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RockShox Officially Introduces The 29er specific RS1 Inverted XC Fork

rockshox rs1 inverted mountain bike suspension fork
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After teasing us mercilessly for weeks with almost complete image of the fork, scenic lifestyle videos, and all too brief slow-mo closeups of the fork in action – the new RS1 has finally arrived.

So what’s inside, how does it work, and how many body parts will it cost you?

FS RS1 29 SA 120 BLACK BOTTOM

There’s alot to cover here, so let’s start with the basics. The new inverted design was built specifically for 29ers, although you could probably squeeze a 27.5″ wheel within the arches, although we assume the fork trail would be off until SRAM developed a set of dropouts with a more middle wheel size friendly offset. The company is currently offering the fork with two different offsets, so there is still hope. That said, this forks is intended to help win World Cup XC races, where most of the field are aboard 29ers.

The fork will be available in three different travel sizes (which are reflective of it’s XC pedigree) – 80, 100, and 120, and will have 32mm stanchions sliding into a tapered carbon steer tube.

Claimed weight is 1,666 gm (3.67 lbs).

Rockshoc RS1 Predictive Steering Not only is this fork light, Rockshox claims it’s stiffer than anything else available on the market for 29ers. To achieve this stiffer chassis with an inverted design, the engineering team had to think outside of the box.SRAM_MTB_RISE_XX_PS_Hub_Axle_M

Their solution is called predictive steering and features a stock 15mm Maxle Ultimate paired with an oversized solid axle dubbed the Torque Tube. When  the 27mm tube is clamped down into the dropout, it acts as a structural part of the fork and helps maximize stiffness.

Because the system only ads extra material around the hub/axle/dropout, the overall weight gain is minimal. The hub will be available as a stand alone product, or bundled with the new SRAM Rise XX, Rise 60 -29″, and Roam 50 – 29″.
Rockshox RS1 Accelerator Damper

Part of the journey during RS1 product development was identifying and understanding the consumer needs, so the RS1 internals and chassis have been rethought to offer XC riders the maximum amount of comfort and efficiency. In the past, Rockshox noted that many racers would run their suspension with the maximum amount of compression, in order to increase pedaling performance, which sacrificed small bump sensitivity and ride quality.

To negotiate these two opposing forces, the technology behind the popular new sealed cartridge bladder found in the Pike – called the Charge damper, was reworked for XC racing. As product manager Jed Douglas explains it, the all new accelerator damper completely separates the air from oil to provide consistent damping using an independent floating piston, which allows them to create the highest lock out force of any Rockshox product.

Rockshox Bottomless 32mm RS1 tokens

In order to further tune your ride, Rockshox has also released a 32mm version of the 35mm bottomless tokens found in the Pike.

Rockshox RS1 Token System Force Chart

The tokens are easily installed by unthreading the air spring and threading the spacer onto the bottom of the air cap. Each will make the forks spring rate more progressive and you can run upto three tokens.

The cost for the fork will be $1,865 (or  € 1,658) and will be available this summer.

We have a meeting setup with Rockshox at Sea Otter later this week and will be bringing you a closer look at the product soon. So please leave your technical questions in the comments and we’ll try to get them answered!

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taylor
taylor
10 years ago

$1865

HAHAhahahhahhahhhahaaahahahhahaahhhaahaaahhhaha
hahahhahhahhahhahahahah

joe
joe
10 years ago

Almost $2G for a fork?! Are you kidding me?? Sram trying to make up for lost profits? The industry is out of control.

px
px
10 years ago

Cheap.

Kyle
Kyle
10 years ago

My lefty carbon is 3.1 lbs, and that not even the best part about it, I get so many confused looks from the laypeople when I ride by.

K11
K11
10 years ago

@taylor. well said. need to add more-Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahah…
$1865, are you joking me. if this is an april fools thing, you are about a week late.

Matt
Matt
10 years ago

The price is ridiculous and I rightfully blast SRAM quite a bit for their brakes on here, but it is great to see SRAM trying to progress technology in our sport. This specific fork may or may not be adopted by the masses, but it certainly explores a different view that may benefit the future of front suspension technology. Nice work SRAM.

vectorbug
vectorbug
10 years ago

I’ll admit I made fun of the price when pinkbike posted it earlier, but kudos to SRAM for pushing the envelope / thinking outside the box / shifting the paradigm / gelling / marketing phrase.

It’s too bad Maverick went out of business. At the end the SC32 weighed about as much and only cost $600. The Duc32 was 3.9lbs and was less than a DT Swiss fork.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

The industry’s only out of control if no one buys the products. If people buy the products, then that would seem to indicate that the industry is in control and understand basic economics, unlike many internet commenters. So, I guess that means we’ll have to wait and see what happens with RS-1 sales.

I do know I didn’t come close to winning the price pool.

mike
mike
10 years ago

how much does the hub weigh? i’m guessing 27mm thru axle hub isnt that light?
with all that carbon to be honest I assumed it would be lighter, esp given the high price

badbikemechanic
badbikemechanic
10 years ago

I was expecting it to be allot lighter. The world cup sid is weighing in much less and costs significantly less as well. 1865$ that’s crazy. I will be going with the lefty. The RS1 is an overhyped turd.

Wes
Wes
10 years ago

Im sure these will be 50% off on Jenson.

Ryan
Ryan
10 years ago

The big news here for anyone that is happy with their existing RS shox is the tokens. I love running low air pressure, which dual air let me do without bottoming out all the time. Solo air is good, but not as progressive as I’d like. I’ll be getting me some of these tokens to play with!

RUSTYDOGG
RUSTYDOGG
10 years ago

$$$!? Jeezus. You must be still pulling our leg with April fools jokes. Stop it. Just stop it.

Matt
Matt
10 years ago

I think the production of this fork is analogous to F-1 racing. The hyper expensive technology of F-1 trickles down eventually to find itself in our non-supercar cars. You probably won’t see many of these forks out on the trail unless you are in a pro race, but there is the potential for parts of, if not all, the technology to eventually make an impact in the stuff that we do buy.

vhom
vhom
10 years ago

Please don’t forget you have to buy a new hub also. Somewhere Paul Turner is laughing @ this group of people @ RS.

Andre
Andre
10 years ago

I really would like to see someone re-making the Look Fournales forks, that thing can easily go under 1kg as 29er, extremely sensitive to small bumps and very cool looking. Would be cool to see someone working on that also trying to add a little more travel then 80mm…would be the perfect fork!

solidasarock7
10 years ago

I was expecting something lighter that what is currently offered, Does the 3.67lb include the hub weight?

Robrobot
Robrobot
10 years ago

This is a new take on an old design. I agree, the industry is totally control.

solidasarock7
10 years ago

was expecting something lighter than what is currently offered, does the 3.67lbs include hub?

Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
10 years ago

To achieve this stiffer chassis with an inverted design, the engineering team had to “thing” outside of the box.

padrote
padrote
10 years ago

You think an $1800 fork is crazy? People buy $3000 wheelsets every day and have been for quite a while.

nick
nick
10 years ago

I don’t get the big deal. It’s heavy and expensive. What’s so good about it? A Lefty is half a pound lighter and most likely stiffer. I’m confused…

Robrobot
Robrobot
10 years ago

Conspicuous consumption will drive the sales for these forks.

Topmounter
Topmounter
10 years ago

FFS… For that kind of jack I’d rather go with a Lauf or a Kilo.

Slim
Slim
10 years ago

So, what is the total system weight, torsional and fore-aft stiffness for the system(fork+hub), compared to SID+lighweight hub and Lefty with steerer.

The price is known, they’d better back up those claims about stiffness with some numbers on this fork and Lefty.

DownSouth
DownSouth
10 years ago

I am also very surprised about the weight, and then you need a new front hub also, not sure what this is aimed at.

I do admit 1800 seems high, but I dont get why people come to this site to complain about the cost of high end new stuff, go plant cabbage if you don`t have money!!!! You should be happy you will get this technology in a few years time at your beer money budgets, otherwise just stop whining and appreciate what people/companies work hard and have to charge a premium for getting the technology there.

pmurf
pmurf
10 years ago

The BoXXer WC is up around that price, and people pay that NQA to have the best tech to race at the top level of DH. Why should XC be any different? Because it only has 1 crown? Everyone lost their minds about the cost of XX1, Di2, etc. Lower-tier families get made, prices come down, radical becomes the norm. Innovation starts at the top.

R0b0tAt0ms
R0b0tAt0ms
10 years ago

Are these 32mm tokens only applicable to Dual Air models?

i
i
10 years ago

It sounds like you have to use their hub, and the 15mm axle really isn’t acting as an axle so much as a clamp for the hub’s 27mm through axle. If I have to use their hub anyhow, why not just make a… qr27 directly?
I know everyone hates new standards, this effectively is one but IMO it’s even worse when you have something like this that looks like it’s compatible with other 15mm hubs but isn’t.

waiting to see what actual street prices are. I can’t see too many people rushing out to buy one at the asking price, especially when it requires a new hub, but I guess we’ll see.

herrow prease
herrow prease
10 years ago

So lets get this straight? They are claiming it’s light weight @ 3.67lbs for 1900.00. You can get a fox ctd w/trail adjust for 800 and it’s
3.43 lb / 1.56 kg (1.5″ taper steerer)

trainwreck
trainwreck
10 years ago

we did a pool as to price on the first video thread for this fork and it looks like

“MaLóL – 03/27/14 – 9:16pm
Current Top of the range SID is over 1000€, that is 1390$. I say 1890$, just uber-expensive, like the XX1.
Can we make a real pool in s poll website? somebody please do it and put the link here.”

wins! congratulations!

badbikemechanic
badbikemechanic
10 years ago

@ herrow

Not to mention the lefty aluminum weighs in at 3lbs, costs around 900$, and already has a ton of support for it’s proprietary hub from third party manufacturers.

bryanus
10 years ago

Are the new 32mm “bottomless tokens” made to be used within existing 32mm RS forks that don’t have the Charger-type dampers? I guess I don’t really understand what they are for/how they work.

I wish they would come out with a Charger damper retrofit kit for the Revelations. I’d love one for my Rev WC.

matilda
matilda
10 years ago

I may be laughed at for this comment but the first question that springs (pun not intended) to mind is how, without the use of connected fork lowers do Rockshox get the stantions to move as a unit and not independently of one another? I.e. How does the wheel stay parallel to the fork legs?

NDE
NDE
10 years ago

Does that price include the hub? Or do you have to buy that as well. Does that weight include the hub?

M. Polka
M. Polka
10 years ago

What is so predictive about the steering? And, how do you service it when your “constantly bathed in oil” seals wear out and start oozing oil down the stanchions towards the brake assembly?

devintrouble
devintrouble
10 years ago

well said @pmurf

Brycelewis
Brycelewis
10 years ago

So it is a half pound heavier than a SID WC, $600 more expensive and uses loads of proprietary parts??? I really wanted to be excited about this but I would much prefer a SID with a Charger damper over this RS-1. It seems they put a lot of engineering into making a product that looks “neat” without any real performance gains.

walljw
walljw
10 years ago

So I wonder if they are going to make any pros ride this? Might be difficult with the predictive steering hub and a different wheel sponsor.

Ryan
Ryan
10 years ago

Oh for Pete’s sake, why do I even bother to daydream. This may as well be a Lamborghini.

MaLóL
MaLóL
10 years ago

Not only I won the price pool, but I also told you this fork is crap.

Now that we know that the axles is a flimsy 15mm, we have the proof. Using a secondary cylinder around the axle, is an insult to any engineering student. You can use a secondary cylinder of 100mm diameter if you want, but if the axle is weak for an inverted fork, as it happens here, the legs will move separately, and the wheel will move side to side, just like on any inverted fork in the past.

This huge price tag will cover all the warranty claims, before the fork is out of the market. We can make a second pool to guess in what day, the fork will be discontinued. I say 2 years from release date.

MaLóL
MaLóL
10 years ago

Also, the weight of 1666g is another joke. that is too heavy for a cross country fork of 1865$.
DT swiss offers forks of around 1250g, and current SID forks weight 1400g for 26ers. less than 1500f for 29ers.

Either they make a new axle standard larger than 25mm, or this fork will be discontinued soon.

Chunky
Chunky
10 years ago

I’ll stick with my lighter Lefty.

That price is a joke.

Welcome to the elitist sport of mtb’ing.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

So, Malol, how do you know the fork is crap? Is your armchair equipped with special engineering tools, or are you just confusing bias and opinion with fact? There are so many internet experts, it’s hard to keep track of them all.

thehiredgun
thehiredgun
10 years ago

I’m glad MTB is borrowing from motocross bikes. Been a long time coming. The new axle thing looks absurb but is probably mostly necessary. Reminds me of the goofy Spesh front hub interface when they were still fighting the qr15 front hub war. Their design works but seriously limits hub choices. I think it’s waaaay too much money but then again, so is all the XX1/X01 stuff. Wait a couple years, it’ll work eventually. From an engineering design standpoint, USD fork design is superior in almost every conceivable way. I just wish SRAM would’ve got with a manufacturer that knows modern motocross suspension. Ohlins, Kayaba, Showa, etc…

Kudos SRAM. Innovation is expensive.

jason
jason
10 years ago

Good to see people pushing the industry forward. Yeah this fork is expensive but I see it as a halo product with a limited market. Rock Shox makes plenty of price point forks and hopefully the tech from the RS 1 will trickle down to those models in good time.

Derek
Derek
10 years ago

MaLóL, how does the additional 27mm tube do nothing? Maybe you should go back to engineering school before you go throwing stones.

MaLóL
MaLóL
10 years ago

I´m engineer, but even my brainless friends who practice DH know that an inverted single crown fork is crap, even with a 20mm axle. not to mention a 15mm one.

My armchair with engineering tool is just as good as SRAM marketing tools, who will make you think the fork is good. Otherwise, make a pool for the date this fork will be either discontinued or upgraded to a larger axle.

The weight is a joke, although it is obviously made on purpuse; in the second version they will claim it is 100g lighter and XX% stiffer, and both are extremely easy to improve.

How the hell do they make a fork with one less crown that current forks, all the uppers fully integrated in a single piece of carbon, and still heavier? I bet is just to make it right in the second version. third version will not exist, the design is awful with a 25mm axle.

Derek
Derek
10 years ago

Okay Mr. Engineer, can you draw me a free body diagram showing how “Using a secondary cylinder around the axle, is an insult to any engineering student. You can use a secondary cylinder of 100mm diameter if you want, but if the axle is weak for an inverted fork, as it happens here, the legs will move separately, and the wheel will move side to side, just like on any inverted fork in the past.”

padrote
padrote
10 years ago

MaLóL you should stick to price-is-righting and leave the engineering speculation to actual engineers.

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