RockShox Yari RC – € 779

The RockShox Yari RC is a fork for the people, with a burlier chassis than the more trail focussed PIKE it promises a firm uppercut of fun without requiring the sale of a kidney. While forum-dwellers agonise over the effect of High Speed Rebound on Low Speed Rebound, how to customize shim stacks and if tokens will make them ride as fast as Sam Hill; the Yari RC is for riders who just want to jump on their bikes, set the SAG correctly using the markers on the stanchions, then ride the hell out of it. With thicker 35 mm stanchions, magnesium lowers and a wider 7050 aluminium fork brace, there is nothing ‘affordable’ about the Yari’s looks, it’s inside where the savings have been made, using the Motion Control damper. The simple Motion Control damper has been on the market for a while now, with adjustable rebound and a sliding compression dial for quick, on the trail adjustment. An aftermarket Charger damper is available if you have deeper pockets. Setup could not be easier, the SAG indicators etched onto the fork stanchions does away with need for tape measures, and Bottomless tokens can be used if you want more support.

On the trail the Yari RC does exactly what is asked of it. While it cannot match the buttery smooth performance of the more expensive Charger 2 damper it puts up a solid fight. Big hits are swallowed up well, but on long runs, you can feel that the Motion Control damper is transmitting more forces to the hands. The Rapid Recovery does a good job of keeping the fork in control, but the odd big hit does sneak through. This is especially noticeable on hard runs through rock gardens which leave the damping feeling a little overwhelmed, and you have to muscle up. If you ride a lot in rocky terrain we would certainly recommend saving up a little more for the Charger version. Talking of muscle, we were very impressed is the stiff chassis, which offers razor sharp steering, even with the stiffest carbon wheels, keeping you on the line you want. The air spring has a large negative spring and we found the shaft very quick to respond, on very rough trails this did leave us running deeper into the travel than we would like, as such we found the Yari RC worked best for our testers with two bottomless tokens and the compression dial wound on a third.

Conclusion

The RockShox Yari RC is a workhorse in a stable of thoroughbreds, a little unrefined yes, but bury the throttle and it thunders through. Lots of fast, large hits do result in some harsh hits, but the stiff chassis keeps everything in check.

+ Stiff chassis
+ Easy setup
– Basic Motion Control damper
– A little harsh


For more information head to sram.com/rockshox


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