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RockShox Pike 454 v's Fox 32 Float 140RLC or....
Looking at a couple of forks at the moment in the 140-150 mm zone, and the choice looks like a 454 Pike with 20 mm axle or a Float 32 RLC with 15 mm axle. I'm having trouble getting a clear idea of which fork better suits my needs, and only having ridden the Fox can't make a performance comparison yet. There are sooo many options in forks these days, it's almost as bad as trying to get a mobile phone what rings and takes calls.
I've got Hope II hubs so no problems with axle compatibility.
The bike these would go on has between 5.7" and 5.8" of rear travel and an RP23.
I ride more to the XC end than DH (I'm too much of a woose, but like a little air), I'm spec'ing the bike for longer rides with greater comfort, am a little bit of a WW (but on a budget), and plan on having these forks for a loooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnng time. Oh, and I need all the help in the world to go uphill.
Is TALAS beneficial in this instance?
I guess I'm after some totally subjective feedback (oh, look at the worms crawling out of that can!) to really get my head screwed up. And maybe some other suggestions/options, but I'm not going rigid forks!
Cheers.
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Nick...
"The bike these would go on has between 5.7" and 5.8" of rear travel and an RP23."
5.75 travel? let me guess...carbon seat stays?
oh the anticipation...like Christmas...
P.S. be different...check out the Marzocchi, Magura or DT Swiss forks, too. They make some good light weight AM forks - popular in EU.
http://youtu.be/5GNUfNpqmhY
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x40ob6_mtb-marz...
http://youtu.be/dtY5cDPW4AM
BTW- more on the Marta's
http://youtu.be/7NdGTukQFDU
Enjoy.
____________________________________________
"I thought of that while riding my bike."
Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity
Hey Slowpup,
i went through this recently, needing a new 140mm fork for my turner 5 spot. I've run a number of forks over the years, and really come to like the new generation rock shox.
Seriously considered the fox and pike, and ultimately went for the revelation 426 140mm with 20mm maxle lite.
Value for money, it beats the fox, I got mine from beyondbikes.com on special for $485USD. They have some serious specials on at the moment, use the discount code: SIZZLE at checkout and see what discount you get!
What actually happened when I got the forks is I swapped them onto my Ibis, because they are (subjectively) better than the fox float RLCs that I was using. The pushloc remote is really good for climbing and having adjustable blow-off is really nice (yes I knw the RLC has it, but it's a hassle to adjust on the fly, and fox don't have a remote for the rlc). I have hope hubs too, so it's really easy to change the wheels to suit 20mm axle.
I don't worry about talas, had it before, and we don't really have too many hills that are long enough to make it worth hassling with the front end height. Although, some people like to steepen the front end geometry for some bikes on really twisty stuff. The rev is internally adjustable if needed. I think the new version (2010?) is going to 150mm, and gets the added rigidity of the 'power bulge' around the bushings.
http://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/allmountain/reve...
Look for the through axle version with 140mm travel.
W.
Hi Mate, I have a Revelation 426 on my 5.75 travel machine with a carbon rear stay. I love bombing down a hill with it and doing long trail rides. I have recently been thinking about the front fork a bit.
Summary: I dont need more travel, the 130mm on the Rev is just fine. What i need is a stiffer front axle.
Not sure if the 426 came with 20mm through axle last year, but that could why one shop was suggesting the pike for the 20mm even though it was heavier. If you can get a Rev 426 with the 20mm through axle, i think you'll find this does you just fine. Not sure how much heavier the pike is than the 426.
I don't use the height adjustment really. And I find the front lockout gets used on many rides. Not sure is does alot compared to locking out the rear shock but it certainly gives you a psychological boost which cant be discounted !!!
I have ridden a Talas, but not the pike or the fox so not sure how much this helps.
Disclaimer 6'2 and about 95kg.
On the 2010 RS Revelation. I'm in the same position as you and think I've settled on these. I'm looking at a US purchase however they dont seem to be available yet.
http://www.bikerumor.com/2009/05/11/new-2010-roc...
Thanks all for the comments so far. It is so much better to get a review that addresses your questions
Hans, carbon seat stays but aluminium chain stays. At $1/gram saving i'll spend the money on the forks.
Sounds like the Maxle 140 revelation could be the fork to aim for if I can get the LBS to do a change out. Otherwise I suppose I do a swap over/upgrade in a few months if the budget allows. Forks and wheels are open in the build kit
I like Hans' Magura Thor suggestion, they are a bling looking fork, and I've always thought the double arch was a neat way to increase stiffness. I don't know why more forks don't run the reverse arch like Manitou. It allows a shorter lower leg with the same arch dimension for both an increase in stiffness AND a decrease in weight. Strangely the Thor arches seem to be the same both sides?
From all accounts my riding is going to have to make a great jump. I currently don't know if I could distinguish between fork flex and a flat! Possibly due to the OEM Marzocchi forks I've been riding for the last 3 1/2 years. Just riding an '08 Stumpy on the weekend I felt heaps more confident in corners, and felt a heap faster than normal... probably just the thrill of something different.
I'm going crazy in anticipation.
Playing devils advocate here, and not related to your choice at all, but I've never wanted for more stiffness on the front axle through bolt on my fork, and certainly can't tell if mine is flexing too much.
Who can convince me they can tell the difference? Surely there would be more flex in the wheel than the axle anyway?
Open to convincing here, but currently on the fence.
Fortunately I was able to test fox float then the revs on my Ibis back to back. It's subtle but significant.
Where I mainly notice the difference is in steering precision at high speed, think about the bombing decents on dirtworks et al with sketchy surfaces and fist sized rocks.
Also little techy spots where I want to keep the line accurately, like on the top sniggle section on the dam, rolling down those sections before the big 'golf course rock shelf'.
I'm prepared to take the 150g penalty over the flox floats for that, and the remote lockout.
I'm a big fan of Fox products and I have an 2006 TALAS which, at the time went from 90mm to 130mm and that model was the last one where each click alters the travel by 3mm. These days the Fox TALAS 32 140 has just the 3 choices; 100, 120 and 140.
So, do you understand the difference between a TALAS fork and a Float?
For all of you who said travel adjustability then yes there's that. The real thing is in the guts.
TALAS is an acronym standing for travel adjustable linear air spring. The important word is linear.
The idea is that a TALAS fork will feel like a coil fork, nice and even compression rate throughout the stroke, not the progressive rate of a Float or other air fork. I think this is a great feature.
The RLC is a good option because it's nice to be able to set ones' rate of compression ones' self, in addition to just rebound. And the lockout? What the?
Invest your hard earned here.
And buy it from a local shop. Buying online from abroad is great for most things, not so great for big ticket items where it's nice to have a warranty that's easy to claim, just in case. That said, Fox stuff is pretty fool proof and warranty issues rarely arise.
The travel adjust is a nifty feature, however choose this fork because of it's feel, ride quality and long term reliability.
Hey Lady,
I would suspect, if I was significantly lighter,..the flex issue might be different ?
On the Talas
The difference in Rev and Talas price too was quite significant when I was looking?
You can ask me if you want (I'm sure my girlfriend won't mind), I currently weight a sprightly 78 kilos. Perhaps I'm to light to warrant a motorbike style front axle
Peter, I intend buying local for this complete bike purchase, as long as I can negotiate the spec I want. If not then I'll opt to upgrade those components by buying as well as I can, and selling the original items on-line.
I have to admit, it seems like sales in bike shops must be doing very well at the moment on mid to high end bikes. Two shops promised to call back with more details, on Monday, and have so far failed to respond. Maybe with all the wet weather they are snowed under with bikes booked in for service?
The one shop that was pro-active enough to propose a demo ride will be getting a call from me this afternoon. They've also almost guaranteed to get my business because they are always willing to help, listen and explain.
Bugger this rain, it's even too cold and miserable to go into the garage and tension some spokes.
Nick.