Considering a number of forks for my MK3 Alpine build and I’m really struggling to make a decision!

On the table and in no particular order are:

X Fusion Slant (160 – non DLA)
New Pike
Solo Air Lyrik (DPA)

or even just an RCT3 Rev.

My current bike is a Soul, but I need something tougher and I think I want a fork to match, though part of me still wonders whether the Rev would still be fine for me and save me a chunk of weight.

X Fusion looks good, but the damping adjustment is akin to an RLT Rev, which is the fork I had on the Soul and it always left me in want of some low speed compression adjustment to get rid of the brake dive (I’m 90-95kg kitted up).

The pike looks good on paper and has great reviews but is expensive, hard to find at the moment and (shock horror) I don’t like the look of it.

The Lyrik seems great on paper but is heavy.

Any help greatly appreciated!

X-Fusion Vengeance HLR?

I’ve left my Revs on my hardtail… The big bike suits its lyriks but I always found that with big forks on a hardtail, the rest of the bike because the limiting factor anyway so might as well save a chunk of weight and keep the balance of the bike tidier.

I’m a sturdy chap (110kg kitted) and I’m enjoying the Slants (160mm reduced to 140mm) I’ve just fitted to my orange crush – significantly less brake dive than the fox 32’s they replaced, also far stiffer and only marginally heavier. Relatively cheap too.

I went from Coil Uturn Lyriks to Dual Position air Revs, the stiffness of the Lyriks is missed, the weight is definitely not

I guess what I really want to know is, how important is fork stiffness on a hardtail? I’ve never ridden anything stiffer than my old Revs, but that was in combination with my Cotic Soul, which I could really feel flexing under me. I know I want a stiffer setup in this next bike, but what price do I want to pay for it in terms of weight?

Slants look like a good compromise and its good to hear that a “sturdy chap” is getting on well with them so thanks for that meatfist.

Watching this post with interest…

I have just swapped from a Soul to a BFe. Had 140 Floats on the Soul as it was my do-it-all bike and I found them fine, at 90kg there was some flex as expected in both forks and frame but never really found it a big issue.

Much like the Alpine, The BFe is a different animal and far stiffer. Fork flex is even more noticable now but I can’t afford new forks for the while so will persevere. Definitely needs stiffer forks and for half a pound weight gain is worthwhile if you are hard/heavy and pushing the bike’s limits.

I guess what I really want to know is, how important is fork stiffness on a hardtail?

I had Fox 32s on my Alpine initially. It felt odd (not in a good way) on harder, faster tracks (Ft Bill was the place where I first noticed it as an issue).

Took some advice, swapped the 32s for some Lyriks and the difference is night and day. That said, it’s more to get up hill now… 😉

You put coil or air Lyriks on peterfile? I take it you think the stiffness and damping are worth the weight penalty. Which fork would you choose out of my list?

I’ve got the U-tun coils with the mission control hack thing.

I’ve not tried the Slants or the new Pikes so my opinion probably isn’t much use! 🙂

That said, much of it will come down to what you ride and how you ride it. Something like a Lyrik is overkill for general pootling duties, but at 90kg, if you tend to ride rough stuff fairly quickly, i’d imagine a stiffer fork would serve you well.

Also, not sure how relevant this is for you, but another plus of the RS options is that mere humans can service them (not so easy with Fox!).

another plus of the RS options is that mere humans can service them (not so easy with Fox!).

That’s one of the main reasons Fox didn’t make the list!

but at 90kg, if you tend to ride rough stuff fairly quickly, i’d imagine a stiffer fork would serve you well

I think I have now crossed the Rev off the list, at least in my mind.

dare I suggest a pair of Bos Devilles? I’m in the same dituation as you and i’m going for them because on a hardtail the wallowyness of other forks becomes more noticable for out of the saddle efforts/weighting the front (imho etc.). Second hand you cab pick up a pair 🙂

Well I’m sticking Sektor RL 140’s on mine which is all I have. I love them though, just as strong as my old pikes.

on a hardtail the wallowyness of other forks becomes more noticable for out of the saddle efforts/weighting the front (imho etc.)

I think I agree with you, which is what is giving me concerns about going for the Slants without any compression adjustment.

EDIT: Not sure I want to open the Bos can of worms, especially on 2nd hand forks and couldn’t justify them new.

Got some lyriks on a Privee Shan. they’re a bit hefty fo’shure but they are bottomless (I’m 74kg) and with a decent bitey tyre on the front, TBH the rear can do what it likes 😀

stupid, but fun

I went from revs to uturn lyriks on my alpine. So much better. The travel adjust did play a major role in that, though the extra burlyness gave a bit more confidence. 160mm of travel on the downs was like ^ he said, “stupid but fun”.

I’m still in 2 minds as to whether I want travel adjust. Most the above forks in travel adjust format are 160-130mm. I’m not sure I’d really need 160 most of the time and might be better off just getting some internally adjustable forks and running them at 130/140 in the UK and 150/160 in Europe or on lairy uplift days.

Hmm, know what you mean about the can of worms! I suppose if you could pick them up second hand via a bike shop you’d have more piece of mind!

As for travel adjust – theoretically a great idea, and indeed some people love them.. buuut, if your frame is designed for 160mm as an ‘enduro hardtail’ it will be designed with those angles to go uphill/across as well as down 🙂 Of course the best situation to be in would be to ask around locally who has x-length of forks and take them for a bashing cross country and see if it bothers you?

Re the travel adjust…I’ve never touched it! Seems like a great idea, but my forks just stay at 160mm, I know and like how it feels at that

That’s the nice thing about the Slant, I can try them at various lengths and get a feel for what I like best.

I think I might be leaning towards the slants. They save over 3/4 lb over a DPA Lyrik and I’ve read good things in a number of places about them riding high in their travel with limited brake dive. Maybe I can do without LSC adjustment and save myself a fair old wedge of cash….

I’ve got a set of 36 floats on my slackline that I’ve reduced to 140mm, spot on for me and what I use the bike for. Would love to try a set of devilles though to see if they live up to the hype.

Dialledbikes.com says

Designed to accommodate a 120-160mm travel suspension fork

I was never sure if that meant a fork with fixed travel anywhere between the two figures or a fork that could be adjusted between them. If I remember correctly the Mk 2 description stated 115-160, which kind of indicates it was designed around a lyrik uturn. I might be wrong though…

I think it just means it’ll ride pretty good anywhere between 120 and 160, the geometry quoted is for a 140mm fork (sagged). I think I’d try around 140 as a starting point. I think Mikes fork of choice for the Alpine was the original pike.

FWIW I run 150mm Marzocchi Z1s with ETA. The ETA just seems to reduce the travel as the trail steepens without dropping it too far and upsetting the head angle.

I have Marzocchi 55 Bombers on my BFe,They have been converted to coil, have a 20mm through axle and I keep them at 160mm. I love them ( point and shoot control ) but Hate, really hate… the 2.7Kgs ( over 6lbs ) that they weigh. I’d love to change them for, say a Revelation or similar that weighs 1.7 kgs ( saving over 2 lb. at the front ) but I’d also hate to end up with a flexy, wallowy front end..

..I can’t afford BOS either..

It’s all about comprimises..price v weight v performance.

That’s it. I don’t want to end up building a complete tank, or coming from a Soul it’ll not feel nimble enough when it’s not pointed straight down a hill.

You wont notice how heavy a fork is when pointing down…I should know I have the worlds heaviest forks..

Yes that’s true but it’s not going to be an uplift bike for the most part so weight is definitely still a consideration!

Winch, have you heard anything about when we will get the frames?

I’ve not even seen a final design yet, I’m pretty excited.

Next week (ish) for the people with pre-orders was the last I heard from Mike.

Mosey – I asked Mike about this today as I’m really hoping I get mine next week otherwise I’ll be off on my biking holiday with no bike!

They’ve not cleared customs yet so until they do it’s not very certain.

Yeah, I asked about headtube length on the 16″ as I was looking at forks too but haven’t had a response yet.

Has anyone seen a mock up of the final frame/graphics etc?

Mike is in America at the moment, probably explains him being a bit slow at responding.

Took some advice, swapped the 32s for some Lyriks and the difference is night and day. That said, it’s more to get up hill now…

Just done exactly this. Had 32 talas forks on my stanton slackline.. just bought some lyrik coil u turns off bungaltistic

Yet to try them but hated the flexy 32’s at 150

This guy reckons it’s okay too

Thanks for that tricky disco, something to think about. Does your bike feel quite front heavy now? I’d be interested to hear how you get on once you’ve given them a good thrashing!

tymbian – Member

You wont notice how heavy a fork is when pointing down

I do- makes a big difference to how it handles, that whole fore/aft thing.

I’m happy with the Sektor I have on my Chameleon. I just leave it at 130mm which I reckon is about the max that feels good on a hardtail.

I decided to take a gamble and go with the non dla Slant. Fingers crossed the mid valve does a decent enough job of warding off brake dive. The stout options with more tunable damping are all a good deal heavier (with the exception of the Pike) and I think that would wear thin after a while for the type of riding I do most of the time.

I think I now have everything ordered for my new build ❓ Touch wood.

Enjoy the build! :D. Let us know how you get on!

Thanks maurizio, I will do. I generally enjoy building almost as much as riding!