Gravel Grinder News: SRAM Introduces Rudy XL Ultimate, Rudy XL Forks

The new 60mm travel Rudy XL Ultimate

 New Longer Travel Forks For Gravel Riders Feature More Tire Clearance:

NOTE: Information and images were provided by SRAM. All opinions and statements in the "Comments" section are Guitar Ted's. 

SRAM announces their latest in front suspension forks for gravel today by showing the new Rudy XL Ultimate and Rudy XL forks. These forks will feature longer travel with 50mm or 60mm of travel paired with tire clearance to match gravel riding's new wider tire trends. 

The Ultimate will be SRAM's flagship model and will have the Charger 2 damper with Solo Air spring. This model will be quite noticeable in its Electric Red color. 

Riders will be able to enjoy the 50mm or 60mm of travel  with lock out and the 29"x 2.25" of clearance will assure riders that they have every option for gravel tires available to fit in the fork. Additionally, a separately available front fender can be attached via two bolts to help cut down on the mud and water getting to the rider during extreme conditions riding. 

SRAM claims the Charger 2 damper is tuned to "stay firm" on faster sections and smooth out the rougher stuff. The 45mm of offset should allow for more stability as well. The fork will be available aftermarket with tapered steer tube and at a sub 1K price of $929.00 USD (  € 1,010, £ 900)

The Rudy XL will be OEM only

The Rudy XL will be the fork you see on stock bikes coming from your favorite brands. This version of the new Rudy will also feature 50 or 60mm of travel. The difference is the Rudy XL will not have the Charger 2 damper but a "cartridge rebound damper with a broad range of Rebound adjust". 

This fork will have the same tire clearance of 29" x 2.25" and the aftermarket fender option. There also will be gloss black and flat black versions of the Rudy XL.

Comments: In my opinion, the original gravel suspension forks featuring 40mm of travel were just not worth the money and lacked performance which we've all become accustomed to having in MTB forks with 80mm of travel and up.  

Moving to 60mm of travel is, in my opinion, a better option, but it still is not going to be quite enough. However; unless we are willing to move to - what basically will amount to - full-on 29"er XC racing bike fare, this will be maximum in gravel and will barely keep these bikes looking anything akin to a road bike. The kind of bicycles from which gravel bikes were originally born from. (If we are talking from a brand/marketing standpoint)  

Yes, cue all the chatter on social media deriding the new Rudy XL as "just another marketing ploy" and "why don't we just call this drop bar MTB already!" However; the evolution of "what is gravel" is being pushed forward into this territory by gravel racing. This fuels marketing and informs new product. The cycle only continues to live on because people buy the ideas. 

Is this going to move the needle? It is probably already being used by gravel Pros, we just did not know it. (SRAM claims this has been in development for two years already) So, yeah... It will be adopted by many riders. Like it or not, gravel is becoming the defacto XC cycling of the 21st Century. These forks are only a precursor to more changes which are, no doubt, coming to make "gravel" more uniform in terms of events and appeal for media coverage. At least at the semi-Pro and Pro levels. 

But those are discussions for the future. Will the fork work for today's gravel events? Well, in theory, 60mm of travel has got to be better than 40mm of travel. We're getting closer to "what actually works", but for roads which are unpaved? This is probably overkill.  

With any gravel telescoping suspension fork you still have high maintenance costs, the risk of buying something which will be obsolete in a few years, and you'll be adding more weight. Does this all pale in comparison to the benefits? Only you, the riders, can decide this.