Fork Debate

[love2fly]

Wouldn't the 34 be more suited to DH or Enduro? Where I ride sadly descending us only a too small part of my ride.

The ongoing issue and I'm hijacking my own thread - is that on looser surfaces I don't have huge confidence in the front end... And that's despite having infinitely played with setup and Tyre pressure. 2.35 Ardent Race....

 

At your weight both of those forks must feel like sloppy noodles under you.... do yourself a favour and demo a 34, or a Pike.

 

Personally I won't ride anything less than a Lyrik or 36 again, even on a short travel bike. Everything else just feels shyte in comparison.

[love2fly]

Yip. That might be the best advice I've heard for a bit ????????

 

okay but you have A 32 evo , which was notorious for its damper problems so the performance might not be as it should , maybe have it inspected by cogent

[Rock Guy]

Wouldn't the 34 be more suited to DH or Enduro? Where I ride sadly descending us only a too small part of my ride.

The ongoing issue and I'm hijacking my own thread - is that on looser surfaces I don't have huge confidence in the front end... And that's despite having infinitely played with setup and Tyre pressure. 2.35 Ardent Race....

 

 

At your weight the 34 will be a much better fork. the 32 is about weight saving and so it's quite floppy. the damper on the Evo is also not great at all. You'd be surprised how much better a Fit4 or Grip2 damper is. But first, we need more info to really determine where the problem lies.

 

1. When exactly does the fork not feel great? Most people feel this on fast descents, but you don't do much of this. Is it on corrugated dirt road at speed? I don't imaging uphills will be an issue.

 

2. Is it when you are breaking? or when you full gas on a straight?

 

3.Presumably you ride a 29er? What bike is it fitted to?

 

4. Do you know what offset the fork has? (typically either 44mm or 51mm)

 

5. Do you have any volume spacers in the fork? (you really should if possible)

 

FYI. you've changed from a 120mm fork, which has more travel so likely a plusher ride, to a 100mm fork which is likely to be less plush and probably why you prefer to ride it at lower than recommended pressure. The 100mm fork would have steepened your bike's head angle quite a bit, doing this has made your bike's handling feel more sketchy. It's pretty well known that slacker head angles result in more confidence inspiring steering. You've gone the wrong way in this regard.

 

To make matters worse, running the 100mm fork at lower than suggested pressure has made the effective head angle even steeper. (what % is your sag at now?). Throw an Evo damper into this mix and you have a recipe for disaster. It's quite likely that you're not running your rebound fast enough (or that the Evo damper just struggles to keep up) and that you're fork is packing up on successive hits (e.g. corrugation) and you end up riding way to far forward over your front wheel (feeling lank sketchy) with effectively no shock travel left.

[Eddy Gordo]

At your weight both of those forks must feel like sloppy noodles under you.... do yourself a favour and demo a 34, or a Pike.

 

Personally I won't ride anything less than a Lyrik or 36 again, even on a short travel bike. Everything else just feels shyte in comparison.

 

I reckon the OP does not ride many chattery rocky type terrain.

That is where you will feel the main difference. The 32 will flex back and forth easier vs the 34. I suppose you could compare them by standing over you bike grab a handful of front brake and push back and forth. 

 

I agree with grease monkey. I wouldnt run anything less than 35mm stanchions. My personal favorite is 38mm.

[love2fly]

 

Interesting stuff. Out and about. Will reply in more detail later.

At your weight the 34 will be a much better fork. the 32 is about weight saving and so it's quite floppy. the damper on the Evo is also not great at all. You'd be surprised how much better a Fit4 or Grip2 damper is. But first, we need more info to really determine where the problem lies.

 

1. When exactly does the fork not feel great? Most people feel this on fast descents, but you don't do much of this. Is it on corrugated dirt road at speed? I don't imaging uphills will be an issue.

 

2. Is it when you are breaking? or when you full gas on a straight?

 

3.Presumably you ride a 29er? What bike is it fitted to?

 

4. Do you know what offset the fork has? (typically either 44mm or 51mm)

 

5. Do you have any volume spacers in the fork? (you really should if possible)

 

FYI. you've changed from a 120mm fork, which has more travel so likely a plusher ride, to a 100mm fork which is likely to be less plush and probably why you prefer to ride it at lower than recommended pressure. The 100mm fork would have steepened your bike's head angle quite a bit, doing this has made your bike's handling feel more sketchy. It's pretty well known that slacker head angles result in more confidence inspiring steering. You've gone the wrong way in this regard.

 

To make matters worse, running the 100mm fork at lower than suggested pressure has made the effective head angle even steeper. (what % is your sag at now?). Throw an Evo damper into this mix and you have a recipe for disaster. It's quite likely that you're not running your rebound fast enough (or that the Evo damper just struggles to keep up) and that you're fork is packing up on successive hits (e.g. corrugation) and you end up riding way to far forward over your front wheel (feeling lank sketchy) with effectively no shock travel left.

[love2fly]

At your weight the 34 will be a much better fork. the 32 is about weight saving and so it's quite floppy. the damper on the Evo is also not great at all. You'd be surprised how much better a Fit4 or Grip2 damper is. But first, we need more info to really determine where the problem lies.

 

1. When exactly does the fork not feel great? Most people feel this on fast descents, but you don't do much of this. Is it on corrugated dirt road at speed? I don't imaging uphills will be an issue. Descents, twisties with loose sand. I just never feel front is planted. Tried setup ad infinitum. Ardent race and love it at softer psi as have widish rims (23mm). Also get my weight well fwd.

 

2. Is it when you are breaking? or when you full gas on a straight? Twisties only

 

3.Presumably you ride a 29er? What bike is it fitted to? Adrenalin. Factory spec is 100mm fork but brought in by Willie Engelbrecht who suggests 120mm better. Problem is my 120mm is the 30mm fork and the 32 is 100....

 

4. Do you know what offset the fork has? (typically either 44mm or 51mm) Rake = 51mm. What difference does this make?

 

5. Do you have any volume spacers in the fork? (you really should if possible) Have no idea. Will check when get it serviced.

 

FYI. you've changed from a 120mm fork, which has more travel so likely a plusher ride, to a 100mm fork which is likely to be less plush and probably why you prefer to ride it at lower than recommended pressure. The 100mm fork would have steepened your bike's head angle quite a bit, doing this has made your bike's handling feel more sketchy. It's pretty well known that slacker head angles result in more confidence inspiring steering. You've gone the wrong way in this regard. I set fork up according to my sag at around 20%, as well as making sure I use most but generally not all of the travel after a ride. Comparing to the pressure suggested by Fox for my weight I'm on the softer side. What you say about the head angle makes sense. In essence the reason for my post is to get a definitive answer as to rather going back to 30mm and 120mm travel (which many would say is too much for a 30mm but Ive had no spaghetti feeling), or stick with the 100mm 32mm.Apparently the thru axle makes a difference, I'm again not convinced. Am slightly leaning towards the 30mm. PS I don't run out of travel.

 

To make matters worse, running the 100mm fork at lower than suggested pressure has made the effective head angle even steeper. (what % is your sag at now?). Throw an Evo damper into this mix and you have a recipe for disaster. It's quite likely that you're not running your rebound fast enough (or that the Evo damper just struggles to keep up) and that you're fork is packing up on successive hits (e.g. corrugation) and you end up riding way to far forward over your front wheel (feeling lank sketchy) with effectively no shock travel left. Maybe I should try to speed up the rebound - Fox suggest for my weight I set at a couple of clicks from closed?

[love2fly]

I only have a short section of chattery rocky terrain (Cradle loop in JHB) and in the odd race but in looking after the bike and the rims etc I keep it medium calm...

I reckon the OP does not ride many chattery rocky type terrain.

That is where you will feel the main difference. The 32 will flex back and forth easier vs the 34. I suppose you could compare them by standing over you bike grab a handful of front brake and push back and forth. 

 

I agree with grease monkey. I wouldnt run anything less than 35mm stanchions. My personal favorite is 38mm.

[Wimmas]

I went from a 2018 RS Recon 100mm to a 2020 FOX Rhythm 34 120mm....one massive difference. I am absolutely sold on the FOX.

[Grease_Monkey]

Wouldn't the 34 be more suited to DH or Enduro? Where I ride sadly descending us only a too small part of my ride.

The ongoing issue and I'm hijacking my own thread - is that on looser surfaces I don't have huge confidence in the front end... And that's despite having infinitely played with setup and Tyre pressure. 2.35 Ardent Race....

 

 

No, 34s and Pikes are trail forks. They are even being specced on more aggressive XC bikes. I am also heavy, and can tell you the difference between a 32 and 34 is day and night. I'd say a Lyrik or 36 is overkill for the riding you are describing though...

[Steady Spin]

Also... 2.35 on a 23mm ID rim will be squirmy under lower pressures and the shape of the tyre is too balloon shaped which sacrifices cornering. 

[love2fly]

Sorry I don't buy that. Mine are actually 25mm....i had squirm on my old Novatec Dragons that were like 18mm or something stupid and the front squirmed like crazy but no squirm whatsoever. Can run my front at 1.1 bar without hassle if it's rough. My brother rides 2.35 on Kovee Elite 23mm and no hassle.

Ninos Spark ships with 25mm and 2.35

post="3786862" timestamp="1617964828"]

 

Also... 2.35 on a 23mm ID rim will be squirmy under lower pressures and the shape of the tyre is too balloon shaped which sacrifices cornering.

Edited April 9, 2021 by love2fly

[Steady Spin]

Fair point.

 

The problem is definitely somewhere between the front and rear axles then. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Steady Spin

[dasilvarsa]

"on looser surfaces I don't have huge confidence in the front end."

 

I think most people Have This Feeling. "Most Falls Happen Here"

 

Have you Tried the Original Ardent 2.4 (Not Race) ?

 

Was the RockShox Better ?

Edited April 9, 2021 by dasilvarsa

[love2fly]

Like the rider 

Fair point.

 

The problem is definitely somewhere between the front and read axles then. 

[love2fly]

"on looser surfaces I don't have huge confidence in the front end."

 

I think most people Have This Feeling. "Most Falls Happen Here"

 

Have you Tried the Original Ardent 2.4 (Not Race) ?

 

Was the RockShox Better ?

 

Good to know....Moved from Ardent to race. It is similar, seems to steer lighter as less deep tread.

 

I find both forks pretty similar.

[dasilvarsa]

Good to know....Moved from Ardent to race. It is similar, seems to steer lighter as less deep tread.

 

I find both forks pretty similar.

I've Also Had Both in Front - I feel the Ardent "Bites Better" on Soft Sand but It's a Slower Tyre.