I'm building up a hardtail for light duty trail and XC use (downcountry, if you will) and can't really decide which direction to go for the fork. All of my modern front suspension experience has been with forks in the 150-170mm range and I don't know what to prioritize. Is this just a case of simple performance to weight tradeoff? Will I be unhappy with anything less than a lowered 36 or Lyrik? I am 185 pounds geared up. This bike won't see big hits but I'm capable of riding like a moron on any bicycle. I also value home serviceability.
I'm considering all of the usual candidates and would love to hear experiences. From most capable to lightest duty it seems like:
- Pike Ultimate
- 36 SL
- 34SL/SID (non SL)
Any good options from other brands? It seems like Rockshox and Fox dominate this space.
I've been very happy with regular chassis Fox 34's with Grip X and Grip X2 dampers on my "down country" hardtail and short travel bikes. I never really feel the need for for a chassis upgrade to 36. If you go Fox, avoid the Fit4 damper as it is not usefully adjustable, under damped and "Unfit4 aggressive riding". Grip X seems to be the sweet spot of having lockout and good damping. Just need to keep an eye on where the HSC knob is at as a couple of clicks makes a big difference and it's easily displaced from an accidental brush up or bump. I drew a line where I like it set for quick reference after using the lockout.
On Fox's website it seems like they're only advertising the 34 in "SL" with the "GRIP SL" damper, something I'd never even heard of (obviously I don't pay attention to forks like this. But Jenson and others have a 34 SL with a Grip X damper. Any experience with the SL damper vs the X?
Could not be happier with my 130mm Rockshox Pike Ultimate. (Charger 3.1 damper). I have had the past 2 generations of Pike and this one is a massive step up in performance and ride feel. The Charger 2 damper of the previous gen fork was good, but the chassis was really the draw back. The newest version is incredible! Extremely tunable but very simple both in service and in setup! I just wish they still had the silver lowers!!!
Huge recommendation for the manitou mattoc pro. I love mine. Haven’t tried the latest pike or 34SL but it is far superior to the previous generations of both those forks IMO.
One of the Best forks I rode in recent times was the DT SWISS F535 One with the CoilPair super sensitive and do through the travel dependent damping it’s always high in the travel what is super comfortabel on Hardtails. Love that fork so much I sold my Öhlins RXF36. That F535 is available from 120-160mm. Not the lightest but perfomance over weight.
Those are some interesting options. I've never seen a DT Swiss fork in the wild. How is home serviceability?
What travel length are you going for? There isn't really overlap between a SID 35 and a lyrik, is there?
I think it depends on how sensitive you are and where you are riding, what the terrain is like.
Going from a sid 35, 34sl, to a pike is a noticeable benefit in stiffness, overall control, and smoothness/predictability. That extra pound in the fork does beef it up quite a bit. But if you're riding like soft, loamy trails, it's not going to matter nearly as much versus riding bumpy AF hardpack.
Regardless, its going to be way different than a 170mm fork, even if you downstroke a lyrik or 36.
The 34SL is a really great fork with GripX.
The chassis is fairly stiff, and the weight is really impressive. It really suits xc-light trail, but it’s not the same as a stiffer trail fork.
If you wanted stiffer you have lots of options, the 36SL is going to be really amazing if you want to point and shoot. The Helm is a great fork for this too.
I was on the fence between 34SL and 36SL when sorting my singlespeed to be more racy (had a helm coil). I went 34SL, and it’s great. I occasionally wish I had the 36, but that’s normally when I’m making bad life decisions.
Hey mate. I weigh about the same as you and have a Grip2 34 on my hardtail. It's fine from my experience, I don't notice much flex or anything negative. The bike itself limits how hard you can smash into stuff compared to a dual sus bike so going a bit lighter on the fork isn't a drama. On the other hand I have a Lyrik on my SJ Evo and I don't think the chassis is stiff enough for me.
I think the main question is, are you being realistic about not riding the bike hard?
I realised when I tried to build some nice light efficient bikes that I can't switch off the thing in my brain telling me to find the limit. Which is why my hardtail has drop bars to slow me down and a pike because the drop bars didn't really help. And my 125mm trail bike has a DVO Diamond 36 which feels to me maybe a little burlier than a lyrik. No regrets with either, if you are used to riding bigger bikes and not caring, and think you might carry that through to the hardtail, you'll probably prefer something stout.
If you're able to chill, or you will be riding it in a different place with low-key trails and don't expect to cross over to the trails that you ride on your big bike, then lighter forks made for the purpose will feel great.
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