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09 Specialized Pitch Fork Upgrade? Which Fork??

12K views 32 replies 16 participants last post by  dropadrop 
#1 ·
I have a Specialized Pitch and was wondering to upgrade the fork. I would deff want something with more travel. what fork would you guys recommend and how much travel is good?

I like mainly riding downhill but not extreme as of now.

thanks
 
#2 ·
I think spec only recomend up to 160mm on the pitch.

My mate just got a really good deal on marzocchi 55 RV 160mm fork to put on his pitch. There are better forks out there but he was skint!

Depends if you want coil or air and your budget?

Fox 36 VAN R is a really solid fork but is pricey.

I'm sure others will chip in with their favorites!
 
#4 ·
**** Boy said:
I think spec only recomend up to 160mm on the pitch.

My mate just got a really good deal on marzocchi 55 RV 160mm fork to put on his pitch. There are better forks out there but he was skint!

Depends if you want coil or air and your budget?

Fox 36 VAN R is a really solid fork but is pricey.

I'm sure others will chip in with their favorites!
if the specs only recommend up to 160 what will happen if you go more? Afterall i think i will be settling for a 160mm fork anyways.

Thanks
 
#6 ·
Companies don't typically warranty frames that are uesd with a fork that's longer than recommended. That's the biggest issue (but not if you keep the original fork...). Other than that, it's a matter of how the bike handles. Getting a fork that's too long will raise the bottom bracket and make the head angle slacker. The bike will need more attention to keep on track during steep climbs and will feel taller in corners. A little of that isn't a big deal. Too much makes any bike handle like crap.


As for which fork to get, I just went though that process myself. I wanted a coil fork with lots of adjustments to dial the feel in perfectly. The options I considered were the Marzocchi 55 RC3 Ti, Fox Van 36RC2, and Rockshox Lyrik. Marzocchi had a run of crappy forks for a while. I think that's been fixed by now, but I'm still a bit leery. I like the Van and Lyrik about the same. I found the best price on a Lyrik U-Turn, so that's what I bought. I've been thrilled with it so far. It feels great on the trail, has more than enough tunability, and should be easy to work on based on the tech manuals. I think the Van would be a bit more complicated (but not much).

If you'd rather have an air fork, I'd recommend the Lyrik Solo Air or a used Manitou Nixon with TPC+ if you can find one. I've never ridden a Fox TALAS or Float that performed fully up to my expectations for a high end fork. I'm sure there are some nice ones out there, but I haven't run across one yet.
 
#12 ·
Which Pike do you have? The 454 U-Turn is one of the nicest 140mm forks out there in my opinion. The Lyrik and Van 36 are nicer, but only if the extra adjustments are needed. Also, keep in mind that PUSH works on Pikes:thumbsup:.

If you go with the Float, you'll have a slightly lighter fork and a more effective damper at the possible cost of somewhat reduced plushness on small bumps and problems getting full travel.
 
#13 ·
A thor with a 650b front

Here is a thought outside the box. Pick up a 09 Magura Thor which is a 140 - 100mm 20mm axle 4.0 lb fork and mount a 650b (27.5) wheel on the front. It would give you a 165mm to 125mm effective height fork. It would be better rolling with a small weight penalty for the larger wheel in the front. Much lighter than a 36 air or coil fork with a 26 wheel. A 09 Thor which retailed for $900 can be picked up for $500 if you look around a bit. I love the Thor on my Ibis. The 650b front is on my to do list. You can build up a pretty nice front with hope pro hub and a velo blunt or stan's 355 for around $200.
 
#14 ·
miniwisejosh said:
Which Pike do you have? The 454 U-Turn is one of the nicest 140mm forks out there in my opinion. The Lyrik and Van 36 are nicer, but only if the extra adjustments are needed. Also, keep in mind that PUSH works on Pikes:thumbsup:.

If you go with the Float, you'll have a slightly lighter fork and a more effective damper at the possible cost of somewhat reduced plushness on small bumps and problems getting full travel.
i have the comp with the pike 327 i think it is..
 
#17 ·
Lyrik for more travel. However, if you're finding that you're bottoming out on the Pike, maybe all you'd need is a firmer spring? The standard spring was rated for riders 140-160lb. I am well above 200lb and after upgrading the coil to the X-Firm spring (made for 180lb + riders), and changing the oil out to 10wt from 15wt (stock) I am much happier with the Pike than ever before.
 
#19 ·
Still shopping?

Not much has changed with forks. The X-Fusion Vengeance is a new fork, and it's been getting lots of happy reviews. I'd look into it if you don't mind air forks.

I still have my Lyrik, and love it more than ever. I just upgraded the damper to the DH version and the ride improvement was noticeable. More plush at all speeds ands more control in slow, technical terrain.

I personally wouldn't put a 170mm fork on a Pitch, but that's up to you... Keep in mind that the 170mm coil cannot be reduced in travel. Only the Lyrik air can be adjusted internally. My first recommendations for your bike would be a Van 36 RC2 or a Lyrik U-Turn with the stock damper swapped for Mission Control DH as soon as possible.
 
#20 ·
miniwisejosh said:
Still shopping?

Not much has changed with forks. The X-Fusion Vengeance is a new fork, and it's been getting lots of happy reviews. I'd look into it if you don't mind air forks.

I still have my Lyrik, and love it more than ever. I just upgraded the damper to the DH version and the ride improvement was noticeable. More plush at all speeds ands more control in slow, technical terrain.

I personally wouldn't put a 170mm fork on a Pitch, but that's up to you... Keep in mind that the 170mm coil cannot be reduced in travel. Only the Lyrik air can be adjusted internally. My first recommendations for your bike would be a Van 36 RC2 or a Lyrik U-Turn with the stock damper swapped for Mission Control DH as soon as possible.
the x fusion is a really good choice if you want to clack out your bike cuz the a2c is ~10mm greater than most other 160mm forks.
 
#21 ·
miniwisejosh said:
Still shopping?

Not much has changed with forks. The X-Fusion Vengeance is a new fork, and it's been getting lots of happy reviews. I'd look into it if you don't mind air forks.

I still have my Lyrik, and love it more than ever. I just upgraded the damper to the DH version and the ride improvement was noticeable. More plush at all speeds ands more control in slow, technical terrain.

I personally wouldn't put a 170mm fork on a Pitch, but that's up to you... Keep in mind that the 170mm coil cannot be reduced in travel. Only the Lyrik air can be adjusted internally. My first recommendations for your bike would be a Van 36 RC2 or a Lyrik U-Turn with the stock damper swapped for Mission Control DH as soon as possible.
yea still shopping haha, what exactly is that DH dampner? thank u 4 the info ill look into the vengeance now!
 
#24 ·
The original Lyrik came out with a platform feature in the damper (Floodgate). It's there to increase pedalling efficiency and can even be set high enough to effectively lock out the fork. Floodgate can't completely be turned off though. Lots of riders started pulling apart their Lyrik dampers to physically remove the Floodgate system to maximize plushness. Last year, Rockshox finally caught on and began offering a damper from the factory with this already done - the DH damper. Supposedly the factory DH damper has even better performance than the modded regular damper.

As for a comparison with the Vengeance and Lyrik, I think they are pretty competitive in quality and overall level of performance. The differences in specific features can be found on the respective company websites.
 
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