Gear Reviews

Components SRAM X.0, Truvativ

Wheels DT Swiss M1800

Suspension: RockShox SID 29/Monarch RT3

With the longtime success of the RockShox SID 26″ fork line, it was just a matter of time before the brand released a 29″ version. But it wasn’t until early 2011 that the new big-wheeled version was finally unveiled, and the SID 29 was ridden to its first professional win by Canada’s Emily Batty, when she took the elite women’s title at the Sea Otter Classic. American Todd Wells matched the effort by winning the elite men’s race the same weekend, marking the start of a victory-filled season for the new SID 29er.

Chicago-based SRAM, the parent company of Rock Shox, Avid, Zipp, Truvativ and now Quark, has long had a history of pumping out some of the best mountain bike components in the world. With more and more products being added to the lineup every year, SRAM wanted a way to show off their goods and let people ride before they buy, so they built up demo bikes for the public and media to try. Our test rig was a 2011 Trek Superfly 100, a full-carbon dual-suspension cross country bike that had been a carryover from Gary Fisher, which was phased out this year (it’s now called the Gary Fisher Collection.)

Suspension

The highlight of the build was the SID 29 fork. Though there is a ridiculously-light Carbon XX World Cup model available, ours was the more basic SID XX, which weighs in at an impressively svelte sub-1,750 g, and that includes the XLoc remote lockout system. The ability to fully lock out the SID made the bike climb like it was rigid and the 32 mm magnesium lowers, combined with a 15 mm Maxle Lite axle system made it extremely stiff. Damping comes in the way of RockShox’s Motion Control DNA system, which smoothed out the trail and helped the bike float over rocks and roots.

Rear suspension on the Superfly was the RockShox Monarch RT3 air shock. Though it doesn’t offer a complete lockout, something we really like for climbing on full-suspension bikes, the three-position floodgate system can be used to quickly change between a more soft or firm ride. Once dialed in, the Monarch RT3 performed well and helped the Superfly feel stable and in control no matter what the terrain.

Drivetrain

The drivetrain selected for the demo bike was SRAM’s X.0 in a 2×10 setup. Though X.0 has been around for a while, the 10-speed groupsets introduced last year perform flawlessly and are light enough for cross-country race use. Though slightly heavier than XX, the price is far more reasonable to the majority of riders. Our Superfly had the silver X.0 setup with a 26-39 crankset matched to a 11-36 cassette. The gearing was well-suited for the 29er and a granny gear wasn’t missed. We haven’t been particularly impressed with some of the older-generation SRAM front derailleurs, but we found this X.0 model to be precise and powerful.

Cockpit

SRAM spec’d a Truvativ handlebar and stem on the build, although we replaced the  short 70 mm stem with something longer and, if we were using the bike for cross-country racing, we would likely switch out the riser bar for a flat option. For a seatpost, the bike featured a RockShox Reverb, with 125 mm of height adjustment. The Reverb adds about 250 g to the weight of the bike (over a Truvativ Holzfeller), but riders who frequently have to pedal uphill before riding technical downhills or obstacle-filled trails will appreciate the ability to drop the seat height and pop it back up using the handlebar-mounted remote.

Wheels/Tires/Brakes

Since SRAM’s lineup doesn’t (yet) include mountain bike wheelsets, our test bike was set up with DT Swiss M1800 29er wheels and Maxxis Ardent tires (2.4″ front, 2.25″ rear). The combination weighed a beefy 3.4 kg and was ideal for trail riding, but a bit too heavy for racing-

use. Stopping power came from SRAM’s X.0 hydraulic disc brakes. Both the front and rear rotors were 160 mm, which we found to be more than adequate, even on the big 29″ wheels. The

X.0’s offer plenty of adjustment so you can dial them in exactly as desired.

System integration

One of the benefits of using an entire build from one brand is how well all of the parts fit together. The Superfly build had a very clean handlebar setup because the brakes, shifters, fork lockout (left) and Reverb lever (right) were mounted on single clamps on each side.