Part 1 from 2
Part 1: Sram Rise XX and Rockshox RS-1: This technology is inside
Part 2: Sram Rise XX and Rockshox RS-1: How the fork and wheels ride
I used to think that being a car tester was the coolest job in the world. Every day, closed vans roll into the yard, out come bright green Lamborghinis, orange Mc Laren cars or a matt grey RS6 estate car grumbles into the car park (yes, I have a soft spot for such men's toys).
But I have been involved with bicycles for quite a long time. I've never complained about this field of activity. Because every now and then the job brings highlights that make a car tester look pale. It's not articulated lorries that roll up to our office, but DHL and UPS. Recently, the parcel men delivered three boxes containing a Rock Shox RS-1 fork and Sram Rise XX wheels in the other two.
Rise XX and RS-1 - two absolute high-end components that are rarely encountered in the wild, outside of fluttering World Cup race tracks. So it was straight into our test lab and our connected workshop.
The parts carrier for these jewels is quickly determined
A Scott Scale 900 SL, also a top-quality product and not an everyday hardtail due to its price of 6499 euros alone. The bike is still resting in our warehouse from the exertions of the 24-hour race in Munich - in no time at all the Fox fork is removed and the RS-1 is fitted in the head tube. It weighs a few grams more than the Fox, but offers a hydraulic lockout on the handlebars. The butted steerer tube fits all modern bikes, but you need a special hub with wide support, Sram calls the system "Predictive Steering" - the fine toothing of the fork dropout and hub body increases force and positive locking and is intended to increase stiffness and steering precision.
Tubular wheels: Not for amateurs
And this is where the Rise XX wheels come into play. Sram has of course supplied them to match the RS-1, with a Predictive Steering front hub. The bare carbon wheels weigh 716 and 631 grams (1347 g in total) and cost 2400 euros. This is where the majority of bikers drop out - but it gets even more special. The Rise XX wheels are tubular carbon rims, which means that the tyres have to be glued on like on competition cross bikes. This is not a job for the hobby workshop and certainly not if you have never glued on a tyre before. The selection of suitable tyres is very limited, there are some from Tufo and Dugast, but Schwalbe quickly sent us the Racing Ralph Tubular. This is only available in narrow 2.0 inch tyres. A tyre with adhesive weighs around 600 grams, but if you add up the figures, you'll see that this wheel combination doesn't offer the gigantic weight advantage. The Rise XX compete with the AX Lightness wheels, among others, but you can mount normal and above all wide folding tyres on them. The AX weighs only 1210 grams and costs 2900 euros.
Super-Dan, our mechanic, has often glued tyres, but he can't manage to pair Rise XX and Racing Ralph flawlessly. Even professional mechanics are sweating bullets. There's no getting rid of the tyre's rough ride. We wonder whether a mechanic from cross-country racing would be able to do a better job, or even manage a smoother ride.
When fully assembled, the Scott Scale 900 is closer to a cross bike than an all-mountain. The bike looks very slim and, with the upside-down fork, also very exciting; its exotic status is immediately apparent. It still weighs around nine kilos, and the RS-1 and Rise XX don't provide any real weight advantage.
Part 1 from 2
Part 1: Sram Rise XX and Rockshox RS-1: This technology is inside
Part 2: Sram Rise XX and Rockshox RS-1: How the fork and wheels ride
