New fork advice (mainly)

CycloRos
CycloRos Posts: 579
edited June 2011 in MTB buying advice
ok bear with me here...

My current rides are my faithful Charge Duster (with Fox 32 TALAS forks, 3x9 setup) and my newly built up Ragley mmmBop (with Rockshox Pike, 1x9 with chain device)

I mainly ride XC in and around Sherwood Pines and Cannock Chase, with regular trips to the Peak District. But every couple of months I do something a bit more DH oriented (Scotland and the Alps).

I'm really happy with the setup on my Duster over my local loops (as I should be after a couple years of fettling) but I can't quite seem to get the mmmBop setup as I'd like, and I think it's mainly down to the forks.

They seem to blowing through there travel too easily, and whilst I've previously been happy with them they're rather weighy nature constantly is beginning to bug me too, especially in contrast to the Fox's on the Duster.

So question is do I -
a) persist with the Pikes and get them serviced
b) ditch the Pikes, replace with the Fox's from my Duster and buy a new XC fork
c) ditch the Pikes and replace with something else

what I'm after is something that does what the Pikes used to do but a bit lighter and more adjustable.
Current Rides -
Charge Cooker, Ragley mmmBop, Haro Mary SS 29er
Pics!

Comments

  • Thewaylander
    Thewaylander Posts: 8,594
    To be honest fox 32 forks are light and one of the reasons is they are flexy. i wouldn't select a set of fox 32's for any bike i term even slightly towards being my more DH bike... Where i know Pike's are a stiffer option to the 32fox.

    My advise go on line learn how to do an oil change - seal check it's fairly easy and should save you a wad of cash rather than paying a monkey to do it for you. this way you can ride the pikes in a deecent manner and decide if you do really hate them.
  • GHill
    GHill Posts: 2,402
    Which Pikes are they? Could they just need a firmer spring?
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    For what it's worth, I find that pikes blow through their travel far too easily as well. It's as though the spring rate is far too linear - which means great plushness on the trail, but unfortunately, any repeated hits, no matter how hard, cause them to just go further and further into the travel.
    In my experience of Fox and Marzocchi, I've found that they tend to be more progressive, meaning they stay "up" in their travel better, so there's always something left for the really big hits.
    It's hard to quantify, without building a rig to measure the effect, and I'm not sure if it's the springs that are more progressive, or the dampers, or a combination of both.
  • Thewaylander
    Thewaylander Posts: 8,594
    GHill wrote:
    Which Pikes are they? Could they just need a firmer spring?

    Aren't most pikes air? i'm guessing there is a coild version as a lot of rocksox do, But the ones in my garage are definately air :p then it's down to the compression damping set up. but my 15stone odd house matewho is fairly aggressive liked them so :)
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    All three of the pikes I tried were coil sprung (although I'm aware that there are air versions)
  • Thewaylander
    Thewaylander Posts: 8,594
    Treid the air myself, felt fine if you got them right, if you got them a little soft they could go through but i'm only light.

    But they were alot lot stiffer than your average fox 32. if your not aggressive in anyway then that may suit you, I'm hardly aggressive but I do find 32 flex to much hence i have a 36fox :)


    I do find people have a very personal preference for shox, that i can't argue with yee assessment of the general properties of the forks as far as i have ridden them :)
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    You mean you've found a similar kind of feeling to them?
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    i have pike 409's and i think they're great..i changed to a firm spring from the regular after i blew the seals in them :oops:

    but i've had no problems with them at all apart from that :D
  • CycloRos
    CycloRos Posts: 579
    GHill wrote:
    Which Pikes are they? Could they just need a firmer spring?

    426 Coil U-Turn
    yehaa wrote:
    For what it's worth, I find that pikes blow through their travel far too easily as well. It's as though the spring rate is far too linear... etc...

    ^^this. I'm glad someone else thinks so! I briefly experimented with the Pikes on my Duster and thought they were ace but then they were wound down to 100mm. Now they're on my mmmBop at 140mm and I'm giving them some more abuse they do seem to get bogged down on repeated hits, not so sure a firmer spring would make a difference?
    I'm hardly aggressive but I do find 32 flexy...

    I also suspect that the Fox 32s would be too flexy on the Ragley, so I'm airing towards ditching the Pikes and buying some Dual Positions Revs and 20mm Maxle.
    Current Rides -
    Charge Cooker, Ragley mmmBop, Haro Mary SS 29er
    Pics!
  • xtremedash
    xtremedash Posts: 182
    I have pretty much the same forks and haven't had an issue.

    If repeated hits are using all the travel then it sounds as if the rebound damping is too slow, thus not allowing the fork to extend between hits. This may be down to the setup, or possible old oil. The manual does say an oil change is required for every 50 hours riding (I believe it's 15 on the fox's!).

    I've done a couple of changes of the last 3 years and it makes a huge difference to the feel of the forks.
    If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
  • aaronmroach
    aaronmroach Posts: 341
    The later years fox 32's are alot stiffer than previous years!

    Im by no means a small lad (6ft 3 and 97kg) and my fox 32 Trek tuned RLC's with E2 and QR15 haven't skipped a beat and have very little / no apparent flex and they have been hammered over the last year at Lee Quary, Sherwood pines, The peaks, Whinlatter, Grizedale, Affan, Aston Hill and loads of Dalby routes........
  • CycloRos
    CycloRos Posts: 579
    XtremeDash wrote:
    ... This may be down to the setup, or possible old oil. The manual does say an oil change is required for every 50 hours riding (I believe it's 15 on the fox's!).

    I've done a couple of changes of the last 3 years and it makes a huge difference to the feel of the forks.

    it could be that it needs a strip down, the fork has had quite a battering and I'm probably well over the 50 hr service interval tbh. I'll get on the case and report back...
    Current Rides -
    Charge Cooker, Ragley mmmBop, Haro Mary SS 29er
    Pics!