Im thinking of buying a Nukeproof Mega – budget means its going to be either the Mega 275 Alloy equipped with a Rock Shox Lyrik Select Charger RC fork, Brand X dropper and NX Eagle @ £3000, or the 275c, carbon frame, Reverb, SLX 12 speed, but with Fox 36 float, Performance series + Grip damper @ £3700. Is there a huge difference in performance between these two forks? Im tempted towards the carbon frame version, but if the fork is going to suck then i’m not so keen. Anyone had chance to compare them?

I must admit Rock Shox have lost me with their new model designations – and what it means for the damping and adjustments you get.

I do have the old Lyrik RC (which may have the same Charger damper) and I stuck a Debonair shaft in that – it’s great but it does lack the ability to dial off the HSC. That’s not a problem on my Orange because it matches the perky nature of the back end, but I also have the RC2 on another longer travel bike – which benefits from the HSC adjustment.

My pal has that Fox 36 and rates it highly. I don’t think there’s a huge gap in performance.

Personally I would much rather have SLX 12sp than NX and the addition of the carbon frame seems to make the price gap justifiable. Maybe change the shifter for an XT on arrival though.

Id go carbon with shimano, £3330 at MTB monster, nicer colour too, that green is vomit inducing. I agree about the XT shifter upgrade.

There probably isn’t much in it between that spec Lyrik and the Fox 36 with grip damper. Maybe the Lyrik would be a bit more sensitive as I think that has a charger 2 in it (but not the 2.2 with more adjustment) – but the basic grip damper is meant to be better than the basic Rockshox moco dampers.

For the carbon frame and avoiding Sram NX I’d pay the extra cash. Shimano 12 speed is generally well reviewed – although if it has shimano brakes I’d be tempted to sell them brand new and pick a make without a wandering bite point / caliper seal leaks within a short period of time.

Either Sram Code R’s / Magura MT5’s would do the job really well on that bike.

Had both lyriks and the 36 on my carbon mega, the 36 are much better damped for my riding style.

The Lyrik is the better fork, but not by a huge amount. I think the carbon frame saves about 400g, but that may be offset by the component differences.

JP

Why is the Lyrik a better fork – explain? Or is it just your opinion?

Cheers for the MTB Monster tip off – Ive never heard of them before, but 10% discount on a 2020 model is a killer deal. Im going to go for the carbon version. I’m a blundering oaf anyway so perhaps the Lyrik v 36 wont make too much difference to me…..though the Lyrik does look nicer 🙂

Well, the Lyrik wins every test in pretty much every magazine over the 36. Plus, I’ve ridden both and the Lyrik has slightly more traction over roots due to being more supple, yet still has plenty of mid stroke support.

So, in answer to your question, it’s both my opinion and that of most professional MTB journalists. Is that enough for you?

JP

But does that lyrik have the same level of adjustment as the rc2 or ultimate models that win group tests?

Probably not.

Does the 36 performance elite have adjustable high speed compression?

I have no idea, but if it does then it might shade it against the more basic lyrik.

I believe it’s the lyrik select rather than the ultimate. The damper is the charger RC which is a spring backed off which sounds similar to the basic grip damper on entry level fox forks or indeed, the fox 36 performance model offered on the carbon version.

Both are decent forks when set up correctly for the rider, but the reality is that it’s not what you build a bike around, you can adjust forks to the nth degree and upgrade where required, so i’d say the choice between the two bikes is down to what suits you best and what you want, as there are quite big differences in the frame and groupset to focus on.

Other than that it’s all just personal opinions, i’m still trying to work out the best settings for my fork and probably could get the same level of performance just now from either of these choices.

I have a Lyrik RC (not a “select”) and find the HSC is too heavy, feels like it’s spiking. It’s only really noticeable when you’re going pretty fast through rock gardens and the like though. I opened mine up, put a lighter oil in a removed a shim from the compression damper. Made it a bit better.

The rest of the fork is great though, and with a 700 quid price difference you could even drop the RC2 damper, or Push HC97 in there.

“Slightly more traction over roots”

You’re either a mtb god or full of bullshit like most magazine testers. I suggest the latter?

Harsh and unnecessary comment cyclelife. He just gave an opinion like yours, no better or worse. Get off the guys back!

cyclelife

Member
“Slightly more traction over roots”

You’re either a mtb god or full of bullshit like most magazine testers. I suggest the latter?

cyclelife

Member
Had both lyriks and the 36 on my carbon mega, the 36 are much better damped for my riding style.

Cycle life – I don’t see any difference in you quoting your opinion vs the other poster putting on his. So your comment is a bit out of order really. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Lyrik vs 36 is a pretty tight contest and up to personal opinion – it’s up to personal preference at the end of the day which side you fall in.

Mine was my opinion of how they worked for me, his statement was written as a fact.

I’ve got both and I prefer the lyrik to the 36. Both are great forks but I prefer that supple initial stroke on the lyrik . 36 always feel a bit harsh, which I have heard the grip2 addresses. The 36 take a bit more to get going, but do handle bigger hits better. If all I rode was uber steep or bike park , I’d go fox but for roots and and rocky chatter with occasional trips to DH and steep trails, I’d go lyrik. I also feel like the lyrik chassis is stiffer. All personal preference and I’m sure someone will say completely the opposite. Either way you can’t really go wrong. Shifting I prefer shimano over sram as you can downshift in both directions. But both my bikes are currently sram Eagle in various levels of budget, and I’ve not had any major issues. Shimano is slightly easier to set up and index but again not by much. That’s my take it’s only my opinion and definitely not a statement.

On a side note between those 2 builds I’d probably go fox.