hey all,
recently building up an SX trail and now im up to the forks i dont no which way to go with it.
first off anybody now what the frames are warratied for?
im building it up more as a gravity biased bike (single front ring C/guide)but want something fairly light too.
reason im asking as stock the rear end is 170mm of travel and the front is specced with 160.
im ponder between:
160mm – fox float 160 R
170mm – lyrick rc2dh solo air
even 180mm -Totem rc2dh solo air or float 180 r

any one got any pointers or advice?pointers

many thanks

liam

I’ve ridden one with both 36’s and Totems – go with 36’s if you are going to do any climbing or XC-ish stuff, and Totems if just downhill. I’d also go with coil to match the rear.

get a coil fork

To start with, what year sx trail is it? I think the 05 and 06 models had slightly different geo from the 07 / 08 / 09 models – don’t quote me on that though.
Assuming it’s 07 or later I’d go with a Totem (coil though). It doesnt really have an adverse effect on the handling and it is much much stiffer than a 36. If it’s got the mission control then you can still haul it uphill if you need to. If you want to keep the bike in a sort of big trail/am style then maybe go for a lyrik or 36 but personally I think the bike deserves a totem. The fact that spesh are now speccing them with 180mm forks and 180mm of rear travel shows it’s true intent imo.

muddyfunste-its a 2007 sx.
i see what you mean about the coil,
in all honesty this is the dilema.do i build for out and out dh stuff and go coil or go trail/am and keep it abit lighter.the amount ill go to the alps will no be that often and living in the uk theres not great up lifts atm.saying that i want to keep it as versatile as i can.i like the idea of mission control for hauling it back up.
does the coil give a much more predictable ride compared to the air?or more plush?

180mm 66s on Kevins

Still up for sale

Tracey

london_lad_liam
does the coil give a much more predictable ride compared to the air?or more plush?

Well to start with there is the reliability issue. In my experience I’ve had far less issue with coil forks and shocks than with air. Maybe just me. I’ve never experienced an air fork that felt as good as coil, never.

Then on a dh/fr bike you have the diving issue – you want it plush, so you need to lower the air pressure, but as you spend most of your time with the bike pointing downhill it sags excessively. Something I noticed on the earlier totem airs. Cant see it being fixed. Maybe I’m just a luddite but I don’t trust air for dh applaications. The difference in weight between a totem air and coil, or a lyrik for that matter is negligable (sp?)

Stick a ti spring on the rear and you’ve got the best of everything. If you avoid cheap parts it can still be a sub 36lb build and be all coil. I ran a 170mm lyrik on mine before swapping it for a totem – the geometry felt ever so slightly better but the steering improved dramatically!! It is so stiff and just track much much better. Totem coil all the way!

The Totem coil is a great fork – I’ve got one myself on a Froggy and love it – but I wouldn’t put one on a bike I was going to be doing any proper climbing on.

I’ve got an 08 with a set of 36 Float RC2s on it, they suit the bike pretty well. If I had the chance I would probably stick a set of 180mm forks on it, I know a couple of people who have theirs set up with 66s or triple clamps and they’re very happy with them.

You can build them up pretty light but its debatable whether its worth it, they don’t pedal great with 170mm of travel and a coil shock.