Fork choice... RS Revelations vs Fox 34 Performance

sparrowhawk
sparrowhawk Posts: 7
in MTB buying advice
I am building a new bike and am getting hung up on the fork choice here!

Revelation RC, 2021 model
Fox 34 Performance, 2019(?) model

Both brand new, same price. Going on a 29er hardtail at 130 or 140mm travel.

Any recommendations/advice? From what I read the Revs seem to have the better damper, however I can't actually find any useful reviews of the Fox's.

First world problems, I know...

Comments

  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,453
    edited September 2020
    Hi Sparrowhawk, long time no see/hear from.

    I had a Revelation RC 2020 (150) on my current bike. It has the Motion Control Damper and also the Debonair air spring. At first I was very happy with the fork. It was smooth and had lots of adjustment (13 clicks of Rebound, 6 clicks of Low Speed Compression, and space for tokens to adjust the ramp up on the air spring). As I got used to the bike, I became a little bit disenchanted with it. On fast trails with lots of roots, it seemed not to absorb the hits as smoothly as my other forks had done. But they were better forks (Pike etc). So I borrowed a Quark ShockWiz (google it). I barely had to make any changes at all to the Rev for it to be the best it could be (according to the ShockWiz). Still a little bit unhappy, but only because I had previously had a better fork to compare it with. It still took me over a year of ownership before I decided to upgrade the fork internals, so it can't have been that bad! I could easily have lived with the Rev as it was, because it is a very good fork indeed.

    The thing with Rockshox forks is that they provide a stepping stone to easy improvements. The Revelation with its 35mm stanchions is the same chassis as the Pike, so all you have to do is to change the damper and you have a Pike! (Similarly the Yari can be upgraded to a Lyrik in the same way). Also, if you change the air spring, you can alter the travel and/or go to the latest version of the Debonair.

    I now have the equivalent of a Pike Ultimate and finally I'm happy.

    I have never ridden a Fox 34 Performance so I cannot comment on it. But before purchase I would like to know what range of adjustments can be made to the fork. Not just what it has now, but what can be added and/or adjusted after purchase.
  • sparrowhawk
    sparrowhawk Posts: 7
    Hi Steve hope you're ok :smile:
    Yes I never really moved over here after MBR's forum closed.

    Anyway, I went with the Fox in the end! It's from someone fairly local here, rather than hoping the German shops get the Revs in stock again. Seems like the spring and damper can be changed if needed and it's servicable at home too, if slightly more fiddly than Rockshox.
    I'm probably overthinking this anyway, seeing as my last fork was a Rockshox XC 28 with a broken damper pretty much anything is a massive upgrade!
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,453
    Good riding! :)

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