Quick question about a few Fox forks...

RangaRMX

Likes Dirt
Hey guys I'm currently looking into a custom build using a Santa Cruz Chameleon XL sized frame..and I had a few questions regarding a suitable fork for my bike.

Just a bit of background it's going to be fairly high end so price isn't a concern, part wise I"ll be running X.0/XTR spec and the DT E2200 wheelset. The main purpose is going to be rough XC, trail riding i.e. singletrack, fireroads etc. but it will also get a bit of road use and I like jumps/dropping off stuff too..

Now a bit about me, I'm 6'6" and weight 82kg, I like downhill and freeriding and have a heavy pig Rocky Mountain too so the Cruz wont be doing to much of that type of riding, I would like it to be able to handle some good quick decending over slightly rough ground though, I'm a fan of taking my bikes anywhere and everywhere, so you know, if I find a tough looking DH I don't wanna be the one who has to get off cause I'm scared my forks are gonna bunk out and throw me off.

So basically I've narrowed the forks that I'm going to get down to one of two choices..with a few others I'm kinda unsure about.

So the two key players in my mind at this stage are the 32 Van RLC and the 36 TALAS RLC, so from hereout I'll refer to them as the 32 and 36 respectivly.

The main one ATM is the 32 because of the coil spring and handling benefits of it's lighter build I feel it'd be able to pretty much handle most things the 36 would as it's only air sprung.

**remember I don't intend on using 160mm of travel so having that extra travel would be a bonus, not a selling point**

The main question I have about the 36 TALAS, and probably the only two reasons I'd go for it, are: a) structural rigidity and b) the fact that you can set the travel at 3 different levels

So I'm wondering, what is the strength and rigidity of the 32 like compared to the 36 and also how linear is this TALAS, really? As I said I don't intend on using and riding on 160mm travel day to day, I'd be riding on 130mm about 75% of the time and 100mm probably 15% and the other 10% I'd use the 160mm setting. I've succombed to many an advertisers dream before..that is their bullshit begetting people to buy thier products which don't live up to the hype created by words which have no reference to their performance.
So say I never use the full travel setting (but set it up on it), will running it on 130mm, or 100mm even, give the same feeling as the full travel setting? For reference I've used an 08 set of Marzocchi 66ATA forks and found that on full travel they were fine as that's how they were initially when they were set up, however once they were wound down to 140mm, from 180mm, they were stiff and quite unpleasant to ride.

And the other query I had was what's the ride going to be like, if they're around the same travel for each, that being 140 and 130mm for the 32 and 36 respectively, how will performance in tight turns be and what will they be like traversing over rough ground? Basically what I'm asking here is will the coil in the 32 make up for it's smaller size (stanchions, crown and axles) and lack of steer tube reinforcing found in the air sprung 36?

Finally (man I ask alot) does anyone here have much to say about the 32 TALAS RLC, I've kinda brushed it off as I don't think and air sprung 32 series fork will be able to handle as much as I intend on dishing out. How does it perform compared to the 32 Van and does it even compare to the 36 TALAS? I'd really like to have the 100mm for climbing but don't want to saccrafice any performance that you lose from going air over coil.

Thanks for any help guys!
 
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parker93

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Id love to help, but I have no experience with these forks, but i can say have you looked at some of the Rock Shox forks, there are a few that come close to the what your looking for.

Not much help am I?!?!?!
 

AngoXC

Wheel size expert
Id love to help, but I have no experience with these forks, but i can say have you looked at some of the Rock Shox forks, there are a few that come close to the what your looking for.

Not much help am I?!?!?!
Though its true parker93 offered little in the way of assistance, it raises a point. Have you considered a Rock Shox fork?
Pike and Lyrik would be your main two to look at and would be comparitable to the two forks you have mentioned.
My choice would be the Pike. Your main reason for suggesting the 36 was the fact rigidity and the travel adjust. Pikes are a truely amazing fork. Though the vast majority of them today are used for Dirt Jumping, they are infact designed for the exact trail riding ideas you have in mind.
In terms of stiffness, the 20mm 'Maxel' is worth noting as already, your getting all the advantages of a thru-axel over the QR Fox32. This is particularly evident when your flying over pretty rutted terrain. Almost rock solid in terms of steering stiffness...just point and shoot.
Furthermore, going for U-turn Pike not only gives you the benafit of a more or less infinite adjustment range between 95mm and 140mm, you also get all the plushness of a coil fork. But if the coil doesnt tickel your fancy, there is always the Air U-turn which gives you a 110-140mm range plus the air spring.

Comparitivly, the Pike and the 32 are both leagues ahead of what I ride on currently (well at the time it was a RS SID, a Black Super and then a Minute 1:00), but I have had a fair bit to do with a 2003 32 RLC. I was blown away at how well that fork performed for a QR fork but I felt the Pike was a little more 'controled'. Might be the damper, the age of the Fox I was riding or the addition of the 20mm axel. In eithercase, its a bloody awesome look and well worth a look into.

The Lyrik on the other hand kicks your max travel up to 160mm (with a min of 115mm (?)) and you also gain the 'Mission Control' which handles Highspeed/Lowspeed Compression, floodgate ('platform' so to speak) and rebound. all round, the fork is alot beefier (like the 36) and the adjustments are actually quite noticeable and effective but thats as far as I can really comment on them.

From the two Fox forks you mentioned, if the RS ones I suggested are not your cuppa, I would go probably consider the 32 Talas. I think that the travel adjust feature is possibly too important to really miss out on by going for the RLC and the chassis on the 32 is still really strong so you should have too much issue with it. The down side is that TALAS is not the best system around and there is a weight penalty (also the reason why I steer away from the 36)...oh well.

Good luck!
 

Viv92

Eats Squid
32 Vanillas (the 32 versions are called Vanillas, not Vans) are VERY plush (at least the '06 ones were, I've not tried any newer ones). They are stiff enough for pretty much all XC riding and not too heavy either.

36's are stiffer, but a fair bit heavier. The 36's actually only come in RC2, not RLC. They lack lockout, but get high speed and low speed compression. However the lockout on fox forks is a bit stupid. You have to reach down to the crown to unlock and lock the fork. I almost never use mine off road. They are a fair bit heavier, they'd be pretty acceptable on most QLD DH tracks.

Don't bother with them if you plan on running them at 130mm or 100mm travel most of the time. It's just extra weight you don't need. The TALAS system, due to having heaps of seals, has a fair bit worse small bump sensitivity than the Floats or Vans. Having 160mm for some descents would be nice, but realistically, your very unlikely to use all of it. The TALAS system is fairly linear, but I've still heard of people failing to get full travel out of both them and the Floats. To be honest I can't really tell that much difference between them and Floats. Dropping the front end for climbs is really nice though, as is being able to set the travel lower for easy single track.

Pikes are another fork that might fit your bill nicely. Heavier than the Fox 32 models, but really stiff.

Personally, I wouldn't go for either of the forks you've mentioned. I have a set of '07 Floats. They are stiff enough for everything I use them for, including a bit of DH riding. They do get very progressive at the end of the travel, making it very hard to get full travel. However they are really light, fairly stiff (more than enough for trail riding), VERY adjustable and fairly plush. For '08 they have put a new dampener in the RL and RLC models (as well as the TALAS RL and RLC's). From what I've heard, this pretty much eliminates the problem of bottoming out too easily and makes them feel more plush as well. If you are doing rougher riding you can set them at about 25% sag and increase the rebound and LSC and you'll be sweet. For XC use you can set them at 20-15% sag and they'll feel great. They are also about 200 grams lighter than the Vanilla 32 RLC's. If you want the plushness then, go the Vanillas, but otherwise don't bother. Other than small bump sensitivity, they should perform pretty similarly to the air 32 models. You gain some small bump sensitivity with the Vanillas, but gain some weight and lose some adjust ability.

It's your decision in the end. I'd say Float 32 RLC's, or Pike 454's. The 454 Pikes are quite a lot lighter than the other models and VERY stiff for the weight. I've not used the 454's but if they are just the same as the other models but lighter they should be sweet. They are about 300-ish grams heavier than the Floats (for air Pikes this is). You can get air u-turn Pikes (I think...) which allow you to drop the front end for climbing. It's not quite as quick to use as the Fox TALAS system though.

For what you've described I'd go Float 32 RLC's. If you want stiffness for some DH riding and stuff, go for air Pike 454's, if you want plushness go for Vanilla 32 RLC's.

Hope this helps. ;)

BTW I envy your build. I'm hoping to build up something pretty similar to what you're doing on that the same frame as well when funds permit.
 

n plus one

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Can only comment on the Talas RLC F32s. I found them to be a reasonably stiff fork and the adjustability allowed you to get them dialed well and the travel adjust was easy and useful. They are not a stiff as 20mm thru axles (not the ones I've used anyway). I ran them on a 5.5 inch travel AM rig with a 200mm rotor and I weigh over 95 kegs with gear. Flex was not an issue for me. Pretty strong ramp up allows you to run pretty low pressure to get a relatively plush ride without excessive bottoming. Compression adjustment allows you to control brake dive too.

All in all you could do worse I reckon. I think a 36 on a HT is bordering on overkill given you have a HD rig at your disposal too, but who am I to judge?
 

RangaRMX

Likes Dirt
Cheers for all the help guys, I'm currently looking into the 32 TALAS, I just wasn't sure whether it would hold up to the job at hand but by the sounds of it Fox have covered most of the bases. Honestly if I was to consider the RS forks I'd probably go for the 36's anyway due to them being roughly the same weight. I'm a bit of a Fox fan, like Marzocchi's too but I know too many people are happy with Fox for this purpose.

I'll keep an open mind though, if I get a chance to ride something with pikes on it I'll definately consider them if I like..
 

GavYo

Squid
Greetings RangaRMX, what forks did you end up going with ?

Interested as I'm building up an AM bike using a Banshee Rune 08' frame I've just ordered and am thinking of going with an 09' Fox Racing 36 Talas RC2. Although one of my mates is running a Pike on his Intense 5.5 and that is also a possibility at the moment.

Thanks.
 
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