1,I would like to know what people have experienced with the above forks in terms of performance, reliability.
2,Has anyone had both pike and lyrik, does the lyrik out perform the pike?
3,Does the lyrik really need more maintenance than the pike?
4,Are 55’s at all reliable, do they perform as well as pikes or Lyriks?
any advice welcome
cheers

I ran coil Pikes on my Patriot and then coil Lyriks on my Enduro. The Enduro was nicked and now I have Solo Air Lyriks on my Nomad. The Lyriks are definitely better damped than standard Pikes and more controllable. They also seem to be perfectly reliable just like the Pikes. I would suggest that both Lyriks and Pikes need to be looked after just as much as each other. A quick clean of the seals etc and all is well.

I know that PUSH tuning the Pikes makes a considerable difference to them so that might be another option.

Can’t comment on the 55s but I gather from a friend in the business that Marzocchi’s current forks are rubbish.

I’ve had a coil Pike Race and have a Lyric U-turn.

does the lyrik out perform the pike?

Depends what you call outperform. It has more travel (may or may not be a good thing depending on the frame you’re fitting it to). It’s heavier, it’s stiffer it’s a little more complicated. I would argue they’re not entirely comparable pieces of kit.

3,Does the lyrik really need more maintenance than the pike?

I’ve found so yes. The Pike needed a splash oil change every year or so. The Lyric needs doing every half dozen rides or so to maintain best small bump compliance.

Thank u Matthew, very helpful. I am sort of expecting the 55’s not to do so well.
cheers

Don’t go near the 55’s. I bought some 55ATA2’s. They are now back at the factory for the second time having seized up again. I bought some coil Lyriks a couple of weeks back and they are in a different league. Jumped the doubles at Llandegla last week for the first time, don’t think I would have had the confidence to do that on the Marzocchi’s.

Pikes have less trail than Lyriks. They give you a shorter wheelbase than many other forks, so you get a really twitchy, precise feel with them. I find that after an oil change, they don’t stay feeling ultra rad for very long. Maybe 5 ries and they go noticeably flat. Then again, I tend to abuse them a bit.

I’m moving up the Lyrik. I’m getting a U-Turn coil though, so I can dial them down for long climbs.

Assuming proper setup 🙂 the lyric should outperform the Pike. It has a damper with dedicated highspeed adjustments. You can use the floodgate setting on the Pike to emulate this somewhat, but it is not as good as the damper in the Lyric.

That said there have been problems with loose/knocking bushings on the Lyric. Plenty of threads on MTBR about this.

I find that after an oil change, they don’t stay feeling ultra rad for very long. Maybe 5 ries and they go noticeably flat. Then again, I tend to abuse them a bit.

What oil are you using?

I have had all 3! (but sold the 55)

Lyrik is stiffer and better damped than the Pike and even Push tuning the Pike does not give it the same confidence inspiring feel.

55 – Where do I start, mine had a wobbly axle and the standard spring (the only available iirc) is for whippets. This means you basically have a heavy, air fork (due to excessive air preload) which has inferior damping to the RS models.

Buy Lyric 🙂

What oil are you using?

I’ve tried a few. Golden Spectro Ultra Light 2.5W breaks down the slowest so far. The heavier oils and the stock ATF stuff that RS uses only feels good for about 2 rides.

I can still ride them, but they lose that “nice” feel really quickly. It’s like they blow the first part of the travel really fast, and then kind of plunk around on a platform about half to a third of the way in. When they’re freshly rebuilt, they’re a lot more linear and smooth feeling.

1 very happy with pikes on a sovereign, generally run at 110mm, and lyriks on a heckler.
2 yes, damping is better on lyriks.
3 yes, lyriks need the oil changed a fair bit.
4 forums don’t like 55s, I have no opinion on them

Thank you everyone for your help, still leaves me unsure, i currently run coil pikes on the heckler, i do like the way they work with minimum maintenance. Agreed they do seem to get stifled on repeated hits, but i guess maybe thats a small price to pay.
With the price of pikes going thru the roof, its just cos i’ve been offered lyriks at a pike price that i’m curious.