Spent Friday eve playing with my new 26″ Pike Solo Airs in 160mm. Felt plush once fitted so I was excited about the first run out from my house to check pressures and lsc etc.

Using my bikehut shock pump I put in the recommended 75psi and tried the sag. They were way to firm with about 10% sag.

So I deflated the fork and played around with the sag without looking at the gauge. I did feel a bit of stiction in the first bit of travel so kept checking and rechecking the sag. Once I was happy with sag at 25% I checked the air pressure… Somewhere between 25 and 40psi!!!!!!!

After another 30mins of messing I checked the pump on my rear shock (150psi) and Fox Floats (80psi).

At this pressure the fork felt nice and plush but after a quick spin round my local trail I was bottoming out on small (and I mean small) jumps.

Checked sag again, pressure check etc, all as described above.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Is my shock pump inaccurate at the lower pressures this fork runs at?

I’m not sure the 160mm Pike comes with tokens fitted but there are two supplied with the fork.

Experiences and suggestions please?

Or should I just ride it!?!?!

Worth fitting a token 5 min job and firms things up at the end of stroke. You may have to adjust the air pressure to compensate

If you don’t suspect anything is wrong with the fork, I’d just get on and ride it. You’ll probably get totally different results once it’s bedded in a bit. Could be a lack of oil or tight bush though.

Probably just a bedding in thing: stiction in the bushings and seals is holding the p fork up in it’s travel. Ride it a bit and you will probably have to add more air.