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Heavy performance goes Jenny Craig lite |
Watch any DH race video from 2005 or 2006 and something ought to grab your attention: a ubiquitous parade of pearly white forks emblazoned with the bright red Boxxer logo. The real lack of other fork manufacturers at the races suggests that RockShox is doing something right. I could not wait to get my hands on one of the 2007 World Cup forks to see what all the hype was about.
Where the Boxxer Has Been
The Boxxer forks have been around since the late '90s and the World Cup Boxxer has been around for several years, but its 8" manifestation has only been on the scene since 2005. That year saw a move away from the traditional 7" version to the taller 8". There was also a distinct widening of the fork in order to improve turning radius issues. These were long overdue improvements. But with this “good” came some “bad”. There were problems with the traditional oil and spring technology that had essentially remained substantially unchanged since 2001 and nearly completely unchanged since 2003.
RockShox reworked things for 2006, breaking completely new ground by abandoning the more conventional dual crown fork technology for an air cartridge damper. The technology was born from the Blackbox program and thus came with a great deal of credibility with the race crowd. In the process of ditching old technology, RockShox managed to get a fork that has been considered on the light end of the spectrum into downright silly-light territory.
At 5.9lbs. (including crown), this fork is lighter than nearly all of the long-travel single crown offerings available - lighter even than their own Totem. [RockShox lists the weight of the fork as 6.1lbs. including Maxle DH, tall crown and 265mm of steerer. - Ed.] Despite all of this, there was still a large slice of doubt regarding performance in the minds of the average rider. In the past this doubt has been fuelled by RockShox's drive for dominance at the race level with its apparent snubbing of the freeride scene, which has been dominated by Marzocchi. Truth or urban legend? Let’s go find out together.
The 2007 Boxxer World Cup - a very distinctive fork || Photo © RockShox
New Boxxer Tech
The Boxxer World Cup fork stands as the most significant development to emerge from SRAM ’s Blackbox program. On the outside, it appears that RockShox has gone with old school tech. You won’t find any 36 or 40mm stanchions here. RockShox has stuck with proven 32mm stanchions cut from 7000 series aluminium. The Solo Air spring is essentially unchanged from the 2006 version. This ingenious air spring takes the place of the conventional coil spring. Unlike other air springs, this one is able to balance both the positive and negative chambers automatically with one pressure adjustment by the addition of air via a Schrader valve atop the left fork leg.
The large blue knob at the top of the right leg controls low speed compression with six distinct clicks. This adjusts the way the fork performs at slow speed. Increasing this setting renders the fork more resistant to fork dive and pedal bob, and decreasing it will maximize small bump sensitivity and compliance. High-speed compression is adjustable both with an internal shim stack and external floodgate adjustment knob.
The floodgate adjuster knob that sits above the low-speed compression adjuster allows an increasing amount of force to overcome the blow-off threshold of the compression damping, allowing oil to go to the shim stack. This means that as more floodgate control is added, the harder the hit required to overcome the compression damping mechanism, allowing the fork to move into its travel. This will add distinctly to the progressiveness of the fork, preventing bottoming on very hard and square-edged hits.
The view from the top - direct mount crown option, Solo Air on the left leg, and low- / high-speed compression plus floodgate on the right
To reduce any harshness on hits, floodgate adjustment can be reduced thus increasing the linear nature of the fork's travel. Regardless of where the floodgate control is set, the high-speed shim stack is still present and acts to secondarily prevent high-speed bottoming while leaving the low-speed compression damping performance unaffected.While the speed stack shims can be adjusted, this is done only internally and requires a little mechanical savvy to pull off.
Rebound adjustment resides at the bottom of the right fork lower and can be set minimally (as fast as return to the top of the stroke as can be effected by the air spring) to dead slow (where it can take more than a second for the fork to return to full height).
Eye candy on the bike
Out of the box, the pearlescent white finish and bright red graphics are simply stunning - both understated yet swaggering. My version came with the tall crown, which gave me some concerns about potentially raking out my bike. The lower crown is not permanently married to the stanchions so it's possible to adjust the position. I mounted them up to a Santa Cruz VP-Free and with 20mm of stanchion showing above the top crown, the rig sat at a very functional 67.5° of rake.
So this is what a white fork and white bike look like together - the WC mounted on a VP Free
This put the bike set-up firmly between race mode and a freeride-specific rig. While RockShox has supplied the fork with a crown that is pre-tapped for a direct mount stem, I went with a more conventional stem. Against all masculine motivation to wholly ignore the User Manual, I actually read the thing, and used the set-up suggestions to give myself a starting point to begin my evaluation.
RockShox provides a two-stage air pump that allows you to do the boring and difficult high volume pumping early on. Switching to the low volume, high-pressure setting, you can dial-in the precise air pressures. I went with the suggestions for a 180lb. rider and set the Solo Air chamber spring rate to 160 psi. The high-speed compression, low-speed compression and rebound settings are (like with all forks) set to rider taste and would have to wait for the first ride to get dialled.
The Ride
Everything that I use has to be able to be used in both directions on a ride. I am all about the old-school
While most people won’t be riding this fork uphill, this characteristic is important in freeride when you are wanting to lay down power effectively, particularly in tight quarters (i.e. coming off a stunt where you need rapid acceleration to hit a subsequent gap with appropriate speed). Yes, this will sacrifice low-speed compliance and thus the fork will not feel as supple at low speeds but this is always a trade-off dependent upon the terrain you are riding.
Even though there are only six clicks on this adjuster, each one makes a noticeable difference in this setting. The large size of the knob allows easy adjustment while riding, even for the ham-handed. This is an important feature, because it meant I would be able to make adjustments on the fly. Settings could be maxed out on the climb and as the trail began to turn downward I would back off three to four clicks to get that small-bump compliance necessary to turn stutter to butter. The adjustment became second nature after a while, but some riders are going to find their sweet spot and will simply leave the knob there. The adjustment really works and changes to performance in this regard are profound.
The author, about to land smoothly thanks to the WC.
My first rides were on some of the fast, flowing single tract of Vedder Mountain. High speed, small-bump sensitivity can be an issue here. The floodgate control was left set on the minimal setting. At speed, the WC Boxxer turned the trail into pavement. A great deal of the criticism levelled at the Boxxer in previous editions has been the inability to have reasonable small bump sensitivity while maintaining big-hit capabilities.
The end result with these older forks was often an unreasonable amount of vibration and subsequent hand/arm fatigue. This has now been rectified. The combination of a wickedly effective Solo Air spring and a dramatically adjustable floodgate control has resulted in a remarkable lack of vibration at the grips. You can ride this fork all day at Whistler Bike Park and still have enough grip strength to hold your Starbucks when you're done on the hill.
As wonderfully supple as the minimal floodgate settings render this fork, the linear nature of travel can be the undoing of a fork when you venture into the arena of big hits, steep lines, heavy braking conditions or g-outs. I found that jacking up the floodgate setting effectively increased the progressive nature of the fork's performance, so when I ventured onto trails like Chain Crazy or Dilemma that do feature some larger drops, performance did not suffer.
The Maxle DH 20mm axle is a thing to behold. The Boxxer comes without any axle pinch bolts, which makes for a nice clean look to the lowers. This is pulled off by the incorporation of an expanding wedge design to the axle. This effectively allows the axle to be tightened longitudinally like all axles while simultaneously applying pressure transversely against the inside of the axle housing (much as a pinch bolt would achieve, but in reverse). This affords a strong, stable and flex-free point of contact between the fork and the wheel.
Close-up of the Maxle DH axle and disc mount - make sure you've got the right 8" adaptor on hand
Now the bad news: if you have cause to remove the front wheel with any regularity, manipulating the Maxle DH axle is only slightly less pain-inducing than a fish-hook in the eye and about as intuitive as the Rubik’s Cube. The quick release version of the Maxle on the other versions of the Boxxer is certainly a step in the right direction and a desperately needed addition to this fork for those of us who stow our bikes in the back of vehicles.
The Evidence
It is tough to find much to criticize this fork for in the realm of performance. Some might suggest that the World Cup is just that: a purebred race fork only. While this is certainly reflected in the demure weight, do not mistake lack of heft for lack of performance toughness. This does not compute. While this fork excels in the race scene, its dramatic adjustability afforded by the remarkable Solo Air spring and amazing damping adjustability transforms this fork from a lithe race beauty to a searing freeride beast that is ready to eat up the gnar.
And who would not like their fat bike lightened up a little in the process? Removing the heft of tubby oil and spring-filled cousins is instantly felt both on the ground but certainly while aloft. Whether you are riding flaming laps at Whistler or plunking your way off stunts on the Shore, this fork does not disappoint. Climb it, race it, ride it off a cliff. If you live, it will be in part due to the performance of this masterpiece.
RockShox obviously made a conscious decision during engineering to detract from the nay-sayers' criticisms of previous single-purpose forks by building with versatility in mind. Most of us are not just hard-core DH racers. Most of us are not just circus freaks who ride nothing but enormous lines, vomit-inducing drops and pencil-wide skinnies 15' off the deck. Most of us might dabble in all of these arenas to some degree, from time to time. Thus most of us need a fork that can adapt to different demands (as most of us do not have a quiver of bikes to choose from). RockShox has stepped up to the plate, pointed to the outfield and knocked one into the upper deck with this fork.
The larger lock-to-lock turning radius allows this fork to perform admirably while riding stunts and narrow lines. The adjustability of the stanchion legs in the crowns ensures that you can dial your bike's rake profile to your liking or as required for particular riding disciplines or styles. A thoughtful pre-tapped crown gives the rider the ability to have stem-mounting options without having to purchase a new crown.
Stunningly adjustable low- and high-speed compression settings, rebound settings and overall sensitivity of this fork whether set up for very linear or remarkably progressive performance sets it apart. Total weight that is lower than all dual-crown forks and a number of long-travel single crown forks sets the World Cup completely apart from the old school heft of a lot of its brothers. Having Norco close by to deal with warranty and repair issues should allay the fears of those who might dread long turn-around times, if you should need to send your baby in for some love.
The Verdict
If you have CDN$1,800 burning a hole in your pocket and want unparalleled performance that will not restrict your riding to one particular discipline or style, you should be at the head of the line for a Boxxer World Cup. The Solo Air fork will confidently take you to lofty new riding heights and will not disappoint even the most ardent sceptic.
[US MSRP for the World Cup is $1,495. - Ed.]
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- Mark Steinebach
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