First Ride: The Sub-$600 RockShox Domain and Psylo Forks

The cheapest forks in a given brand's lienup often go ignored as something relegated purely to value-minded OE builds and aftermarket bargains, but there's nearly as much design and development behind those models as the flagship ones. With the goal of providing as good a ride as possible to the riders at the lower end of the cost spectrum, RockShox has reworked their Domain and Psylo forks, with new internals and chassis that match their higher-priced compatriots.

The Psylo is the 35mm stanchion option, with the Domain occupying the beefier 38mm bracket. Both cost less than $600 USD, weigh about 200-300 grams more than their Signature series alternatives, and contain the new Isolator RC damper.






The Isolator RC damper takes a lot of cues from the Charger 3, using a similar spring-backed IFP system thanks to shared ideation between the two projects. Where the Charger aims to offer a pared-down yet effective range of adjustment, the Isolator offers only one: Open or Closed. Yes, there are three positions, but Pedal and Firm feel too close to really differentiate, and Open is where everyone is going to be spending most (if not all) of their time. Don't worry, there's external rebound adjustment as well - you've got everything you need to get the fork feeling set up and ready to ride in short order.


The overall simplicity is key to the Domain and Psylo's appeal, with overall cost obviously taking a front seat as well. Making the system act in a similar way to Charger 3 while keeping cost low led to the system being a non-cartridge based approach, meaning the damper is pretty much baked into the fork. RockShox will be selling the Isolator damper as an upgrade for people who get the lower tier Domain Gold R forks. Those will be OE-only, but keep that upgrade in mind if you purchase a value bike in the coming years.

The air spring side of things is a standard RockShox affair, with a DebonAir spring similar to that on the Signature series forks. You won't be seeing Buttercups on the Domain or Psylo, but the remainder of the equation is essentially the same.


Ride Impressions

I mounted the Domain up to my Frameworks trail bike, a frame more familiar with the steer tubes of fancier Fox 38s, RockShox Zebs, and the like. The first ride proved surprising, as I found myself loving the fork from the get-go. No, I wasn't immediately convinced it was identical to the counterparts that cost 2x, but the demerits weren't quite that pronounced either.

The Domain is a stout fork, with a very progressive air spring and effective damping in the 170mm travel configuration. My settings ended up pretty dang close to the recommendation chart for my weight, with about 69 psi in the air chamber, 8 clicks of rebound, and the damper set to Open. That setup felt supportive and active, especially on higher speed trails where you're not bearing down on the front so much. In those situations, the fork does move quite a bit, but the ramp-up in the latter half of travel keeps things feeling composed enough.

The overall feeling I'm getting on the Domain is comfort. The little trail chatter is dulled to a minimum, larger hits are taken care of nicely, and the simplicity of the setup keeps you complacently thinking things couldn't possibly be better.


Of course, there are some downsides, namely in the form of weight and topout. The latter just seems to be a factor regardless of my rebound speed, but is most notable at higher speeds as you might expect. It's not sharp or particularly noisy - in fact, the fork is nearly silent - but you do feel the dull thwack through your hands as the fork returns out of compressions. The weight is a given, and unsurprising considering the price of the Domain. At about 200 grams more than a Zeb, I'm not terribly upset at the end result. My Frameworks is far from a light bike as is, so the added grams don't tip the scale too drastically, but I do think lighter chassis will be effected more negatively by a fork that weighs five and a half pounds.

Overall, I'm very impressed so far. This fork will remain on my bike for quite a while, and I'm keen to see how things age change with time.