The Rockshox Sektor is one of the silent heroes of the sport. While the top models Lyrik, Pike, SID or RS-1 claim all the publicity for themselves, you usually hear very little about the forks in the lower and middle price range. And what's left over at Rockshox is dusted off by forks such as the eternally reliable and extremely maintenance-friendly Reba or, more recently, the Yari, where even our testers could only feel slight differences to the more than 300 euro more expensive top model. To be fair, it has to be said: It may have been a while ago, but the sector made its mark a good five years ago. in the endurance test was also extremely good and was in no way inferior to the Reba. However, it failed to attract attention.
That could change now. Because the new Rockshox Sektor could be a real price-performance hit in the trail segment. The data sheet is already right. In addition to advertising clichés that will mainly interest the marketing departments, such as new decals or a chassis modelled on the Boxxer downhill fork, plus the promise of a good weight/stiffness ratio - a test will show how far this is true - Rockshox also brings a few hard facts to the table that speak of great potential.
Motion control damper and Debon-Air cartridge from 480 euros
Anyone who has been involved in the suspension market for a long time knows that it's the inner values that count. The best chassis is not made by a good fork, but by the air cartridge and the damping unit. And in the new Sektor, these are top notch. With the Debon-Air cartridge, the expensive, friction-reduced air chamber for the finest response behaviour is already at work in the left stanchion, which the testers were licking their fingers for in the top models just two years ago. And the damping is provided by the inexpensive but functionally beyond any doubt Motion Control damper with full adjustability of the low-speed compression stage up to the lockout. You can even connect a remote lockout.
And how that Duel between the high-quality Charger damper and the motion control unit The difference between the Lyrik (Charger) and Yari (Motion Control) in the test is well known. Even our experienced testers and enduro pro Max Schumann attested that the Lyrik with the Charger unit only performed slightly better on extremely steep sections and when riding at full throttle. On flat terrain and at a calm to brisk pace, the differences were almost nil.
This will please the wallet, the price-conscious biker and all beginners, who will probably get a fork for 480 to 550 euros RRP that doesn't even have to hide from its counterparts that are twice as expensive. Perhaps a real ray of hope in a mountain bike world where everything just seems to be getting more and more expensive. We are looking forward to our first ride impressions.
Motion control dampers and black coating: revised models in the mid-range and entry-level class
Rockshox has also revised numerous mid-range and entry-level models for the 2019 model year, the forks of which will be available from March. Almost all forks, including the fatbike fork Bluto and the dirt jump/slopestyle-specific Pike DJ, will receive new decals and small design updates, while the black anodised stanchions will be visually striking. The biggest functional innovation, however, is the Motion Control damper, which is now used in almost all top models, including the more affordable series. This means that from March, not only the Reba will have the Motion Control damper, as was foreseeable, but also the Judy Gold, which is a cheaper alternative to the Reba, the lightweight and affordable Recon RL trail fork and the entry-level XC fork 30 Gold.
The cheaper Silver models of Judy and 30, on the other hand, continue to rely on steel stanchions instead of aluminium and the low-cost turn-key lockout. On the other hand, you can now save real money with the Silver models: at least 90 euros in the case of the Judy, and a whopping 200 to 270 euros in the case of the Rockshox 30. Almost all models are now also available in Boost sizes.
Click here for the Rockshox website. There you will also find all the details about the new forks and equipment. All new models will be available from March 2018, with the new Reba arriving in April.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
