New Rockshox Sid 2021

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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kaptanpedal
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:10 pm

by kaptanpedal

Fox 32 SC, 2017: 1354gr
Sid 32 SL, 2020: 1274

No hardware. Similar steerer tube length.

by Weenie


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js
Posts: 1003
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:57 pm
Location: Canada

by js

Following up with a bit of info and my experience with the new SID Ultimate.

I'm a bigger rider at 192cm and 90kg, with a background in racing, now riding for fun and using this fork on an Epic Evo. Given my size, the steering precision of the SID was the major selling point vs the Fox, and it does not disappoint. I moved to this fork from a 2020 Fox 32SC, so that's fairly night & day, but I've also ridden my friend's new Fox 34SC and the SID still feels notably more accurate, especially when the trail gets steep and the weight on the front wheel increases.

It's not all love though. The air spring is very progressive. It's possible some of that is not scaling as well to my size, but given many reviews mention the same, I can't help but feel they got it a bit wrong on the SID. That is not to say I don't like where I've ended up, but I ran three spacers on my Fox and have Zero in the SID. When you consider that volume spacers are the only adjustment beyond air pressure and rebound, it seems odd that a 90kg rider isn't needing to use that.

From memory, the air Pressure recommendations were 109psi and 104psi from Rockshox and Specialized sites respectively. When running the fork at 104psi, I wasn't using the final 8-10mm of travel, despite taking some pretty large jumps, including some that landed fairly flat. Even the final descent at the Golden 24 (similar to the DS section on last weekend's Les Gets WC course, with high speed berms, jumps and lots of braking bumps) wasn't enough to knock it into the final mm of travel if pressure was over 100psi, and it felt notably harsh while riding such a descent.

That travel reduction is combounded by the fork also sitting ~10mm into it's travel - so the travel being used on the fork was only ever 95-100mm measured from the slider to the red o-ring.

I ended up dropping pressure to 95psi for the Golden event in June and have kept it there since. That drop allowed me to use another 5mm at full travel and kept the small bump, sag and support all in good balance. I tried as low as 90psi too, but that felt a bit too soft in some areas and in sag, but worth noting that I never felt the fork bottom out (some reviews note it has a good bumper at the end of stroke, I'd agree).

While my sag reading at 95psi is 30%'ish, the scale on the stanchion sits at nearly 10% when the fork is 'fully extended', so effective sag is in the right ballpark around 20-22%.

All in all, I'm very happy with this fork. The air spring and travel definitely have some quirks or oddities I wouldn't expect for a top-level product, but once you have them all identified and understood, you can get the fork performing as it should... even if I'm still only getting 110mm of travel max.

DanW
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Here, there and everywhere

by DanW

Being sucked down 10mm with no load sounds like a small fault. Ask RS/ SRAM what they think but maybe some pressure buildup where it shouldn't be that could be easily resolved???

As for not using full travel, all RS forks have quite a chunky bottom out bumper at the bottom of the fork leg to help the fork feel smooth even as it hits the end of the travel and protect the fork a bit. You can trim this bumper but it doesn't make any noticeable difference IMO.

As for progressive, this has been a feature of the SID for quite a while and the reply I got was this is an XC race fork and most racers have a suspension fork bolted on to their bike when they would be better served with a rigid fork for how they like to run them (paraphrashing ;) ) :D

Primera23
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:32 pm

by Primera23

A month or 2 back I had an issue with my Sid Ultimate SL. Didn't have full travel anymore and reaction was sluggish. When I started to check I saw my actual travel had decreased about 2cm. I could "pull" my shock up but very "sucky" resistance. After this the travel would slowly decrease again. Pressure was good and stable so it had to be an issue on fluid side. It was still under warranty so I send it in to be checked. Quickly returned and again fully functional. There was a service rapport but it only mentioned that my fork was in good used condition with no abnormal wear. And that they replaced seals. I contacted them for more info and possible root cause but they said they couldn't give more info.
I think the seals where indeed broken and this caused the fluid to slowly leak to wrong side and compress the shock thus decreasing my actual travel. It is something I now keep an eye on to see if problem returns. I didn't do any abnormal things, never fallen, never bottomed out, bike is well maintained,... So it seems there is a production flaw. Hope it was a one-off

DanW
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Here, there and everywhere

by DanW

One thing I forgot to add on the not getting full travel part... if you remove all the air and try to compress the fork then you will see the last 10-15mm isn't accessible even with very large forces. That is the bottom out bumper in the bottom of the lowers and there's no way around it.

bokiscout
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:05 pm

by bokiscout

I own 2021 SID SL Select RL with Charger 2 dumper.

At the time of purchase the rock shox manual suggested to use 0W-30 oil in lower legs (and I bought 1L of it).
Now, there is updated version of the manual suggesting to use 10 ml of Maxima Plush Heavy oil per leg.

Since I have plenty of 0W-30 left, how much of it should I use?

Hexsense
Posts: 3270
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

same amount, 7-10ml.

The new oil is thicker so it hopefully cling better to the stanchion.

That new oil is a good all condition synthetic oil which work good on wide range of temperature (-20 to 50 degree C)​.
But if you are okay with a narrower operating temperature range,
Motorex Supergliss 100k works better approximately between 5 to 35 C.
Motorex Supergliss 68k works better approximately around 0 to 30 C.
Motorex Supergliss 32k works better approximately around -10 to 20 C.
Last edited by Hexsense on Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bokiscout
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:05 pm

by bokiscout

Nice ti know about the temperature range deference!

Thank You.

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robbosmans
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by robbosmans

Has someone found a fender that works with the sid sl. My usual ass savers front fenders doesn’t seem to fit anymore as there is a lot less rome around the bridge

kervelo
Posts: 866
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:58 am
Location: Finland

by kervelo

robbosmans wrote:
Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:26 pm
Has someone found a fender that works with the sid sl. My usual ass savers front fenders doesn’t seem to fit anymore as there is a lot less rome around the bridge
I have the same problem and have not found any suitable fenders yet. It would be really great if Rockshox offered a fender for SL, like they do for some other SID models.

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robbosmans
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Location: Central Belgium
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by robbosmans

Yeah strange they just didn’t make one for the sid sl, im sure 2 threaded holes weren’t going to add weight

Primera23
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:32 pm

by Primera23

My SID came with a front fender in the box. Never used it though. seems it needs to be zip tied

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robbosmans
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by robbosmans

Hmm yes i think I just threw that away haha, might need to get another one

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cula_ru
Posts: 413
Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 9:00 pm
Location: Portuguese Trails and Mountains

by cula_ru

Hello,
my rockshox SID ultimate from the Scott spark WC was sent to warranty because of a common problem in the bushings in lower legs. I'm waiting for one month for the repaired suspension and still nothing! This bike with a mere 4 months started developing a harsh functioning of the suspension and a slight play in the bushings, also the remote lock stopped locking, what a frustration!!
Anyone here sent the SID to warranty? How long did you wait for the repaired suspension?

Primera23
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:32 pm

by Primera23

My SID went in for warranty aswell. It went actually quitte fast. I think it was about 2 weeks. Luckily I still had my original SID, so I swapped it while my ULT was in maintenance.

by Weenie


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