Danger: wall of possibly controversial text ahead. Do not respond to this thread unless you have an intelligent response. Debating is fine, but fighting is not.
First of all let me just say that I have nothing against Andrew, Proto, or innovation in the sport. In fact, I am very much for all of these things. SolidState (my company) does not and probably will not sell compression systems, so this is not about advertising, competition or anything like that. I have never rode or tested a standard compression system, so this is not a "review". I am commenting only on what I have seen, heard, and read online. And I may be very wrong about some things. This is my opinion and observations.
I do not like the new "standard" compression system.
The normal ââ?¬Å?invertedââ?¬Â compression system works fine. It is very low maintenance and does its job perfectly. It costs $20 from the SR store, but you could make your own for less (though you should support SR and pay the extra few dollars). The weight it adds to your scooter is negligible, and it works on any scooter and just about any fork. It is practically indestructible. In fact, long bolt helps hold the scooter together if the fork snaps, making it safer. Itââ?¬â?¢s also very simple, requiring only 3 parts. Its simple, cheep, easy to use, very strong, and works on any scooter. There is nothing wrong with it, except for the fact that it uses a star nut, which can be hard to install. But the SCS uses a star nut too, so yeah.
The SCS really does nothing that the inverted system canââ?¬â?¢t do. But it costs $65 ââ?¬â?? thatââ?¬â?¢s more than 3 times the price of the inverted system. It consists of 5 parts, not including washers and bolts, making it unnecessarily complicated. It adds more weight to the front end than the inverted system. I donââ?¬â?¢t know how much it adds, but I know the weight freaks wont like that. The SCS does not easily fit all scooters, because different bars have different outer diameters, and different forks have different inner diameters. Some scooters may need shims and special size star nuts. This complicates (and possibly weakens) things further. SCS also changes the bar height, making the bars 2" higher. This may not be a bad thing due to the fact that everyone rides their bars too low, but it does make measuring, buying, and changing bars more difficult.
The SCS does not appear to be any stronger than the old system, and it may have more weak points. I don�t know because I have never tested or broke one, but it seems like the bars could slip up/out of the clamp more easily if the clamp was not constantly checked and tightened. Fork snapping would become more frequent; because you cant reinforce your fork if you have an SCS. And there is no long bolt to keep the scooter from flying apart in the event of a fork-snapping incident.
The notch/keyway thing is also not a good idea in my opinion ââ?¬â?? it adds more parts (again, unnecessary complication), the notches could potentially create more weak spots and notched parts may not be compatible with other parts and systems. And really, its not needed. Nobody has problems aligning the fork when assembling scooters- it takes a few seconds. Riding doesn't twist the bars and fork out of alignment with an inverted system and clamp, if it does on the SCS without the keyway, it really shouldn't.
The SCS is overly complicated, expensive, heavy, harder to use, not compatible with all bars/forks, possibly weaker, and not necessary.
I also really don�t like the way Andrew is marketing the SCS. Trying to make it the "standard" that all scooters use is ridiculous. It is, at least in my opinion, worse than Andrews old, tried and true inverted compression system for many reasons.
First of all let me just say that I have nothing against Andrew, Proto, or innovation in the sport. In fact, I am very much for all of these things. SolidState (my company) does not and probably will not sell compression systems, so this is not about advertising, competition or anything like that. I have never rode or tested a standard compression system, so this is not a "review". I am commenting only on what I have seen, heard, and read online. And I may be very wrong about some things. This is my opinion and observations.
I do not like the new "standard" compression system.
The normal ââ?¬Å?invertedââ?¬Â compression system works fine. It is very low maintenance and does its job perfectly. It costs $20 from the SR store, but you could make your own for less (though you should support SR and pay the extra few dollars). The weight it adds to your scooter is negligible, and it works on any scooter and just about any fork. It is practically indestructible. In fact, long bolt helps hold the scooter together if the fork snaps, making it safer. Itââ?¬â?¢s also very simple, requiring only 3 parts. Its simple, cheep, easy to use, very strong, and works on any scooter. There is nothing wrong with it, except for the fact that it uses a star nut, which can be hard to install. But the SCS uses a star nut too, so yeah.
The SCS really does nothing that the inverted system canââ?¬â?¢t do. But it costs $65 ââ?¬â?? thatââ?¬â?¢s more than 3 times the price of the inverted system. It consists of 5 parts, not including washers and bolts, making it unnecessarily complicated. It adds more weight to the front end than the inverted system. I donââ?¬â?¢t know how much it adds, but I know the weight freaks wont like that. The SCS does not easily fit all scooters, because different bars have different outer diameters, and different forks have different inner diameters. Some scooters may need shims and special size star nuts. This complicates (and possibly weakens) things further. SCS also changes the bar height, making the bars 2" higher. This may not be a bad thing due to the fact that everyone rides their bars too low, but it does make measuring, buying, and changing bars more difficult.
The SCS does not appear to be any stronger than the old system, and it may have more weak points. I don�t know because I have never tested or broke one, but it seems like the bars could slip up/out of the clamp more easily if the clamp was not constantly checked and tightened. Fork snapping would become more frequent; because you cant reinforce your fork if you have an SCS. And there is no long bolt to keep the scooter from flying apart in the event of a fork-snapping incident.
The notch/keyway thing is also not a good idea in my opinion ââ?¬â?? it adds more parts (again, unnecessary complication), the notches could potentially create more weak spots and notched parts may not be compatible with other parts and systems. And really, its not needed. Nobody has problems aligning the fork when assembling scooters- it takes a few seconds. Riding doesn't twist the bars and fork out of alignment with an inverted system and clamp, if it does on the SCS without the keyway, it really shouldn't.
The SCS is overly complicated, expensive, heavy, harder to use, not compatible with all bars/forks, possibly weaker, and not necessary.
I also really don�t like the way Andrew is marketing the SCS. Trying to make it the "standard" that all scooters use is ridiculous. It is, at least in my opinion, worse than Andrews old, tried and true inverted compression system for many reasons.
