RockShox

SID RL Solo Air 100 Boost Fork - 29/27.5+

RockShox's SID RL Solo Air 100 Boost fork sits quietly behind louder, brasher siblings like the Pike, waiting for weight-conscious XC racers who appreciate a clean, streamlined design that's devoid of unnecessary excess. The SID RL was created for speed and efficiency, aiming to strike a balance between lightness and confidence-inspiring stiffness that will allow you to test the limits of your energetic XC frame.

This year, RockShox returned to the drawing board to reshape the SID RL's chassis, keeping its focus directed towards efficiency. Accordingly, this version of the fork offers the indisputable increase in stiffness and responsiveness of Boost axle spacing. We're not exactly sure what else they did to the top-secret design to add rigidity across the chassis while saving weight, but the straight-wall aluminum stanchions and magnesium lowers each do their part to add lightness and durability. At the bottom, RockShox's Power Bulge allows for reinforced lower legs without demanding an increase in stanchion size through the use of an oversized bushing.

Within the suspension, a whole host of RockShox's proprietary technologies work with the SID RL's 100mm of travel, including Motion Control DNA to lend the fork its plush, smooth response as you take it over rock-encrusted singletrack. The aptly named Rapid Recovery design works with the fork's Dig Valve to improve the SID RL's ability to rebound after successive hits on root-laced climbs and rough sections of trail, and the option to add RockShox's Bottomless Tokens to the fork's interior gives you further license to fine-tune the ramp-up and limit your likelihood of bottoming-out.

Finally, the SID RL's air spring itself, Solo Air, continues to be designed for ease-of-use. It's metered via a Schrader valve that feeds air to both chambers while printed-on Air Guides keep set-up time to a minimum and make sure you don't waste valuable ride time trying to get the suspension set up just right.