New high end trail forks

Tom Barton

OK - tragedy has struck and my beloved 2009 spicy has had a terminal frame crack with a warranty replacement very likely on the cards thanks to my LBS.

I want to take the opportunity to replace a couple of parts and so my 1st gen KS seatpost is being replaced by a stelth reverb. The drive chain is going to be Sram XX1 (so long as it will all fit the bike). And I want to have a new fork to match all this loveliness.

So 160mm trail forks. I ride aggressively and weigh 14 1/2 stone, mainly trail centres with some wild welsh hills and the odd jaunt to DH runs like Cwmcarn. I am not a fettler - I like enough adjustability to find the sweet spot and then leave it alone almost indefinitely with the exception of slowing the rebound down for jumping.

I guess Fox 34 CTD Floats or Talas with kashima are high up the list.
Mazzochis seem to have found their mojo again but I don't see many of them around to ask people about them.
BOS Devilles? Great write ups but again - never actually seen any around.

All thoughts much appreciated

Thanks

supersonic

The new Pike?

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

The new Pike?

I was thinking that too, but didn't post it in case I was talking cobblers, lol.

jairaj

Marz 55 RC3 Ti if weight isn't an issue. Very supple and well damped fork but is a bit heavy.

ilovedirt

Fox are rubbish, CTD system is crap and they cost too much.

New Pikes would be incredible - top of my list.
Marzocchi 55 and Rockshox Lyrik RCDH (got some of these and they're awesome) are also up there.

benpinnick

TBH I cant find much reason to buy fox over the Slant X-Fusions.... oh, and they are half the price.

felix.london

ilovedirt wrote:

Lyrik RCDH (got some of these and they're awesome) are also up there.

These are on my list for next year

Tom Barton

Thanks for the feedback guys - I think I shall go and deliberate on a lyric or a marz 55.

Cheers

bennett_346

55's would be my choice by a country mile.

Barrelmaker

I've got my eye on the new x fusion slant. Good specs and a good price. There is a review of it on the main bikeradar page.

rockmonkeysc

Tom Barton wrote:

Thanks for the feedback guys - I think I shall go and deliberate on a lyric or a marz 55.

Cheers

I have owned the Lyrik RC2DH and ridden the 55 RC3 evo ti. I would buy the Marzocchi over the Lyriks, it's a far better fork. The Lyrik is very good but the 55's are just better.

The Northern Monkey

Unless youre a heavy rider... the 55 evo ti has a standard weight spring and changing it can cost a bit.

Kowalski675

ilovedirt wrote:

Fox are rubbish, CTD system is crap and they cost too much.

Don't sit on the fence, lol. The Fox forks (and shock) I was riding on today felt pretty damn good to me, but I have very little to compare them to.

bennett_346

Any higher end fork will feel good to someone like you, though.

Kowalski675

bennett_346 wrote:

Any higher end fork will feel good to someone like you, though.

"Someone like me" - what's that, then, lol? Like you say, anything fancy will feel a revelation (no pun intended) compared to my XCR fork, but they felt pretty damn good to me, the bike was floating over stuff at Gisburn today that was giving me a right kicking on my Kraken the weekend before last. I'm definitely sold on full suspension trail bikes now (especially two and a half grand ones, lol...). The fork was a Fox Factory Float 32 with DRCV, CTD, FIT damper and Kashima coating, according to the spec list.

bennett_346

Kowalski675 wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

Any higher end fork will feel good to someone like you, though.

"Someone like me" - what's that, then, lol? Like you say, anything fancy will feel a revelation (no pun intended) compared to my XCR fork

That's what "someone like you" meant - not an offensive phrase lol. I'm not so sure you'd be able to tell much of a difference between a high end rockshox fork, a high end marzocchi fork and a high end fox fork, the suble differences make a big difference when you've ridden that kind of fork for a while but not when you've only really ridden cheap forks.

Kowalski675

bennett_346 wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

Any higher end fork will feel good to someone like you, though.

"Someone like me" - what's that, then, lol? Like you say, anything fancy will feel a revelation (no pun intended) compared to my XCR fork

That's what "someone like you" meant - not an offensive phrase lol.

I know, I didn't really think you were having a go at me, lol. I'd be the first to admit that I have very little experience to form a frame of reference from, nor any skill to exploit a decent fork, but it was certainly an eye opener to see (or rather feel) just how good proper MTB suspension is - it was night and day, like the difference between the garbage OE cheap as chips shock on my Bandit compared to the bespoke built £800 Wilbers unit on my Triumph. Going back to my own bike is going to suck big time...

The Rookie

Back on topic (ish) you know you'll need a new rear hub (or at least freehub if you are lucky) from SRAM XXI? the 9T small cog needs a special freehub.

ilovedirt

Kowalski675 wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

Fox are rubbish, CTD system is crap and they cost too much.

Don't sit on the fence, lol. The Fox forks (and shock) I was riding on today felt pretty damn good to me, but I have very little to compare them to.

I've never ridden a fox fork that I liked the feel of. My Lyriks have been awesome since I've had them.

njee20

Fox are rubbish, CTD system is crap and they cost too much.

New Pikes would be incredible - top of my list.
Marzocchi 55 and Rockshox Lyrik RCDH (got some of these and they're awesome) are also up there.

No they're not, and no it's not. It's taken away some of the adjustability, but that's not always a bad thing. They're overpriced, but as you don't seem to have ridden the new Pike's, and yet are deeming them 'incredible' I'll take everything you say with a pinch of salt!

That said... I'd probably get the new Pikes.

And the Beginner is right, although its a 10t sprocket, you will need a new freehub body for XX1, or new hub if yours can't be changed.

supersonic

Well I know I'll never be using a Fox 32/34 again. Lack of completely adjustable low speed damping is a big step backwards for me, and expect it as standard at this price.

ilovedirt

What SS said - it's not necessarily the lack of adjustability that's the issue, but the way it inhibits the fork's performance. I rarely change anything on my Lyriks, but I don't see why Fox have decided to limit the adjustability on their forks like that. It's easy enough to set and forget.

And what can I say? I'm a rockshox fan - never had a real issue with any of their forks, and they're cheap too. (by comparison)

njee20

Meh, I prefer the idea of less adjustments. I never use them anyway. Prefer the idea of CTD.

ilovedirt

To each their own, but if the fork/shock/frame has a decent damping system or pedals well to begin with, I can't see why you would even need the CTD system.

For instance - the devinci frame i just sold bobbed like hell under pedalling, was awful for climbing. The Reign I've replaced it with is like riding a hardtail up the hills but stays active on the descents - and I wasn't even using the propedal lever by the end of the first ride.

njee20

Don't disagree - but then I took the MoCo out of my SIDs entirely, so simplicity suits me. You don't have to use the adjustment if you don't want!

bennett_346

If set correctly you shouldn't need to keep setting between three settings. That's more work than finding the right setting ove 2/3 rides and leaving it on that.

ilovedirt

Really? Was it not like riding a pogo stick??

ilovedirt

bennett_346 wrote:

If set correctly you shouldn't need to keep setting between three settings. That's more work than finding the right setting ove 2/3 rides and leaving it on that.

I agree completely. I don't miss having a floodgate/lockout on my forks any more, just set the damper up right.

Tom Barton

The Beginner wrote:

Back on topic (ish) you know you'll need a new rear hub (or at least freehub if you are lucky) from SRAM XXI? the 9T small cog needs a special freehub.

Yes thankyou - Hope do have a freehub adapter/driver thing to convert pro 2s to accept xx1. Aftermarket wise there does not seem to be anywhere much selling them but I'm contacting Hope to see if my LBS can direct order one.

Thanks for all the replies. I like the look of the Marzocchi 55 micro switch. They may not be quite as infinity smooth as the titanium spring version but all the reviews I've read seems to rate their suspension performance as being significantly better than the Fox and Rockshox offerings. It carries a couple hundred extra grams weight but personally I'm inclined to go for the best performing fork, also reliability is reportedly good and maintenance is between the lyric and fox. The travel adjust system seems to be very functional too.

Cheers all.

supersonic

njee20 wrote:

Don't disagree - but then I took the MoCo out of my SIDs entirely, so simplicity suits me. You don't have to use the adjustment if you don't want!

But if you don't have the adjustment and you want to adjust ;-). With Fox I just have to hope that the trail setting suits. At least the trail adjust has a bit more adjustability. But with RS you have the option of setting MoCo how you want.

Best damper I have used is the Manitou Absolute plus. The low speed range is excellent, backed up with a very good high speed valve.

lawman

I'd love to know how many of the people slating CTD have actually ridden it

It's by no means perfect but then it can be possible to get a setting that works for you. From memory my RLC damper has 10 clicks of low-speed compression adjustment, from fully open to practically locked. CTD with the trail adjust has 5 settings, so you are missing half the adjustment, but the range is similar, so super-fine tuning is more difficult, but I'm willing to bet most people wouldn't notice a huge deal of difference.

And for those that say Fox are over-priced and the prices raise each year, since '09 a 32 RLC has gone by £20-40 depending on model, which is less than 10%... Hardly massive, and new pikes are gonna just as expensive as a 34...

Its all down to personal preference, but half the time Fox are deserving of the slating they get. They make very good products imo and I've yet to ride any Rockshox for that matches my 32 or any of the 34's I've tested.