Meaning of sl on rockshox forks
getonyourbike
Posts: 2,648
I'm perplexed by this now, I thought that sl meant solo air but I've been proved wrong as somebody said correctly that some forks like the tora which have sl in the name still have coil springs.
Does anybody have any ideas?
here are the forks that dispelled my theory.
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... y_1532.htm
Does anybody have any ideas?
here are the forks that dispelled my theory.
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... y_1532.htm
0
Comments
-
I have these forks and yes they are coil/springs but like you not sure what sl stands for?0
-
think it's just the name of the level of the model?
the sl is the lowest class, then race, then team, then world cup. Each one has slightly flashier specs than the next and you can get them all for each "type of fork"
for instance the tora comes in sl, race, team and world cup, so does the pike, etc
At lest that was how they used to be, seems like they've now changed it from their website.0 -
damn, put it in the wrong forum section but hey. Thanks for that0
-
SL means nothing it is just a label that is on the fork.
they can be air or coil it depends on who they were made for."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
Tora/Recon
XC = Rebound
SL = Rebound, Lockout
Race = Rebound, Motion Control0 -
As above, SL is just a moniker used to differentiate models. It used to stand for Sport Level on early SIDs, but it doesn't really mean anything! Most commonly said to mean SuperLight.0
-
oh well, it nobody knows for sure but hey, at least it doesn't officially mean something so i'm not kicking myself trying to work it out.
0 -
Those are the cross country versions of the forks, otherwise:Koiler wrote:Xtreem wrote:Tora/Recon
XC = Rebound
SL = Rebound, Lockout
Race = Rebound, Motion Control
are you sure?
i have a Tora with MoCo and rebound but its not called a race just a regular 318
Tora
289 = Rebound
302 = Rebound, Lockout
318 = Rebound, Motion Control
Recon
327 = Rebound
335 = Rebound, Lockout
351 = Rebound, Motion Control0 -
And those numbers, 318 et al were the engine displacements of American muscle cars, totally random!0
-
AH, was trying to work out the numbers lol.
Also got 426 and 454. Baffling.
But yep, is just a differentiator nowadays, and indeed meant Sport Level.0 -
Aye, all different cubic inch capacities. Pleasingly silly that I thought. And no less clear than random letters after all.Uncompromising extremist0
-
Yes I agree, amused me that they're totally random but clearly the brain child of someone with a hobby!
You wait, we'll see a VW Golf XTR sometime!0 -
SL means Sport Level.
Originally appeared in the early 90's as the top level model Judys when Judys were Rockshox top forks. People thought it stood for 'SuperLight' because the difference over the standard models was an Alu steerer and titanium bolts & canti studs.
These days it's used on lower spec versions of the models. Kind of annoying if you;re buying used forks as you really need to research the year to really know what level you're getting. At least with Shimano stuff, whatever the age you always know that XTR was the top, then XT etc..0 -
thanks dan, great post. sport level, I must remember that 0
-
Why?! It doesn't actually mean anything!
If nothing else, Sport level makes me think of entry level, not more expensive. It's just a model designation.0 -
ok, so it definitely means nothing then :?njee20 wrote:Why?! It doesn't actually mean anything!
If nothing else, Sport level makes me think of entry level, not more expensive. It's just a model designation.0 -
njee20 wrote:You wait, we'll see a VW Golf XTR sometime!
Citreon do a Berlingo XTR, it's basically a van that looks like it should be 4x4 as it's higher up with chunky tyres and some off-road extras, just without 4x4. Just thought I'd join in with the pointless trivia!Current steed is a '07 Carrera Banshee X
+ cheap road/commuting bike0 -
Super Light or Sport Level, either way they are usually the better performing lighter weight fork. Or they were in the days of the Judy fork any way. The Judy XC was the standard, the SL the lighter weight version and a DH version which was heavier but with more travel.
I should think their principles are the same now!0 -
The full range of letters, from top to bottom of performance were/are:
S
C
XC
SL
Race
Team
World Cup
Race was added in about 2000, and Team and so on a bit later. Was also an XL for dual crown forks, R for earlier forks, and probably some others I have missed.
SL was indeed the best. But of course RS had to improve on the best, so over time the SL designation is not to the 'standard' it was. But as we still get some XC versions, or TK [turnkey] it is still a step up as mentioned above.
Depends on year too. RS have always been confusing lol0 -
Steve_F wrote:njee20 wrote:You wait, we'll see a VW Golf XTR sometime!
Citreon do a Berlingo XTR, it's basically a van that looks like it should be 4x4 as it's higher up with chunky tyres and some off-road extras, just without 4x4. Just thought I'd join in with the pointless trivia!
A flashier example of an xtr car 0
