I am wrestling with taking the totems off my sx trail and going back to a 160mm fork to give it back it’s versatility. I’ve had a Lyrik on it before, but found it too flexy. Hence the totem

Has anyone had experience with both a Lyrik and a 36? I am wondering if the 36 is any stiffer than the lyrik. I had no problems with the lyriks damping wise.

If I go ahead I’ll be getting a second hand set, funded by the totems, so my ideal choice, the 36 180 talas are out of the equation.

Purely guessing here but could Magura Wotans be stiffer than a Lyrik or 36, guessing merely by the double arch and maguras generally being pretty stiff?

I have a 160 domain and some 36 van R’s and the Vans seem much stiffer

Lyriks and 36 floats here, 36s stiffer, have you looked at totem airs? U can adjust them down to 100mm in 10mm increments with spacers I’m pretty sure.

CalD

Lyriks and 36 floats here, 36s stiffer, have you looked at totem airs? U can adjust them down to 100mm in 10mm increments with spacers I’m pretty sure.

Never considered them as I’ve never liked air damped anything and a friend had a pair blow up after one day. I suppose if I swapped the internals to air they could be lighter, shorter, but still be uber stiff.

ive got 36’s and they are no flex issues at all and i use them for full on downhill.

mrbump

ive got 36’s and they are no flex issues at all and i use them for full on downhill.

That would be relative.

Wotans I felt a bit of obvious flex in. 36s and Lyriks I never have. But then I am 10 stone and a mincer, so.

marz 66rc (the originals) replaced my fox 36s and i aint looked back

earl_brutus

marz 66rc (the originals) replaced my fox 36s and i aint looked back

Yar, but then it would still be just as slack and as heavy as it is now.

Running the Lyrik with Mission Control compression damping on Vancouver’s North Shore and it seem perfect to me.
Course, I’m coming of a noodly set of Fox 32 RLCs . . .
FWIW I weight 220lbs

Had Coil U-turn Lyriks on my 575 and have Fit 36 Talas on my Blur. The 36s are considerably stiffer and more controlled. Mine have a tapered steerer which no doubt helps, but there is no question in my mind that the 36s are better.

There definitely seems to be a consensus on the 36s being noticeably stiffer.

I’ve had coil Lyriks and now have the 2011 Fox 36 Floats.

The Lyriks were slightly better in terms of suppleness and performance over the initial part of the travel but the Floats are every bit as good on larger hits and apart from being super light, they are also very stiff.

As with MrBump, I’ve used mine on some descent DH courses, including Gawton’s Super Tavi and Egypt.

I think you’ll miss the Totems! I’ve run Lyrics (air), 36’s (both coil and air), and coil Totems, and there’s a certain sense of invincibility that they give you! I had a quick bounce on some Van 180’s yesterday and they felt very nice, but as you say aren’t around in the 2nd hand market yet.

Oh aye HeiHei? Where did you bounce these Van 180s and might we see the Mojo sporting a pair any time soon?

Haven’t tried Lyrics but i’ve no issues with the stiffness of 36s on the trails you ride. 😉

I have had fox 36 talas, lyrik solo airs and now run lyrik coils. If I were you I would keep the totem, convert to air and drop to 160mm. Never had a problem with my solo airs.

Ooops, meant to say I had totem solo airs ^^^^^^^^

Euro

Haven’t tried Lyrics but i’ve no issues with the stiffness of 36s on the trails you ride.

I’m not worried that either fork will be so flexy as to to be unusable, I just know from experience that there would be discernible flex were I to downsize from the totem.

Awesome visual representation of my dilema btw Marty.

Run the totems at 160mm. I did it with my coils and they worked a treat.

Jambo, how did you reduce the travel of the totem coil?

@jimjam – out of interest what do you weigh?

Jimjam – not sure how Jambo did his but I had mine cut down by TF Tuned. That is a one way conversion though as it means cutting the spring and the end of the damper shaft.

no cutting required. 20mm of spacers in the right place. Means a little more pre-load as you have to squeeze the spring into 20mm less space. ran it like that for 6 months with no problems.

I’ve sold my 08 SX but did run 36’s Vans originally and Totems latterly, the Totems were awesome, slackened the bike and were very stiff, I now have a DH bike and run the 36’s on my Enduro

You say you want more versatility, what kind of riding? (The SX IMO is only any good for FR and light DH) are you looking to use it for XC/AM? might be too heavy even with lighter wheels/tubes for that kind of thing unless you’re super fit

flamejob

@jimjam – out of interest what do you weigh?

About 12 and a half stone on a good day.

Dango

You say you want more versatility, what kind of riding? (The SX IMO is only any good for FR and light DH) are you looking to use it for XC/AM? might be too heavy even with lighter wheels/tubes for that kind of thing unless you’re super fit

Well, it’s my only bike, and probably will be for the near future. I use it for everything. The bulk of it is fire road climbs and technical descents. Current build is 36lbs (on shop scales) with 2x 2ply tires and the totems. In it’s previous build it was just over 33lbs.
At the minute I’m thinking I should lighten it, ride it more, and just accept that it’s not a downhill bike.

Probably best

I had an Enduro with E150 forks and an SX with 36’s, I stuck the Vans on the Enduro as I got a good deal on some Totems I was happy until I swapped my SX with a mate for one run at a DH spot, he had 40’s on his DH bike and the difference was huge, I sold the SX/Totems and bought a Demo8 with Boxxers and now mainly ride those two bikes

One bike to do everything? There’s always a compromise somewhere