PIKE/Lyrik v 140RLC/ 36s

strak

Hi
main reason im looking at PIKEs is im on my 3rd set of Fox seals in a year and a half. once a week use - hosed wash, so not impressed by reliability.

Are rock shox more reliable? any issues?
Do you still have to top up the negative air every now and then to prevent it packing down?

I cant fault FOX performance up front. The rebound adjust & lockout work perfect and are nice and plush rarely bottoming. The triad on the rear isnt so good though :roll:

How do PIKEs/ Lyriks stack up performance wise? cheers

dave_s

I must have been lucky, I've never had any seals go on any of the Fox forks I've got/had.

Nothing wrong with Pikes though either, not as smooth as Fox but I'd probably get Pikes for my Giant Trance when my Fox Vanillas finally die (at the moment they're still as smooth as the day I bought them though)

If you're comparing with Fox Vanillas, I'd say Pikes are a tougher fork.
I've got Pike 409s on my Cove Stiffee and I'm well impressed with them and have had no issues with them since I got them at the start of the year.

dave_hill

I've got Pike 454 Air U-turns and I can't fault them. Easy to set up, fit and forget. They get used twice to 3 times a week, the bike is washed after every ride and they haven't missed a beat. Yes, you do have to fiddle with the negative spring every now and again, but it's no big deal.

I've no experience of Fox forks but I do think that you're paying for the name - you'll pay £150 - £200 less for a similar specced Rock Shox fork against the Fox. That was the deciding factor when I bought my Pikes. Plus the ease of use of the Maxle 360.

dave_s

Although I'd certainly buy Pikes 454s to replace my Fox Vanillas, I defintiely don't agree that you're just paying for the name with Fox having had 3 sets of Vanillas and some 36s.

Fox are the plushest forks around straight out of the box and stay performing well with minimal maintenance in my experience of them in comparison to other forks I've had.

I'm very impressed with Pikes but would still say Fox are good value for the extra cash because they cope with smaller bumps better than Pikes.

For a tougher fork than normal Vanillas I would choose Pikes just because once they're bedded in (which takes a while) they are very good forks and they're thru axle for extra stiffness.

ddoogie

Did Rockshox sort out the problems they had with the Lyriks? They are supposed to be fantastic forks on their day.

ride_whenever

The only issue with the lyrics was with the 2-step air system, due to too tight tolerances on the anodising which would wear and stop the fork working. However I haven't heard whether RS have fixed them yet.

supersonic

They sent out a stop gap repair to users, but I understand it has been remedied for new forks.

ddoogie

I thought it was a problem with the negative air chamber?

supersonic

Not sure - I heard the same as above with the 2 step. A few RS forks accross the range have had leaky neg air chambers.

schmako

I absolutely love my 36's. Can't fault them so far anyway! Handled plenty.

grommet

if you want smoothness and reliablity, marzocchi are are about as good as it gets....

Splasher

What bike is it for and what kind of riding? You've got a huge range of forks in you title from a Float 32 RLC weighing less than 4lbs with a QR to a Lyrik coil weighing nearly 6lbs with a Maxle bottom.