What fork?

spikenet

Likes Dirt
I'm getting an itch to update my old non-boost Pike's that have luftkappe 160mm. I've been asking around for damper options but as they are the older non-boost seems not alot of choice now. I race enduro/DH, hit jumps, drops etc so would like something tough and reliable. The pike feels pretty choppy on fast rocky stuff..

So have been eyeing off helm, ribbon coil etc. I'd need to convert my old dtswiss centrelock to boost so guess this is pretty easy?

Any thoughts what fork, are the above suggestions worth looking at.. I'm not averse to air just thought I'd try coil as have CC IL coil on the back.
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I've got Fox36 rc2s and Grip 1s, an Avalanched Yari, Lyriks, Pikes, DVO Diamonds an Onyx SC, and Manitou Mattocs and an MRD Dorado.

The Avalanched Yari is the best of them but its a real race fork and has a Jekyll and Hyde personality due to the HSB circuit.

Next best is MRD Dorado but its not really going to be fit for your purpose.

Next best is the DVO Onyx SC. A real beast of a fork that very stiff and is wonderfully damped. The DVO Diamonds share the same damper but are not quite as stiff.

I personally prefer Lyriks to Fox 36s but the rc2s of both brands have problems.

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spikenet

Likes Dirt
interesting video, he says the lyrik is the most "coil like".. so does this mean a true coil like helm, ribbon might be as good? Pity they didn't review them all together.
The coil forks are at least $500 cheaper then lyrik currently.

Oddjob, I'd been thinking about yari with damper change, like yari-up etc
 

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
Not in any order of preference but what I'm currently considering for a new build..

Manitou Mezzer....very adjustable, stiff, hydraulic bottom out makes it a great choice. Competitive weight wise.

Lyrik Ultimate....seems to be the flavour of the month after the grip2 fever settled. Still some complaining of spiking on fast chunk hence why Push made the HC97 and shockcraft offer their 'anti-harsh' mods.

Fox 36 with Smashpot and Vorsprung tuned FIT4 damper. Currently have one and it is excellent. Ease of changing travel is pretty cool. I'm currently running it on a hardtail but it'll be getting extended to 160 shortly to trial on the new bike. Hydraulic bottom out is fantastic...I use it often lol

Avalanche anything seems to get universal praise.

DVO Diamond is good too, better than the Fox 36 grip and standard FIT4 out of the box. Onyx SC is a stiffer version with same damper afaik, production for the 29 version starts in about a week apparently (not sure what wheelsize you have)

I had a Ribbon Coil but had to return it after a couple of weeks due to problems with stiction and really bad spiking making it unrideable at speed so I don't have a great opinion of these.

Good luck with your choice. I'm currently tossing up between the Mezzer and Lyrik....and leaning towards the Mezzer
 

spikenet

Likes Dirt
kten: I was looking at the smashpot for my pike but lack of damper upgrade had me thinking its lost cause.

Mezzer looks cool, bit pricey
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
The best option would be a secondhand Yari in good condition and get an Avalanche damper for it.

The Yari is a solid chassis and the Avalanche damper is super easy to service as its an open bath.

The Avalanche is different from other dampers. The low speed shim stack sits on a spring loaded assembly and will completely move out of the way when hitting big chunder (this is the HSB circuit). This essentially gives two completely different response curves dependant on how much preload is on the HSB spring. The first curve is digressive as its dictated by the lsc and hsc shim stack. The second curve is purely dictated by the hsc stack.

Total cost should be less than a new Fox36 or Lyrik.

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spikenet

Likes Dirt
yep love the idea of the Ava damper. How did you find dealing with them, I guess there are no dealer here in oz?
 

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
yep love the idea of the Ava damper. How did you find dealing with them, I guess there are no dealer here in oz?
Ordering from the website was easy. I got a follow up email from Craig and then the damper arrived 2 weeks later. I got mtb suspension centre to do the install but you can do it yourself.

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rangersac

Medically diagnosed OMS
If you can land an X-Fusion Metric on a sale price I’d think about one of them as well. They are solid as the proverbial brick outhouse, and super plush with a nice linear ramp up to the travel
 

Paulie_AU

Likes Dirt
I've got Fox36 rc2s and Grip 1s, an Avalanched Yari, Lyriks, Pikes, DVO Diamonds an Onyx SC, and Manitou Mattocs and an MRD Dorado.

The Avalanched Yari is the best of them but its a real race fork and has a Jekyll and Hyde personality due to the HSB circuit.

Next best is MRD Dorado but its not really going to be fit for your purpose.

Next best is the DVO Onyx SC. A real beast of a fork that very stiff and is wonderfully damped. The DVO Diamonds share the same damper but are not quite as stiff.

I personally prefer Lyriks to Fox 36s but the rc2s of both brands have problems.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
This has DVO back on my radar for next fork. As a 74kg rider might go with a Diamond.

I do have a $400 Lyrik RC like everyone else here but thinking a full replacement on next build might be the way to go.
 
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