RockShox Pike 2016 Solo Air - Upgrades

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RockShox Pike 2016 Solo Air - Upgrades
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flag JonnyTheWeasel
Posted: Mar 2, 2021 at 10:50 Quote
I have a 2016 RockShox Pike Solo Air and am thinking about upgrading to a Debonair shaft and also swapping out the damper for a Charger 2.1. I may also be tempted to drop in an MRP ramp control module.

Question is, is it worth doing any of this on a fork this old (it's in good condition) or would it make more sense to buy new with these features already in place. OR, would I be better off buying a 2nd hand but newer version of the Pikes and upgrading from there?

Upgrading my existing fork would cost the least (around £400 for parts) and I could probably do the work myself but I don't know if it's really that cost effective.

Any thoughts / experience?
flag Brodybro29
Posted: Mar 2, 2021 at 23:32 Quote
Do you have a boost front hub or 100x15?

If you don’t have a boost hub you will need an adaptor for the front wheel, it exists and it’s not expensive but a little bit annoying when you remove the wheel and the disc brake have more chance to get loose over time. At least that was my experience with adaptors !

You can find a brand new Pike for probably gbp550 on some famous German online sites.

But I would first put a debonair in it and do a proper service damper included. You have also the option to modify the shim stack by yourself in the charger damper with not too much skills if you can follow mechanical guidelines, depends what is your actual feeling with the fork. Many people found the “old” pike a little bit over damped for their taste and went for lighter damping playing with the shim stack.
I really liked my old Pike that way. I now have the ultimate and I’m very happy as well.

Last one: MRP ramp control is really cool if you have the feeling you need to change your token setup often depends on the trail you ride. I have one myself and I like to be able to change the progressivity before jumping or attempting new drops but it’s an expensive upgrade, in my opinion it doesn’t improve the performance it is just more handy than opening the air side to drop some tokens.
flag Brodybro29
Posted: Mar 2, 2021 at 23:41 Quote
Ah and I forgot, it’s also possible to find the newer Revelation debonair which is OEM on some bikes like new. Some people upgrade their fork when they got their bike and sell it.
Drop a charger 2.1 damper in it and you have a brand new Pike ultimate for much cheaper and the budget for nice Pike stickers on it !
flag JonnyTheWeasel
Posted: Mar 3, 2021 at 12:32 Quote
Thanks, Brody!

I've not got boost hubs but my forks are non-boost too so all good there. I think I will just upgrade to the Debonair spring and see how that feels and go from there.

Cheers!
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 3, 2021 at 16:05 Quote
I had 2015 Pikes. On my new frame I rode the Pikes then I went through the hassle of finding a new boost wheel to upgrade to 2020 Lyrik Select+ with the Debonair and Charger 2.1 (without HSC adjustment). Maybe my expectations were too high that the improvement would be that earth shattering, but I can't honestly say I really notice a huge difference.
The Pikes are a good fork, and if they are in good shape and you don't have a burning urge for another 10mm of hub width, give them a good service and upgrade the air shaft to debonair (cheap as chips in suspension dollars). If you go whole hog to upgrade to the 2.1, it is still going to be cheaper than buying a new fork.
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