Totem solo air vs coil, i am skeptical about running a dh air fork...The boxxer wc has come close to convincing me...however i am not sold. Any drawbacks to the solo air over the coil? I have always trusted coil forks, but love the chance to shed some weight and gain internal travel adjustability. Has sram finally done the impossible? a large single crown lightweight dh air fork?
Solo Air vs Coil
- Thread starter RideHard
- Start date
A buddy of mine has the solo air on his dh bike. It's a good fork.
I've ridden it a tad and I don't see any reason to get the coil over the solo air version.
I've ridden it a tad and I don't see any reason to get the coil over the solo air version.
rumor: Buy a Boxxer race and replace one entire stanchion with an aftermarket leg of a Boxxer World Cup....bang...cheap World Cup.
true?
False?
true?
False?
false because you dont have any hsc damping
Can't help you w/ the air version but I'm running the coil and it's amazing. I have yet to really put it through the paces but on a few shuttle runs and some smallish (6 or 7 ft) drops around here it has been stellar. Running it on a demo 7 that tops out at 40lbs. Check out this link, might help:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/2007-RockShox-Totem-Coil.html
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/2007-RockShox-Totem-Coil.html
i have the 2 step totem air fork. it hasn't yet received a lot of miles---that'll change fast once mammoth and N* open---but on the 150 miles or so i've had so far, it's been pretty sweet. while riding it i don't think 'hmmm, wish this was a coil fork'.
i do like the idea of being able to bump up the air pressure for certain types of riding. i'm mostly a coil fork guy, even on my 30 lb trailbike, but the totem air is changing my opinion.
i do like the idea of being able to bump up the air pressure for certain types of riding. i'm mostly a coil fork guy, even on my 30 lb trailbike, but the totem air is changing my opinion.
true as long as you can find that
"aftermarket leg of a world cup"
false right back at you since the damper is the same on the team/wc boxxers.
false to your flase. He said switch out a leg on a Boxxer Race not team.
...which is apparenty the solo air rebuild kit and one other piece I can't remember. Do tell....
read mine and above, the floodgate is pre set so not only do you have no adjustment it is probably(from another thread i read) set too high making the fork proform worse, also im pretty sure its not internaly adjustable, so if you ride a team and race against each other and feel no difference then you dont need the adjustment and therefore puting an air cart in will just be a good way to lose weight.
I went back and forth and was leaning toward the solo air but ended up with the coil because...that's all they had in stock. I took it as a cosmic sign that the coil version was right for me - either that or I was impatient. 
I really love the thing so far. My only experience with Solo Air is riding a few different world cup boxxers and I have always been impressed with the feel, no idea about durability but by now they have probably nailed any issues. The only thing I can add is that the 2-Step version of the Totem has some widely reported problems - you might check it out if you were thinking about that version.
I really love the thing so far. My only experience with Solo Air is riding a few different world cup boxxers and I have always been impressed with the feel, no idea about durability but by now they have probably nailed any issues. The only thing I can add is that the 2-Step version of the Totem has some widely reported problems - you might check it out if you were thinking about that version.
Solo air is about as dialled an air-spring setup as you're gonna get. It's easy to think they fluked it right, but the truth is they've been prototyping air springs in boxxers since ~02 or maybe even earlier... so rest assured, it works and it lasts.
You need the full solo air cart and the boxxer WC honed stantion.
i know a guy who converted his (boxxer team). solo air cartridge, honed stanchion, and a topcap was all he needed i think. got the part #'s through BTI and ordered them through his shop and bam, boxxer WC for $900, in black too
i just ordered a solo-air totem, it should be here tomorrow. stoked that i don't have to screw with the close spring rates that i fall right in the middle of on the coil version.
Can't believe this mod isn't it's very own thread.
Rumor had it RS had shut off the supply of Boxxer Air carts, since people were doing that.
I know the guy who told me about it used to work for RockShox and tried to order the kit for me and it wasn't available. This was about 3 weeks ago.
I actually thought it was BS too, but upon checking the parts listing, the WC actually has a different part number for the stanchions to the team/race - so they are different. The part description for the WC stanchion also says "honed". I'd imagine the inside of the honed stanchions are machined to better tolerances and have a smoother finish. The solo air setup would likely run smoother and last longer when run in the correct stanchion.
The WC uses this stanchion for both sides, which would also explain why the damper cartridge slides in easier on the WC - whereas i've heard of a few people having to be more gentle with the team/race as to not damage the cartridge's o-rings.
The WC uses this stanchion for both sides, which would also explain why the damper cartridge slides in easier on the WC - whereas i've heard of a few people having to be more gentle with the team/race as to not damage the cartridge's o-rings.
If you are here in the states, getting the stanchion is not the hard part. The are available through BTI..you can check yourself BTI-usa.com. The part that seems no longer available is the actual 'air spring assembly'. BTI has been out of this part for many months, and QBP (the largest distro in the us, and who deals with sram employee purchaces etc) dont now, and have never have had the parts needed.
Unless you have some kind of inside connection, or can convince sram that you need the air spring as a replacement for an existing fork, I am pretty sure this 'mod' is no longer possible.
Unless you have some kind of inside connection, or can convince sram that you need the air spring as a replacement for an existing fork, I am pretty sure this 'mod' is no longer possible.