RockShox prototype spotted around Colorado

Is this RockShox's answer to the Fox 34?

Published: September 15, 2012 at 7:20 pm

An unbranded fork has been spotted this summer on the US Enduro race circuit, attached to the bikes of several RockShox development riders based in Colorado. Unfortunately, the riders are keeping very tight-lipped and camera shy, and RockShox parent company SRAM is doing the same.

BikeRadar spotted one at the Kennebec Pass Big Mountain Enduro in Durango, Colorado. Here is what we know, plus some speculation.

The fork is almost always on the front of a 150mm-travel trail/all-mountain bike, and is performing well enough for guys like Nate Hills to win pro-level Enduros on it.

The fork looks similar to a RockShox Lyrik, and is running a Maxle Lite through-axle. It's hard to eyeball from the distance we were kept at if it's 15 or 20-mm. What's also hard to determine visually is if the stanchions are 35mm, or if RockShox is playing around with an in-between size like the Fox 34.

The fork has what appears to be the black DLC stanchion coating. There aren't any remotes on the prototype Enduro fork, and we weren't able to get close enough to note control knobs and/or air valves, unfortunately.

It will be interesting to see if RockShox has anything new at Interbike this coming week based on this prototype fork, or if we'll have to wait a little longer. Sure, it could also just be a prototype fork that has no plan for production, but a hunch says that's not the case.