Suspension Upgrade Options

BloggingFit · June 2014

So I'm looking at upgrading the fork off my Remedy 9.8 650b which is the stock Fox 34 140mm Performance CTD Fork. I'm happy enough with the DRCV Shock despite general consensus and find it works well enough on the bike. I'll do a custome tune and kashima come service time for small bump compliance so this is what I'm matching up to.

Options I'm considering are:

1. Rockshox Pike 160mm Dual Air but the extra axle to crown height bothers me in terms of how it may effect the bike geometry. A 150mm Solo Air would be an alternative but again these sit a little long compared to Fox. Reliability is another concern.

2. New 2015 Fox 36 as these seem to be reviewed very well and would tie in with the rear shock. Fork height again an issue although not as high as the Pike and I have seen Trek Factory riders run 160mm Float 34 Forks on my bike so maybe not such a worry. Alternative could be a 36 Float reduced to 140/150mm but this leads me to point 3.

3. Swap in 2015 parts once available in a few months and potentially have the improved performance and better small bump compliance.

I've ruled out other Fork options. BOS were considered but the issue of poor aftersales was enough to put me off.

Opinions very much welcome.

poah · June 2014

pike 150

rockmonkeysc · June 2014

Get the Pike, better fork and better value than the Fox 36. Lighter as well.
Don't bother with the Kashima upgrade for the shock, everyone I know who has had it done says it's a waste of money.
I quite like the standard DRCV shock, maybe a custom tune would work well.

BloggingFit · June 2014

Ta. Pikes look like the winner. Almost had a moment of madness this morning of ordering AM Devilles but the lack of back up if things go wrong reeled me back in.

Good to see I'm not alone with DRCV. Custom tune come service time will be a good upgrade.

Dick Scruttock · June 2014

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Get the Pike, better fork than the Fox 36.

and you know this how?

cooldad · June 2014

Rick Draper wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Get the Pike, better fork than the Fox 36.

and you know this how?

Where have you been for the past few years.

He is all seeing, all knowing.

supersonic · June 2014

An opinion on the internet? Well bugger me. Maybe he has ridden them both.

Dick Scruttock · June 2014

supersonic wrote:

Maybe he has ridden them both.

Explain away then? The 36 talked about here is not available yet :roll:

supersonic · June 2014

But people have ridden them, hence reviews. I get to ride stuff before is released all the time. Maybe he has. Over to him.

Dick Scruttock · June 2014

May I just add Pikes are not the holy grail, plenty warranty issues showing up with them. Early ones had knocking bushings, now various air spring issues, dampers not working right from the factory, dampers dropping the oil (mine has done this), piston retaining bolts unscrewing as no thread lock used in installation and creaking CSU's.

rockmonkeysc · June 2014

I have ridden the Pike and it's really very good.
Fox have been pretty bad the last couple years. I forgot that the new one is completely new. It may work as well but hasn't had time to prove reliability. I wouldn't buy any new, unproven product.

benpinnick · June 2014

I've sold a decent amount of Pikes now (as well as having 2 sets of my own for best part of a year). Not seen a single issue thus far... I would 100% recommend pikes. Fox need to have done a great job on the 36 to match them. FWIW the RC version seems pretty much as good as the RCT3. In real riding terms its hard to tell them apart.

lawman · June 2014

Pikes are good but if I could id probably still go for the 36. I've had great experiences with Fox over the years and likewise with mojo suspension, just great all round service and my fox fork and shock have been faultlessly reliable. I can't say the same about the RS products I've owned. My revs were great to start with but soon deteriorated and the service myself and others I know have had from TF tuned are sketchy at best.

Everyone has there own experiences but on the whole I'd be loathed to move away from Foc even though they are more expensive, they're worth it IMO.

I'm not saying Pikes are bad btw, they're really bloody good, but I just have a few reservations about RS products and service that would make me a little wary.

BloggingFit · June 2014

Ordered a set of 150mm Solo Air last night so will see we get on. I'll be keeping my existing 34's as backup so it's not the end of the world if I get a duff set. I may well put 2015 parts into the 34 for another project or swap back on and use the Pike elsewhere if I end up not liking it.

The sensible option would probably be to wait and fit in the 2015 parts but if I'm honest I am just a bit impatient.

I completely see where the feeling of quality from Fox comes from as I feel the same way about the product but going for a 36 on my bike is a bit of overkill and at almost half price it's hard to argue the valve for money of the Pike if reliable. I also have half an eye on the Slash range for 2015 when released in the hope that a 36 may make it's way into the specs.

poah · June 2014

Rick Draper wrote:

May I just add Pikes are not the holy grail, plenty warranty issues showing up with them. Early ones had knocking bushings, now various air spring issues, dampers not working right from the factory, dampers dropping the oil (mine has done this), piston retaining bolts unscrewing as no thread lock used in installation and creaking CSU's.

mine are going back for a rebound issue with less than 100miles on then

rockmonkeysc · June 2014

Any new product will have it's issues no matter who manufacturs it.
No amount of FEA, factory testing and field testing will find every possible issue plus a lot of problems come from high volume production.

Dick Scruttock · June 2014

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Get the Pike, better fork and better value than the Fox 36. Lighter as well.
Don't bother with the Kashima upgrade for the shock, everyone I know who has had it done says it's a waste of money.
I quite like the standard DRCV shock, maybe a custom tune would work well.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have ridden the Pike and it's really very good.
Fox have been pretty bad the last couple years. I forgot that the new one is completely new. It may work as well but hasn't had time to prove reliability. I wouldn't buy any new, unproven product.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Any new product will have it's issues no matter who manufacturs it.
No amount of FEA, factory testing and field testing will find every possible issue plus a lot of problems come from high volume production.

So basically you would not buy a pike either?

rockmonkeysc · June 2014

I would now that it's had time for the issues to show up. Rockshox will have had time to deal with any production problems, warranty claims are more of a problem for them than for the customer.
It has more than proved itself for performance.

BloggingFit · June 2014

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Any new product will have it's issues no matter who manufacturs it.
No amount of FEA, factory testing and field testing will find every possible issue plus a lot of problems come from high volume production.

Good example is DRCV Forks on 2013 Fox ranges. Dumped after a year.

BloggingFit · June 2014

Pikes arrived today complete with pump, seals and tokens. Given that some have mentioned sets arriving with none of these bits it got me thinking as to whether these were also duff forks or even genuine items in the first place...

rockmonkeysc · June 2014

Maybe Fox will do the same as Marzocchi. A couple really bad years and then come back with some amazing performing forks with bombproof reliability.
Marzocchi forks may be a touch heavy but their high end products out perform just about anything. The 380 rc3 ti evo is probably the best downhill fork there is.

BloggingFit · June 2014

Popped them on this evening and they look pretty good on the bike. No time to really ride them but did get a few runs over the jump we built recently and small downhill section. Initial feel is good and way smoother than the 34's. Set up wise I'm running 70 psi, 10 clicks out of rebound and 4 out of compression to start off at 82. No tokens can yet.

Did a weight comparison and was surprised at 200g lighter for the Pike.

stuisnew · June 2014

I'm out if touch so things may have changed but what always put me off Fox is the short service times, recommended after 20/25 hours iirc? Is that still the case? I don't have enough time to ride let alone have the bike out of action once a month.

BloggingFit · June 2014

Got around 25 miles on the Pike yesterday over varied terrain; Swanley, Deepcut, MoD and impressed with it's performance so far. Better front end grip especially at Swinley where it can be too dry and sketchy at times which is very confidence inspiring to push harder. Have also found the bike takes jumps better.

First impressions are that for me it's how I would expect a fork to act and feel plus the extra 10mm travel over the stock 34 has transformed the ride in a very positive manner. I left my initial settings alone and to be honest they felt spot on for now but may change as I get more used to the fork. Charger was left open the whole time.

Suspension Upgrade Options

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