The name may date back to RockShox's original suspension fork but this inverted design is an entirely new beast. Aimed at high-end XC racers and riders, it's designed to work with 29in wheels only.
Creating an upside-down' fork for a bicycle comes with a number of
problems, not least of them making it sufficiently stiff without an arch to
hold the legs together. The RS-l's carbon fibre steerer tube and upper legs are
moulded .as one piece to increase bending stiffness The fork also has to be
used with RockShox s new Predictive Steering front hub. which uses a 110mm
spacing (10mm wider than normal) and sits the 15mm Maxle Ultimate axle within a
27mn diameter aluminium sleeve called the Torque Tube to further bolster
steering precision and torsional stiffness.
Internally, the RS-1 uses a Solo Air spring, with the same bottom-out
bumper as the new Boxxer DH fork, and a completely new Accelerator Damper
cartridge. This uses a spring-loaded independent floating piston to keep air
and oil separate, ensuring that the fork lockout (controlled via a bar-mounted
XLoc remote) is as firm as possible - a trait all World Cup XC racers yearn
for.
Travel can be adjusted internally between 80mm and 120mm (3.1-4.7in), the spring rate can be tweaked using
RockShox's Bottomless Token spacers and there's a choice of 46mm or 51mm
offset. At a claimed 1666g, it's 50g
heavier than the SID World Cup though, and it's not cheap at 1865$. It'll be available from Jure.
PRICE 1865$
