I'm a bit torn about what to do with the fork on my Canyon Nerve AM.
I just bought a used and cheapish Van RC shock to try out and ordered a CC spring from TFT in (what i hope is) the right weight - to replace the RP2, which I just wasn't getting on with.
I was going to convert the fork - which is a 32 TALAS RL 150mm - to a Van 140mm (conversion costs around £110 including a tool I would need)
But I've seen a slightly older 36 Van 160 RC2 that I might (pending negotiation) be able to get for a similar price to selling my TALAS (unless I am massively over-estimating the value of my current fork) plus the £110ish cost of the Van upgrade for the 32.
I'd have to swap out the front hub for a 20mm but hopefully that can be acheived at lowish cost. With the 36 I doubt I'd need an angle headset (which I'm also considering when Works have them ready) as the 25mm greater a-c should slacken the bike another degree.
Any thoughts? I worry that the 36 might be "too much fork" and it obviously weighs a fair bit more, but then I've never seen anyone say they wished they had kept a 32 over a 36, and the RC2 damping should be a sh*tload better than the RL open bath (which has terrible brake dive).
For UK trail riding, Alps possible later but unlikely in next 12 months
Thought about a 34? 160mm, but slightly shorter A2C than the 36.
34 could be a decent solution, no need to change front wheel either, BUT that's ~£400-500 (that I don't have) more than my second hand options. And CTD damper rather than RC2.
I think the main upgrade for a Nerve AM is to junk the standard air shock and get something decent with a coil. Makes all the difference.
Fwiw I'm a fat b*****d and the 32 Talas work fine for me.
Chris
Swapped the Magura Thor's on my Yeti for Lyriks.
Ditched the Lyriks later - 85%-90% of every ride I was dragging weight around I wasn't using. Stuck some DT Swiss XMM140's on to replace the Lyriks and I think I've regretted it once in around 1000 km.
Go for a 140mm fork with good damping and it's all you'll ever need unless you're throwing it off the side of your house on a regular basis.
Thanks
Chris, it was a post of yours that led me to buy the coil actually. Just thrown the RP2 on fleabay.
To be honest I think the Talas is actually better for the "larger gentleman" as the main issue is the initial breakaway - which makes for very poor small bump performance - which your body weight helps overcome if you're a bit bigger.
Your bike has a Factory fork with Kashima and RLC FIT I think. Sadly I had to buy the budget version which has open bath RL damping. Once the fork is moving, the rebound damping is actually very good but the lack of adjustable compression damping means brake dive is quite bad.
Wondering if turning the 32 to coil (adds 100g to the weight of TALAS, can cope with that) would compensate a bit for the compression damping.
Unboxed my Nerve AL+ this weekend and took it out for a quick ride. I'm too heavy for the Fox float CTD shock so will be changing to a coil. Hopefully should be able to recoup some of the cost of the new shock by selling it on. It works brilliantly if you haven't eaten all the pies! 🙂
I'm 76kg and I thought the air shock was not ideal too. I think in combo with the progressive leverage curve it just feels bad to some. Air spacer kit might be a solution but might also make it worse.
Was tempted to give Loco a call to find out when the DSP would be available in 190x50 but then found the RC at a price I couldn't ignore.