Rockshox Revamps SID Fork Lineup

For those of you who’ve mulled over fork options for bikepacking, particularly ultra-endurance racing, you’ve probably had the RockShox SID on your radar at some point. The SID (Superlight Integrated Design) was initially released on 1998 and has become a benchmark suspension fork for XC racing; and, you’ll also find it on race rigs in events such as the Tour Divide and the Colorado Trail race. Today, RockShox announced the latest SID lineup, offering two new forks (and four other revamped forks) that each claim to have added stiffness and a substantial overall weight savings.

The biggest change in the linup is the addition the new Charger Race Day damper, the company’s lightest production damper to date. The damper (as shown below next to its predecessor) was engineered to cut out all unnecessary materials and weight where possible (98 grams total). The Race Day damper features just two compression settings, open and fully locked. It is available only on the Ultimate versions.

Here’s a table with the new fork lineup compared, followed by a list of features for each fork outlined in the press materials. Note that the prices provide a range based on specified travel and finish. The various dampers are as follow: RD (new Race Day damper); RL (Charger RL dapper); C2 (Charger 2 damper). Also, the Select+ forks specs are missing from the press materials, so we’ll try to find out and add those in. All SID forks are specced for 29″ tires with a specified max tire width of 81mm (3.18″) for 27.5″ tires; I’m unsure of the max width for 29″ tires; if anyone knows, please leave it in the comments.

To summarize, each of the new the new SID lines (SL and regular) come in Ultimate, Select+, or Select. The Ultimate gets the new Race Day damper, new Debonair air spring, and a new chassis. The Select+ and Select keep the old damper (Charger 2 can the Select + and Charger RL on the Select) but gets the new chassis and air spring. The SID SL line has 32mm stanchions with 100mm of travel and the regular SID forks were beefed up to 35mm stanchions and can be configured with 110 or 120mm of travel.

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RockShox SID SL ULTIMATE

• Travel: 100mm
• Damper: Charger Race Day
• offset: 44mm
• Upper tube: 32mm straight wall aluminum
• Weight: 1326g
• MSRP: $799-869; €869-949*; £779-849 (INCLUDES VAT)

Features

• Entirely new 32mm chassis engineered to eliminate as much weight as possible
• New Charger Race Day Damper—RockShox’s lightest production damper with lockout
• New DebonAir air spring is tuned specifically to meet the demands of XC and maintains a higher ride height for increased confidence and control
• New Ultra-low friction SKF wiper seals provide long lasting fork performance and improve overall suspension feel
• Maxima Plush damping fluid reduces friction and silences damper noise
• Machined/anodized crown
• Signature SID Blue 
and Ultimate High Gloss Black colorways
• Ultimate foil graphics package
• Remote options include TwistLoc remote

RockShox SID SL SELECT

• Travel: 100mm
• Damper: Charger RL
• offset: 44mm
• Upper tube: 32mm straight wall aluminum
• Weight: 1468g
• MSRP: $599-669; €649-729*; £579-649 (INCLUDES VAT)

Features

• Entirely new 32mm chassis engineered to eliminate as much weight as possible
• New DebonAir air spring is tuned specifically to meet the demands of XC and maintains a higher ride height for increased confidence and control
• New Ultra-low friction SKF wiper seals provide long lasting fork performance and improve overall suspension feel
• Proven Charger RL damper provides smooth performance and a lockout
• Maxima Plush damping fluid reduces friction and silences damper noise
• Remote options include TwistLoc remote

RockShox SID ULTIMATE

• Travel: 110/120mm
• Damper: Charger Race Day
• offset: 44mm
• Upper tube: 35mm tapered wall aluminum
• Weight: 1537g
• MSRP: $899-969; €979-1,059*; £869-949 (INCLUDES VAT)

Features

• An entirely new 35mm chassis optimized to be satisfyingly stiff and eliminate as much weight as possible
• New Charger Race Day Damper—the lightest production damper with lockout
• New DebonAir air spring is tuned specifically to meet the demands of XC and maintains a higher ride height for increased confidence and control
• New Ultra-low friction SKF wiper seals provide long lasting fork performance and improve overall suspension feel
• Maxima Plush damping fluid reduces friction and silences damper noise
• Machined/anodized crown
• New short fender combatibility. Includes RockShox branded 2-bolt short fender
• Signature SID Blue and Ultimate High Gloss Black colorways
• Ultimate foil graphics package
• Remote options include TwistLoc remote

RockShox SID SELECT

• Travel: 120mm
• Damper: Charger RL
• offset: 44mm
• Upper tube: 35mm tapered wall aluminum
• Weight: 1671g
• MSRP: $699-769; €759-839*; £679-749 (INCLUDES VAT)

Features

• An entirely new 35mm chassis optimized to be satisfyingly stiff and eliminate as much weight as possible
• New DebonAir air spring is tuned specifically to meet the demands of XC and maintains a higher ride height for increased confidence and control
• New Ultra-low friction SKF wiper seals provide long lasting fork performance and improve overall suspension feel
• Proven Charger RL damper provides smooth performance and a rock-solid lockout
• Maxima Plush damping fluid reduces friction and silences damper noise
• New short fender combatibility. Includes RockShox branded 2-bolt short fender
• Remote options include TwistLoc remote

Find more information about the full 2021 Rockshox SID lineup here, and more info on the Charger Race Day damper here.

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