I have an Evil Following that is a great bike, awesome thing to ride. It currently has Pike RT3's (140mm) on it and I want something stiffer (fnarr fnarr).
I have wittled it down to either DT Swiss F535's, I have them on my Intense in 650b flava and really like them, stiff, great small bump compliance, support throughout the travel, well damped and no nasty clunks
Or Lyrik Ultimate's (travel set to 140mm), have previously used Lyrik RTC3's on the Intense, the 535's replaced them in fact, they were pre Debonair and super stiff, small bump compliance was either great causing mid-stroke support prob or poor with support throughout travel. Made slightly better by a Luftkappe but never felt right.
Every review I read these days says Lyrik Ultimate's are now awesome, is this the case?
Not used F535s but have a Pike Ultimate RC2 and effectively a Lyrik rct3 with a charger 2 damper (actually started life as a Yari but has Lyrik airspring / charger damper / skf seals now).
Both are good forks and the backwards / forwards compatibility that Rockshox tends to have is ace as it allows future upgrades. They are also really easy to work on and you can change the travel really cheaply / easily.
I think the F535 have travel specific dampers so you can’t change the travel without changing the damper - sure I’ve read that somewhere?
We are running Pike and Lyrik Ultimate and you can just about tell the difference in stiffness. They are both very good.
Managed to pick up a new set of Fox Factory 36s at a steal this time last year and they are also first class.
Our daughter has raced on Lyriks for quite some time but her new bike came with Fox 36 performance elite last year and she rates them better than the Lyriks
Have just picked up a set of 36 Performance Elite from Wiggle at £634 this week which is good for that fork. Think we got the last one
We do have a new set, taken of new bike, of Lyrik Select that will be going up for sale soon.
You are correct in that the F535's do not have travel adjust so if that's a big deal for you you'd be better off with the RS. The position sensitive dampers and CSU's are specific to the travel so changing them out won't really be an econmical option.
If it's not and you already like the feel of the F535 I'd go there again as you know they work for you. Hugely underrated forks IMHO.
Tracey
Have just picked up a set of 36 Performance Elite from Wiggle at £634 this week which is good for that fork.
Think you've done well there - Fox maybe a hair better, but unless you get them on offer like that, they are almost twice the price of the Lyrik and very hard to justify that much extra
Just sold my old bike with F535s and have ridden few times with new bike (2022 Fox 36 Grip2 ) and I really hope the Fox forks will get more supple as they break in. Currently they don’t have much sensibility needed for wet roots.
The F535 is great fork and I would not hesitate buying them again.
2019 Lyrik is the one apparently
tracey
We are running Pike and Lyrik Ultimate and you can just about tell the difference in stiffness. They are both very good.
I'm 71kg ... I struggle to tell the difference and wonder if its in my head or not.
2020 Lyrik Ultimate RC2's vs the 2015 Pikes though ... the Lyrik Ultimates are plusher and nicer..
tracey again
Our daughter has raced on Lyriks for quite some time but her new bike came with Fox 36 performance elite last year and she rates them better than the Lyriks
I've got some older 2016 FIT 4 with a neg air conversion and they are definitely different and I like them (not sure which is "better" but definitely nice worth the difference in RRP in the UK ?? probably not for me... at £634 ... tough question though that's very slightly more than I paid for my Lyrik Ultimates.
I've not tried GRIP2 properly (as in on one of my bikes and you can't exactly try on a mates bikes as they take about a week to set up)
The 36s have never been worth the full price so at that price I think they were a steal.
Even in the middle of a parts shortage there are always fork bargains to be had as long as you are prepared to shop around or wait. Same with rear shocks especially on Pinkbike. The VAT on goods from the EU has virtually killed that market for us.
I have an Evil Following that is a great bike, awesome thing to ride. It currently has Pike RT3’s (140mm) on it and I want something stiffer (fnarr fnarr).
I've an equivalent bike, a Cotic Flare Max, and have also been considering a new pair of forks but I'm a bit concerned that maybe stiffer forks may take away some of its handling - i.e. is it good because the Pike is stiff ENOUGH, and if I went to Lyric/36 would it actually upset what's good about it?
Eldest_oab went from Lyric Ultimate to Fox36 Evol GRIP.
Claims that the Lyric felt better along the trail, but the burlier and faster it gets, the better the 36 feels. Overall he says he prefers the 36.