The R-One is super-cheap compared to many of its dual-crown competitors. If you have an old downhill rig in need of an upgrade on a budget, this could be the fork for you.
It might only offer 180mm (7.1in) of travel but is significantly lighter than its 200mm (7.8in) travel big brother, the Sigma. The chassis and crowns may not be finished as well as those on more pricey forks but they still deliver a stiff ride.
The initial stroke is reasonably supple and will pick off small to medium sized bumps with ease, rapidly ramping up right towards the end of the stroke to prevent any harsh bottom-out clunk.
The external rebound and compression adjusters work well – the compression adjuster will actually take the fork from fully open to virtually locked out but we opted to run it fully open to keep things active.
It would be nice to see 200mm (7.8in) of travel in the R-One guise. There may be no harsh bottom-out clunk but the rapid ramp-up can still make your wrists ache because it will blow through the mid-stroke when things get bumpy.
The 3.19kg (7lb) weight isn’t great when you consider single-crown forks with the same travel that could do a similar job. The shims used around the lower crown are a pain when adjusting its height.
