Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Fork Gurus, your wisdom please:36vs55vsLyrikvsVengeance

3K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  integral 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey Guys,

I have worn out (stanchions and bushes) my 36 Float on my Reign. So I need a replacement. I was happy with the float apart from service intervals and wear issues. I want to consider other contenders. it needs to be 20mm and straight 11/8 steerer. I would prefer an air fork but would consider a coil if the performance outweighed the extra weight. What are your guys opinions. Also if anyone has anything for sale that fits the bill please let me know.

Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
You pretty much answered your own question . I like coil over air but its all personal preference. I havent ridden on a fox and dont plan on it. Lyriks are nice , my marzz66 feels amazing ( plusher ) then the lyrik. Ive heard good things about Veng but havent been on it . I would say bite the bullet for the Veng or buy a 55 for cheap and fit it with an Avy kit . Check classifieds here and on PB .
 
#11 ·
I've been running a 36 Talas for 3+ years now and it's been flawless. I love the travel adjust and I've been pretty rough on it (I've serviced it twice) and still working great. Back to your question, why not go Kashima? If the option is there, I'd go that route.
 
#13 ·
When I bought my SB66 I spec'd it with a 36 Float RC2, but it originally came with the RLC damper by mistake. The LBS let me run it as was until a replacement RC2 damper was sent, so I have a bit of run time on both.

In short, unless you're actually going to use the lockout (which to me makes no sense on such a big fork), definitely go for the RC2, the fork performs much better with it. As far as Kashima vs non-Kashima goes, I can't really comment, but it doesn't feel particularly more slippery to me. Others may have a better take on the difference.
 
#16 ·
I've never ridden the vengeance but I've heard great things about X-Fusion products. I have ridden the marz, fox 36 talas and lyrik. As far as a straight, no BS/fancy settings fork goes, the Lyrik takes the cake every time. It's stiff, plush, great feedback/response and rebound. The Marz is easily the most buttery smooth fork BY FAR, but the lyrik responds much better when things get nasty.

I only ride a fox 36 talas because it has the travel adjust which is an important option to me. Fox has the travel adjust feature down better than any other company out there. However the ride quality is marginally scarified compared to the straight forward forks because of all the extra internal stuff, but it's a small price to pay for the increased climbing ability for me.

I've also ridden both coil versions of the lyrik, marz 55 and fox 36. I'm a lightweight rider at 160 lbs all suited up and the coil is amazing but harder to fine tune. The coil forks are pretty amazing but the extra weight and adjustability cant be ignored if you're a light weight. The air can be adjusted for any kind of trail anywhere at anytime which is a huge plus!

Personally, I'd pick the lyrik as my fork of choice, I Love em.
 
#17 ·
Compared to my Lyrik u-turn coil at 160mm travel, my Vengeance coil set to 170mm travel is 20mm taller at the crown (10mm is travel difference). I think there are some light weight 34mm stanchion 160mm travel forks out now that would be 20mm shorter a2c than a Vengeance with the same travel.

The Vengeance is more stout feeling, with smoother, and more speed-sensitive damping, and within 5 or 10 grams of my Lyik. Both coil versions of these forks weigh 1/2 lb heavier than their closest air versions.

The u-turn is a feature I used a lot on my Lyrik for tuning handling and ride weight balance, so I custom modified my Vengeance to adapt a coil u-turn assembly, now having best features of both forks in one 125mm to 170mm travel.

Personally, if I was unable to modify my Vengeance for u-turn, I would have stayed with my Lyrik u-turn fork and got an Avalanche cartridge to better match the speed-sensitive damping of my x-fusion Vector HRL coil shock than the Lyrik's damping can do.

I've heard very good reviews of the latest couple years Marzocchi forks. I have no experience on them.
 
#18 ·
I have pulled the trigger on the 2013 Marzocchi 55 CR for about $600 USD. Main reasons for going with this fork

2 yr warranty
Marzocchi performance
Adjustability- air spring/volume adjust, rebound/compression damping, internal travel adjust
Weight about 2200 gms
Low AC measurement
Looks sweet. Kashima like gold coating and Matt black
Low maintenance/more durable than Fox
Great value

I'll let you guys know how it plays out
 
#28 ·
So I have had a couple of rides on the 2013 55 CR's. They are set at 150 mm and fitted to a giant reign. So far I have found the forks to be AMAZING! My expectations of this fork have been well exceeded. The were smooth as butter straight out of the box. The large bump performance is incredible, very progressive. I can run the fork at a pressure that will let me use full travel bit still be compliant on small bumps and not dive like a submarine under brakes. I rode the fork on familiar trails and I have never felt the front tire to be so 'in touch' with the dirt. The control of the damping in. The compression and rebound has such control. I had much less arm pump at the end of 10 minute downhill sections. In summary these forks outperform my current fox 36 float by a large margin. The only compromise is a 200gram increase in weight. The forks were about 30 % cheaper than a 36 and come with a 2 YEAR! Warranty and the factory recommended service interval is 100 hours. If anyone is looking for a simple but burly 130,150,or 170mm fork you need to consider the 55 RC.
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top