Meaning of sl on rockshox forks

getonyourbike
getonyourbike Posts: 2,648
edited November 2010 in MTB beginners
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

Comments

  • snowster
    snowster Posts: 490
    I have these forks and yes they are coil/springs but like you not sure what sl stands for?
  • mea00csf
    mea00csf Posts: 558
    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.
  • damn, put it in the wrong forum section but hey. Thanks for that
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    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 :?:SheldonBrown
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    Tora/Recon
    XC = Rebound
    SL = Rebound, Lockout
    Race = Rebound, Motion Control
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    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.
  • Koiler
    Koiler Posts: 513
    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
  • 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. :D
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    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
    Those are the cross country versions of the forks, otherwise:

    Tora
    289 = Rebound
    302 = Rebound, Lockout
    318 = Rebound, Motion Control

    Recon
    327 = Rebound
    335 = Rebound, Lockout
    351 = Rebound, Motion Control
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    And those numbers, 318 et al were the engine displacements of American muscle cars, totally random!
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    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.
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Aye, all different cubic inch capacities. Pleasingly silly that I thought. And no less clear than random letters after all.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    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!
  • Dan_xz
    Dan_xz Posts: 130
    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..
  • thanks dan, great post. sport level, I must remember that :lol:
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    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.
  • 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.
    ok, so it definitely means nothing then :?
  • Steve_F
    Steve_F Posts: 682
    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 bike
  • 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!
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    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 lol
  • bluechair84
    bluechair84 Posts: 4,352
    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!

    db_Westfield_XTR4_Rear1.jpg

    A flashier example of an xtr car :lol: