- This topic has 34 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by Candodavid.
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So, this 'Pikes' over Fox CTD discussion then…
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weeksyFull Member
I’ve seen a few of these with
“after how bad the Fox’s are”
“you’ve heard all about the CTD and….”However, no-one has actually stated what’s wrong with the CTDs that I’ve seen only that the Pikes are that much better… better at what exactly ? I’ve never been much in the way of ‘feel’ but I honestly can’t feel any issues with my Foxs on the MetaAM29.
Anyone elaborate a bit ?
blahblahblahFree MemberThe 2013 Fox CTDs had far too little low speed compression, leading to a very divey fork that gave way on steep terrain or heavy braking.
It was improved for 2014 but I still don’t think people were all that keen on it.
It is meant to be improved on the 2015 fork again. I have only tried the 2013 fork and I wouldn’t have bought one for the price.
variflexFree MemberGotta a 2013 CTD fox here and doesnt dive on my 26er…really plush. Must have been lucky I guess. Having said that, have just ordered pikes for the 29er…as I think they are a better deal especially around the £500 mark for RCT3 solo’s.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...maxtorqueFull MemberWhen Fox first brought out the CTD for late 2012/13 they decided to make them really quite progressive. So they started out soft and rapidly ramped up to firm. Whilst this, in all reality, probably suited most recreational MTBers who actually don’t ride that hard or fast, the magazines started to slag them off for being too “divey” and soft. In conjunction, those early models had a lower range of adjustment between the various modes, meaning people felt they were stuck with what they had.
For 2013/14 Fox revised the air chamber volumes and damping adjustment range, going back to a more linear ramping of spring rate with travel, and making the descend mode softer, and the Climb mode harder. These later forks are i suspect really quite nice to ride.
In conjunction, as bikes have got more hardcore, the “XCish” Fox 32mm stantions have been slagged off by the magazines as being “not stiff enough”. Well, not stiff enough for what? Yes, they are not as stiff as say a set of forks with 36mm stantions, but that kinda is the point in having a range of more XC forks is it not?
Since then, the Pikes have come along and become the darling of the bang on trend set. Having ridden a set of pikes back to back with some Foxes, all i can report is that they are indeed different. Being “better”, well, that depends what you want from a fork and how you use it. Pikes are definitely stiffer, but i can’t say that actually changed how i rode them, they are definitely more active on little impacts so are perhaps a bit more “comfortable” when just mincing along, but other than that, well, i’m really not sure.
So many factors influence how a bike rides (and that’s not counting the rider themselves!) that really i wouldn’t worry too much about the brand of fork you run these days!
motozuluFree MemberPikes are prettier.
I think you’ll find that this ends this thread.
thanks.
sykikFree MemberMaxtorque seems to have pretty much hit the nail on the head
I have a set of 2013 32’s and with about 15cc of Oil added to the air chamber they are perfectly fine for me.
Lying aboutbeing an ‘aggressive’ rider is all the fashion these days and you can’t be fashionable and cool if you don’t hate on Fox… 😉chiefgrooveguruFull MemberWhen Fox first brought out the CTD for late 2012/13 they decided to make them really quite progressive. So they started out soft and rapidly ramped up to firm. Whilst this, in all reality, probably suited most recreational MTBers who actually don’t ride that hard or fast, the magazines started to slag them off for being too “divey” and soft.
Wrong way around – they made the first CTD forks too linear with insufficient compression damping, which is why one of the ‘fixes’ was to add oil to the air chamber to add progression to the spring rate. My older Foxes are the opposite, start soft and ramp up too fast to get full travel unless you really screw up…
jairajFull MemberI tried the 2013 & 2014 version of Fox’s CTD and didn’t like the fork. Similar views as most other people who didn’t get on with it.
ie, If you adjusted the pressure for good small bump compliance the fork would blow through the travel. If you added more air to help the fork stand up it would become less supple. If you turned the dial to the Trail setting to add some compression damping, again to stop the fork blowing through the travel the fork simply became too harsh and you lost grip. The 32 chassis is also very flexible and not that light either.
I didn’t have the chance to try out a CTD adjust fork, which might have allowed me to dial the correct amount of compression damping… or it might have not?
I used to have a Fox Vanilla back in 2008 that I liked but don’t like Fox’s more recent offerings. Also they cost a crap load more than other similar forks. I wouldn’t mind so much if I bought a bike which came with Fox components but buying aftermarket Fox stuff is way too much for me.
philfiveFree Membermy 2014 Fox 34’s are great, feel brilliant, don’t dive and just look great with the kashima stancions but ….. the pikes are almost £500 cheaper.
NorthwindFull Membermaxtorque – Member
Yes, they are not as stiff as say a set of forks with 36mm stantions, but that kinda is the point in having a range of more XC forks is it not?
They’re far less stiff than a set of Revelations, which are the direct competitors. I’m not usually that bothered about stiffness but a 32 at 150mm is a flexy thing and you’ll be bolting it to a hard use bike. Never felt my Revs lacking but my 32s got sold pretty damn quick.
So obviously Fox being Fox turned that uncompetitiveness into a selling point and invented the 34mm fork.
gapjumpFree MemberWith my ride style triple 40s are a must
everything else is spagetti
fox rockshocks mazz i’ll ride em all
SETUP and PURE STREGNTH are gonna get u down that track fastmaxtorqueFull MemberSo? I’ve been riding my 32mm foxes for years, and so far, i’m still alive! No, i wouldn’t compete in the DH worlds with ’em, but i’ve yet to actually bend them whilst out riding……..
ScottCheggFree MemberI always get suspicious when a damper is said to be ‘an issue’ but can be fixed by adjusting the spring rate.
Maybe someone could make it clear why it should be so?
my 2014 Fox 34’s are great, feel brilliant, don’t dive and just look great with the kashima stancions but ….. the pikes are almost £500 cheaper.
Who pays retail these days?
jairajFull Membermaxtorque
When Fox first brought out the CTD for late 2012/13 they decided to make them really quite progressive.Nope other way round. They made them too linear ie not progressive enough.
In conjunction, as bikes have got more hardcore, the “XCish” Fox 32mm stantions have been slagged off by the magazines as being “not stiff enough”. Well, not stiff enough for what? Yes, they are not as stiff as say a set of forks with 36mm stantions,
Again nope, the 32mm chassis is flexible compared to other 32mm chassis from other manufactures. The Fox 34mm chassis is only very sightly stiffer than the RS Revelation which uses 32mm and is probably no more stiffer than Magura 32mm double arch chassis.
honourablegeorgeFull MemberNorthwind – Member
So obviously Fox being Fox
turned that uncompetitiveness into a selling point and invented the 34mm fork.tried to copy BOSFTFY
maxtorqueFull Member** by “bend” i mean to permanently plastically deform them, rather than the temporary and reversible elastic deformation cause by applied loading!
maxtorqueFull MemberWhere does all this definitive stiffness info come from? Can you show me actual test data for deflection vs applied load at a range of fork extensions?
chiefgrooveguruFull MemberSo? I’ve been riding my 32mm foxes for years, and so far, i’m still alive! No, i wouldn’t compete in the DH worlds with ’em, but i’ve yet to actually bend them whilst out riding……..
If you think they’re great then good for you – I have the RL 140s on my hardtail and quite a few of my mates had the 150s on their full-sus bikes (one of whom has sent some pretty big gaps and ladder drops on them). Switch between them and a bike with something stiffer up front (Pikes on my full-sus) and you notice you have to work harder to hold a line in the rough though.
stcolinFree MemberI feel rather pathetic with my open bath, 2009 Vanilla RL’s with a 9mm QR axle!
I just make sure I pick my lines wisely 😉
gapjumpFree Membercolin mate
youll be ok. Vanillas some of the best they made
at least with qr the axle is solid
some of these bolt threws are hollow so no betterstcolinFree MemberTo be honest I really like them, they’re buttery smooth. Granted I only had the first generation Revs to compare them too. Have them serviced every 18 months or so, seals and oil, and they still feel great.
honourablegeorgeFull Membergapjump – Member
colin mate
youll be ok. Vanillas some of the best they made
at least with qr the axle is solid
some of these bolt threws are hollow so no betterTop engineering knowledge
gapjumpFree Membercol your spot on
vanillas are plush as an owls tits
have you tried homebrewtripleclamping themteamhurtmoreFree Memberas i have only ever ridden manitou slates, i wold love to know what most people are talking about! 😉
bloodsexmagikFree MemberIt boils down to the fact that for less money (maybe not quite £500, but still less) you can get a fork that is fundamentally better. Either the Pike or one of the X Fusion offerings. My only real issue with fox is the ridiculous price. Aside from the fancy looking gold coating, which offers debatable performance increase, they bring nothing to the table that you can’t get a cheaper fork to do just as well, or arguably better.
The pikes are obviously directly comparable to the 34’s. The 32 in shorter travel guises might be just the ticket for XC riding – I don’t ride a lot of XC so don’t know. Again, the 36’s might be a good choice for your big bike. Most people ride trail/enduro/am/whatever-you-want-to-call-them bikes that take a mid travel fork like the 34/pike/sweep. In this category, Fox’s fork is poor.
This is assuming your buying new, as the second hand market for fox forks is huge at the moment.
weeksyFull MemberI’ve already got the bike mate, it’s a Commencal MetaAM29, with the Fox CTD’s. I was just debating the offer that seems to be on the RS’s as to whether I’d actually notice the difference. IMO, it seems fairly unlikely.
bloodsexmagikFree MemberIs that the Fox 34 CTD fit? You probably aren’t going to get ground breaking performance difference, especially if it’s this years fork.
I like my Pikes. I really like them actually. If I was in your position would I change forks? Probably not.
If you don’t think there’s anything wrong with them then why do you want to change them anyway?
weeksyFull MemberI have no idea which specific model mate.
Just Friday afternoons pondering. If you’d only driven a corsa then you wouldn’t know a Porsche was better. Etc.
chestrockwellFull MemberWith everyone seeming to think Pikes are 100000000 x better then 34’s I was hoping to swim against the tide and pickup some Fox for my bike cheap cheap. Unfortunately, even when heavily discounted they’re still more then Pikes. 🙁
FWIW my 6ish year old Fox F100’s are plusher then my 2014 Sektors.
chiefgrooveguruFull MemberI like my Pikes. I really like them actually. If I was in your position would I change forks? Probably not.
I really really like my Pikes but if I had Fox 34s I’d set them up as well as possible (maybe add some oil to the air side) and get the shock tweaked when they have their next service. I’m still trying to work out how to add more compression damping and reduce the progression on my old 32s as it seems horribly consumerist to replace them!
uselesshippyFree MemberI’ve a set of 2013 34s, and they’re great forks, in Surrey. Rode them in sospel and I noticed the diving a bit more.
I’ve ridden my mates pikes and they’re better, and a lot cheaper. If I was building a bike from scratch I’d have the pikes, but 34s came on the bike so I’ll have to suffer on. 😀larrythelatheFree MemberI have a set if 34’s and think they are fine. I think it’s like most things the vast majority of us won’t notice as we are miles away from the ‘edge”
NorthwindFull MemberYou don’t need to be at the edge to notice differences in performance, though… I’m hewn from a block of solid mediocrity and good bike parts help reduce that basic problem
CandodavidFree MemberGot a set of second hand Fox 34s off of here, paid a fair price, sent them to be pushed.
No diving, nice sensitivity on small bumps, ramp up nice on the big stuff, overall I’m well happy.
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