Does anyone know anything about forks?

[Stephen McMullan]

Howyiz,

I'm doing a full suspension bike build and need to choose a fork.

My riding style perhaps lacks a bit of finesse aka somewhat agricultural e.g. stick the compression and rebound settings dials in the middle, leave the bottomless tokens alone, open the lockout and ride the trail!

All I know at the moment is that I need a 160mm travel fork and Rockshox (cos I know how to do the service on them) and Boost spec (cos they're all bleedin' Boost unfortunately)

However there's a huge range of Rockshox forks available ranging from ~ €400 (Rockshox Yari RC) up to ~ €830 (Rockshox Zeb or Lyric, Ultimate Charger 2.1 or 3)

So I had a good old Yari on my Ragley hardtail and its been grand

However am I missing much given the type of riding I'm doing?  I'm a big boy but not really into jumps but do love steep technical trails. I don't enter races so trimming seconds off my runs ain't on my agenda. Being a hardtail rider, "harshness" is my middle name but I'm getting old and soft so my body could do with some comfort these days.

Are those fancy dampers and air springs for the "twice the money" forks worth it or make much difference to me?

[muckwarrior]

One thing I've noticed with suspension is that the difference between the mid-range of a model and the top spec is often just that the latter provides more adjustment. On that basis I'd actually prefer the non top-spec models as I don't have time nor know-how to be fiddling with it. I'd rather just set and forget, and by the sounds of it so would you.

[WeekendWarrior (Fergal)]

Hi Stephen, there are probably very good deals to be had on the older Lyrik at the moment (with the Charger 2.1 damper). I had one of these and it was a great fork.
The Charger 3 damper is a definite step-up from the 2.1 in terms of performance (I've currently got the Zeb with a Charger 3 in it).
So, both are great but if you can find a Charger 3 equipped Lyrik for similar money, it would be the way to go in my opinion.
Otherwise, the 2.1 will still be a really good fork.

[TooOld4This]

There's a cutlery store beside me in Blackrock that's doing great deals on Forks Stephen. I can have a look for ye!

[Stephen McMullan]

Cheers for the feedback lads...(apart from John  I work in Blackrock too..no getting away from ya)
Yeah I pulled the trigger on a Lyrik Charger 2.1 - could have gone for a cheaper fork but the frameset I have comes with a nice shock so it needs a nice fork. Happy enough with the price.
The Zeb fork with all the bells and whistles looks amazing but I need to draw the line on cost. Huge amount of travel on a single crown fork wow big stanchions and all. Would take some riding to push that to the limit.

The bike build will be 160/150 which is nice and "traily" which suits and is a bit of an improvement on my current 130/0

[TooOld4This]

Ah class. Can’t wait to see ya out on it. Magic carpet time over all those horrible roots n stuff


John Broaders