Do I need a coil fork?

I have a Trek Fuel EXe that has a Lyrik with the charger 2.1 damper in it. I feel like I go through the travel too easy, would a coil fork support more?

Have you already played with volume spacers?

If you go like for like on the spring rate then no, a coil will be worse as you will have a linear spring as opposed to the inherent progression of an air spring.
Assuming you’re using a normal sag range then as above, tokens and more compression damping will make it better.

I wouldn’t take the sag as gospel.

https://vorsprungsuspension.com/blogs/learn/when-to-ignore-sag

I’m not really sure what sag I’m at right now.  I just use the manufacturer’s recommended pressures for my weight as a starting point and then add pressure (I always seem to add pressure) until things feel more or less right on the trail.  Then play about a bit with tokens.  Then I start playing around with the damping.

I feel like I go through the travel too easy

Depends what you mean by this?

If it’s that you’re bottoming out the suspension, then a coil would likely be worse. If it’s that you feel that the fork is diving despite adjusting the damping, then a coil would likely be better.

Do I need a coil fork?

No.

It might be ace if you want to try it.

I feel like I go through the travel too easy

Try pumping it up more or adding more compression damping.

My mate is 20kg+ on me. I’m faster on his bike than mine. Same air forks his had more air pressure more compression damping and possibly more rebound damping.

I tried that set up for a bit and went back to my softer set up. I don’t race, I don’t needed to go faster. But it is annoying when he drops me down hill most places

It might be cheaper getting your fork serviced and tuned for you.

I’ve had 4 coil forks. They have all been ace forks.

I currently have two air forks. They are ace and lighter than coil.

They could both be converted to coil, but I haven’t

coil forks are generally more liniar than air, so if you feel you’re bottoming out too much you probably just need to chuck a few spacers in there.

Coil does allow better small bump compliance, but its pretty marginal

No you dont need a coil. Support can come from adding more air pressure or from adding more compression damping.

It’s a good idea to start with the pressures recommended on the fork or to aim for sag of 20% (or a touch over).

Contrary to the previous posters, I would remove bottom out tokens before setting air pressure. Tokens should be used to tune the bottom out resistance, not the mid stroke. First get the mid stroke support from air pressure + compression damping, then if you find you are bottoming out hard you should add a token to increase resistance at the end of the stroke.

I am a big fan of coil forks but you can get an air fork to work well.

Starting point is understanding that suspension setup is about managing compromise; ask yourself whether you value support or sensitivity. With a little experimentation you can get a good compromise between the two.

So, if you’re going through your travel too easily it usually means your spring rate (air pressure) is too low.

Upping the air pressure will give you more support at the cost of sensitivity. With a higher spring rate you may have to adjust your damping.

The reason I prefer coil forks is the mid stroke support they offer when compared to air; when plotted on a graph an air fork spring curves, sometimes described as a hammock, in the mid stroke, then ramps up more steeply towards the end of travel. Air volume reducers/spacers etc. cause this ramp up to occur sooner in the fork’s travel meaning more force is required to compress the fork further but they don’t totally eradicate the lower mid stroke support that is inherent to air springs.

When plotted on a graph a coil fork looks like a fairly straight (linear) line that also ramps up but without the curve/dip/hammock appearance. My fork spring is rated 55lbs; this means it takes 55lbs of force to compress that spring 1 inch, 110lbs = 2 inches 165lbs = 3 inches & so on. So a coil spring also ramps up. I personally think when people say coil springs are linear they make it sound like they offer no further resistance the deeper into the travel you get, which is clearly nonsense. They actually offer more support in the mid stroke. What this means to me as a rider – when I ride off road I believe I spend a lot of time in that mid stroke region so to me more support there is better.

My personal experience is that the (relative) lack of mid stroke support in an air spring fork means I’m usually deeper into the travel but butting up against a more sudden ramp up. To me, this makes the fork feel harsher. Fitting volume reducers means I don’t easily use all of the travel and the forks even harsher. Dropping air pressure to then reduce harshness actually sinks me further into the available travel meaning I effectively have a shorter travel fork that still ramps up harshly.

As long as the spring rate is correct I believe a coil fork is superior in every way. But again, it boils down to your preferences and what compromises you want to make.

If you’re going through your travel then you probably need for air in the fork. Sorry if you’ve already done this and I’m teaching you to suck eggs.

What model Lyrik do you have? As that might give you more options to tune it. 

Contrary to the previous posters, I would remove bottom out tokens before setting air pressure. Tokens should be used to tune the bottom out resistance, not the mid stroke. First get the mid stroke support from air pressure + compression damping, then if you find you are bottoming out hard you should add a token to increase resistance at the end of the stroke.

This is the way. I always start with no tokens and work from there. On my last few RS forks Ive not added tokens in, they’re plenty progressive out of the box.

I have a Trek Fuel EXe that has a Lyrik with the charger 2.1 damper in it. I feel like I go through the travel too easy, would a coil fork support more?

Probably not. Forget tokens for now, place more emphasis on compression damping and how it rides. Ignore what it feels like in the car park, where it will probably feel like its too soft.

Also feeling like and actually going through travel are different things, one you can easily measure. Feeling like could be coming from the rear shock pushing you forward or changing your bar height giving you a different starting position. It might not just be the fork causing it but the overall setup