Fox 36 Vs Pike.

Anyone compared the 2015 36’s to the Pikes yet? I’ve got the most recent WMB with a review of the 36’s and they seem to think they are better then Pikes which would be some going considering how well regarded Pikes seem to be.

Interested as I’ll probably spec one or the other on my next bike.

My guess is the prices are pretty different?

Everyone I know who was running pikes that has tried the new 36’s now have a set fitted/on order…

So they seem to be good but they are also new and shiny so this may also be to blame for this trend.

Are they £500 (as well as maintenance costs) better is the real question. I’ll be sticking to pikes.

Just read this, seem pretty equal (a bit more noise they say)

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/fox-36-float-rc2-talas-first-ride.html

I have had both. Out of the two I’d go for a 36 but then is it worth another £450ish compared to what you can get a Pike for? Probably not. I paid only a little more for mine than a Pike though so I’m pretty much delighted with it.

If I was willing to spend Fox money, I’d probably get the pike and with the money I saved, upgrade to the avalanche damper.

Having said that, I love the avalanche dampers so would probably pick the ones with the stiffer chassis and upgrade the internals in that.

If I was willing to spend Fox money, I’d probably get the pike and with the money I saved, upgrade to the avalanche damper.

Having said that, I love the avalanche dampers so would probably pick the ones with the stiffer chassis and upgrade the internals in that.

See that’s interesting. I have a Boxxer with an Avy cart, and have been wondering about trying out one of the Charger dampers out. I thought the main thing that was awesome about the Pike was the Charger damper? If you are going to change the damper anyway would you not get a Lyrik and keep the 20mm bolt-through?

chestrockwell – Member

Anyone compared the 2015 36’s to the Pikes yet? I’ve got the most recent WMB with a review of the 36’s and they seem to think they are better then Pikes which would be some going considering how well regarded Pikes seem to be.

Some of the mag reviews have been based on custom tuned 36s- they’ve been press testing at BPW with Mojo on hand. So maybe not the fairest comparo tbh.

Big price difference over here while in the US they’re similar. Anyone know why that is?
Both US companies so why can we get SRAM forks so comparatively cheap?

Some of the mag reviews have been based on custom tuned 36s- they’ve been press testing at BPW with Mojo on hand. So maybe not the fairest comparo tbh.

I don’t believe there was anything really custom tuned about the ones the mags in the UK tested? Mojo will have been on hand to help set them up but they won’t have done anything else.

The early ones that the big US lot tested were not straight off the production line but built with 2015 parts. Mojo will have got a boat load of standard ones and dished them out to test.

wiggles – Member
Everyone I know who was running pikes that has tried the new 36’s now have a set fitted/on order…

So they seem to be good but they are also new and shiny so this may also be to blame for this trend.

Fantastic will they be selling their Pikes anytime soon?

If I was willing to spend Fox money, I’d probably get the pike and with the money I saved, upgrade to the avalanche damper.
Having said that, I love the avalanche dampers so would probably pick the ones with the stiffer chassis and upgrade the internals in that.

See that’s interesting. I have a Boxxer with an Avy cart, and have been wondering about trying out one of the Charger dampers out. I thought the main thing that was awesome about the Pike was the Charger damper? If you are going to change the damper anyway would you not get a Lyrik and keep the 20mm bolt-through?

I sort of did. I’m running old Fox 36 Ford. One float, on van. Both with the old bolt up drop out. Both have avy carts and I’m more than happy with both. Not planning to change until I’m left with no option.

Thanks for the replies. I realise there’s a big price difference if buying just the fork (WMB gave the price as the only downside) but I’ll probably just get a full build and from what I’ve seen the price difference comes down to a more sensible level so not so much of an issue.

Must admit to prefering Fox over RS usually although the Pikes and the rubbish reviews of recent Fox got me thinking.

Some of the mag reviews have been based on custom tuned 36s- they’ve been press testing at BPW with Mojo on hand. So maybe not the fairest comparo tbh.

All the mag tests in the UK that I know of were done with stock forks. As Rick Draper said, Mojo were there to help set the forks up, but nothing was changed internally or custom tuned.

The 2015 36 Rc2 floats I have just fitted to my bike feel ace, need to give them a couple of rides to get a full picture of how they compare with the Pikes I had, but initial rides suggest they are very good. 😀 But they’re a couple of £100 more comparing RRPs so they should be .

A lot more money for a fork that you’ll spend more time servicing than riding? No thanks – Fox need to get their act together with reliability before I’ll ever consider them over Pikes.

Maybe ask Jared Graves what he thinks of them after his set ‘mysteriously’ lost most of their air on a recent EWS event losing him a ton of time…

I got a feeling with these that 99% of riders wont be able to tell the difference between a set of fox 36, pikes or even x-fusion. Then lots of mediocre justifying will ensue in order to persuade their selves they haven’t just wasted £400 on nothing.

I understand just buying stuff because you irrationally like it more, it’s fine, everyone’s free to spend their hard earned money however they want, but finding ways to justify something that costs almost twice as much with BS, what’s the point of kidding yourself.

Basically, the 36s will be good, if you want them, buy them.

A lot more money for a fork that you’ll spend more time servicing than riding?

Service intervals are pretty similar for Pikes and 36s though.

Maybe ask Jared Graves what he thinks of them after his set ‘mysteriously’ lost most of their air on a recent EWS event losing him a ton of time…

Or why don’t we ask the people who’s Pikes have failed mid ride, all manufacturers forks have had a failure at some point, Pikes had a number of failures when they first came out, 1 failure doesn’t make for a poor product!

LoCo – I didn’t realise that these had changed – are the service intervals on 36s longer than previous or have the RS ones decreased?

euans2 – ok, fair point – a light-hearted comment there really – not that Graves would see it that way though!

In the last 5+ years of riding, my experience of Rockshox vs. Fox has seen Fox fall to pieces much sooner and require more maintenance to keep them feeling good.

My own personal opinion, I know, but I reckon the biggest thing Fox could do to improve at the moment is to increase reliability. They also took a beating in the last year or two by pretty much everyone (customers, mag reviews) over the CTD disaster as well.

Given the price difference, they don’t appear to offer anything more over the Pike expect possibly a very slight performance difference. As mentioned above – will this be detectable my most riders?

And yes, if you wanna buy them, sure, go ahead – they will probably feel lovely.

LoCo, are they the ones that weighed 5lbs?

I’ll continue to use FOX based on real world* “ME” reviews as oposed to what the papers say approach, That said my 36’s are the first batch that appered with the Kashima coat and tapered head tube, 3 years on and after irregular service intervals they are fine, being the first batch of the Kashima i think i bought these before all the bad reviews and the poor service from FOX that has occured over the past few years so i cant comment on that but im due another pair shortly and will be buying FOX over the RS equivelant so fingers crossed.

Good to see the 36 back, but I’d also be interested in the Marzocchi 350 – based on how awesome the 55 rc3 ti was for both performance and reliability.

I was under the impression that the OEM Fox stuff that comes fitted to bikes tended to be not so hot compared to the aftermarket parts, even for the same “spec” models?

finding ways to justify something that costs almost twice as much with BS, what’s the point of kidding yourself.

Basically, the 36s will be good, if you want them, buy them.

As mentioned, it will be on a full build and the price difference is not a great deal compared to buying Pikes from Germany or Fox at rrp so is far less an issue.

I’ve been tempted by Pikes but am always cautious with RS as the Rev/Reba/Sektors I’ve had or used have never compared imo to the similar Fox option, regardless what the reviews have said.

Interested in real world feedback as if the Fox are on a par or rated higher I’m far more likely to go for them due to my traditional bias.

The biggest question about the pikes is why are shops selling the most popular fork of the year for such a discount? Most of the euro sale prices is less than Oz trade (which is not the case with the other sram stuff)

OEM supplied so silly cheap to them.

Even merlin were undercutting for boxed with pump and seals

Maybe ask Jared Graves what he thinks of them after his set ‘mysteriously’ lost most of their air on a recent EWS event losing him a ton of time…

Maybe ask countless riders about the pikes reliability issues too then, charge dampers that drp fluid from the lower seal head, blown bladders etc etc.

My 36, 650b, 170mm with a 20mm axle and a star nut fitted weighed 4.42lbs.

Rick Draper – Member
My 36, 650b, 170mm with a 20mm axle and a star nut fitted weighed 4.42lbs.
POSTED 50 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Did you check if there was any oil in them? Chances are there won’t be enough from the factory.

LoCo, are they the ones that weighed 5lbs?

2015 650 Float RC2 160mm 15mm axle fitted and full steerer 5.14lbs.

Was plenty of oil and grease when they were stripped for travel reduction and adjustment to the air volume.

Did you check if there was any oil in them? Chances are there won’t be enough from the factory.

First thing I did was strip the fork down and it was spot on from the factory.

PaYing full rrp for the Foxes over actual price for Pikes is Shirley madness

Even if there they were twice as good you’d still be better off buying 2 sets of pikes

Fox have (apparently)consistently put out under damped forks for the last few years and after a season racing ukge on a set of pikes (along with so many others) and ive found previous foxes to be much more maintenance heavy, I’d say Pike all the way

(Conversely Ime fox rear shocks have excellent sealing and work very well, RS monarchs are a bit shit)

Oh yeah black stanchions are waaaaay sexier

What are the implications of buying the 36 from the States/Canada in terms of warranty – over there quite often and the pricing is very good over there.

What are the implications of buying the 36 from the States/Canada in terms of warranty – over there quite often and the pricing is very good over there.

The first issue is you need to get it delivered to you. Secondly I don’t believe you don’t have a warranty other than in the country you bought it.

First isn’t an issue since I have relatives over there!

Will investigate second…