Okay so I've recently added some new parts to my MotoLite. UGI is a hell of a drug..
Parts include:
Fork: Pike 454 Air U-Turn
Wheelset: Chris King (20mm front & bolt-on rear)/Sapim CX-Ray/Mavic XM819
Rear Derailleur: Sram X.0 Med Cage
I got everything mounted last week, but Saturday was my first day to ride. I did a local trail I was used to so I could make a direct comparison to my previous set-up. The trail starts off pretty easy, and then turns into a ball-buster of a climb and ends in some really fun steep, tight single track; took about two hours in total. Since the Pike has a longer axle to crown measurement than the Talas I wound it down to 127mm giving it an a-c of 505mm; 5mm more than the Talas. I like the geometry of the MotoLite, and I didn't want to slacken it anymore, or raise the bottom bracket too much.
The Pike road really well. It felt very plush and damping was very well controlled. I never touched the U-Turn, and the bike was able to climb and descend equally as well by keeping the fork at 127mm of travel. One thing I noticed instantly was that I felt like jumping everything, and I felt like I hit my landings better than I ever have. I definitely noticed an increase in the overall stiffness of the bike, both coming from the Pike as well as the Chris King heavy-duty axle and Fun Bolts. Fun Bolts are huge steel bolts that clamp the frame to the axle with 250 inch pounds of torque. Needless to say, the bike tracked incredibly well. My Pushed Talas was really nice, and very light for the level of performance. But, at 4.75lbs (with Maxle) the Pike's heavy-duty crown and thru-axle give a level of stiffness that no 4lbs fork can match. I felt more aggressive and more confident on everything I hit. Overall, the bike just felt absolutely rock-solid!
As far as the Sram X.0 goes, still dialing it in, but so far I can't say I noticed any noticeable improvement in shifting. However, the jockeys did roll more smoothly, and the quality of the part is remarkable!
The bike went from 26.6lbs to 27.4lbs. Not a huge difference, and of course I couldn't feel it while riding.
Great to hear how the ride went...................... As i said in an earlier post, have not touched the u turn for 3 weeks. Have it set on the full 140mm. Am loving it.
I too love the stiffness of the 20 mm axle, very confidence inspriring, just want ot leap and jump off anything.............
So gald you are liking it also................. I also have the med cage XO der, love it. I get no chain slap at all on the MotoLite.
And go the CK wheel set, bomb proof and sext at the same time. Still stare at my CK wheel set at home. Very nice indeed.....................
Great review.........................
The_Lecht_Rocks: whafe - cheeers - may i offer an official apology for the wagon wheeler "dis-belief"
I'm still dialing in the Pike. Lot's of adjustments...
Based on a combination of information here and trial and error I figured out that the recommend PSI figures are ridiculously high. I wonder if that's some kind of CYA from RockShox's legal dept. Anyway, I weigh about 180lbs naked (don't get any ideas BlackAgness), so based on DCG's Pike review I tried using 105 psi +&-. Tscheezy recommended pretty much turning off compression and turning the rebound to full fast. I tried all those things and the fork feels amazing!!!
I can literally pedal into a decent sized curb without lifting my wheel or even putting my weight back and the bike will just climb over it- sort of a weird feeling being able to trust the bike like that. I mean it feels like if I don't pop my tire up a least a little I'm going to go over the bars. But, the fork just sucks it right up - really cool.
I'm still dialing in the Pike. Lot's of adjustments...
Based on a combination of information here and trial and error I figured out that the recommend PSI figures are ridiculously high. I wonder if that's some kind of CYA from RockShox's legal dept. Anyway, I weigh about 180lbs naked (don't get any ideas BlackAgness),
I'm still dialing in the Pike. Lot's of adjustments...
Based on a combination of information here and trial and error I figured out that the recommend PSI figures are ridiculously high.
Yeah ignore the recommended PSI figures completely. I weigh 195 and run like 110 psi in my Pike. Also, my Pike was really, really sticky at first but broke in nicely after about 10 hours on it. I ran really low air pressures and slowly raised the pressure as the fork broke in.
Yeah ignore the recommended PSI figures completely. I weigh 195 and run like 110 psi in my Pike. Also, my Pike was really, really sticky at first but broke in nicely after about 10 hours on it. I ran really low air pressures and slowly raised the pressure as the fork broke in.
Amazing how far RS has come in the last 2 years.
What are you running in the neg chamber Jdub, if you have 110 in the pos chamber?
I too am stoked with RS in the last few yeaars. U havenot gone near one of their forks in years and years...........But am rather stoked with my Pike..............Light and stiff..
..........Like a whole lotta fonzzies
The_Lecht_Rocks: whafe - cheeers - may i offer an official apology for the wagon wheeler "dis-belief"
I'm still dialing in the Pike. Lot's of adjustments...
Based on a combination of information here and trial and error I figured out that the recommend PSI figures are ridiculously high. I wonder if that's some kind of CYA from RockShox's legal dept. Anyway, I weigh about 180lbs naked (don't get any ideas BlackAgness), so based on DCG's Pike review I tried using 105 psi +&-. Tscheezy recommended pretty much turning off compression and turning the rebound to full fast. I tried all those things and the fork feels amazing!!!
I can literally pedal into a decent sized curb without lifting my wheel or even putting my weight back and the bike will just climb over it- sort of a weird feeling being able to trust the bike like that. I mean it feels like if I don't pop my tire up a least a little I'm going to go over the bars. But, the fork just sucks it right up - really cool.
Since you and Jdub are "if memory serves" both coming off a Pushed TALAS, and he says it's better. How do you comparo, the two.
What are you running in the neg chamber Jdub, if you have 110 in the pos chamber?
I run the same in the + and - chambers. When I go to the ski resorts for downhill, I run no compression/floodgate. On the trails, I run about 1/4 compression.
Since you and Jdub are "if memory serves" both coming off a Pushed TALAS, and he says it's better. How do you comparo, the two.
Yeah I had a 05 PUSH'd TALAS RLC before the Pike. The Pike is much stiffer, although until owning a Pike I never thought my TALAS wasn't stiff. I love the maxle as well.
The big thing to me is that the Pike is much, much more tuneable and all the adjustments make noticeable differences in the ride characteristics. Even after the PUSH treatment on my TALAS, it doesn't smooth out the trail like the stock Pike does.
Its amazing how versatile the Pike can be when you go from 140mm mode with no compression or floodgate to 110mm mode with the floodgate on. Its from super cush to XC firm, which is nice to have on a trail bike.
Yeah I had a 05 PUSH'd TALAS RLC before the Pike. The Pike is much stiffer, although until owning a Pike I never thought my TALAS wasn't stiff. I love the maxle as well.
The big thing to me is that the Pike is much, much more tuneable and all the adjustments make noticeable differences in the ride characteristics. Even after the PUSH treatment on my TALAS, it doesn't smooth out the trail like the stock Pike does.
Its amazing how versatile the Pike can be when you go from 140mm mode with no compression or floodgate to 110mm mode with the floodgate on. Its from super cush to XC firm, which is nice to have on a trail bike.
I just installed a Pike on my 5 Spot & plan on first real ride tomorrow, I weigh 190 lbs. and put 140 psi both positive & negative, sounds like it might be a bit high based on what I'm reading. Is there a recommended sag (20% or 25% of travel) or is it just a matter of feel. I agree with everything above, the "baby" ride I took was amazing, I ran it into a few curbs & was amazed at how it mowed down the impact. RS has come a long way, I'm coming off a 2003 Z1 FR and already prefer the ride of the Pike.
put 140 psi both positive & negative, sounds like it might be a bit high based on what I'm reading.
Sounds very high to me, especially considering when mine was new the seals were really tight and sticky. I dropped air pressure way down (seems like about 95psi) and slowly raised it as the seals broke in and the stiction decreased.
How are you liking the med cage rare XO der Duly, no chain slap at all I bet
Well that's actually the reason I wanted to go with a medium cage, but to be honest, I haven't noticed any improvement in shifting or the amount of chain slap.
Well that's actually the reason I wanted to go with a medium cage, but to be honest, I haven't noticed any improvement in shifting or the amount of chain slap.
I really just love the way it looks ...
Oh well , thats ok too. It is funny, everyone mentioned the chain slap on the ML, I have experienced none at all. Doesnt really surprise me, I had very little with this der SRAM set up on my other steeds either.... But yes, they look the SH!T....................
The Push'd RP23 should be here this week, looking forward to having a play on that.
The_Lecht_Rocks: whafe - cheeers - may i offer an official apology for the wagon wheeler "dis-belief"
Oh well , thats ok too. It is funny, everyone mentioned the chain slap on the ML, I have experienced none at all. Doesnt really surprise me, I had very little with this der SRAM set up on my other steeds either.... But yes, they look the SH!T....................
The Push'd RP23 should be here this week, looking forward to having a play on that.
I just went through the Park Tool how to for rear derailleur adjustment. And, now it's working P E R F E C T ! Shifting is about a half pedal turn faster than my old X.9 long cage, and crisper than ever -- loving it now that it's properly adjusted. By the way I also did the how to on the front derailleur (XT), also made shifting much better.
I paid more attention to the chain slap this ride and it might be a little better than before, but I still feel like I want to throw it in the big ring before heading downhill.
I just went through the Park Tool how to for rear derailleur adjustment. And, now it's working P E R F E C T ! Shifting is about a half pedal turn faster than my old X.9 long cage, and crisper than ever -- loving it now that it's properly adjusted. By the way I also did the how to on the front derailleur (XT), also made shifting much better.
I paid more attention to the chain slap this ride and it might be a little better than before, but I still feel like I want to throw it in the big ring before heading downhill.
For me am a little spoilt I think, have only run XO since gettign back into mtb some 2 years back after a lull of 5 years. But swear I have less chain slappy
The_Lecht_Rocks: whafe - cheeers - may i offer an official apology for the wagon wheeler "dis-belief"
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Originally Posted by dulyebr
..........Like a whole lotta fonzzies
First (real) Ride on Pike
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