…………………… spring chart accurate for UK based riding?

Been looking at one of these for a self Xmas present due to unexpected tax refund (not real money, is it).
Just wondering on where to go with spring rate as definitions of gentle and aggressive riding vary a lot between BC and the UK. For my ebike as well so going to have to a 10kg to rider weight on the charts as well.

Any experience/advice welcome.

Yeah i found the chart pretty good. iirc I was pretty borderline though so a quick email to TF Tuned (other suspension sellers are available) for advice sorted it

What I did change though was the oil used. They spec 20w I believe, it was like treacle when i was installing it in a very cold garage (like, big long strings of oil everywhere). Their manual also suggests different oil for cold weather riding. Given that i’m a) skinny and b) in Scotland I swapped it out a wee while later for 10w and believe it works a bit better for me

I think they updated the spring chart a short while after release, as many people found it to be quite inaccurate. I believe i went for the next (lighter) spring than the one i first bought, as it was not getting near full travel with my southern mincing.

With the HBO, you can also run the spring softer than you would otherwise, as it does not bottom out.

I got an early one so the chart might have been changed, IIRC it said I should be between 40 and 45, 45 was out of stock so I got a 40 and it was hopeless. Got a 45 and it was too soft. Finally got a 50 and it’s probably about right- just occasionally I feel it’s a bit soft but it probably pays off the rest of the time, I can live with it.

In fairness I’m right at the light end so I’m kind of used to manufacturer settings not working, I’ve never had a fork pressure chart be any use at all frinstance and Rockshox springs were worse than the smashpot. (“Get an extra soft” gets a soft, it lasts a ride, gets a medium.)

Cheers guys. Emailed Basecamp suspension and they reckon 55, which is what I thought from the chart. Said I can swap spring after a couple of rides for no charge if needed. Also from Scotland, so interesting comment about the oil weight, will ask when I place order.

Yeah, I translated ‘aggressive’ as FAT and SKILL LACKING, then ended up ordering the next spring down. Rides lovely now, keep wondering who came up with the stupid idea of using air as a spring, I had forgotten how smoothly my old anniversary Bombers used to ride!!

@Northwind – still got the 40 (or possibly 45) in your possession and willing to part with it?

Mashr, in theory yes but in practice I have no idea where it is! I’ll have a dig

My pike smashpot conversion just back from TFT today, looking forward to seeing what the coil is like. 10yrs or more since had one.

Anyone got a 40lb spring they want to part with?

My turn for a thread resurrection.

I’ve got a very old set of Pikes (2014 model) that have had the B1 Debonair upgrade put in some time back. They’re getting a bit long in the tooth now, and whilst still perfectly serviceable, I’ve never really got on with Air forks too much chatter and lacking in mid support. So, I was thinking of the Smashpot upgrade to give them a new life.. I get this replaces the air spring, but what have people done about the dampers, did they feel the need to do something with them/upgrade them with something?? – im trying to avoid spending lots of £££ on new forks as I think they could easily have another good few years in them..

Do TF still do a FAST upgrade on the Charger as opposed to the full damper replacement (website doesn’t seem to say so) – any other options out there that doesn’t mean £300 for coil conv + another £250 for damper?

If it matters, these will have been on 3 versions of a Banshee Spitfire and get ridden fairly hard.

Cheers Sui.

I’d just do one, see what you think, then do the damper if required. The Smashpot alone will make a massive difference to the feel of the fork

Should probably say that I’m really not a Pike fan, I’m always mystified by why it gets such great reviews so I might be overcritical… I’m not sure there’s a lot of easy options for the charger damper. In my 36s, I had Jtech fit the Andreani piston and it made a big difference but afaik the chargers don’t have the same sort of easy wins where you can remove the limitation- the entire damper is just not that good.

But, mashr is right, the coil is pretty transformative by itself.

well i had one of the old U-Turn coil pikes which i thought were quite good, i also had the old coil RC1 66’s back in the day nothing beats those bachers for reliability.. Not sure why i went Coil, other than to keep weight down and thinking i may ease up on riding style – that didn’t happen…

edit to last post – not sure why i went air!!

My original thread and I went for the recommended spring rate and it’s been great. Exactly what I wanted. More support while also more supple but ramping up at end of travel. Select + version of the Lyrik with the Charger RC damper and it’s been great. Running compression wide open and a couple of clicks less rebound than before. Shop (BC Suspension) recommended lighter oil in the spring side compared to Vorsprung manual and I may even go down another weight.

Only a few rides in on mine. Love the consistency of the fork through its travel (running very little bottom out). Complete contrast to the Pike air that I struggled with and either had it feeling ok in a small part of its travel but not overall.

Not sure about top end suppleness yet. Did go for ‘light/Xc’ use so a spring 5 below the medium/default recommendation. Even at that wondering if should go lower. A few more rides needed.

Love my smashpot on the lyrik. Just superb 👌

I’m in the process of swapping the smashpot over from my zeb on my sentinel to the pike on the hardtail. I am looking for a 55lbs and will have a 40 and 45 going if anyone needs one? Love the smashpot, the zeb ultimate is a better fork stock than the pike select is so I’m swapping it across seems as I can’t afford one for both forks!

I’ve got a 55lb to swap if you’re interested? I’ll DM you

cnud – I’ve sent you an email. Cheers.