RockShox Pike RC 27.5, 160mm, Solo Air, 15mm Maxle, tapered steerer
vs Fox 160 Float HSC/LSC NEW FIT4 3-Pos Lever w/adj

Which is betterer?

Owned both.

Out the box Pike is better. 36 takes some setup time and is more “sporty” but is a better chassis, much stiffer.

for general riding and not fiddling around, Pike, for utterly smashing things and getting perfect setup, 36.

The 36 for me for the added stiffness and relatively fewer issues, before you even get to the nicety of being able to adjust HSC.

Wish I’d spent the extra tbh.

i have a pike but i want a 36

Have you not read all the marketing hype and comparative reviews? The new fox 36 blows the pike out of the water. People with pikes may as well stay at home and give up biking because over night the pikes will become un-ridable.

In the real world I think the 36’s sound better from what I have read and the people I have spoke to. But I have never liked pikes. I always think they feel a bit cheap (which compared to fox they usually are) and overhyped. I much prefer my 2014 34’s and the new 36’s are meant to be a lot better.

I have ordered some 36 which will be with me in the next few days.
They are for my nomad which currently has my 34’s on which will be going back on my chameleon as I have realised that 32’s do actually feel like spaghetti when jumping or pointing down anything steep and rough.

Have had both (plus some other 160mm enduro/trail forks) the 36s are better, in all respects, by a bit, but hen they should do as they’re more expensive, especially when we can supply Pikes for the £400/500 when price matching.
I usually change my forks on a yearly basis, but have kept hold of my 2015 float 36 RC2 s as I like them so much.

especially when we can supply Pikes for the £400/500 when price matching.

I didn’t realise you sold forks and price matched. Just ordered a set of Pikes (27.5 RCT3 150mm) from a German store and got stung for a (small but irritating) price increase after my credit card company got suspicious and blocked my card the first time and when I went back to complete the order after calling the bank they upped the price from 509 euros to 533 euros. Wish I had seen this earlier 🙁

Yep, that wasn’t put in as a plug as such, but just that some fork brands are available heavily discounted from various suppliers, where as you rarely get the popular fox units discounted, hence the disparity in price.

Yep, that wasn’t put in as a plug as such

I saw it more as a PSA as that was news to me and I would have rather have bought ‘local’*

*as local as anyone can be to Cornwall

To be fair I can’t even think of applying for ‘Local’ status for another 10 or so years and then I’ll only be a basic trainee… 😉

Edit: Another fork to consider maybe the MRP Stage, which a few mates have, like the 36 they are quite noisy in use, whistles and squeeks and things (not a bad thing) they also perform pretty well and haven’t heard of any reliability issues as yet, one of the lads is a vandal and breaks most things pretty quickly if they at all weak!

yeah it takes a while before you will blend in

Swapping out a set of Fox 32s as I want something burlier. Hope it’s worth it! (now got to sell the Fox’s with a 1.5″ steerer which is going to be tough).

And to keep it on topic – hoping the Pikes live up to their reputation. Have always got on well with RS forks. 34 Fox’s where the other option. Had a peak at Fox 36 prices out of curiosity (not need) so I can see why the OP is weighing up the options.