2011 Talas 150 or 2011 Rev XX Dual position?

cat_with_no_tail

Setting aside the price difference, and issue with Foxes servicing policy, which one would you go for.

I think the Talas is better looking, but other than that, they're both similar weight, both 15mm axle, both 150mm travel, and both 2 position.

has anyone actually tried both side-by-side to get a comparison?

It's going to be for my Mmmbop.

GHill

For the mmmBop? I wouldn't bother with travel adjust, it's designed for climbing with LT forks.

I tried dropping a revelation to min travel and climbing felt worse than at full travel (on an mmmBop).

cat_with_no_tail

I've tried climbing with my Pikes at 140mm and it was shite, feels much better at arounb 100mm.

Guess it's horses for courses.

GHill

No accounting for taste and all that

ride_whenever

I'd go for the revelations as there is more servicing options and you don't need to use mojo to retain your warranty.

Plus the uk distributor for RS is great and so you'll always have fantastic support from them.

Pudseyp

For me the Talas....they have allways been ultra reliable compared to RS multi position forks..plus I like the idea of the new Kashima coating and the FIT Terralogic damper which sense differances in terrain....clever stuff...looks better too !

cat_with_no_tail

Pudseyp wrote:

For me the Talas....they have allways been ultra reliable compared to RS multi position forks..plus I like the idea of the new Kashima coating and the FIT Terralogic damper which sense differances in terrain....clever stuff...looks better too !

I can see where you're coming from (although personally I've never had any problems with RS).

I've never used 2-step, which as far as I can tell is essentially what RS are doing. And is the Talas for this year not slightly revised internals (other than just removing 1 travel setting)?

I've ALWAYS refused to buy Fox products in the past because of their stupid servicing regimes and cost. I'm quite capable of servicing a set of forks, and have done several RS ones without any issues so don't like the idea of having to pay a fortune to get a job done that I can do myself.

To be honest, that is really the main factor putting me off at the moment. I can get a good price on the forks, so I end up paying about the same as I would for the Rev XX, it's just the servicing that's a sticking point. I didn't think it would be, but it is.

Do the recommended service intervals for this year remain the same? And just to clarify, they ARE still saying it's got to be done by Mojo right?

Torres

If i were in yourr shoes Cat i'd wait a year and see if both forks work.
Rockshox haven't got a great track reccord with 2-step technology, and i'm pretty sure there's a bit of aprehension about the kashima coating on the fox's, plus the FIT damper's very new, and sounds complicated enough to have scope for lots of problems.

Pudseyp

Tail-less Cat.....you can also get you Fox units serviced by TF, and to be honest there is only a fiver difference between the Fox and the RS....with years of three step realiability behind them the new Two Step in theory should be even more reliable, and I think its common knowledge that Fox fair slightly better than RS in this area....I guess if you can get them at a similar price..Talas is the way to go....also I would not be worried about the new coating, they have done extensive testing and the reviews I have seen are really positive...

njee20

Do you use the lockout a lot? If not then the XX just adds weight and expense, a crown mounted lockout may be more practical, and is certainly cheaper.

Neily03

Torres wrote:

Iand i'm pretty sure there's a bit of aprehension about the kashima coating on the fox's, plus the FIT damper's very new, and sounds complicated enough to have scope for lots of problems.

While the kashima coat is new to Fox it's been around for years in the automotive world and Fox have been using FIT damper's since around 2008 in the 36 RC2 (only sticking the FIT label on since MY2010) and 40 forks.

camerone

i have a set of 2008 fox 36 talas.
when i get them serviced the travel adjust is perfect, 100-130-160mm with nice smooth transitions.
as soon as they get dirty it buggers up and i end up with a gritty Knob(!) and basically a fork which mushes down to nothing on all settings bar full travel. wont be buying a fox adjustable travel fork again

Neily03

I ran a 2007 Fox 32 Talas II for 2.5 years, got them serviced by TF every 12months and they worked flawlessly.

ride_whenever

camerone wrote:

as soon as they get dirty it buggers up and i end up with a gritty Knob(!) and basically a fork which mushes down to nothing on all settings bar full travel. wont be buying a fox adjustable travel fork again

If you're worried about a gritty knob, don't take the dirt road

cat_with_no_tail

njee20 Actually I do use lockout a fair bit. I just have the one bike for everything you see. So it stays locked out for the commute, and also gets locked on long boring fireroad climbs which there are a few of round here. (which is the same time I use the travel adjust)

As for remote lockouts though, i've never bothered. I manage fine without.

njee20

Well all that's different on the XX is the remote Xloc, so if you're not bothered about that then why not go for one of the cheaper models, an RLT Ti or something just a thought like.

Northwind

Fox are so confident in the Kashima coating's durability they've... Er, reduced the service intervals so now the fork needs a full service twice as often as it did with the old coating.

Still, I wouldn't buy the 2-step Rev til it's been well tested in the real world, it's not exactly teh same as lyrik 2-step apparently which is probably a good thing but could be a bad, Rockshox don't always get things right first time.

U-turn is the best height adjust system out there provided you don't mind the terrible hardship of rotating a dial a bit- the fork works correctly at all lengths, it's infinitely adjustable, and the performance is identical to a non-uturn fork. Oh and it's as reliable as any fork out there, bar the occasional annoying clunk. Every other height adjuster falls short on at least one of these.

TALAS is better if you only want a crippled low height setting for climbing but if you fancy running it constantly at a reduced setting you pay for it with less good performance. So it depends on exactly what you want but the Mmmbop's a nice bike to mess about with fork lengths on, it rides nicely all the way from 130mm to 160mm and is warrantied for it so fire in a 150mm Rev and a +10mm headset and work with the versatility. IMO of course It'll spend most of its time at 140mm effective but at fort william etc it'll get longer.

cat_with_no_tail

Northwind wrote:

Fox are so confident in the Kashima coating's durability they've... Er, reduced the service intervals so now the fork needs a full service twice as often as it did with the old coating.

Eerrrrm what :shock:

Is that true?

So service intervals are now what then?

I had just about decided on the Talas, but if that's the case, they can fark right off. I'm not spending that much bIoody money on a fork, only to have to spend another £300+ a year servicing the damned thing.

supersonic

WIth Fox you have have to take a Mojo technician in your camelbak to service them at the half way point of your ride ;-)

cat_with_no_tail

supersonic wrote:

WIth Fox you have have to take a Mojo technician in your camelbak to service them at the half way point of your ride ;-)

lmfao

screw it. I was almost willing to pay to get them serviced, but if they're going to be taking the plss with it, I'll stick to RS. the bling factor is not worth that kind of money per year.

njee20 - Thanks for pointing that out. I thought there were more differences with the XX over the next model down. If it's just the remote thing, I'm not fussed.

Northwind - I know what you're saying, and turning the dial to wind the travel down on u-turn is no big deal, but trying to wind it back out again is a proper PITA, usually involving stopping (or it is on my coil Pikes anyway). Besides, I only ever have it at Max or Min travel, never bother with anything inbetween, which is why I like the idea of dual position.

Might look at some other options too now.

Pudseyp

supersonic wrote:

WIth Fox you have have to take a Mojo technician in your camelbak to service them at the half way point of your ride ;-)

With RS you will have to do the same, however not for a service, to replace the blown and leaking seals....

Anyway it's again down to personal preference, I would still have the Fox..the sevice intervals are still the same even with the new coating......so on par with RS....plus you can get them serviced at TF so your not limited to Mojo

cat_with_no_tail

Northwind - Just checked the Fox site, and they say 200hrs/Annually for main servicing.

Is their site out of date though?

Pudseyp

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Northwind - Just checked the Fox site, and they say 200hrs/Annually for main servicing.

Is their site out of date though?

I called them out of curiosity (sad I no) the service intervals are exactly the same for 2011 (100 hrs)..though I can find two links one for 200 hrs and one for 100 hrs (both anually) anyhow here is the link for 2011 forks
http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_c ... index.html

and click on service intervals on the left...

Comparing this to RS they are excactly the same...(page eight)
http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/95- ... ev%20C.pdf

So owning the Talas will not cost you anymore....

lawman

tbf my revs have lasted well over 100 hours without need for a service, ive had them 7 months now doing probably 10 hours a week proper riding on them and they only just feel like they need servicing, but id still say talas tbh proven tech, lighter, and much, much better looking 8)

Pudseyp

I guess it is all to do with common sense, if you ride particulary hard then yes they will need servicing more... mine have gone 18th months however I look after them......agree though that 100 hrs is a bit lame...look after them then send them away once a year for a strip down service...

supersonic

Lighter? Depends which model you are looking at! The 140 Talas 9mm is 0.06lbs lighter than the RLT Dual Position, but shorter on travel, but the Rev WC is 0.23lbs lighter than the Talas.

lawman

supersonic wrote:

Lighter? Depends which model you are looking at! The 140 Talas 9mm is 0.06lbs lighter than the RLT Dual Position, but shorter on travel, but the Rev WC is 0.23lbs lighter than the Talas.

dual postion xx rev with 9mm qr is 1727g, talas 150 15qr is 1850g including axle, so i guess they're pretty close, a 15mm rev will be similar and a 20mm will be heavier, swings and round abouta at the end of the day i guess

supersonic

I wouldn't bother with the XX though, just for a hydro lockout. If like last years, it reduces the function of the comp damper adjustment. I'd be tempted to spend a little more for the standard World Cup, start from just 3.28lbs!

Northwind

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Northwind - Just checked the Fox site, and they say 200hrs/Annually for main servicing.

The top google hit is for 2007. 2011 manual is here:
http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_center/owners_manuals/011/index.html
30 hours!

Pudseyp wrote:

I called them out of curiosity (sad I no) the service intervals are exactly the same for 2011 (100 hrs)..though I can find two links one for 200 hrs and one for 100 hrs (both anually) anyhow here is the link for 2011 forks
http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_c ... index.html

Er, read your own link The 100 hours is for shocks only

Thewaylander

To be honest i have the 36 talas and its a great fork, Better than the Pike on my friends machine, Which also died in his first few weeks of owning the bike...

I'm fox all the way me,

Neily03

Fox - whip the lowers off every few months, change the oil, re-soak the foam rings and clean the dust wipers (45 minutes max). Send for a service every 12 months. Easy.