[Closed] What would you change? Forks for a lightweight rider?

With those massive tyres, can you not fiddle with their pressures to get small bump sensitivity out of them instead of the forks.

Have you actually tired setting the forks up to what you want properly ?

Id try the Fox 34s as your a lightweight (not in a pejorative way).

Just do a proper lowers only service on the Pike, making sure to soak the foam rings in oil. A worn stanchion suggests it might not have been done that frequently?

Yes they're set up properly. They've been serviced properly within the last 6 months, they sustained a stone knock at some point and the stanchion movement has now worn this smooth again and taken with it some of the black coating.

I run 21 psi so fairly low already 😉

In true STW fashion could I suggest an upgrade in maintenance skills?

If youre paying someone to fettle a FS it'll cost a fortune (smiley face).

21psi isn't low.

I'm 80kg and run that on normal (2.3 29) tyres and live in Scotland, so lots of rocks & roots.

Lowers service is an hours work, just do it.

mrs_oab also weigh's in at the lighter end of the scale.

I haven't yet got round to swapping the oil in her Reba's for a lighter weight - I am thinking of mixing weights. It may be worth a TFTuned call?

Echoing Matt, I was going to suggest a lighter oil weight. But ianam so contacting TF wouldn't hurt.

Yeah I was going to suggest that too, giving TF Tuned a call, and also Jake at Sprung Suspension who now does the Avalanche upgrades to see what they would suggest. From personal experience if budget isn't really an issue I would rather spend it on getting my suspension set up properly.

Thanks wilburt but I actually do all my own maintenance, the only thing I take to shops is for wheels which was done at the weekend.

Good suggestions about the lighter weight oil, I'll have a look into it! TBF with the worn stanchion and the fact the crown is all worn out I'm tempted to replace either way.

Hi Alison,
Take a look at the Formula 35 fork too.
It's a 35mm station (not surprisingly) with a small coil negative spring.
Way better in the early part of the stroke than the Pike that I have on my other bike, IMHO.

Nobbys nics 😯
They would go in the bin* and I'd get some other tyres!

*actually the ones i had were the older model but they were up there with some WTB velociraptors and Ricthey Z Max I had in the 1990's as the scariest least predictable tyres I've ever had. Plus they punctured if you gave them a stern look.

As well as changing oil weight, there is quite a variety of aftermarket dampers for the Pike now that aim to get more adjustment.

Or changing fork, Marzocchi 350 has a more accessible feel than the Pike I find.

Pike's don't all that well at 60kg or less IMHO, you can feel a noticeable spike on the damper as you move through the travel.

Get yourself something like a 2 or 2.5wt oil and a charger bleed kit and have at it. If you have some reverb oil knocking about thats probably 2.5wt Torco fluid, which would be fine.

Speaking at a 60kg rider with '16 Fox 36 Factories, I wouldn't go to them if you are after more small bump compliance. They're brilliant forks, but I personally felt the Pikes were a fair chunk better on the tiddly stuff. 36s were better on pretty much everything else IMHO, mind!

Yup, agree with Ben, we're too light for the stock Pike tune. (filling it with bottomless tokens and dropping the pressure may suit you better too)

Three out of the four of us suffer from the light rider problems. Manage to throw my leg over Pikes, Lyriks and Ohlins on the bikes we have in the garage, and it would be fair to say that if the Ohlins came in 650b form it would be on more of our bikes.

My main bike is an Enduro 650b fitted with Pikes, best upgrade that I got last year was a Syncros digital shock pump.

The Pikes never felt right for me running at their minimum recommended pressure but didn't realize the Rockshox shock pump was way out. They now feel a lot better with the correct lower pressure in them.

Just in the process of building up another bike so the Pikes will be going on that and getting another set of Lyriks for the Enduro as they do feel better than the Pikes

If you really want a new fork I would be looking at a Lyrik. If you consider keeping the Pike then id fit a vorsprung luftkappe to increase small bump sensitivity and look at redline extra light fluid for the damper. That depends on where you are with settings on the damper though.

Stick with the pike. My wife is really light 45-50kg and fox forks dont work as she is outside of their lower operating weight, It is impossible to get full travel from them. Pikes are fine for her and she can have a reasonable air pressure in them so they work well.

id say stick with the pike. send them to tftuned and get them converted to coil and extended to 160mm. Ive just had mine converted and they feel amazing. the small bump compliance is noticeable better

id say stick with the pike. send them to tftuned and get them converted to coil and extended to 160mm. Ive just had mine converted and they feel amazing. the small bump compliance is noticeable better

Spend all that money on a pair of forks with worn stanchion? Not for me.

its way cheaper than buying a new fork. £100 plus a service.

Not sure on the coil way for a lighter rider. We had some Lyriks converted and even with an extra soft spring could only manage 80% of the travel. That was with Abigale throwing them down the DH in Wharncliffe.

I've been told the stanchion wear wont effect their performance (by my bike shop and Tftuned over the phone) but will affect the time period between services as they wont have a perfect seal so will let more rubbish past. Tricky to justify spending money on them when I would have to get the crown painted as well as the wear annoying me. I think last time I looked the cost to get new uppers fit to swap out those two issues, it wasn't much more to buy a new fork!

@superstu bin your glasses while you're at it. Thats a magic mary and a spec butcher! 😉

a luftkappe will make a big difference to the fork but if the stanchions are worn then you'll need either new ones or a new fork.

for light riders then getting the damping tuned makes a huge difference, I got Lewis's (12) SID and monarch tuned on his ripcord for that very reason.

Speak to TF tuned..they will give you advise if the pike can be tuned/upgraded to work for you, or go for a different fork altogether..

Damper upgrade is still on my list to do for my pikes.

Very useful thread this. As another sub 60kg rider I've always struggled to get my Pikes set up right. Either really dive-y on rocky steepness, or harsh on small-medium bumps. Will change the damper fluid for 2.5wt and see how it goes..

I'm 72ish kg in riding kit and i run my pikes at 55psi with a token, and i get full travel with stock oil. What pressure are you at?

Mrs_oab - 49kg and 35psi in Reba Solo, still not moving easily in commission or rebound.

57kg and 45psi

60kg kitted up, 50psi no tokens, max speed rebound and 10 clicks of 13 on low speed compression. Bottoms out most rides if I drop the pressure to 45psi.

ket yourself a luftkappe - why do you run so much LSC?

Tricky to justify spending money on them when I would have to get the crown painted as well as the wear annoying me. I think last time I looked the cost to get new uppers fit to swap out those two issues, it wasn't much more to buy a new fork!

[url= https://tinyurl.com/h4dgflp ]Pike CSU[/url] for £135 if you decide to stick with your current forks..

I've got a similar Bronson and to help resist the urge to buy a shiny new one I stuck a 1.5 degree angle set in mine. I've also had some 160mm 36's on it since day one.

At least if you buy some 36's there is a good chance you'll be able to take them over to your next bike one day.

I just splashed out on a set of Fox 36 Factory for my Bronson after 3 years with Pikes. Upped the travel to 160mm also.

Game changer. Made a brilliant bike ten times better.

Ooooo interesting, do you both find its made a good difference then?

That tinyurl didnt work, maybe just the work laptop, can you send the long version or just tell me the web shop? German?

[quote=GolfChick]That tinyurl didnt work, maybe just the work laptop, can you send the long version or just tell me the web shop? German?

Weird.. anyway it's on Amazon.co.uk - just search for "Rock Shox CSU Pike" (assuming it's not boost?)

55kg of Mrs H started her fork upgrades a couple of years ago with a coil Sector, X soft spring and 3.75wt oil. Worked so well she's now had to up the coil to soft as she was blowing through the travel. It's a lovely, controlled and sensitive fork, works well up proper hills. I'd wager that a new coil conversion Pike would be a thing of loveliness for you....