Riding RockShox's New 2014 Pike - First Look
TRAIL HOUSE: SEDONA, ARIZONA
ROCKSHOX
PIKE
PIKE
WORDS Mike Levy
PHOTOS Adrian Marcoux and Sebastian Schieck
PHOTOS Adrian Marcoux and Sebastian Schieck
A Different Approach
The third annual Trail House gathering isn't the usual press camp event. Our introduction to new gear is often a rushed affair that more closely resembles a hasty dine-and-dash than a fine dining experience, but RockShox wanted to take a different approach for the launch of their new Pike trail fork. The concept was to invite a very select group of journalists - representatives from only four North American media outlets got the nod - to get to know new products in a more relaxed environment. That means more one-on-one time with the engineers behind the technology, more time on the bike getting a feel for how it performs, and more time shit talking around the fire pit late into the night. Held in Santa Cruz, California, for the previous two years, RockShox chose to relocate this year's event to Sedona, Arizona, a riding mecca well known for its hectic terrain that doesn't forgive mistakes, be it straying off line into a hundred year old cactus or traversing a rocky pitch that looks like it could turn any exposed skin into something that reminds one of an open can of tuna should you make a bad decision. Don't be
fooled by that harsh description, though, as there is plenty of flow to be found in the countless miles of winding singletrack that spiderweb out from town, so long as you're good with at least a few sections that promise to have even the most confident of riders puckering up in hesitation. In other words, a great place to debut the new Pike, a mid-travel fork that is aimed squarely at the rider who looks forward to throwing themselves at such terrain for hours on end.The third annual Trail House gathering isn't the usual press camp event. Our introduction to new gear is often a rushed affair that more closely resembles a hasty dine-and-dash than a fine dining experience, but RockShox wanted to take a different approach for the launch of their new Pike trail fork. The concept was to invite a very select group of journalists - representatives from only four North American media outlets got the nod - to get to know new products in a more relaxed environment. That means more one-on-one time with the engineers behind the technology, more time on the bike getting a feel for how it performs, and more time shit talking around the fire pit late into the night. Held in Santa Cruz, California, for the previous two years, RockShox chose to relocate this year's event to Sedona, Arizona, a riding mecca well known for its hectic terrain that doesn't forgive mistakes, be it straying off line into a hundred year old cactus or traversing a rocky pitch that looks like it could turn any exposed skin into something that reminds one of an open can of tuna should you make a bad decision. Don't be
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 Our crew was looked after by the fine folks at Western Spirit Cycling, a guiding outfit based out of Moab, Utah, who run tours all over the United States. They not only lead out our rides, but also put together some amazing food and drink to keep us going strong, key points to maximizing the fun factor. |
Same Name, New Fork
It was 2003 when RockShox rolled out the Pike, a fork that, with 140mm of travel, 32mm stanchion tubes, and a 20mm thru-axle, looked to answer the needs of riders who wanted to get rowdy on their trail bikes (I think we were just calling them mountain bikes back then, though) without having to worry about a spindly cross-country slider being up to the task. Both bike technology and rider skill have evolved leaps and bounds in the ten years since the original Pike, but the concept of a relatively light fork that can take the abuse of a downhiller on a trail ride carries on with the 2014 Pike. Don't get the wrong idea, though, because this is an entirely new fork from the ground up.
The new Pike's chassis reflects its intentions, with 35mm stanchions that receive a hard anodized black finish (no, this is not the BlackBox-only DLC or limited BlackGold treatment), and sturdy lowers that feature more material on the disc side where the forces are higher. Casting details also include slightly less magnesium on the damper side as it does not require the same volume as the spring leg, shaving further grams, as well as a redesigned and much simpler 15mm Maxle Lite thru-axle.
While the Pike's chassis is fresh, it's the new 'Charger' damper that has us most excited. The sealed but serviceable damper employs an expanding bladder in order to compensate for shaft discplacement, and while utilizing a bladder isn't new technology - FOX's FIT cartridges follow the same basic principle, and it has been in the motocross world for many years before that - it is a step forward from RockShox's current emulsion-style systems that allow air and oil to mix. All told, the finished product is a 140 - 160mm travel fork that enters the ring at a claimed weight of 4.05lb. If you're the type to factor that last point into your build, that's lighter than equivalent fork options from RockShox's direct competitors.
While the Pike's chassis is fresh, it's the new 'Charger' damper that has us most excited. The sealed but serviceable damper employs an expanding bladder in order to compensate for shaft discplacement, and while utilizing a bladder isn't new technology - FOX's FIT cartridges follow the same basic principle, and it has been in the motocross world for many years before that - it is a step forward from RockShox's current emulsion-style systems that allow air and oil to mix. All told, the finished product is a 140 - 160mm travel fork that enters the ring at a claimed weight of 4.05lb. If you're the type to factor that last point into your build, that's lighter than equivalent fork options from RockShox's direct competitors.
2014 RockShox Pike Details
• Intended use: trail/all-mountain
• Travel: 140 - 160mm (29'': 140 - 160mm, 27.5/26”: 150 - 160mm)
• Air sprung
• New 'Charger' damper (sealed, serviceable)
• External adjustments: rebound, low-speed compression, pedal assist (depending on model)
• Dual Position Air w/ 30mm travel adjustment (optional)
• 35mm stanchions w/ black hard anodizing
• Redesigned 15mm Maxle Lite axle (no 20mm option)
• Steerer: taper only
• Wheel sizes: 26'', 27.5'', 29''
• Weight: 1838g/4.05lb (claimed, 160mm)
• Availability: May, 2013
• MSRP: $980 - $1085 USD
• Travel: 140 - 160mm (29'': 140 - 160mm, 27.5/26”: 150 - 160mm)
• Air sprung
• New 'Charger' damper (sealed, serviceable)
• External adjustments: rebound, low-speed compression, pedal assist (depending on model)
• Dual Position Air w/ 30mm travel adjustment (optional)
• 35mm stanchions w/ black hard anodizing
• Redesigned 15mm Maxle Lite axle (no 20mm option)
• Steerer: taper only
• Wheel sizes: 26'', 27.5'', 29''
• Weight: 1838g/4.05lb (claimed, 160mm)
• Availability: May, 2013
• MSRP: $980 - $1085 USD
Filmed and edited by Mind Spark Cinema
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| Pitting out of the SRAM race support truck has its benefits, including access to the technicians who work on SRAM's BlackBox suspension and components. We may never be able to come close to qualifying for a World Cup race but we got to pretend for a few days. |
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| A 140mm travel 29er version of the Pike was fitted to the front of our Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon for testing, a potent combination that suited Sedona's rocky terrain. |
Charger Damper - BlackBox DNA
When one thinks of the BlackBox program, images of many of the top World Cup downhillers (as well as the cross-country contingent) likely pop into your mind, which makes sense since that is where we most often see the custom suspension and components that are reserved for only a select few SRAM/RockShox-sponsored racers. As it turns out, RockShox has also been hard at work developing suspension for the mid-travel world as well, with the Pike's new Charger damper being tested incognito within a standard Lyrik chassis over the last year - there is a chance that Mega Avalanche specialist and all around badass Rene Wildhaber had prototype versions fitted to the front of his Trek without anyone noticing. What is interesting is that RockShox denies that the new damper has been used in any of their BlackBox-equipped BoXXer forks during last season, despite the air-free cartridge making a lot of sense in a long-travel application where the speeds are high and the impacts are hard. Will we see a longer stroke Charger damper tucked into a BoXXer chassis at the first World Cup DH stop in Fort William, Scotland? RockShox wouldn't confirm the chance of that happening, but we would bet some serious coin that it will.
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How is the Charger Damper Different?
All of RockShox's current lineup, excluding the new Pike shown here, utilize some variation of an emulsion-type damper - this refers to a layout where the damping oil is free to mix with air in the system. Open bath dampers from Marzocchi would fit into this category, as would RockShox's Mission Control damper that they use in their BoXXer and Lyrik forks, as well as FOX's Open Cartridge found in their Evolution series. In an emulsion damper air is used to compensate for damper shaft displacement as the fork compresses and extends. Oil does does not compress, meaning that the fork would not be able to compress if the leg or cartridge body were only full of oil. This design is often simpler but can mean that the oil and air can mix enough to cause the resulting air bubbles to pass through the damping circuits, resulting in a loss of damping and control.
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| RockShox Engineer Damon Gilbert gives our group a run-through of the new Charger damper under the canopy of the SRAM race support trailer. |
The opposite of the above, a closed and pressurized damper like the Charger system (does the name make sense now?) is completely full of oil and has essentially no air within it, meaning that there is far less opportunity for it to foam during hard use. But how does the damper compress if it is completely full of oil? In order for a closed damper to work, it must utilize some form of compensator that allows for expansion under compression - picture the internal floating piston (IFP) in the piggyback of a rear shock that pushes against the air trapped on the opposite side of the oil, thereby allowing for oil displacement. Rather than an IFP, the Charger damper uses an extruded rubber bladder to accomplish the exact same task, with the bladder expanding as the damper shaft travels into the cartridge as the fork compresses. Again, this isn't a new idea, but it is one that makes a lot of sense within a fork because a bladder does not present any of the friction and packaging issues of an IFP design.
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| The bladder is relaxed when the cartridge is at full extension (left), but expands out as the damper is compressed (right). |
Extruded Bladder
RockShox isn't pretending that the concept behind the Charger damper is new - they know full well that bladders have been used in FOX's FIT cartridges for years, as well as tucked within the piggyback of many moto shocks - but they have gone to great lengths to improve on the design. Reliability was at the top of the list during development, we were told, and it is for this reason that they chose to go with an extrusion process rather than molding to manufacture the bladder. Their reasoning is that molding results in seams and geometry changes in the bladder that can lead to weak points, whereas an extrusion technique produces a long and seam-free section of rubber tubing that is then cut to the correct length. When asked how long a rider could expect the bladder to last, RockShox product manager Jeremiah Boobar answered with "years."
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| While a molded bladder resembles a condom, with an open and closed end, the Charger's bladder is essentially a tube that is open on both ends. RockShox seals the bladder by way of ramps machined into each end of the aluminum fittings that hold the bladder in place. |
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| The damper's compression assembly (left) is housed in the upper end of the cartridge, with the pedal-assist feature sitting behind it. The rebound piston is found at the opposite end (right). |
Simplified Air System
All versions of the Pike will be air sprung, with riders able to choose from either a Dual Position Air (DPA) system that allows for 30mm of travel adjustment via simplified internals compared to previous iterations, or a fixed-travel Solo Air option for those who don't feel the need to lower the front of their bike for climbs or less demanding terrain. The DPA system works by transferring air from one chamber to another via ports that are open and closed as the crown-mounted dial is turned. Suspension rate on all versions of the Pike can be tuned by way of RockShox's 'Bottomless Tokens', plastic spacers that are threaded by hand into the underside of the top cap. Multiple Bottomless Tokens can stacked up in order to increase the progressiveness of the fork through its travel.
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| The Pike's DPA system (right) allows riders to limit travel by 30mm, while RockShox's threaded Bottomless Tokens (right) should make tuning the forks spring rate easy. |
New Chassis, New Maxle Lite
The Pike's Charger damper isn't the only thing to talk about, though, with it sitting within an entirely new fork chassis that features 35mm stanchions, a new crown and steerer assembly, and impressively detailed lowers that contribute to the fork's relatively light 4.05lb weight. A new and easier to use 15mm Maxle Lite ties the lowers together, with it forgoing the finned and sometimes fragile lever catch of the original design. While the previous version depended on expansion to tighten up, the revised version's simpler thread-in and clamp design uses compression to accomplish the same task. Clocking the quick release lever to the proper angle is done by removing the axle from the fork, pushing the lever-end into the axle, and turning until it sits in the proper place, a job that should only need to be done once.
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| The closed cartridge separates the damping oil from the lubrication oil, allowing RockShox to use simpler seals (left) that combine dust and oil duties into one unit. Sag gradients on the right leg make for quick setup (right). |
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| Compression adjustments (right) are made at the top of the right fork leg, with the large dial offering full open, pedal, and lock settings. The smaller, inner dial adjusts the amount of low-speed compression damping when the fork is set to full-open. Low-speed rebound is tuned via the red aluminum knob at the bottom of the same leg. The dial is captured, meaning that it can't rattle out during a ride, and its detent ball bearing and spring are also trapped within the dial for the same reason. |
Monarch Plus
The new Pike is going to garner the most attention, but let's not forget about the back of the bike. A new Monarch Plus shock was also shown to us during our time at the Sedona Trail House event, and it certainly deserves some time under the microscope as well. What's different about it compared to the previous Monarch? Oil flow as been upped thanks to a larger diameter damper shaft - 10mm versus the old 9mm shaft - a change that has made for a much larger tuning range that should make life easier for riders who spend time at the extreme ends of the spring rate, be it the featherweights or the Clydesdales. While packaging limitations keep RockShox from fitting their Counter Measure negative spring that is employed within the Vivid and Vivid Air, a system that has shown to greatly improve shock sensitivity, they have increased the amount of negative air volume to help improve the Monarch Plus' eagerness over smaller impacts. A lever on the side of the shock allows for three compression options: full open, mid-firm, and firm.
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First Impressions:
 | Can two rides, regardless of length or terrain, be enough to qualify as a bona fide review? Hardly, especially as reliability doesn't even come close to being in play. But, given that we've been able to put solid amounts of saddle time on many of the 2013 versions of the Pike's competitors, we can certainly get a glimpse of its performance in comparison. Our initial feeling is that RockShox has produced one hell of a mid-travel fork that, at this early stage of testing, appears to not present certain drawbacks that some of the competition struggle with. It is no secret that one of our major complaints with other offerings is their tendency to gobble up their travel on both hard hits and under heavy braking, issues that can be a real problem when riding serious terrain on a bike that doesn't have the travel of a downhill bike. The Pike, on the other hand, did well to stand up high in its travel, going a long way to keeping our Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon test bike handling as it should. At the same time it didn't feel harsh on the smaller trail chatter, a feeling that is often the result of running too much air pressure or low-speed compression in an effort to have the fork not dive through its travel. In fact, we spent very little time on setup, simply running the air pressure recommended for our weight and starting with both the low-speed compression and rebound settings in the middle of their range. We are all the more impressed given the lack of setup effort on our end, and are confident that we could eke more performance out of the fork had we had more time on it. What forks are in the Pike's sights? With 140 - 160mm of travel and 35mm stanchion tubes, it goes without saying that the Pike is aimed at FOX's 34 and 36 series, two options that have a very large following. Only more testing will reveal if the Pike can usurp FOX's offerings, but our early hunch is that the Pike is going to surprise a lot of riders. - Mike Levy |
www.rockshox.com
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And on that same note, you get this attitude from mountain bikers (me included) that they NEED the "ferrari" of bikes/bike components despite only being a weekend warrior and not racing or anything.
People complain a LOT about how expensive everything is getting,.. but it's only expensive if you require the best of the best and really care about shaving a few grams here and there. It's very easy to build a pretty solid bike with full SLX/X7 and a mid-range fork/shock that will still outperform a huge chunk of a riders ability.
You have an alloy frame in MX. We have carbon.
Our bikes are taking huge abuse, and yet are tying their hardest to hit low weight targets. Moto's are cool, but they have the advantage of working with much more material as weight and stiffness aren't their two biggest concerns.
You are getting a low end moto for 5k, you are getting a pretty shit hot bike for 5k.
Many things are a bit pricey, but not overpriced. The market is a mere fraction of the global moto market, they are able to take advantage of their size. There is a huge network, huge manufacturers of every little part. In bikes, bikes are a production month for many manufacturers.
So again, I ask you to go buy a motorbike and ride it, and leave cycling alone it won't miss you.
But I suppose your of that mindset that "5k for a bike with no motor?". If that is the case, go buy your 5k moto and ride it, and leave bikes to the rest of us who actually enjoy what we are riding.
Oh wait, we have that too...
www.pinkbike.com/news/Fox-iCD-Suspension-Electronic-Warfare-Begins-in-Earnest.html
People comparing bikes to motos do not know what they are talking about. And if you do not like cost of a nice rig, go buy a Huffy in Walmart. $80.
Comparing bikes to motos!? Last time I checked, motos had an engines. They have transmissions, while we run cranks and looks on pinion as on a super high tech innovation.
Of course bikes are overpriced. And the reason is that they are super fun to ride, so it is not possible that we will not do it, no matter the price. That's why we have same problems going for snowboards or skies. They said it's so expensive because of special trees. What special does trees have? Being watered by holy water?
Let's not be that fooled. Bikes are progressing incredibly and they use good level of technologies, but they are still simple machines compared to cars or motos. They shouldn't price that much and we shouldn't spend our money on a bikes with such an ease.
I worked in a plant... Undisclosed... where I would see the engineers that were getting 36 dollars an hour to BE THERE, sit for 6-8 hours a day and only move if something went down, or a line needed to be switched over, in which case he would either send people on errands to look for parts or get "labourers" to move and swap pieces.... oooh and then middle and upper management... I am outta this before the tangent begins, lol..
Thank you, i'll stick to my 55's and 26" syncros wheels !.
It's called a Lyrik...
I really don't get what this adherence to 20mm is all about. Frankly, I'm sorry, but most 'weekend warriors' and EVEN enduro riders aren't "hardcore" enough to warrant a 20mm, and even IF they are the added stiffness AND weight saving from a tapered steerer and 35mm stanchions (sp?) will more than make up for it, not to mention a ridged arch and modern tough wide rims. I hate to be the one to break it you but most people are not Danny Hart, Josh Briceland etc and don't warrant the burlier kit and bearing in mind, that when most of these "hardcore" riders are doing their training Enduro/trail riding, they'll be rolling on the same kit with tapered steerers and 15mm axles and wide tough modern rims enjoying the weight benefits gained from these newer designs. Even Bearclaw said very emphatically in his bizarre interview with Dan Milner that he always hopes for a lighter bike - I think he's just come into a carbon demo as well and is 'super-stoked' about it. On a side note I'm really looking forward to seeing what Aaron Gwin is riding, boy has been underground! Or I've not been looking hard enough...?
Ten years ago this lack of planning in future-proofing was understandable, but these days we all know there are many standards out there, so plan for it. Buying a cheap wheel that fits only one type of axle is a false economy.
As for the 15mm thing... it does kind of seem like an unnecessary extra standard. Surely they could make a light duty 20mm option that comes within grams and allows for way more mixing and matching of components. All I know for sure is that I want a new Pike now... dammit.
Go ride one. Seriously.
If that's the spec you want, you buy the Pike. Otherwise, you buy something else. That doesn't make it 'stupid'.
35mm stanchions is a deceiving thing as it's on par with a Lyrik. I am saddened by the 15mm through option only; eliminates this as a choice for me, however, maybe Lyrik lowers will fit?
Nevertheless, hope to see what they're gonna do with the Lyrik next; looks like lots of tech to trickle up to it.
Are the laughable weight savings worth dealing with a whole new standard though? I guess that's the bike industry for you.
So I don't understand the commotion about usefulness vs. unnecessary... some like, some don't... in the end somebody will buy this fork.
So many wheel/axles/steertube/stanchion sizes for just a fork... Options are always nice but when there are so many with so little difference, I don't feel like the consumer wins in the end.
Now it getting hard to find any tapered 140-160mm fork with a 20mm axle.
Still, I'm not furious with RS, the whole industry has decided that the fork axle of choice for all XC, trail enduro and AM is 15mm, and all must have tapered head tubes. However many Pinkbikers think that 15mm should just replace 9mm QR for XC, and everything else should be 20mm. Weird that they don't listen to customers. Also weird that none of the manufacturers are really willing to break rank to make a 20mm axle and tapered head tube.
Seriously though, I may be a weekend warrior, but I ride effin hard!!! Should I upgrade even though I've NEVER had a failure with my qr?
The good news is there are lots of options in the market place. No need to get pissed off and spit vitriol online because a manufacturing doesn't meet your needs - it's just a product to be fitted to a toy for a leisure activity (albeit, an activity that's just behind my wife and kid on my importance list). Just buy a fork from someone else in the short term and reconsider it as an option down the road when you build up your next rig. Chill and remember why we all ride.
All new frames come with tapered steerers, there are plenty of options for headsets, then nearly every decent hub and wheelset comes with conversion kits. Sure, I myself would love everyone to make 20mm axles and frames with straight 1.5 head tubes, half of shit on ebay does not fit eah other, but what the hell can we do? It's time to move on, you are just deluding yourself that if we bitch enough here, something will change for the better. Nah-aaaaah!
Slack should be handled by the bikes HA or an aftermarket angle set not stupid long A/C forks.
I apologize for the paragraph, but in my opinion the tapered steerer only lack of options significantly reduces the amount of riders who would purchase this fork. I could deal with the axle change, I mean I have already changed over from a 9mm axle years ago and could afford yet another new hub if needed, but I know that myself and many others wouldn't really want to change frames for a fork
Keep your (amazing-looking) forks then and sorry for not being able to buy a new frame or front wheel. I'll buy from someone who's willing to acknowledge me as a valuable customer then.
So you agree with me, there is a lot of second hand stuff for people who don't have modern equipment. Apply that logic to your first post. Your stuff isn't shiny and new. Its last generation equipment. The world moved on. My mojo is last generation too. The world moved on.
The underlying issue is entitlement. It is just silly to listen to people complaining that extra expense wasn't added to a product so you can maintain numerous backward compatibilities. This model is a new platform to go forward with- to use with new frames, to use with frames designed around 650b wheels, rather than retrofits, for enduro frames that don't need the full 20mm axle/wheel combination. This fork wasn't designed for your old equipment. Stop being so full of yourself and stop seeing this a personal insult that your outdated, last generation components aren't the market this product is meant for.
Have you not considered that a 1 1/8 steerer version might require too much extra weight, or a significantly different design and could sacrifice the performance/weight balance like the Fox forks do to maintain those compatibility options? This fork is pushing the weight/strength boundaries and requires modern construction techniques. Go buy the shiny fox 34 pig to keep your old components in use. Hell I even have a 150mm Travis with 34mm stanchions, 1 1/8 steerer, and 650b compatibility. Its 20mm and not much heavier than a fox 34 (about a pound.)
Read that again too before you comment, if you choose to do so. We,as consumers have every right to feel insulted by people like yourself who tell us we have "poor frame choice" or are "full of ourselves" when it appears you yourself do not appear to give people the right to feel disappointed.
For my part I have a Pike on my BFe, a Domain on the Brocket and a Sektor on a Stanton Slackline. I choose RS to keep my tooling bills down and to enable me to service all my forks myself. I am disappointed that the new Pike will not be available to fit my frames. There, I have said it. What is so wrong with that that you feel you have to lambaste people for expressing their opinion??
To renew your faith in people who do say "...I'd like one of those to fit my bike", may not just be whingers with poor frame choice, full of their own self-importance, I offer this alternative (which has been my decision) . I strongly recommend anyone who is peeved at their being no 20mm Pike option trying to save yourself future incompatibility issues (and thereby cost) by re-lacing your wheels to Novatec D881 and D882 hubs; 9mm, 15mm, 20mm front, 9mmQR, 10x135, 12x135, 12x142 rear all in the hubs (front and rear) with all the spare adapters and axles, cartridge bearings and, so far, great reliability for 99 Aussie dollars (search and ye shall find). And you get to learn how to lace up wheels if you do the research too people. Have a good day Willie mate.
PS: I almost forgot to mention that this black stanchions looks Suntour XCM cheap.
Here's my gripe. The pike was built as the ultimate do it all fork back in the day, you could DJ on it, you could DH on it and you could rip on it round the trail centres, yes it was a bit weighty and yes the damping wasnt the best, but it ripped. Now i cant say what this new one is gonna be like as obviously i havent tried it but... (and this is a big but) ... RS seem to have completely missed the reason for having a pike.
put all your fancy damping nonsense in the Rev thats what it was bought out for in the first place after all was it not ? the chassis is looking bang on although why theyre offering it in 160 i have no idea (lyrik anybody???) i think 140mm is where it should be at......
If the performance is there and the price comes down a lil bit and they start offering all the steerer and axle options in the second / third year of production this would please me more and so far from the sound of it the RC is the better option. but lets see.
Right now if you want everything that the Pike was go buy an Argyll RCT and be done with it. Please RS give us a proper beefcake mid price do it all fork with the Pike name on it not a frankenstein opponent to the fox 34 thats muddying the water on why the lyrik exists.
Thank you for this slap in the face, RockShox. Great product management!
An sorry for not being good enough for the elite 3% or rich enough to buy a new frame.
I just don't get why RockShox is excluding so many potential customers...
RS makes good stuffs. They don't need stupid blabla.
/s
No one seems to be mourning the loss of those standards.
plus, it doesn't make sense to need a 20mm axle AND need a fork as light as possible, the lyrik should be ideal for that. bladders don't equal better.
"Let’s face it. You know what you want from your suspension, which is why we believe in giving our riders the options they desire. "
It would seem fair then, would it not, that some people may be surprised that RS has chosen to only offer one option. Yes, I know and understand all the very good reasons why RS will feel that only the tapered 15mm be offered. It's their prerogative so good luck to them. Some of us are disappointed though.
BTW I am sure if you asked some elite WC DH riders if a 20mm axle on a light fork made sense to them they may say yes.
I want a 20mm light fork please because I try to keep my wheels and hubs interchangeable. I have started using Novatec hubs because changing over is easy as pie, but most of the wheelsets I own are 20mm hub so I can swap them around if needed, it's nice to be able to do that.
if the slant isn't available by may, i'm buying this pike just out of principle.
Dealer sells bike for £5k buys it for £2.5k from distributor who buys it from manufacturer from £1.25k and when you think they are making a carbon frame paying for research and development, bills, equipment, endorsement deals and sticking a top notch set of 3rd party components(trade price) on the bike they aint making much money at all when you consider the amount they ship
I'm confused.. can you adjust the travel externally.. like a U-turn?
3 steerer options and 3 axle options would equal more sales wouldn't it ?
Marketing / gimmick issues though:
1/ "The closed cartridge separates the damping oil from the lubrication oil, allowing RockShox to use simpler seals (left) that combine dust and oil duties into one unit." Hmm, their other forks also separate the damping oil from the lubrication oil. All of the higher end ones do anyways so the fact that they use new seals has nothing to do with the new damper.
2/ Those air volume reduction spacers are stupid also. People have been adding oil to the air spring to accomplish the same thing.
The same happens with frames, wheels etc.
With the Totem & Lyrik still in the lineup I don't see a "need" for a 20mm but it would have been a nice option.
Who's going to be the first to try these 35 mm seals on a Boxxer?
, i'm gonna rush on ebay and buy a proper pike with 20mm axle for 200 dollars.
userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/21539093/Dimebag+Darrell.jpg
I know it's harsh, but that's the nature of the industry.
Name one!
They're all low/mid-range steel hard tail frames. And do people really fit £1000-ish forks to £160 On One frames?!?
You've got to admit, that's an incredibly small niche for a fork manufacturer to be expect to cater for.
in regards to high end, £500 for a hardtail frame id say thats pretty high end without going carbon or ti both of which if your gonna splash that kinda cash your more than likely gonna stump up for a full sus. and yes i have met people with on-ones with 36s and the like on, just because its £200 frame means jack, if it rides sweet why not put good components on it ?
so what do RS offer for the hardtail lover ? sektors, revs and the argyll RCT which in my experience isnt tuned for trails really. i have a recon gold 120 and the stiffness compare to the pike it replaced is just not there, the sectors are the same. so what ive gotta go fettling about with an argyll then ? i know that the hardtail market isnt the biggest out there but its still a pretty big market especially here in the UK.
theyve done a lot of things right with this fork but limiting the target market by forcing 15mm and tapered on people is a bad move, the steerer options is a bigger deal than the axle but still.
NS Surge 2:
headset: standard press-fit 1.125” (1-1/8” A-head)
Stanton slackline 853:
Head tube 1 1/8"
and the 456 steel definatly has 1 1/8th as the guy i ride with regularly has one that i built.
Seriously people, if your frame doesn't have a tapered headtube, and your wheelset won't accomodate a 15mm axle, you're almost certainly not in the market for a new $1000 top of the range fork...
No, it won't fit on your 2007 Stinky with QR Shimano Deore hubs, but... did you ever expect it to?
The Kona comment is also valid. The point is that the vast majority of the people on here complaining that it won't fit their bike are not in a position to buy a new $1000 fork. If they were willing and able to spend like that, their bike would either be compatible already, or it's be a (relatively) cheap fix.
The analogy is that it's like me complaining that the new Porsche GT3 doesn't come with a manual gearbox. I can't afford/wouldn't buy a new Porsche anyway, so who the hell am I to complain about it?
You can call me, or anyone, whatever names you like, it doesn't change the actual facts of what is being built, sold and ridden.
I realise I'm coming across as a bit harsh, but that's the way the industry works.
I really fear for some people if/when RockShox and Fox drop the 26" wheel option on their new forks (3 years time?)