Corona-permitting, this is an Olympic year, which means all sorts of components are being readied, all hoping to deliver the marginal gain that will bring home a gold medal.

>>> Best mountain bike suspension forks 2020

RockShox’s brand new SID fork is no different in that respect, with one eye firmly on the top step of the podium, but what marks it out from many XC products is a desire to go beyond the elite one per cent and appeal to a wider, trail-riding audience.

New RockShox SID need to know

• 32mm stanchion SID SL is the 100mm XC race fork
• 35mm stanchion SID is the 120mm XC/trail fork
• New Charger Race Day damper
• New DebonAir air spring to maintain ride height
• Plush Fluid from Maxima
• SKF wiper seals
• TwistLoc lock-out
• SID SL Ultimate claimed weight: 1,326g (£779-849 SRP)
• New SIDLuxe rear shock also announced (227g)

There are five new SID products in total

• SID Select
• SID Ultimate
• SID SL Select
• SID SL Ultimate
• SIDLuxe rear shock

SID Select

SID Ultimate

SID SL Select

SID SL Ultimate

SIDLUxe

Did someone say downcountry?

To do this RockShox has come up with two distinct SID models; the SL for racing, and the SID, for low-fat shredding. Built burlier than the average XC fork, the SID gets 35mm upper tubes – just like the Pike and Lyrik – to keep it tracking precisely during aggressive cornering and other X-rated XC antics. Binding the lower legs together is a 15mm thru-axle with RockShox’s oversized Torque Cap hub/dropout interface.

Material has been carved, scooped and milled from every nook, cranny and crevice to keep the weight down to an impressive 1,508g on our test fork. That’s 150g less than an equivalent Fox 34 Step Cast that we weighed. And that’s despite RockShox moving away from the carbon crown and steerer found on the previous generation SID.

Some of the weight saving measures are much harder to spot. One of the most significant reductions comes from the new Charger Race Day damper. The new bladder unit is incredibly slim, with a much smaller oil volume, and is the best part of 90g lighter than its predecessor. It’s such a light fork, that it’s no hardship adding some 38g back by fitting the new, integrated mudguard that comes with it – genuinely a godsend in the winter we’ve been having.

To reflect the World Cup circuit moving away from 27.5in wheels, the SID is only available as a 29er fork with 120mm travel and a short, 44mm fork offset.

Going for gold

Tune into the Olympic XCO event in Izu, near Tokyo later this year and the chances are you’ll see Nino Shurter or Kate Courtney with a bright blue fork on their Scott Spark, at or near the front of the field. The fork they’ll be riding is this, the new SID SL. At a scant 1,326g (claimed) this is an impressive 166g lighter than the previous model. Like the beefier SID, the SL gets a new 32mm chassis and waif-like Charger Race Day damper to achieve this. It’s only available for 29in wheels, with 100mm of travel and a 44mm offset. Torque Cap compatibility help keep the slender shoulders of the SID SL from twisting under power and hard cornering.

How does it ride?

Check out our first ride review for the full story on how this new SID performs.

SIDLuxe shock

To complement the fork, RockShox has also developed a new lightweight shock – the Sidluxe. Available in a range of sizes and fitments, including trunnion, the skinny air shock offers a similar ride feel to the fork, with a lively, supple response and firm lockout controlled via a spring-loaded lever on the shock body. Tuning the rebound damping requires a hex key, but RockShox thoughtfully provides a removeable one at the base of the SID and SID SL’s right leg.