Servicing a second hand SID Select (2021 - 120mm). Took the lowers off and there are no air tokens in the fork (should be 3 from new), the lower leg has the device below, it's a hard rubber like bung, this just slides off easily. I assume this is to prevent bottoming out the fork ? I am going to remove it and fit 2 air tokens in the upper, any issues with removing?
I have a SID of a similar age, I can never get the final 10mm of travel, I think it's a known thing with them, I asked about removing the bumper but the internet said not to. I'd always start with no tokens and then add them to increase ramp up. I have none in mine.
Well I have the same issue, I have been running the fork at 55psi (85kg), which felt wrong, but I could never use the last 20mm of suspension travel.
there are no air tokens in the fork (should be 3 from new
I opened up my 2024 SID's to remove any tokens to find there were none and then discovered that that is how they are shipped. I don't get anywhere near full travel from mine but then I'm under 60kg and my riding is all wheels on the ground xc
Usually SIDs don't come with volume spacers, unless the Select model is different in that regard?
Mine has none and it's still overly progressive.
I fairly sure the "bumper" can be removed to get the full 120mm travel. Will give TF Tuned a call to see. With it installed it seems to be restricting the full travel slightly.
Got the same fork (SID Select+ actually). Don't remove it. It's the jounce bottom out bumper and if you do remove it there's nothing to stop the upper tubes colliding with the black plastic bottom cup at bottom out i.e. bad. See here for the engineering behind this type of bumper.
There's nothing wrong with not getting the full 120mm travel on these forks. They're designed that way, so don't worry that there is something wrong with the fork.
P.S. mine didn't come with any air tokens either. I'm 75kg (give or take) in riding gear and I wouldn't want that fork to be more progressive. 😀
Thanks Devash, that's good to know. Not too happy about that as I'm getting about 100mm, from a 120mm fork! You are right that there are no other bushing's at the bottom of the low leg. Kept dropping the pressure to try and get the full travel and decided it must have been due to additional air tokens, but then opened it and there are none.
My SID Ultimates (also 2021/C1) had no tokens from factory.
I did manage to get 120mm of travel once (ring almost touching the crown), but it was a relatively big hit/drop.
It's already quite a progressive fork, so YMMV RE spacers - but it helps change the balance between positive and negative in relative terms. You might like the 'off the top' travel a bit better with a spacer or two.
As others mentioned - keep the bottom-out jounce thingy there!
PS the Maxima 'heavy' oil is better if you're servicing it IMO - it just stays in place longer. Tried TF Tuned's own mix and quickly realised I had to turn the fork upside down too often. Went back to the maxima stuff after a few rides. Disclaimer - the fork wasn't working properly, so your experience might be different. Still waiting for a warranty replacement.
I'd be interested to know what the 2024 SID is like in terms of getting full travel. Some of the reviews when it came out suggested that it was easier, but out of curiosity I've just checked the service diagram and it still has that jounce bumper. Maybe they use a different (softer) polymer in the new one.
I suspect the excessive progressivity is more of an issue than the bottom out bumper. Just for amusement I took some air out of mine. From top out to hard bottom out by hand it's only 1mm short on travel. But then with the correct pressure I've never got anywhere near full travel while riding.
Selecting a fork of a certain travel it would be nice if all that travel was usable. But ultimately I'd be happy with the SID if it was just smoother and more active.
I've got a DT Swiss F232 at the moment as well. I don't think it's bottomed out yet either, but does feel slightly less progressive, and that's with 2 volume spacers. It's also considerably smoother. 32mm stanchions though, so gives up some stiffness compared to a 35mm SID.
I'd be interested to know what the 2024 SID is like in terms of getting full travel. Some of the reviews when it came out suggested that it was easier, but out of curiosity I've just checked the service diagram and it still has that jounce bumper. Maybe they use a different (softer) polymer in the new one.
Not a fair comparison (my 2021s weren't moving freely)... but if I must: Took the 2024s for a rip. I used more of the travel, despite using a slightly higher air pressure.
They feel softer when you do a car park bounce. Weirdly it doesn't translate when pedalling - feels the same going up your typical rooty fire road. At speed, they're less squirmy on landing. The rebound feels faster.
Not going to service them for 8 weeks or so (depending on mileage), but the first thing of note is the lower legs. On the C1s, I'm sure you're familiar with the awkwardly recessed nuts/bolts on both sides.
The D1s are different in that regard - on the air spring side only, the bolt isn't recessed. I guess that's how they got the extra room for more air in the chambers. The damper side appears just the same.
Looking at the service info, the jounce bumper looks thinner (will confirm when I actually see it myself). There's 50% more oil in the lower legs - hopefully I don't have to turn them upside down as often.
I spoke to TF Tuned, you can't remove the bumper as it is the bottom out, the SID has no lower bottom out sleeve. Mine was also suffering from too much negative pressure in the lower air chambre, they were not equalizing (you know when you hear a might pop as you pull out the air piston). The SID has a small dimple in the inside of the upper air stanchion, too much grease during factory assembly and it's easily blocked (bit like fox 36 equalization ports getting blocked with grease). Took it all apart and degreased the inners, I was recommended to use just a smidge of grease during reassembly, new seals and the fork feels brand new 🙂
Took it all apart and degreased the inners, I was recommended to use just a smidge of grease during reassembly, new seals and the fork feels brand new 🙂
My (admittedly very out of date) experience with SIDs would agree that they basically all need a complete strip and rebuild from new. I've had about 4 sets of SIDs going back to the late 90's. First one (when I obviously didn't know any better) just ended up failing after about 4 months and then had a very long and protracted warranty service although to be fair they did repair them FOC, it was a QC issue from the factory.
Every other set I've had needed a visit to TF Tuned to get them working as they should.
Mine had too much grease around the air piston and inside the stanchion. It's quite easy to block the equalization dimple inside the stanchion with too much grease, this leads to a harsh feeling fork as the upper and lower air chambers are not equalizing correctly. TF did say to try pumping to 100PSI and seeing if the extra PSI might blow the grease through, worth an initial try (didn't work for mine, but should work if you think your SID is feeling a bit harsh).
Mine had too much grease around the air piston and inside the stanchion. It's quite easy to block the equalization dimple inside the stanchion with too much grease, this leads to a harsh feeling fork as the upper and lower air chambers are not equalizing correctly. TF did say to try pumping to 100PSI and seeing if the extra PSI might blow the grease through, worth an initial try (didn't work for mine, but should work if you think your SID is feeling a bit harsh).
I had that issue roughly 4-6 weeks back.
Turning the bike upside down and pulling on the wheel sorted it for me - not sure if it's a permanent solution if there's too much grease in there, but it might help get you get the thing serviced in the short term.... else, when you remove that circlip... kaboom! 💥
It was very warm at the time - I wonder whether high temperatures cause a bit of grease migration. 🤔
I removed the circlip, mine was not "kaboom"... quite the opposite. You need to pull hard to overcome the negative pressure stuck in the air piston. Top Tip: Screw the fastening bolt back into the lower rod and wrap a cloth around it, then pull really hard down and it comes off with a load "pop". degrease, add a tiny amount of new silicone grease and pop the air piston back in.
I think I had a similar issue regarding the negative and positive air filters, albeit on a pike. Put 100psi in then deflated to required pressure (55psi) and the fork is much suppler again.
