RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork review

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When RockShox introduced the new Psylo Gold RC earlier this year, many will have dismissed it as just another budget fork. But I don’t think that’s the case.

That’s because I believe this $539 / £580 suspension fork far exceeds its price tag on the trail thanks to its super-sensitive, well-controlled demeanour.

The Psylo Gold RC is designed for trail riding. That means it needs to handle a little bit of everything, from technical singletrack to trail-centre bombing and even some bike-park laps thrown in for good measure.

Hit the trails and it's impressive how easily the Psylo sinks into its travel, fluttering away busily, smoothing the imperfections with ease. There’s support when you need it, too, and control deeper into the stroke when things get rowdy. It really does ride like a much pricier fork.

This performance comes down to the guts of the fork. Inside, you’ll find the new Isolator RC damper, along with an updated DebonAir spring, both of which seem to work in harmony, helping to keep your front tyre tracking the trail, all the while isolating you from the worst of the impacts coming at you thick and fast.

It helps that it’s a doddle to set up and tweak, too.

RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork details and specifications

RockShox offers the Psylo Gold RC fork with 130-160mm of travel to fit either 27.5in or 29in wheels. For those buying aftermarket, there’s only one, 44mm-offset option, although some bike brands that spec the fork may use the 37mm alternative.

The upper tubes, or stanchions, which help determine how stiff the fork will feel, have a 35mm diameter. Up until the launch of the RockShox ZEB fork (which uses 38mm stanchions), this was the standard for the brand and used across its trail, enduro and even downhill forks, so it should be plenty stiff enough for the Psylo.

Now, onto the really important stuff.

New RockShox Isolator RC damper

The Psylo’s damping is controlled by the new Isolator RC damper. This offers three low-speed compression damping settings – ‘open’, ‘pedal’ and ‘firm’, just like the SID fork and Flight Attendant system.

These settings are accessed via the crown-top indexed dial.

According to RockShox, the Isolator RC borrows tech from the more expensive Charger 3.1 damper, used throughout its top-end forks, such as the Pike, Lyrik and ZEB.

There’s a coil-spring backed IFP (internal floating piston) inside the damper, which is used to separate the oil and air, and should help make the Psylo incredibly responsive, as well as consistent.

A new rebound piston is said to manage the oil flow on both the compression and rebound phases of the fork.

RockShox says the new rebound piston features dual, ‘easy flow’ and ‘hard flow’ oil paths. Winding the rebound adjuster in or out moves a metering rod up or down, enabling more oil to flow via the ‘easy path’.

Or, if you want to slow the fork down and add more rebound damping, it reduces oil flow and sends it through the ‘hard flow’ path, where it needs to push through a shim stack, therefore creating more damping force.

When it comes to compression, switching the fork dial from ‘open’ to ‘pedal’ twists a check plate, restricting oil flow through the head valve, resulting in an increase in damping force and a firmer fork feel. That oil flow is restricted even further when you select ‘firm’, redirecting it though the high-speed shim stack.

Like the Charger 3.1, the Isolator RC is designed to work quietly, with no wheezing or whistling as it cycles through its stroke.

Alongside the new damper, RockShox has updated the DebonAir spring – not to be confused with the DebonAir+ spring found on the pricier fork models.

According to the brand, it has found the best possible balance between the positive and negative air volumes, which in return is said to provide a fork that feels smooth and coil-like throughout, as well as riding high enough in its travel with enough support to prevent you feeling as though you’re tipping over the handlebar when things get steep.

Total weight for a 150mm-travel, 29in-wheel, 44mm-offset fork with the steerer cut to 175mm is 2.28kg.

RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork setup

After fitting the 150mm-travel Psylo Gold RC to my YT Jeffsy Core 5 test bike, I set about getting it set up.

RockShox includes a handy little pressure guide sticker on the back of the Psylo’s lower legs. For my 68kg weight (with kit on), the recommended pressure bracket is 65-75psi.

I started with 73psi in the spring, but this felt too soft for my riding style, leaving me with the feeling that the front end of the bike was riding too low, especially on steeper trails.

Over time, I incrementally worked my way up to 80psi in the air spring, with a single volume spacer fitted to help increase progression during the final part of the 150mm of travel.

This helped provide better support overall.

In terms of damping, while I toggled between the ‘open’ and ‘pedal’ compression modes, I never used the ‘firm’ setting all that much.

After a bit of experimenting, I settled on eight clicks (from closed and out of a possible 16) of rebound damping.

On the whole, I found setup a breeze, though, and making adjustments extremely easy, especially as removing the air cap (to add volume spacers) only requires a cassette tool, as opposed to a massive socket.

RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork performance

In the open setting, the Psylo is incredibly sensitive, with little effort needed to break into its travel. Even with the bar barely weighted when climbing, it'll flutter in and out of its travel as you winch your way up the hill.

While seated, you watch it beaver away as it quietly enables the front wheel to move up and over bulbous roots as your front tyre makes contact, before quickly dropping into the pocket behind.

That sensitivity also equates to traction through loose, rough turns that lack support.

On a particularly wet day during testing, I was impressed by just how well the Psylo stuck the front tyre to the ground, even managing to maintain traction through turns riddled with slippery finger-sized roots.

It’s a similar story when tackling sketchy off-camber sections. The suppleness shines through, boosting grip as if you’ve slapped a super-tacky tyre on up-front and enabling you to stick tricky lines with confidence.

On steeper trails, or when ploughing into high-load rolling compressions, the Psylo doesn’t feel quite as supportive as some of the best mountain bike forks.

It still does a very admirable job of cushioning impacts and ironing out the bumps, and there’s still more than enough support to load up and push against, but the active, supple nature meant I found the bike pitching forwards a little more in some situations.

Adding a little more fork pressure helps negate this, propping it up a little more without negatively impacting the sensitivity, so there is a balance to be found.

As time went on, when faced with riding smoother flow trails, this is where I used the ‘pedal’ position on the damper to add support.

While it detracts from a bit of that comfort deeper into the stroke – something you don’t want to give up if those rolling compressions spit you out into a rock garden – you gain more support and front-end stability. This is great if the trail requires a lot of pumping and isn’t overly rough.

Impressively, in this middle position, the Psylo still feels decently smooth and supple at the start of the stroke.

It’s on prolonged, roughed-up rock sections where it really impresses, though.

A sub-£600 fork offering this much comfort and consistency on fast trails covered in jagged rocks, ready to pummel your hands, more than raises an eyebrow.

In fact, I had to get my phone out to double check the price, just to be sure the Psylo Gold doesn't cost closer to £1,000.

On long descents, although there is feedback transmitted from the fork into the bar, the Psylo does a good job of muting any harshness before it gets to your hands. That means your hands feel fresher for longer, enabling you to keep charging.

It’s the comfort, along with traction and feel, that really stands out about the Psylo Gold RC.

How does the RockShox Psylo Gold RC compare to the Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Rail?

The Psylo Gold RC doesn’t feel quite as stiff as the Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Rail, which uses slightly larger-diameter stanchions (36mm).

Dive into a trail with steep, linked turns and the Z1 feels a touch more solid and surefooted. There’s not a whole lot in it, but you can notice the difference in more extreme riding situations.

The Z1 also feels more supportive than the Psylo. Again, the difference is marginal, but noticeable when hammering through successive compressions, where the Z1 manages to hold your bar a little higher.

This support comes at a cost, though. The Z1 can’t match the Psylo in terms of comfort. Again, the difference isn’t huge, but the Psylo manages to soak up any harsh chatter to your hands that bit better.

In terms of stats, although the Psylo is a touch heavier (2.28kg compared to 2.2kg), it’s nearly £80 cheaper, which feels a substantial saving at this price.

RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork bottom line

I was seriously impressed by the performance of the Psylo Gold RC fork.

Considering its price, the control, comfort and suppleness on offer make it feel like a fork that costs a good chunk more.

The setup is simple, helped by the fact that there are minimal external adjusters, while the price is appealing. Next time you’re in need of a new trail fork, the Psylo Gold RC is well worth considering.

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