Dual air or solo air?

[mike_b]

Hi There

 

I am looking to upgrade my front fork from a Suntour XCR to an air fork.

 

I have been scouring the net and 2 forks catch my eye. Both are roughly the same price but I'm not sure which would be a better choice. The 2 forks are the Rockshox Reba RL Dual Air (2012) and the Rockshox Reba RL Solo Air (2013). Both are new and size 29".

 

Which one would you reccommend and why?

 

Thanks

Mike

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Personally I prefer dual air as they are more tunable. You can alter the negative air pressure whereas with the solo air the fork has no negative air adjustability and it is linked directly to the pressure in the positive air chamber.

 

For some, this "set and forget" option on the solo is like the holy grail. For me, I prefer the dual air cos I like to tinker and get exactly the right settings for me, which may not be the ones that RS dictate that I should be using.

 

Solo, you set the positive and the negative chamber is automatically set according to the positive pressure. No more adjustments except the normal rebound / compression. So you can't set the "plushness" of the fork as easily as you could with a dual.

 

Saying that, I now have a solo air lyrik as that was the only available option to me.

Edited July 22, 2013 by cpt armpies mayhem

[nickelass]

dual air, as stated , you can tune the fork to your personal preference.

Have one on my Giant Anthem, and very happy with its performance.

Have not used the new solo air though.

[rouxtjie]

Mike unless you know what to tune and how to tune it...I would go solo air. Pump the shock and go ride...easy as that. I personally think its a great move by RS by simplifying the setup process.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Mike unless you know what to tune and how to tune it...I would go solo air. Pump the shock and go ride...easy as that. I personally think its a great move by RS by simplifying the setup process.

 

True for the majority of users yeah. But I can't help thinking that if they're going to dumb it down, dumb it down completely except on a few models.

 

My lyrik for example. I have high speed compression, low speed compression and rebound adjustment not to mention the positive air chamber and floodgate. But apparently the inclusion of the neg air chamber would "confuse me" and immediately make my fork crap.

 

No thanks. Dumb it down completely but keep the top end forks dual air please.

[VicanZA]

Prefer to keeping my pumping in the bed room, don't know what I got. One is a fox 32, the other a fox RL 29... Work just fine.

[rouxtjie]

True for the majority of users yeah. But I can't help thinking that if they're going to dumb it down, dumb it down completely except on a few models.

 

My lyrik for example. I have high speed compression, low speed compression and rebound adjustment not to mention the positive air chamber and floodgate. But apparently the inclusion of the neg air chamber would "confuse me" and immediately make my fork crap.

 

No thanks. Dumb it down completely but keep the top end forks dual air please.

I agree for the AM crew I could see the application of more "tunabillity"...I had both and much prefer my solo air due to setup being a breeze. I always struggled with the dual air...it would be either rock hard or it would bottom out. I eventually settled on 10 psi less in the neg chamber. The travel also feels a bit linear on my solo air, but that might just be perception.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yeah true. I know quite a few people wifi got fairly peeved with theirs. But once you found their sweet spot (different for each person) then oh. My. Word.

 

My revelation eventually had the neg hovering around 2-3 psi less than positive. Positive was set HARD. LIKE REALLY HARD. But the fork just gobbled up everything in its path a d was super plush without sacrificing travel.

 

My Reba had a totally different setting.

 

But maybe that's just how my mind works. Suppose it comes from going to a technically based high school and (partly) studying mech eng. I just seemed to "get it".

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

For the majority of users though, I'd recommend solo air purely due to the set up "issues" and plug n play status.

[mike_b]

Thanks for the replies. I must admit that I am one of those people who like to "do it myself", however I also get really annoyed when something is slightly "off". I have a feeling that with a dual air fork, I wouldn't get any sleep.

 

Just a correction my first post, the 2013 Reba is an RLT. I'm leaning towards this one.

Edited July 22, 2013 by mike_b

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Rlt over rl any day of the week.

[rouxtjie]

Thanks for the replies. I must admit that I am one of those people who like to "do it myself", however I also get really annoyed when something is slightly "off". I have a feeling that with a dual air fork, I wouldn't get any sleep.

 

Just a correction my first post, the 2013 Reba is an RLT. I'm leaning towards this one.

Yes, get the RLT....the threshold adjust is great and non neg if you like to stand and climb....

[dee_biker]

Dual air... If you know how to pump it, it is very nice and you can adjust to your type of riding.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Rlt over rl trumps dual air over solo any day.

[GoLefty!!]

Hi There

 

I am looking to upgrade my front fork from a Suntour XCR to an air fork.

 

I have been scouring the net and 2 forks catch my eye. Both are roughly the same price but I'm not sure which would be a better choice. The 2 forks are the Rockshox Reba RL Dual Air (2012) and the Rockshox Reba RL Solo Air (2013). Both are new and size 29".

 

Which one would you reccommend and why?

 

Thanks

Mike

 

 

If I assume that you are relatively new to MTB (started in the past few years)

 

that this is your 1st MTB and you're upgrading

 

and that you're not really al that interested in the techie side of it all, at least nothing more than the ability to get the bike out there.

 

Please don't be offended, I'll explain my line of assumption,

 

If the above is you, then go for the Solo Air. Reasons;

 

- the postive air chamber bleeds air to the negative chamber and therefore it's much easier to set up and get a good ride out it.

- its cheaper and will be easier to maintain

- its slightly lighter (Not that this is a biggie)

 

 

The dual air requires a bit of knowledge on suspension set up, how they work and how to get it working the way you want. This also infers that you know what you want out of a suspension fork already. Getting the set up wrong on a dual air chamber fork is much easier than it is to get right and changing any aspect of your all up weight i.e. pack heavier for a longer ride, requires a complete retune of the positve and negative chambers. with the solo air you just adjust the positive and it automatically does the negative for you.

 

In short, the Solo air is the least painful and will allow you to gain better understanding of what you want.

 

If you're a suspension and hydraulics expert then ignore everything i just said

Edited July 22, 2013 by GoLefty!!

[rouxtjie]

If I assume that you are relatively new to MTB (started in the past few years)

 

that this is your 1st MTB and you're upgrading

 

and that you're not really al that interested in the techie side of it all, at least nothing more than ability toget teh bike out there.

 

Please don't be offended, I'm explainmy line of assumption,

 

If the above is you, the go for the Solo Air.Reasons;

 

- the postive iar chamber bleeds iar to the negative chamber and therefore its much easier to set up and get a good ride out it.

- its cheaper and will be easier to maintain

- its slightly lighter (Not that this is a biggie)

 

 

The dual air requires a bit of knowledge on suspension set up how they work and how to get it working the way you want. this also infers that you know what you want out of a suspension fork already. getting the set up wrong on a dual air chamber fork is much easier to get wrong that it is to get right and achangin any aspect of your all up weight i.e. pack heavier for a longer ride, requiresa complete retune of the positve and negative chambers. with the solo air you just adjust the positive and it automatically does the negative for you.

 

In short, the Solo air is the least painful and will allow yougain better understanding of what you want.

 

If you're a suspension and hydraulics expert then ignore everything i just said

Perfectly summed up.