2008 RockShox Totem Solo Air 1.5″
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
In 2007, RockShox introduced the Totem. It raised the level of what people conceive a single crown fork capable of and tons of people have been running them with great success from freeriding to downhilling. The Totem Solo Air remains pretty much the same for 2008 but SRAM says they’ve fixed the issues they had. See inside for more information on this burly single crown fork.
The RockShox Totem lineup was introduced in 2007. It comes in four variants now: Solo Air, Coil, 2-Step, and IS. We’ll be taking a look at the Solo Air 1.5″ version below.
(click to enlarge)
The Totem is a unique single crown fork that is designed for freeriding. Travel on this fork is 180mm but can be adjusted all the way down to 150mm internally in 15mm increments by using RockShox all travel spacers. The Totem chassis is a 40mm stanchion setup that is solid and kills a lot of dual crown forks in terms of stiffness and adjustability. A lot of racers have been using the Totem forks on their downhill race bikes with great success.
(click to enlarge)
- Available in galvanized or black
- The Totem Solo Air 1.5″ fork uncut weighs in at a scant 2663g/ 5.87lbs which is lighter than their claimed weight.
- The fork is very light but still feels just stiff and responsive as a dual crown.
- Available in 1 1/8″ or 1.5″
- The Totem’s lower stanchions are made of magnesium to keep the weight down and have a very beefy look to them.
Speedlube ports (click to enlarge)
- All Totems have a built in 8″ (203mm) post mount disc brake adapter. No disc brake adapters necessary unless you want to run a 210mm(max) disc brake.
- Mission Control damping provides external high and low speed compression, rebound, floodgate switch, and internal floodgate switch.
(click to enlarge)
- 40mm upper tubes taperwall 7000AL
- Forged aluminum 66TV crown
(click to enlarge)
- Massive updated sticker kit with graphics by Pete Fowler. The stock stickers are shown on the fork and are clear coated over.
- Maxle 360 20mm provides a 20mm tool-free quick release system that is stiff and easy to use.
(click to enlarge)
- Speedlube ports provide an easy and quick way to overhaul your fork in minutes. The fork comes with the speedlube syringe.
(click to enlarge)
- Fork pump is included to add or remove air from the fork via a quick access top mounted schrader valve.
- Axle-Crown 565mm
- MSRP $1060
We’ll be testing out this fork in the coming months and will have a full review of it next year sometime. We were impressed with how stiff the Coil Totem was and the ride that it provided was quite stellar. The benefit of the Solo-Air version is that you can dial in the feel of the shock quite precisely since it uses an air system.
The Axle-crown of the Totem is quite close to an 8″ dual crown fork and can easily be substituted without affecting the geometry drastically or at all. The Totem’s only major downfall with this fork in 2007 was an issue with the fork seals that some people experienced which we’re told has been fixed.
If you’re looking for one of the best performing single crown forks, the Totem is a major contender worth considering and SRAM backs up their products with the best of them!
[2008 RockShox Totem Solo Air 1.5" Gallery] [RockShox Website]
Previous Coverage
December 6th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Any information about the new seals? Will it be an aftermarket upgrades?
December 6th, 2007 at 7:08 am
[...] 2008 RockShox Totem Solo Air 1.5$B!m(BBy sicklinesThe Totem chassis is a 40mm stanchion setup that is solid and kills a lot of dual crown forks in terms of stiffness and adjustability. A lot of racers have been using the Totem forks on their downhill race bikes with great success. …Sick Lines - http://www.sicklines.com [...]
December 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
What were the issues that have been fixed by SRAM. I have the 2007 model and have had no problems… yet. Fantastic fork. Went for the air version as I weigh in at 290lbs and the air gives me better tunability than the coil version.
Is the SRAM fix retro fitable?
Chris
December 6th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
WHAT? Massively upgraded stickers? Give me a f***ing break. How about fixing the as yet STILL UNFIXED 2 step! How about putting the money they wasted on the grom sticker kit into a fund to buy each and every totem owner a beer for their trouble.
No sale.
December 6th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Allan, some people got Totems that had some issues (seals / crown creaking / two-step stuck down).
I’m not a big fan of stickers either on my bike/parts so they’ll probably never end up on the fork. I’m not certain what the issue is with the two-step getting stuck down but perhaps they should come out with a u-turn Totem instead. I do like your beer idea.
There is no specific “kit” or “aftermarket kit”. If you’re having a problem with your seals (or anything else with it), take it to your local bike shop and have them contact SRAM. They’ll take care of ya. They have great customer service.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
The Totem problem is an interesting one. There seem to be a whole lot of very angry customers who have had major issues with their’s, and then a handful of people (myself included) who have had nothing but great things to say about it. Hopefully RockShox figure everything out and fix the problem before they earn themselves a Manitou-esque reputation…
December 10th, 2007 at 7:03 am
are the issues with the mission control fixed? i had a mate who had his with loads of compression and none of the setting would make a difference. had his sent back so many times and everything is changed, he pretty much has a new fork now.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Adam, they say that has also been fixed. You can contact TFtuned if you’re in the U.K. to find out more but they’ve said its been fixed from SRAM.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Anyone know if the SoloAir version is available in black?
December 10th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Yes they are.
March 21st, 2008 at 4:12 am
I have had all three versions starting with the 2 step which blew all its oil over my brake causing me to crash hard and brake my scapula despite having all my armour on-
solo airs are ok —but the coil is supreme, get the right spring though. chain reaction want nothing to do with faulty product dont buy from them-any info that would help me prove the 2 steps are problematic would help me out!
April 30th, 2008 at 9:18 am
crc is doing recall on all 2 step totems