New colour (back to the time-honoured SID blue), new name (top version: now Ultimate instead of World Cup) and new technical refinements. The latter are eloquently described in the press release. New oil, new scraper rings, a new rebound seal. You read this and sense the desperation of the engineers: what the hell can be improved on this fork? On the SID, which has carried cross-country world champion Nino Schurter from victory to victory and which was the winner in the last BIKE suspension fork test (6/2018) achieved the grade Super. The lab test also reveals that the hoopla surrounding the technical innovations is more of a PR fanfare to conceal how small the evolutionary leap from the predecessor to the new model has been. Weight, spring characteristics, torsional rigidity: all almost identical to the previous SID. Can you feel a difference off-road?
The fork had to prove itself under hardcore conditions at the BIKE marathon in Riva. The Ronda Extrema with 89 kilometres and 3933 metres of altitude was a real challenge for the SID due to the mud, wet conditions and constant bumping. The stanchions slid into the immersion tubes like a knife into warm butter. The breakaway torque was pleasantly low. The SID confidently kept the road bumps away from the rider, while the last millimetres of travel were only made available for really hard hits. The stiffness? At a good level. A top race fork. Just like the predecessor SID.
PLUS Weight; response behaviour; linear spring characteristic with late onset progression for a lot of comfort; workmanship
MINUS No quick-release lever
Weight 1465 grams (without lockout lever)
Spring travel 102 mm
Price 1200 Euro incl. Twistloc
You can find this article in BIKE 7/2019. You can read the entire digital edition in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or the print edition in the DK shop reorder - while stocks last:
