bicyclelifestyle

This is a good thing that you won't be using it, you don't want a shock with undamped characteristics. This must be their way of applying the "buttercup" concept to a shock. Undamped top stroke.

I guess management forgot that behind every great company and every great product is great, talented people. They gutted Bell/Giro/Blackburn. They are attempting to turn a company that makes good products into a company that makes good money instead. I wonder if they know why the brands were so successful in the first place, and it's not because of the money. Since they put Fox Head in charge I wonder if this is Fox's way of crushing their competition in the name of increased marketshare. Cut off it's nose to spite it's face. It's a head scratcher and it would seem a lot of friends and families, many of them having huge influence in the cycling industry, have had their lives turned upsidedown for shareholders profit.

I'm a Fox guy, but as a suspension need I was so eager to try out the new RS forks, new damper, buttercups and all. I was ready to have my mind blown. Got the new Lyrik to replace my 36. Installed and set up base settings. Then for the next two weeks it was a constant frustration trying to figure out why I couldn't get the fork to feel good after trying so much between the air spring and damper. After 10 hours of riding it was so harsh I decided to rebuild it. Oil volumes looked ok but there was a sticky, almost adhesive mess of what they might have considered 'lubricant' in the dust wipers. Pulled the air spring and damper and inspected both, damper seemed fine but the air spring had little to no grease or lubrication. Cleaned up the air spring and applied a small amount of slickoleum and added some 20wt gold to the air spring. Cleaned out the wipers and also gave them a little slickoleum and Maxima Dynamic lubricant on the foam rings. Boy it felt so much nicer but now I'm having issues finding support. I really wanted to fork to change the game but it just didn't. The combination of small bump sensitivity, support, and adjustment from my Fox fork could not be matched. Plus the Fox XL fender actually does a great job in the slop and I really missed having that. So, in short, they can talk all they want about buttercups, but at the end of the day, they are just for decoration.

@Andykmn: let's not forget the Yamaha V8 Volvo used for a while. Polestar then modified it to make 650hp.

I guess for me, an e bike wouldn't really add much to my experience I call 'mountain biking'. I'm not sure if I'm a 'real' mountain biker, whatever that means, but I've been doin it year round for 16 years. The big reason I ride is to be out in nature and exercise and away from my modern tech. My experience is they don't handle as well due to the weight and it limits the amount of time I get to play outside. Getting to the top of the hill with less effort takes away some of the feeling of accomplishment and I enjoy making big efforts on the bike.

@Explodo: what if I told you that thread-in bottom brackets are actually press fit bottom brackets that thread in to frames....

I mean, how much could a banana cost? $10?

For real, this bike is magic. Evan has spent a massive amount of time getting the ride characteristics and details just right and it shows. I hope you all get a chance to put a leg over one regardless of your armchair opinions, because this thing is so will deserving of the award. Congrats Evan and Contra! I can't wait to get one of my own.

@drbino: The top cap threads are identical so you can drop one in, the gating factor would be the size of the base stud hole in the bottom of the fork. Some grip1 forks use a smaller diameter base stud with the 10mm fixing nut and the Grip2 has a larger base stud with the 15mm nut.

@seb-stott: The stanchions are also much thicker and the lower legs and crown are super beefy. The bushings seem to be lower friction too. Drop in a Grip2 and a Z1 coil kit and you have a pretty rad fork that's got a chassis getting closer to the stiffness of a 38.