Currently have coil lyriks which are portly.

Decided i can convert my coils to air, there is a thick sleeve installed in the csu to prevent damage from the coil spring, so anticipating easy conversion.

Reasons why i want air –

.save 250g (didn’t consider much until i thought of it as removing a set of light bars or heavy stem)
.adjustment – sort in between medium and firm springs. Medium is ever so slightly soft and divey, hard becomes a bit harsh, slackens things too much and loses grip

The main worry is lack of mid stroke support with the air spring, but will be run firmer than med coil which im currently on, have i any worry here?

Always wondered if using heavier oil in the other leg would help find a balance between firm and medium springs

And then what effect would that have on the compression circuit

if the medium spring is only just too soft cant you dial in some more low speed compression to help it stay up?

The main worry is lack of mid stroke support with the air spring, but will be run firmer than med coil which im currently on, have i any worry here?

While I’ve always had this problem on rear air cans, I’ve never had it on forks.

I could be spouting total rubbish here, but I’ve always put this down to the larger air volumes that fork air springs have compared to rear cans. This results in a much lower air pressure and therefore the spring is less effected by the unequal relationship between air volume and pressure.

The issue I’ve had with rear air dampers is that being heavy, I have to run a very high pressure to get the right support but then it’s too high for the sag I want. Run the air pressure lower for sag and the air spring is too soft and blows through the travel.

The only rear can I’ve ever had that didn’t have this problem is the Bos Devile.

But back to the forks; if you can convert them great but the Lyrik Coil is a lovely fork and while 250g is a decent chunk of weight, you could always lose it elsewhere first and then consider changing the coil in the fork if you still want to save more weight.

if the medium spring is only just too soft cant you dial in some more low speed compression to help it stay up?

It isn’t best practise and doesn’t work out either.

The more the low speed port is closed, more oil is diverted to the high speed shim stack opening it up more allowing more oil to flow sooner, resulting in less low/mid speed damping than expected. You can add preload to the shim stack to fight this (high speed adjust), but then eventually it gets too harsh on high speed events. You’re fighting a losing battle.

The shim stack can be reshimmed (as i have done) to battle this, but there is still no getting around a spring not being stiff enough as adding more damping will add harshness.

Eat more and put the heavier spring in – its win win 😀

Eat more and put the heavier spring in – its win win

That’s my attitude. At some point Ill be heavy enough to bottom out the firm spring! 🙂

Coils are so much more supple.

Just gone from 2012 coil Lyriks to 2013 Air, substantially lighter and now I have the compression right thy are lovely and supple.

Air lyriks are really pretty nice- i guess because it’s a pretty big spring? They don’t feel exactly like coils, the ramp up is a bit different but the difference between the 2 is way smaller than people expect.