I need a Revelation on which fork to choose

[pharmaboy]

1st world dilemma - I have just ordered a tallboy aluminium in XL, and need to choose a fork, so the Rotorburn brains trust is required .

Currently have a race bike with a. 120mm Sid on it, so building the TB as slightly more trail orientated, 3 choices I can find

1. Rockshox Revelation RL. 2013 solo air 130mm, 15mm axle. $510 delivered (oem)
2. Revelation RL 2012 dual air 130mm, 20mm axel, $410 - needs a 20mm converter for hope hubs $25
3. Revelation RCT3 2012 dual air 140mm, 20mm axle, $470, needs converter as well.
4. Manitou pro tower 120mm, 15mm $340

The Niner runs 15mm front, so the 20mm option means changing wheels between bikes will be trickier . The dual air options also have adjustable travel between 120 130 and 140, whereas the solo air is what it is.

Suffering from paralysis by analysis........... Help !

 

[bell.cameron]

Dual air? HA! that was a funny one. I was just asking the same question for my solo and ended up getting the 2014 revelation RCT3's, courtesy of my LBS for $850. And they even come with the stealth black (no performance boost whatsoever but still +10horsepower) stanchion coat. Other than that I would leave it up to you and your wallet.

 

[moorey]

I have 150mm 2010 SL revs, 150mm 2011 RLT revs and 120mm 2012 race revs, all dual air and I love them all.
You can't go wrong with any of them, IMHO. Have you looked on Merlin? They had red hot prices recently.

 

[bell.cameron]

I have 150mm 2010 SL revs, 150mm 2011 RLT revs and 120mm 2012 race revs, all dual air and I love them all.
You can't go wrong with any of them, IMHO. Have you looked on Merlin? They had red hot prices recently.

But the big question is, how often do you use the reduced travel, and how much difference does it really make?

 

[moorey]

But the big question is, how often do you use the reduced travel, and how much difference does it really make?

Never. I prefer to have forks set where I prefer them. The 'race' are on my sons ht. He only needed shorter travel, and the dual air meant I can set it up to work with a 20-25kg kid, the same as for me. My lyrics are 2 step and I never drop them down.
For the riding I do, I'd rather lock them out for a long climb than drop the travel anyway.

 

[moorey]

Nb. None of my revs are externally adjustable. I tried talas for a while and never dropped them either.
Personally, I wouldn't bother, one more thing to go wrong.

 

[Ivan]

It's been a while since I looked at the Rev options, but I believe the RCT3 is the superior damper.

I have always found that the cheaper RS Dampers are shit, and the top ones are worth the extra.

 

[moorey]

Can't comment. All 3 revs and the lyrics are motion control.

 

[bell.cameron]

My point exactly, I had the Talas forks on my reign and used them once or twice before i realised it made 0 noticeable difference to the ride, and the over the bars geometry almost gave the bike an uncomfortable feel on the climbs. I would just save your pennies and go for a Solo Air option with the newer dampers. RS have improved out of sight in the past couple of years and their forks are now miles ahead of that of fox and mantiou.

 

[c3024446]

140mm Pike? Why do you need another bike anyway Pharmaboy :nono:

 

[Jaredp]

I would go the solo air 15mm axle.

Dual air on 130 mm is not required... Really you dont need it. I ride a 160 and coming off a Talas I thought I would notice it. I didn't.

The rct3 is easier to use but I had solo air RL 150mm revelation for most of this year and I really rate this fork.

 

[Ivan]

OK,

This thread needs some clarification, because I think some people may be confusing the terms.

Rock Shox have:

"Dual Air"

Dual Air - With independently adjustable positive and negative air spring chambers, Dual Air is race or trail ready, highly tunable, and one of the lightest air spring systems on the market.

and "Dual Position Air"

Dual Position Air™
If you want to ride up and walk down, a fork that only does one thing well is great. But you love epic ascents, technical descents, winding single track and everything in between. So you need a fork that tackles it all. Like our Dual Position Air. It changes your fork’s travel up to 30mm without changing its small bump performance. So, with a simple onboard turn and a click you can switch from climbing like a demon to bombing downhill with confidence.

Which are very different things. Dual Air forks can be lowered internally in 10mm increments using spacers.

Also, as far as the Dampers go, I would prefer the RCT3 as it allows for the most fine tuning.

XX - Designed for riders looking for more efficiency. 
The XX Motion Control DNA damper features RockShox’s XLoc hydraulic remote lockout for the lightest, most ergonomic go-fast solution.
RCT3 – Designed for riders looking for more bump gobbling performance. 
The new RCT3 damper features three distinct knob positions – Open, Threshold and Lock. The rider is able to quickly and easily access these three modes to manipulate damping performance for specific terrain:

• Open for bump-gobbling performance
• Threshold for efficiency and moderate bump compliance
• Lock for ultimate pedaling efficiency

In addition to its three distinct modes, RCT3 features an independent adjustment of low speed compression.
RLT – Designed for riders who are looking for more stable ride. 
Featuring the adjustments of Motion Control – compression-to-lock with adjustable threshold updated with a Motion Control DNA spring tube and refined Dual Flow rebound.
RL – For riders looking for a more simple approach to suspension set up. The Motion Control DNA spring tube and refined Dual Flow rebound mated to compression-to-lock adjustability with a factory set threshold.

I have been riding a 2012 Dual Air RLT Ti for 2 years, and I am very happy with it.

 

[pharmaboy]

Yes Ivan, The attraction of dual air 2011 models is I can try it out at 140 and if I don't like change if to 120 or 130. With the solo air I have exactly what it comes with and if I guess wrong , well, tough titties!

If they came 15mm I'd be all over them .....

Thx for the replies - need a clear winner lol

 

[foxpuppet]

Thanks Ivan for clearing that up. I wasn't sure if the OP had that bit of info right. I had the 2011 revelation RL dual air with a 9mm through axle. I liked the ability to run different pressures for negative and positive but the fork only had rebound adjust and open and lockout modes. Now I have the 2013 World Cup revelation rct3 with a 20mm maxle and while I only have the solo air, I really like the threshold and open settings and full adjustment of compression and rebound. Plus the 20mm maxle is a nice stiff touch!

 

[foxpuppet]

Yes Ivan, The attraction of dual air 2011 models is I can try it out at 140 and if I don't like change if to 120 or 130. With the solo air I have exactly what it comes with and if I guess wrong , well, tough titties!

If they came 15mm I'd be all over them .....

Thx for the replies - need a clear winner lol

I'd go the $495 2012 rct3 140mm you can adapt to 20mm or 15mm if it's a hope hub like I think you have. So much adjustment and the feeling is really nice. Only other option I can think would be pike but that's wayyyy more $

 

[gregp]

Yes Ivan, The attraction of dual air 2011 models is I can try it out at 140 and if I don't like change if to 120 or 130. With the solo air I have exactly what it comes with and if I guess wrong , well, tough titties!

If they came 15mm I'd be all over them .....

Thx for the replies - need a clear winner lol

You can change Solo Air travel too. With Dual Air which is pre-2013 spring design, you use spacers. With Solo Air, introduced from 2013, you just swap for a spring shaft of different length. With either model you have to open the fork and add/replace internal parts. My 2013 RCT3 Solo Air came with 150mm of travel (they were all set to 150mm from the factory), then I put in a 130mm spring internal to reduce travel by 20mm.