If they are even slightly flexy its giing to open the door to wear/reliability issues too. Plus CRCs warranty no diybt will be 1yr especialky with mojos ‘did you service it daily’ get out.. A review: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/review-fox-34-talas-160-ctd-adj-fit-275-14-48084/

£1,020?????

Thanks…but no. Fox deserves to have Rockshox et al wipe the floor with them for that.

What fork is for you now hora? You have had the Fox 34s, Marzocchi 55 CR and the Pike 😉 FOX 36 RC2?

I would go Bos. Regardless of price. They feel the best, perform the best. If not those then 36s. Pikes are just wallow and are unresponsive.

That’s because no bugger wants them. From what I’ve heard from people who’ve ridden them, the damping is comparatively poor, they’re not as stiff as Pikes, they’re not all that light and they’re hardly fit and forget. Apparently there is a damper mod for them that addresses one of these issues and turns them into a respectable fork, but for the price Fox wants for them they’re well wide of the mark, even at £430 they’re knocking on the door of discounted Pike territory before you factor in any damping upgrade.

Yeah, that’s the bastard. The 2014s are supposed to be a marked improvement over the 2013s, but still not great. My worry is that after riding my 36 RC2s for so long, pretty much anything cheaper than £1k is going to feel a bit crap.
The marz parts are even more expensive than the fox stuff. £50 for SKF seals?
I’m no closer to a decision now than when the thread started!

They feel the best, perform the best. If not those then 36s.

Thanks Dan, but that’s really not helpful. Telling wifey that I’ve smashed £1200 odd on a fork becase someone on STW told me to would likely result in removal of privileges. BOS are nice, but not that nice.

TBH I always read the pinkbike review as a good pointer. Michael Levy’s/pinkbike is a good review on the 14 34 fork.

My worry is that after riding my 36 RC2s for so long, pretty much anything cheaper than £1k is going to feel a bit crap.

You could just get a Pike for less than half that though. Mine’s a fair bit better than my old 36 RC2.

Can’t someone let you have a go on one if you’re concerned? They’re bloody everywhere.

Will a BOS deville 26″ fit a 650 wheel with a decent sized tyre on it?

Yes.

Although the clearance won’t be great ~5mm.

Tyre deflection if you run lower psi plus what if you went through a muddy section and something claggy became lodged..over time of this happening? I wouldn’t. Road bike clearance- tight yes on a mtb? I wouldn’t but thats me.

Tempted to try it. Am I right is assuming that a wide (29mm internal) rim would lower the tyre profile? As such, would it not make it more feasible or is it tight on the sides too?

wrecker – what travel are you thinking of running these at?

It’s the top of the arch clearance that’s a bit tight, however that was with a 2.5 Magic Mary, which is on the large size, for any tyre.

A more ‘normal’ big tyre would give fairly decent levels of clearance.

Wide rims don’t seem to reduce the height of the tyre oddly IME, they just square it off. Whether that’s good or bad, remains to be seen.

No way I’d go down to that clearance, my pikes can be tight and have clagged up a few times with the right sized wheels !

Not tried bos or new 36 but with a bit of playing around, the tokens are essential IMHO, the pikes are really nice not quite as plush as my old rc3ti Marz but sit up in their travel much better

Fox are just silly expensive

Fox are just silly expensive

Unless its a rare close-out!

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

wrecker – what travel are you thinking of running these at?

I was intending to experiment. I run 160 36s on my LTC so I’m kind of used to a higher front. If that was crap, I’d put them down to 150.

It’s the top of the arch clearance that’s a bit tight, however that was with a 2.5 Magic Mary, which is on the large size, for any tyre.

Reckon a 2.2 rubber queen would be ok?

Fox are just silly expensive

They make me feel like virgin media. The prices creep and creep until they are plainly poor value.

I’ve got a friend who changed from 26″ Deville’s with 26″ wheels to the 650b equivalents of both and he rekons they’re using the same lowers as the clearance is so much less on the 650.

How right he is, I have no idea 😕

The ‘sweet spot’ (not my words) for a Switcback is 130 – 140mm. I’d not wish to run with much more travel than that as it will obviously slacken an already notably relaxed head angle even further.

Thanks deluded. I did ask Stanton and they told me that it used to ship with a 150mm fork. They did not tell me that there was a sweet spot.
If it is indeed 140, then I would have appreciated being told!

wrecker – just something to think about. The below are quotes from Dan contained in a Stanton Bikes Facebook thread –

Too true Pete! 160 is for super steep and tec, most of the time it’s just not needed on the Switchback due to its already slack geo

130-140mm seems to be the winner, Buch from Dirt is saying the same thing!

yes a 140mm would give you the best all round, I’m running a 140 BOS Deville on my Ti Switchback Sample (when they arrive-hopfuly tomorrow) the frame is designed around 140mm so 130mm-140mm is the sweet spot!

It’s no probs, you can change the travel on most forks nowadays. I was anticipating a bit of fettling until I got it right.

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

Highly unlikely to get a 650B or a model that you can still get spares for.

There’s a set of new looking Kashima 34s on Flat Out Cycles for not a lot of dough…

There’s a set of new looking Kashima 34s on Flat Out Cycles for not a lot of dough…

Must have sold them, all 32 now.

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

Talas forks feel nasty though.

If I do end up buying a Switchback, I think I’ll end up with Pikes despite my irrational hatred of Rock Shox forks. Nothing comes close for the money if the reviews / love on here is anything to go buy.

With regards to BOS, having had a second hand pair I reckon they are worth the money. I loved my 36 Van RC2’s. I thought they were amazing and they are back on the bike whilst the BOS go in for a proper service (leaky o ring in the rebound assembly) and they feel rubbish. They dive and just seem really uncontrolled compared to the Devilles.

If you’ve got a set of Mattoc in 26″ I’d be very interested.

Jairaj yes I do. Call us on 0333 444 0650.

Suntour Auron – From what I have read the SR Auron is not very refined but not terrible.

I had the opportunity to buy an Auron fork at a great deal and the simple nature of the fork appealed to me so I bought one.
The reviews are pretty amusing TBH. It sums up the fact that many reviewers are either crap, lazy or just write nice things in return for product. “I had trouble getting full travel” Well stop being a pussy! “Small bump sensitivity isn’t great” well, did you put any oil in the lowers? They come stock with just grease, but Suntour recommend using an oil bath if you want extra performance over super simple servicing.

Suffice to say I really like the fork. Before I picked up the fork, the local suspension shop added some Fox Gold oil to the lowers and dropped the travel down to 140mm (something else the reviewers don’t mention that you can do…). The chassis is pretty solid and handles waaaaaaaay better than the 650B Revelation RCT3 that it replaced (different offset helps, as well as the more obvious difference in stanchion size). It may not be a Marzocchi Shiver with soft springs, but small bump sensitivity still seems great to me, again better than the Rev. The fork also takes bigger hits with ease and no harsh bottoming out. I don’t really know what else a fork is meant to do. Sure, the ported rebound makes a bit of noise but I’ve never wished for ‘better’ rebound damping.
The fork certainly gets the thumbs up from me and you are not paying for gimmicks like gold coloured stanchions (it was switching to SKF seals that improved the performance of Fox forks, but they kept that a bit quieter…..).

If the fork can handle the gnarly gnarly gnarly trails of North Vancouver it’ll probably totally own Cut Gate 😉

I’m stuck in the same process as you wrecker, trying to decide on a set of forks for a switchback build.

At the moment it’s between a pike and the marzocchi 350cr’s.

Has anyone ridden a pike rct3 and an rc back to back? Is there much of a difference in performance between the two? There is a big difference in price so I’m guessing there is.

Has anyone ridden a pike rct3 and an rc back to back? Is there much of a difference in performance between the two? There is a big difference in price so I’m guessing there is.

Ridden both on different demo bikes, within a few days of each other. Little difference. Less adjustment on the RC, but pretty much nothing in it for me. Unless you are gagging for a lockout and trail mode, go with the RC.

The biggest reason for the difference in price is unlikely to be the actual function of the fork, but more that the RC is OEM only at the moment, so the stock that is out there has probably been procured pretty cheap, and arguably less desirable as it comes without nice stuff like a box, manual or shock pump.

Thanks for the info tenacious Doug, sorry if this is a stupid question but what is the trail mode? I can live without lockout.

For “threshold” read trail or pedal mode…

RCT3 – Designed for riders looking for more bump gobbling performance. ?The new
RCT3 damper features three distinct knob positions – Open, Threshold and Lock. The rider is able to quickly and easily access these three modes to manipulate damping performance for specific terrain:
Open for bump-gobbling performance
Threshold for efficiency and moderate bump compliance
Lock for ultimate pedaling efficiency
In addition to its three distinct modes, RCT3 features an independent adjustment of low speed compression.

RC just has open or lock positions. Everything else between the 2 I believe is identical

Sounds suspiciously like CTD……..

Sounds suspiciously like CTD……..

Also sounds like something I can live without.

I think I’ll go for the pike rc’s then, they’re £383 delivered from alltricks.com

Quick update. Merlin have a 10% offer at present which brings the marz 350crs to £333. Pretty hard to beat that for a good quality, brand new fork with full warranty.
An email to merlin, and they have confirmed that they are the full boxed version with all accessories.
Order placed, hopefully they’ll be here soon! I won’t be able to give a review until March when the switchbacks come back into stock though!

Thats really good vfm.

I know I’m late to the party but for anyone elses reference, I’ve got a set of Devilles on my Five. Even after x months I’m still making little adjustments to them but they’re getting better with every little tweak I make – far, far better than anything I’ve ever used before.

I have both the Sweeps and the new 36s and used both on my Spitty. Whilst I like the Sweeps they are outclassed by the Fox’s in terms of plushness and stiffness but for the extra £££s that the Fox’s are you’d expect that.

If you’re on a tight budget then the Sweeps are brilliant and I’d highly recommend them. If your interested I could probably do you a deal on mine as my plans for a winter ht have gone out the window now I’ve got a mini-me on the way. Email in profile.

wrecker – did you consider the 350 NCR’s at Merlin? I looked at those for my build.

Just been out for my first proper ride on the pikes, and contrary to my expectations they are remarkably close in performance to the coil marzocchi 55rc3 ti I had on my old bike. very supple over small stuff, ride high in their travel and dont give it up easily.

They are very very good, I am fairly impressed with them.

wrecker – did you consider the 350 NCR’s at Merlin? I looked at those for my build.

On a budget mate. The wheels I want are £430 so I’m trying to make it fit. Plus, I think they’re too expensive.

How about a set of 2nd hand forks and an avalanche damper upgrade. Personallt would love one for my lyriks

Mine are now reduced 😀