
My SID's haven't faulted me on or off road once yet. They track fine and the ride is very comfy indeed.


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## Globalti (10 Oct 2007)

I have just read on Sheldon Brown that there are bikes with head angles, which vary as much as 10 degrees and they are all rideable. Yet he says that even the biggest possible variation in fork length won't affect head angle by more than half a degree. This makes me feel better.


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