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Fox to Pike??
My current trail bike is an Ibis Mojo HD 26. 160mm front and rear.
On the front is a Fox 34 talas 120-160, and most the time around Kalamunda I use the 120mm setting.
I've never been thrilled with the Fox, especially after replacing the rear with a cane creek, and after hearing good things about it, I've been thinking about putting a 160mm Pike on the front for a long time.
For the KC, what do you guys think about running 160mm the whole time (as the Pike isn't height adjustable)?
I know a lot of you can run a k-mart hard tail and still be fast, but that isn't me, and I need all the help I can get.
So it comes down to... I know the Pike will run smoother, and since I won't be able to do any riding and test 160mm all the time over a few rides, whaddya think??
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You can get a 160/130 Pike - I have recently ordered one but have not got it yet.
Pretty much everyone you talk to in the industry will tell you that RockShox has the edge over Fox in the long travel market at the moment. And every review you read about the Pike raves about it. So it must be good!
Also CRC has 45% of 2014 models now......
A bit over $800
not bad - god I wish I could afford a pair
Mate, if you're not worried about being first to the top of the hill
Get the 160 Pikes and enjoy the ride back down
After the first descent, your smile will be confirmation of the right decision
Ive got the same bike, same shock and HAD a similar fork (Float 36RC2 with Kardashian Coating).
I could never get my Fox to feel quite right under my 120kg so I took the original 170mm Solo Air Lyrics that came with it (and were as useful as a chocolate teapot), swapped the internals to the new RS DH dampener and a coil. My GOD what a difference! And with a tiny perceived weight difference, I will struggle going back to an air fork now.
However……..
I took a mates bike for a soon recently that has the top of the line Pike. I increased the air up to the right level and have to say that it felt pretty good. Better than the Fox by a long margin although not as smooth as my coil Lyric.
Seeing as you're not going to use all 160mm of fork, how about trying the bike in 140mm mode and get a 150mm Pike? You could even get the 27.7" rear triangle!
120kg!!!
I should be well under 70kg with full gear.
Thought about a 27.5 conversion, but apart from costing a ton (new wheels etc), I do want/need a long travel bike, and believe converting the mojo will compromise it. I'm also hoping a 26 will force me to learn to ride properly.
I'm not fussed about compromising climbing. Slow stuff I can muscle the slack HA around.
Faster flowing trails that don't need much travel is where I find I struggle just a little more at 160mm.
And anything down/rough I do use the full 160mm. There are a few jumps which I can and do over jump quite a lot. The jump with logs on Lancaster my back wheel clears the top of the back side by ~2 bike lengths. Not the right way to ride, I know, but I like flying.
I guess i just wanna buy new shit. Haha.
When did you last get your fox fork serviced?
has it had any 30hr services?
Had it serviced once after about a year of use.
I have a bit of a cleaning process which I do after every ride which gets a lot of dirt out of the wipers while keeping them well lubed. This kept them working 100% (in my opinion anyway), and I noticed zero difference after a service from a reputable shop.
Don't get me wrong, they work as expected. I run 'normal' sag and use the full travel on most rides, they don't bottom out or dive excessively under braking, the rebound is very fast (like I like it), the CTD is still 100% and the talas has enough force to push the bike up when you extend the travel.
But I'm still left feeling like there could be something better. Likewise with the rear fox shock that came with the bike. I thought it was fine until i put the Cane Creek on. Night and day difference. After speaking to people, a mate in particular that recently upgraded from exactly what I have in the Fox fork, also to a non-height-adjustable Pike, and he's sold on it, I'm thinking why shouldn't I try one.
Same bike,same dilemma. I agree that switching over to the CCDB was a revelation. I found the float 36 rc2 way too linear.
My mate serviced the fork for me and added some extra oil, it's more progressive and doesn't blow through its travel nearly as easily. Definitely improved the ride.
Same drama with my X-Fusion, way too linear and wanted to pop the front wheel off the ground all the time. I fit a longer neg travel spring and added a bunch more oil to the air spring and it's ok but still a pretty shit fork.