First Ride: 2019 RockShox Lyrik RC2

Mar 19, 2018 at 13:25
by Mike Kazimer  




After initially being teased by the appearance of BlackBox-labeled forks at this year's Andes Pacifico Enduro, and then by a batch of Lyriks with red lowers that showed up at the NZ Enduro, the wait is finally over – all the details about RockShox's revised Lyrik can now be released.

Those candy apple red lowers are the most obvious change for 2019, a color that will only be available on the new Lyrik RC2 model. It's a throwback to RockShox's early days – back in the mid- to late-90s red Judys and BoXXers were ubiquitous on the race circuit. Not into the red? Don't worry, the black option hasn't gone anywhere.

Of course, RockShox did more than just slap on a fancy paint job. The Lyrik RC2 now has externally adjustable high-speed compression damping, a feature that was missing on the last couple of iterations. There's also a new aluminum air spring seal head, which increases the negative spring volume by 42%, and is said to greatly reduce the amount of friction in compared to the previous Delrin version.
Lyrik RC2 Details

• Travel: 150, 160, 170,180mm
• Wheel size: 27.5" or 29"
• New DebonAir air spring
• New Charger 2 RC2 damper
• Offsets: 37mm, 46mm (27.5"), 42mm, 51mm (29")
• External adjustments: rebound, high- and low-speed compression
• Weight: 2,013 - 2,058g
• Price: $999 USD
• Available: April 2018
www.rockshox.com

There are also more aftermarket offset options for the Lyrik – 37mm for the 27.5” fork, and 42mm for the 29” fork, which is in line with the geometry changes that companies like Transition, Whyte, and others have been adopting. MSRP for the Lyrik RC2 is $999 USD, and it will be available this April.


RockShox
The new air spring on the left, compared to the previous version on the right.

New DebonAir Air Spring

What was the reasoning behind the changes to RockShox 2019 lineup? According to Jon Cancellier, RockShox's product manager, “We took the Pike and Lyrik chassis, put them in our test lab, and started breaking down each subsystem as a whole. What are the performance attributes that we like, what are the things we don't like, what things can we improve, and what can we get done and bring to market in a year to improve suspension feel?”

After that time in the test lab, reducing friction ended up high on the list. Cancellier continues, “Friction is the enemy of suspension. If your fork has friction, that means it's not moving. You're having to overcome that force before we can react to bumps, before we can absorb bumps, before we can move through the travel.” RockShox's engineers realized the Delrin (read: plastic) air spring seal head wasn't sliding as smoothly as they wanted – it was contributing the most amount of friction to the system. To solve that issue, they made the switch to an aluminum seal head with a bushing inside that's meant to help it resist side loading.

This design change made it possible to adhere to tighter tolerances, and according to RockShox, results in an air spring that has 51% less running friction, and 73% less static friction compared to the Delrin version. Keep in mind that those numbers refer only to the air spring – they don't mean that the fork has 51% less friction overall.


RockShox
RockShox

Along with the reduction in friction, the new air spring also provides more negative spring volume – 42% more in the Lyrik, and 36% more in the Pike. The larger negative spring volume is intended to increase the initial compliance of the fork, making it more supple over small bumps, but there's more to it than that. More negative volume also raises the middle of the spring curve, which should provide more support as the fork goes deeper into its travel. On paper, the fork's suspension curve begins to more closely resemble that of a coil sprung fork, with a similar shape in the beginning and middle of the travel, but with the benefit of an end stroke that can be tuned via volume reducing tokens.

If the concept of an aluminum air spring that increases negative volume is sounding familiar, you're not alone – there are several aftermarket suspension companies that currently offer products intended to do exactly what RockShox have done in the new Lyrik. The good news is that RockShox's new air spring is backwards compatible – there are options for the Lyrik, Pike, Yari, and Revelation, and, with an asking price of $42, it's a fairly reasonable upgrade.


RockShox
The RC2 damper on the right actually uses fewer parts than the RCT2 damper on the left. The amount of high-speed compression damping is changed when the spring that can be seen between the two grey cylinders is compressed, adding preload to the shim stack.

Adjustable High-Speed Compression Damping

Adjustable high-speed compression damping is now in place on the RC2 Lyrik, with a dial on the top right leg that provides five different damping settings. When the dial is turned it compresses a spring, adding more preload to a shim stack.

With the dial positioned in the middle setting it has the same amount of HSC damping as the current Lyrik, and then there are two clicks in either direction that allow riders to tune the fork to their liking.

RockShox wanted the high-speed compression adjustment to be usable, not confusing, which is why they didn't go with a dial that had dozens of minute clicks - having 5 rather than 20 options is meant to help keep riders from being overwhelmed by the tuning options.
RockShox

Want an RC2 damper in your current Lyrik or Yari? That's an option, although at $244-$321 it's a little more pricey than upgrading the air spring.


RockShox. Photo Boris Beyer

Super Deluxe Updates

The Super Deluxe shock also received several updates that are meant to reduce friction and improve performance, although they're a little more subtle than the changes to the Lyrik. The prior version of the air can had a small dimple stamped into the inside of it, which allowed the positive and negative chambers to equalize. There are now three smaller dimples, and they're machined rather than stamped, which allows for a more precise finished product. That change also means that the sensation of the air transferring between the positive and negative chambers, the slight “psssst” of air that you may have felt while hopping around in a parking lot, is much less noticeable.

The air cans are also now more round due to changes in manufacturing practices, which seems like a small detail, but it's one that can have a significant impact on the amount of friction in a shock. There's also a new textured surface on the inside of the air can that's meant to allow oil to stick better, ensuring everything is well-lubricated and running smoothly. Overall, those changes are said to have reduced static friction by 16%, and stick/slip friction by 22%. (Static friction is pushing on the shock from a stationary position, and stick/slip friction is while it's in motion).


RockShox
There are now three machined dimples, versus one stamped dimple, in the Super Deluxe air cans. The dimple allows air to pass between the negative and positive chambers.


The Super Deluxe's rebound circuit was also updated, and now each click affects the rebound damping the same way. Previously, the clicks at the beginning of the range had a different amount of impact to the feeling of the shock than those at the middle of the range. The overall range of damping options is the same, but now the steps between each setting are even, which should help make setup easier.

There's also a new low-speed check valve, similar to what's found in the Super Deluxe Coil, that's designed to add more rebound damping at low shaft speeds as the shock changes directions. That check valve is intended to help keep the shock more composed when faced with repeated impacts – picture a section of trail filled with braking bumps, or multiple roots in a row.









I'm ten solid rides in on the new Lyrik RC2 so far, which includes three days spend navigating the rooty, rocky, technical trails of the NZ Enduro. I'll admit that during the race I was concentrating more on not cartwheeling through the jungle, with varying degrees of success, but the blind race format did deliver plenty of unexpected terrain features to put the new fork to the test.

A Kona Process 153 CR served as the home for the new fork and shock, with a 170mm Lyrik RC2 up front and a Super Deluxe RCT at the back. As far as fork setup goes, my current air pressure is around 10% higher than what I ran in the 2018 model, due to the increase in negative volume, and I'm also running one less token than usual. The reduction in the number of tokens is due to the curve created by the new air spring – with more support in the middle of the travel there's not as much need to increase the end stroke ramp up. Depending on the terrain I usually ran between one or two clicks of high-speed compression from fully open, but I can see bigger riders or those who frequent high speed, really rough terrain appreciating the new external adjustments. Each click is distinct, and makes a difference that can actually be felt on the trail.

It'd be easy to think that increasing a fork's negative travel would result in a super squishy, ultra plush ride, but that's not entirely true. The Lyrik is nice and soft off the top, but I didn't feel much of a difference between the initial stroke of the 2018 vs. the 2019 Lyrik - it's in the middle of the stroke where the revised air spring is most noticeable. There's more support, which keeps the fork from diving too deeply into its travel in really rough terrain.


RockShox. Photo Boris Beyer


Now, 'mid-stroke support' is one of those terms that gets thrown around so much it's almost become a cliché, but it is an important characteristic of a well-performing fork. Ideally, you want a responsive and supple beginning stroke, in order to take the edge of the small bumps and chattery sections of trail. After that, the middle of the fork's travel should be smooth and controlled, without any unwanted diving during bigger hits. The Lyrik RC2 hits the mark on all those points, with a slippery-smooth initial portion of its travel, followed by plenty of support in the middle of the travel that helped keep it from getting sucked into the spaces between the endless spiderwebs of roots that crisscrossed the trails in New Zealand. I was also impressed by the level of comfort the Lyrik delivered – even on stages that stretched past the 10-minute mark, on trails that were full of unrelenting sections of anaconda-like roots, I never experienced any hand pain or discomfort.

Overall, the changes to the Lyrik are more evolutionary than revolutionary, but they do serve to create a fork that remains even more composed when blasting through the rough stuff, and the fact that the new air spring is available as a reasonably priced aftermarket upgrade is a nice touch. How does the Lyrik stack up against the rest of the field? I'd place it right up there in the lead pack, but keep an eye out for a more definitive conclusion, including notes on durability, once we spend some more time on it and get a chance to pit it against other contenders in back-to-back testing.







Author Info:
mikekazimer avatar

Member since Feb 1, 2009
1,719 articles

310 Comments
  • 561 34
 Fox, lets make an ugly ass orange fork thats fits zero color schemes. Rockshox, hold my beer.
  • 111 4
 Its called power clashing! i do like the red as it reminds me of the 2002 boxxer
  • 85 2
 Red is for the 20th anniversary of the Boxxer
  • 52 3
 @meathooker: or Judy DH from the late 90's.

It's great to see it back.
  • 36 4
 Such colors are great if they also offer a black and a white option, like Formula. I like the idea of each manufacturer having his color ( orange, red, green, blue, gold).
I miss the white Fox. :'(
  • 43 56
flag Boardlife69 (Mar 20, 2018 at 7:21) (Below Threshold)
 @trumbullhucker55: I dont care what the hell the red is for. My OCD tells me that in order to match this fork I need to wear a Chicago Bulls kit. And that aint going to happen. Yo.
  • 169 2
 I blame DVO for starting this fight.
  • 84 10
 When will 160mm + travel single crown forks migrate to 20mm thru axle?
  • 38 0
 You did see it's still available in black right?
  • 47 0
 I miss my 97' Marzocchi Bomber Z1...
  • 28 2
 To defend Fox, few bikes came spec'ced with the orange lowers. However, their top sponsored riders all had the orange for the past few years, and you knew instantly that Gwin, Atherton, etc were on Fox. Its like when Apple got serious about their MacBook line and started doing the gray aluminum body- you knew instantly that the person was using an Apple laptop, even though aluminum is a terrible material to build a laptop out of. We saw RockShox copying this at the first stop of XCO this year with the neon yellow. I think its too late now, just like how every high end laptop looks like a MacBook.
  • 8 0
 @rivercitycycles: Probably after Fox forces the market 10 years ago, and wheel OEMs jump on board speccing smaller bearings to claim lighter weight all at the behest of Rockshox engineering who said the 20mm thru axle was superior in every way except wheel bearing weight.
  • 11 2
 i'd kill to have orange lowers on my fox 40. i have a mtte black intense m9 with orange accents and a black 40 that is really nice, but nothing like it would be with the orange one. everything is relative, bro.
  • 10 19
flag spenceratx (Mar 20, 2018 at 8:05) (Below Threshold)
 Orange is so much mo betta. Red is so 2001
  • 6 1
 @rivercitycycles: You mean back? Probably never, because that would mean admitting that 15mm was a stupid idea in the first place. Plus Fox, the last holdout, dropped the 20mm option for the 650b 36 last year.
  • 22 1
 Don't forget that Fox was first to the party with it's poop brown 36.
  • 2 2
 @hamncheez: why is aluminum a terrible material now?
  • 4 2
 @hamncheez: why aluminium is terrible for laptops?
  • 1 0
 @Boardlife69: Though, one totally could if they wanted to:
fyxo.co/products/air-fyxo-jersey?variant=41369813827
  • 1 0
 @Tamasz: best forks ever made (for their time at least)
  • 8 1
 @Boardlife69: But Jordan was the greatest ever. Ever.
  • 14 2
 I saw more orange bikes on Sunday's ride than any other. I guess Orange is the new Black! I'll let myself out...
  • 3 1
 @rivercitycycles: i have a 20mm axle on my 160mm forks
  • 7 2
 @Boardlife69: Your kit has to match your fork?
  • 9 1
 Red is better than Orange
  • 1 0
 @fartymart KORE scrambles to color match their stems to Judy red
  • 2 0
 I'd love a red and black lyrik on my red ibis mojo hd4!
  • 5 0
 The 3" Judy DH was also red.
  • 13 6
 @Asmodai @crohnsy: Aluminum transfers heat very well. You would think this would be good for a device that needs active cooling, but heat being transmitted to the outside is perceived as bad by the average user, and can get uncomfortable. Apple has to insulate the bottom of their macbooks to keep it from feeling too hot.

Also, on the top of the keyboard area, the thermal conductivity of aluminum makes the palm rest and track pad feel cold and lifeless. The texture is not organic, inviting, or natural. Its a very uncomfortable typing experience.

The edge of the front of the laptop is very sharp and digs into your wrists painfully. After a few hours of typing (some people work on their laptops) you start to look like a 17 year old emo girl trying to get attention by cutting her wrists. I find when working on my MacBook I have to move my arms into odd positions to keep my wrists from getting sore. A non-metalic coating or material would prevent this. Dell now does a carbon fiber typing area in their XPS series, and the warm, organic, soft, inviting texture is much better for long nights of programming or typing. Of course Dell still has the aluminum clamshell top so that everyone knows they copy Apple too.

These 'cosmetic' negatives might seem trivial, but when you sell your laptop for eeefffing $3k, it better not be painful to use. Professionals who use a laptop as a tool know the benefit from having a quality piece of kit. Its like how road cyclists obsess over small details in their setup and bibs- small differences are amplified when you spend 3 hours in the saddle.

Finally, Aluminum is to thick and heavy for a laptop. It makes the device heavier than it needs to be, it isn't as strong as fiber-impregnated plastic (for this application) and dramatically increases manufacturing expense.
  • 1 0
 @rivercitycycles: Fox36? P.i.t.a., but nice and stiff....
  • 1 0
 @fartymarty: i had a just DH from 1997 but it was purple iirc. wasnt fancy enough to get the red until later in life lol
  • 3 2
 @hamncheez: i bought my wife a macbook when she went back to grad school bc its what everyone has. shes had it four years now and it still looks new. i used to purchase most of the laptops for my employer and we would see a lot of various structural failures with them (non-apple product)

same goes for tablets. id guess we have 20ipads and 15 "other" branded tablets and the non-apple stuff lasts a couple years max. the apple stuff is still going strong and some of the ipads are 4 years old at this point.

it seems to me the build quality and selection of materials is superior

(fyi - this was generated from a dell laptop Smile )
  • 4 1
 @meathooker: You have to compare apples to apples. The build quality on your average non-Apple laptop is garbage. If used professionally it will break, crash, and/or be unreliable. However, compare a macbook to a high end, similarly priced windows laptop and you'll see they last comparable or even longer, like my personal favorite the Dell XPS 13/15. Take any premium laptop from the big brands, like the LG Gram, Lenovo Thinkpads, HP Spectre (except everything HP has garbage drivers), Microsoft Surface etc and they pretty much match Apple for durability and usage life.
  • 6 0
 @rivercitycycles: 20mm thru axles ain't dead
  • 4 0
 Will we see Fox release a grey fork in the future? Smile
  • 2 2
 @weebleswobbles: they make very little sense these days... I miss them, but I won't sacrifice myself by jumping on tracks in front of the hype train. What is sad is that even 2 years ago you could get Fox 36 with proper axle clamps. Now they took away even that. Lyrik 2007 already had a worthless 20mm axle. what is your 20mm axle worth when it is nothing more than a really fat skewer? Speaking of Maxle.
  • 1 0
 @jollyXroger: And they started it with a losing hand!
  • 2 0
 @Bruccio: You're in luck and don't have to kill for it. Just bid above and support the Fox Road 2 Recovery!
  • 1 0
 @rivercitycycles: plain and simply: you're so right to ask that.
  • 1 0
 @polarproton: there are some late model white fox's I've seen specced on e-bikes. rare though. i came across one on ebay when looking
  • 5 1
 I am digging this laptop chat you somehow triggered.

@WAKIdesigns: First you tell me my 55 is a piece of shit and now you're denigrating my lyrik's really fat skewer? I'll fight you.
  • 4 4
 @BenPea: I own a Lyrik thus I am entitled to sht on it. Like Chris Rock on Nigg... see he can, I can’t!
  • 5 0
 @WAKIdesigns: maybe they make little sense to you. I have 20mm thru axle on my DH, HT, and my FS rig. Have never had any problems with it. Shame on the mtb Industry changing standards like most of us change our underwear, daily
  • 1 0
 @meathooker:

I'll have to let my wife know that next time she complains about how I'm dressed..
  • 2 0
 @fartymarty: Judy that was originally called the Diablo (hence the red color) until there was a TM issue with another bike company.
  • 2 0
 @hamncheez:
this wouldn't be an issue if apple didn't suck at cooling their laptops, granted its a design choince not a random flaw but even big stuff like imac has terrible cooling and cpu throttles hard for the sake of running it ultra silent but then why you are buying powerful cpu if you cant use it fully?

(not to mention that even 15 inch macbook pro if awful for any professional unless all you do is some light work)
  • 3 0
 @rivercitycycles: do you mean RETURN to 20mm axles?
  • 1 0
 @rivercitycycles: Fox used to offer this on their Van 36s IIRC
  • 2 0
 @m1dg3t: And their Floats, and their TALAS and Rockshox on their older Lyriks........
  • 1 0
 @salespunk: I wonder if Sram licensed the RC2 from Fox? Their bird logo thats been posted on the top of the main page here bears a striking resemblance to the one used by Bitfenix - a PC component mfg.
  • 1 0
 @Asmodai: As a web dev, I'll get laughted out of any meeting I show up at if I'm not carrying at least $3,000 in Apple hardware. Also, macOS has its terminal, which is closer to a true BASH interface and runs more closely to a linux server environment. This is becoming less of an advantage, however, as tools like docker are coming into maturity.
  • 1 0
 I didn't seem to have any issues
  • 2 0
 @hamncheez: you should check out Bash On Ubuntu on Windows. docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about .Best thing Microsoft have done in years,a real game changer for me. It's not a cludgy hack, actual bash on Windows. Sudo apt get {whatever you want }. It's so good.
  • 2 4
 RIP FOX.
  • 1 0
 @hamncheez:
i guess this is regional thing because in EU most companies will give you windows pc/laptop
  • 1 0
 @livlief: Dude! i tried to access the bidding site through the banner up here but it doesn't work! got a link for me?
  • 1 0
 @hamncheez: I work on a fanless pc,alloy case. It is a U cpu,lower thermal design,no noise,no disturbing heat near you...I hate laptops cos all are noisy and big,not so handy to spend 6-8 hours per day. If I can choose a pc to work never choose a laptop,just take a regular one,when you go home the pc is at the office,you never carry it. Newer phones can take a keyboard and bigger screen,perfect to check the mail or do 90% of things I always do.
  • 1 0
 @fartymarty: Do you mean the Judy XL dual crown from 96. Because that is a scary fork I'd like to forget I even owned...
  • 1 1
 @mbiker35: That's what I thought @meathooker was talking about. Mine worked pretty well, but I'm not heavy.
  • 1 0
 I love Orange. I think yellow is worst.
  • 2 0
 @mbiker35: Nah just the standard single crown Judy DH. From memory it had 3" travel and adjustable comp and rebound damping. I think it came with elastomers but you could swap them out for coil springs.
  • 1 0
 @homerjm: When doing serious web development, with many tabs, terminal shells, photoshop, etc all open at once, you need a computer thats more powerful than what you can get with a fanless design.
  • 2 1
 @kiksy: I turned in my Surface Book in early 2017, right when Microsoft was previewing ubuntu-on-windows. It was clunky back then, and not ready for use. I switched jobs, and my new job issued me a mac and I also picked up a new macbook pro (with the worthless touchbar), and haven't developed on a PC since then. I believe you that its a ton better now, but my workflow is all mac at the moment, so I don't want to go back and forth between two OSes with my current workload.

That being said, my next laptop I'll probably go back. Windows has its issues, but I just don't jive with macOS. It has less intuitive UI and its harder to multitask.
  • 2 1
 @hamncheez: Finally an Apple user who isn't an i-fundamentalist.
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: I hate them all equally. This is my theory: Microsoft engineers are incompetent, while Apple engineers just all have a deep seated hatred for humanity.

Straight Ubuntu isn't viable for most people, myself included. I need photoshop, and wine+photoshop is too slow. No manufacturer makes good drivers for linux, so you can't get linux/Ubuntu to run well on any laptop, or get reasonable battery life.

It makes me want to start my own OS, forked off Ubuntu, that has Alexa built in and runs android apps natively, using the amazon app store. I would work direct with Chinese manufacturers, so the laptop/desktop is built end-to-end so that it has good drivers, and doesn't require a computer science degree to set up like Ubuntu.
  • 2 1
 @hamncheez: Your comments about Ubuntu are reassuring. Maybe I'm not as dumb as I thought. It is fast, but as you say, you need to be an IT person to be fully comfortable with it. It plays Peppa Pig on youtube flawlessly but it's not so good with some peripherals and professional software. That said it's the only thing that can read the contents of my android phone.
I met a guy who opened a shop selling tablets and phones bought straight from the manufacturer in China. The tablets were cheap, bullet proof, powerful enough and had USB ports (Which I'm a massive fan of, being over 40 and an enjoyer of my own physical disk space). No brand notoriety though, so his venture bombed. The people want i-pads/samsungs at any cost, including loss of connectivity and being locked in the brand through cloud services, etc.
But I'm sure if you had the right business model and enough cash to be able to wait for your market to develop, you could make it work. Unless it's just for kicks and personal use...
  • 2 0
 @BenPea: it's just like bikes... people what pretty shinny bikes (with lots of marketing behind them). I guess that is humanity.
  • 2 1
 Make ROCK SHOX great again
  • 2 2
 @fartymarty: The brand is everything. It replaces the confidence we lack in ourselves. Make not giving a f*ck great again.
  • 2 0
 @BenPea: I put mine on my downhill bike when I sent my fork out for service a couple years ago. One run on that fork and wondered how did I not kill myself freeride and down hilling on that back in the 90's. It was so flexy and like a pogo stick..
All I can remember about it from back then was, it was the most amazing thing I ever rode....in 1996 that is lol..
  • 1 0
 @hab19: you can still get the 36 rc2 in 20 but not the evol from what I seen in a review on youtube
  • 3 0
 @mbiker35: it's a 100 mm fork man. Probably gave your bike a 75 degree head angle.
  • 1 1
 @meathooker: Laptops are terrible and apple products for tablets is a terrible idea. I've moved my department away from laptops because of the quality, cost, need for accessories. I'd rather micro towers, or mid even, touchscreens and mechanical keyboard options for employees. Asus tablets and with android remote desktops, phones and googlecast has been great for making these responsive everywhere.
  • 2 0
 @Aaronblank: erm it depends on the industry. If you go often on meetings, work from different places (like I do) laptops are great. But I mean high quality PC laptops, things that can be called “workstations”. Yes they cost a lot and require accessories like screen, keyboard, mouse etc. Apple IPad Pro is also an invaluable tool in my profession as an architect. Even civil engineers could benefit greatly from it. Many graphic designers prefer Apple laptops but I find that a bullcrap. Yes Mac Book PRO is a high quality, high performance product, however if you spend same money on a regular PC (considering graphic designers work is very stationary) even a micro station, you’ll get way better results. iOS is crap, it just is. It works for tablets on internal and external meetings, but using it for day to day job is just plain hipsterism, inviting pretentiousness over practicality to your everyday work environment. Like using a Tesla as a Cab, fixie as a courier bike, Yes you can but why the fk would you?!
  • 1 1
 @hamncheez: I´m not so sure about that...for those task you mention is totally fine. I run several virtual machines no problem. For video stuff(edit) or playing is not good. Mine is an 6th gen Intel NUC 32 gb ram 512 gb M2 ssd(the best thing you can put in any PC,ultra fast ssd) I think is a serious machine!Stock is not fanless but it is really easy to swap case,cpu never overheat,in fact is the cooler PC I ever own,and 0 noise is something to experience,once you are use to is like ridding a bike without dropper post!
  • 1 1
 @hamncheez: pick your arms up off the laptop you lazy millennium... Type like a man = "quitcha-bitch'n"

Everyone knows you buy a MacBook as a status statement towards clients and to employ thousands of Chinese children.
  • 107 7
 No place for a Water bottle. I'm out.
  • 10 79
flag wake-n-rake (Mar 20, 2018 at 7:22) (Below Threshold)
 Looks like 28.99 Sessions.
  • 85 2
 easily the worst 28.99 joke I’ve ever seen
  • 14 2
 @Chingus-Dude: they are all 'the worst' now... pls no more 28.99
  • 2 4
 Only -53 reps? Deserves way more than that. Maybe I should make a '28.99er' comment on the Niner story for an all time low.
  • 67 1
 Come on 2018 Season for most has not even started (on the east coast which means most haven't even put hours in on 2018 equipment) and now we are releasing 2019.
  • 19 0
 F.U incrementals
  • 36 2
 No freaking kidding. I mean, I get the whole "model year" thing, but seriously RockShox, it's MARCH 2018. Either 1) you're going to release the fork onto model year 2019 bikes later this year and launched reviews too early, or 2) you're ending up with 2019 gear on 2018 model year bikes.

Both of those are stupid.

Also though, the fork updates seem decent and well thought out.
  • 47 0
 I still don’t even know why they bother with model years. It’s stupid. They should just do models. Like Lyrik 1.0, 2.0, etc.
  • 7 0
 My thoughts as well, it is March aka not even 1/4 of the way through 2018 and we're getting 2019 stuff...
  • 44 1
 Give them a break. This was their only solution since they're releasing the 2021 Lyric this October.
  • 6 6
 2019 bikes will be released mid-summer. This is the time of year forks/shocks have been released for awhile now. When do you think new product should be released?
  • 18 1
 @deadtime: It's not the release date that bothers me, personally. What bothers me is that this is clearly a 2018 fork. It's being released IN 2018, FOR 2018. They'll release the 2020 fork this time next year, and the 2021 fork this time the year after that. The only reason it's called a 2019 fork is because it's what will be specced on model year 2019 bikes. Annoyances with the model year system aside, the naming convention is driven by bike manufacturers demanding that they have a cohesive model year package on their bikes--on paper--because they'll terrified that sales will drop if they have 2018 product (even if it's the latest version) on their 2019 bike.

And that's stupid. This is a 2018 fork. Sram knows it. The consumers know it. The bike companies know it. So stop the bullsh*t and call it what it is.
  • 12 0
 They release forks in March/April every year. Because bike brands will launch new bikes at Sea Otter with the new forks.

If we're giving them crap for the release schedule, at least give them credit for offering air spring and damper upgrades for forks as far back as 2014.
  • 6 1
 @zsandstrom @deadtime @chadchandler7 @tgent Guys, you obviously don't understand bicycle industry year models... What you can buy right now, today, is a Model Year 2018 bike with 2018 Lyrik. Rock shox is showing you the 2019 model year fork, that will be SOLD for the 2019 bikes, which will come out in October. Don't get hung up on the 'year'. It's the fork model year, for bike model year. You cannot buy a 2018 MY bike with this fork. It's too late. So this fork is on the "MY19 Bikes schedule". The only 'confusing' part is that you often can buy 2019 product after market (from retailers) before you can get the MY 19 bikes. But that's just because everything has to be manufactured in Asia and shipped on a boat. They will start assembling 2019 bikes with this 2019 fork in a couple months. And those bikes won't be in the market until October or so.
  • 3 0
 @btjenki: If they're releasing it in October... it's being released in 2018. Ergo, it should be the 2018 model.

If everyone agreed to call it the year it's being released in, it would sure make a lot more sense.
  • 1 0
 @btjenki: I bought my 2017 Trek Fuel EX the 2nd week of July, 2016. What bikes do in regard to model years is no different than what car/truck makers do. The biggest bike makers have access to the factories in Taiwan before the smaller ones do, which is how I got my 2017 in July 2016 with a FIT4 Fox fork several months before the FIT4 was available to the public. If enough OEM's spec the bike with the Lyric there may not be enough available to sell aftermarket, which was the case with the FIT4; the FIT4 was spec'd enough that it was hard to get several months after it was supposed to be available to the public. If the new Lyric is available to the public before it appears on OEM bikes this summer it may be that it wasn't spec'd on many of the bigger bike co's.
  • 1 0
 Model year is there just to make buyers feel that their gear is out of date and simply old, it's marketing as it's finest. I don't need a new fork untill it is totally broken or majorly suck in comparison to new ones. My Fr bike with Totem were sold cause I bought a trail bike with 35mm Pike on it, after that it were logical to get an FR bike with new Lyric, cause Chrager made a huge differenece.
  • 3 0
 @zsandstrom: Im just gonna wait 3 months for the 2020 version as my 2017s are 2 versions outta date already!!
  • 39 0
 Interesting to see them take what tuners are doing and incorporating it. Vorsprung sure was correct, huh? Ha
  • 12 0
 yep. It's nearly impossible to have everything right when manufacturing at such a massive scale likeSRAM. It's good to have both.
  • 19 2
 Makes me wonder if Sram's R & D team mainly replies on Google searches for aftermarket upgrades to improve their products.
  • 34 2
 @Flowcheckers: *puts on tinfoil hat* Rockshox secretly funds Vorsprung and uses them for black ops R&D
  • 5 1
 @Flowcheckers: I bet they have one design engineer doing it all. Damper, airspring and performance R&D....he's probably good at 2/3. One person on chassis. That's why guys like vorspruung are key, that can sit and stare at an airspring for two years and make 100 of them. That's cake by comparison to making 10k of the same thing half way around the globe
  • 8 1
 Vorsprung is awesome. One of the best $120 CAD I spent on my bike was putting that Corset sleeve on my shock.
  • 7 0
 @nicolai12: You are now seeing a fork designed 2 years ago and they will now be working on something that will be released 2 years from now, that designs evolve and that its much easier to take an existing product, spot its flaws and develop a better one. Im sure the guys at RS (and I know there are many more than one guy at Fox so assume its the same for RS) know their stuff and have plenty of time to spend on development, not to mention the money but as you say, making a product to be produced in the tens of thousands is a different game to aftermarket.
  • 4 4
 @nicolai12: Scale doesn't have much to do with design here. SRAM could have got it (more) right the first time, but they didn't.
  • 4 2
 RS has invested very heavily in their suspension design team, which is why their products in the past 5-6 years are so much better than before.
  • 1 0
 @Racer951: Think bigger !

I saw a Shimano Patent request for 1 by Narrow Wide Chain Ring setup. Dated before bikes even had 9 gears.
  • 3 3
 @rrolly: I wish I could found a company like Vorsprung, but I know what would happen, I'd make one amazing fork, get it working really well, and never be able to replicate what I did.
  • 10 2
 Rockshox make forks that should cover riders between 50kg and 130kg and between riding flow trail 50% of the time on the brakes and crushing a gnarly section at light(-ish) speed. That's there market.

There will always be place for tuners narrowing that field of use and improving the performance / feeling of the suspensions for a given user.
  • 11 1
 I had the opportunity to meet a Rockshox engineer and see parts of the facility in CO Springs last year. Besides one of the coolest bike-related experiences of my life, it was really eye opening and changed alot of what I thought about the company (and bike manufacturers in general). It should go without saying that SRAM takes R+D very seriously (crazy data acquisition tools, testing machines, working closely with athletes, etc.).

I came away with a much greater respect for balancing performance, cost, serviceability and durability. Combine this with manufacturing millions of tiny bits to near perfect tolerances and they make a lot of tough decisions about what and how to put updates into production.

That said, companies like Push, Avalanche and Vorsprung exist for people like us on the fringe who want that last 10% of performance and are willing to spend the extra time and money on tuning.
  • 7 7
 @ryan83:

The main improvement of the MY 19 air spring is allowed by the use of an aluminium cap instead of high density plasitic one (which is by far less expensive) that allow for tighter tolerances, better seal seating, etc...
So finally rock shox realizes that they cannot get something correct from plastic and they made a press release for that. "look, we now use alloy parts in our fork internal ! It's so cool we have it anodized in red !!! ".

In the mean time, Fox, Manitou, MRP, Xfusion have had alloy internals for years...

So it just made me laugh when you said sram took R&D very seriously. If it is true, it means that they just discovered that alloy parts with tight tolerances works better than plastic ones, and figured out how to produce them... Well done, R&D, well done...
  • 10 2
 @gnralized: Is it possible that the R+D team knew that the best performance outcome would be alloy but the marketing/BD people needed a fork that was $3.73 cheaper so they can sell 1,289 Lyriks to Trek/Giant/etc.?

My point is that outright performance isn't the only objective when you run a business. It's only us dorks who would notice or care about these small details.
  • 6 3
 @ryan83: that's very likely what happened. but SRAM still made the cost cutting choice. that's why I give my money to other companies instead
  • 2 0
 @ryan83:
Yep, but others company doesn't make the same choice.
In the same context they chose to make a quality product instead of selling hundreds.
And concerning myself, I do prefer pay 300 bucks more for quality product than buying a cheap design then having to upgrade it with third party parts (Vorsprung, etc..).
That's why I dislike sram, they are just about getting most of OEM sales with average products and marketing BS.
  • 8 1
 @Happymtbfr: Where do you guys even begin to think it's appropriate to say something like that? Have you never ridden a newer RockShox fork through truly gnarly terrain? You have no idea what you're talking about.
  • 3 0
 @gnralized: You don't think boutique brands cut costs? They too could make their stuff 'even better' but they also make exceptions. Every business does... Apple, Ford, etc. Always a balance. So you should be hating on every company is the bike industry by that logic. Including Shimano, Fox and DVO. ... And that's great you would spend $300 (30%) more for a product for it to be made boutique. But you are about .001% of the market. Everyone is driven by price. Not just OEMs.
  • 2 0
 Would recommend a Vorsprung Luftkappe as a fork upgrade. Have one in my Yari and the front end grip is unreal. Glad to see RS trying to catch up.
  • 6 0
 So my question is now: upgrade my Lyrik to the new RS air spring or just get the Luftkappe like I was already planning to?
  • 4 0
 @jayacheess: agreed. I ride a Pushed 36 and just spent 3 hours on a 2017 Lyrik riding chunky fun and that fork is just as capable.
  • 2 0
 @tremeer023: Have been looking at this upgrade for my Yari, read a few reviews, but not entirely convinced yet. Can you give me more detail on your setup... your weight, riding terrain, what was your psi, tokens etc. Then what the upgrade did for you and what your set-up is like now?
  • 1 0
 @smokingtires: If your fork has a Vorsprung, does it violate the RS warranty? Is your fork still in the warranty period? Performance wise, they are probably very close, so it might depend on its effect on any warranty you might still have, price, and Vorsprungs long-term outlook on support.
  • 3 0
 @hamncheez: thanks. Those are good things to think about. I am not under warranty anymore. With the RS spring about half the price, it's pretty tempting to go that route anyhow.
  • 5 0
 @jayacheess: I am sorry to read that you feel offended by what I wrote. Maybe I can try to rephrase a little. Keep in mind that writing in a foreign language is not always easy.

I don't mean that the forks are bad, I just mean that they are almost as good as they can be considering the optimisations / compromises that needs to be done to cover the wide variety of rider the fork should appeal to.

Tuners like TFtuned or Vorsprung, etc... works on several small spectrums of rider and can further optimize what RS or Fox has done for each of the spectrum of rider they decided to have.
  • 3 0
 @spankthewan: if they got it right the first time they wouldn't have anything to sell now. I would bet all I own there have been multiple discussions at SRAM that went something like "let's hold off on that for 1 year and that for 2. But yeah good job team"
  • 2 0
 @Happymtbfr: It's called "triggered by a figment of your imagination" syndrome. There's a lot of it about. C'est pas ton anglais le problème....
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: merci!
  • 2 0
 @ianwish: I have the 140mm 29r Yari on my hardtail. I'm about 12.5 stone and run 1 token with about 60 psi which provides roughly 30% sag. Riding terrain is quite smooth, woods riding but does get slippery so I notice the grip.

If you read the detail/ benefits on their website, and the previous Pinkbike review - I would basically concur with all of that. The trickiest bit is fitting it. You need the right tools (tip - a £3 rubber golf shaft clamp works a treat instead of the aluminium air shaft clamp). You also need to be extremely careful when removing the existing piston head, don't round the bolt. Soak it in boiling water for at least 5 mins to soften the threadlock.
  • 1 0
 @gnralized: I'm not a Sram guy. I only have ever owned two Sram products. Ever. And one of them is my reverb dropper which I had my LBS guys (major cudos to John Henry bikes) redo because the donkeys over at Rockshox couldn't get it to work properly after two tries sending it back in.

BUT, my Rockshox Pike fork is SO much better than my Fox 32. Fox released something that was inferior and then had to re-vamp it (their limited time discounted internal upgrade). So, most parts manufacturers get caught up in this, not just Sram.
  • 1 0
 @gnralized: but look at a reverb, all their issues came from an aluminum IFP originally and now they all have a plastic IFP that works way better. There isn’t one perfect material, there are pros and cons for each. That air spring probably got heavier as a result but also got better performance. Always trade offs
  • 2 0
 @Happymtbfr: Totally misinterpreted what you meant. To be fair, the way it was stated, it was easy to misinterpret. (light-ish speed - as in close to the speed of light? Not slow)
  • 1 0
 @btjenki:


"You don't think boutique brands cut costs? "

Maybe they did it but in a lesser way. Their added value to justify pricing is on performance, construction quality, robustness, etc...

"So you should be hating on every company is the bike industry by that logic."

I do know the price of OEM suspensions kits from RS and Fox for a mid-sized bicycle brand.
I can guarantee you that for the same bicycle retail price, the margin is way higher for RS OEM than Fox.
And you're comparing very different business models. Margin on car sale is ridiculously low comparing to bike industry, even smartphone.
A bicycle retailer make a 50% raw margin on the retail price. That mean that upstream from that, the brand made its margin, and upstream again, OEM brand made its margin too...
So profits are huge for Rock Shox, they can decide to make more benefit with cheap internal, or less with quality internals (like 3$ less maybe), that's not a life or death decision, simply increasing profits. Now you know why big brands made in-house components.

"And that's great you would spend $300 (30%) more for a product for it to be made boutique. But you are about .001% of the market. Everyone is driven by price. Not just OEMs."

Now if you check boutique prices like Jenson, the MY18 Lyric is the same price than a MY Fox 36... MRP Ribbon is even less, as Manitou... So the 300$ I talked about are even not relevant.
Given that Ohlins, MRP, Formula, BOS, Fox, DVO, etc... make higher quality product than RS and knowing the differences in OEM cost, it's your decision but concerning myself I will not buy a lesser quality product at the same retail price than a higher quality one.
And if you add the cost of vorsprung or anybody else kit for RS forks, then you will pay 150$ more for having something approaching.

As a side note I will add that Formula, Marzocchi-DVO, BOS, Manitou, Fox, Ohlins are not mountain-bike related only companies. Their skills in designing products are way higher and older, with a lot more experience, in markets where quality construction make the difference between life and death of both companies and riders (WRC, moto racing, etc...).
RS only design MTB suspension, which is a bit like designing toys, maybe that's why they are not reluctant to made cheap internals and work with lower tolerances.

During years, very few can make a difference between 2 products in MTB suspension. If you read Pinkbike, you will never see them stating that Fox or RS is better than the other.
Today, with internet, independant testing, suspension optimisation, people begin to have real knowledge and expectations from their suspension and they become suspsicious about RS quality.
The time you see a 8500 $ sworks enduro spec'ed with a Pike (!) has gone.
Check Giant, spesh or intense range for instance, Fox is again spec'ed in the high end models, RS for entry levels. German brand like Canyon always spec'ed Fox for they high-end models
So precisely at the same time RS start loosing OEM market parts, they start to communicate on their internal quality improvements... That's funny.
But during years they just fooled you with their marketing BS, like "rapid recovery" tune used for years by others companies (digressive rebound damping), "countermeasure spring" - this one is hilarious since it precisely adress the stiction problem they got for years due to bad conception and low tolerances, so they turn a weakness into a marketing argument - state of the art, etc...
And now red heritage suspension... What a strong, technical, fact-based argument demonstrating superior suspension quality.
  • 1 0
 @silasdbstreeter:
Reverb issues came from tolerances in design. Using metal piston in metal tube, tolerances have to be very tight.
Hydraulic alloy parts have to be casted then CNC'ed or just CNC'ed. Since it's metal vs metal, it's difficult to have tight tolerances because your tooling wears very fast, so dimesnions can fluctuate a lot between parts if you didn't do QC often or sharpen/change your tooling often, which is costly.
Going plastic allows to have tighter tolerances by injection molding, or even milling with tooling wearing slower since it's metal vs. plastic (okay, high density plastic).
In a dropper post thermal expansion is not an issue since T° varies slowly and in tight boundaries.
It is not the case for suspension since T° can increase a lot, generating thermal expansion.
Alloy thermal expansion coefficient is 10 times lesser than plastic (1.6*10-5 for 1°C from 20° to 100°C for 1630 alloy vs 1.2*10-4 for 1° from 23 to 55°C for delrin whatever viscosity). So it is better to get alloy parts instead of plastic in such environment.
For instance, Fox started to produce the Float X with a plastic IFP then went alloy for this very reason.
Some "plastics" have equivalent thermal expansion coefficient to alloy, like phenolic resin (used for brake pistons for instance) but are more difficult to mold/mill.
  • 2 1
 @rrolly:
I'm not a fox guy too, I'm just a SRAM hater ;-).
Fox did a first mistake in designing their CTD stuff, then they had big quality issues when they decided to outsource their production to TW (2013-2014).
After a few year everything settled, but they didn't lower their QC or material quality. Their internal parts was metal from beginning.
RS has always produced stuff in TW with plastic internals.
I precisely got a 2013 Float 34 my wife wouldn't sell for a Pike despite my "advices" because it was white and gold (u can't beat that) so I had to made the 2015 hydraulic upgrade then 2016 air spring upgrade, for 50$ each.
Now she got a 2013 fork with burly construction and up to date internals. I tested it back to back with a Pike and stopped to annoy my wife with that because it was way better. And she got the color she wanted ;-)

My next fork will be a Selva or a Ribbon.
  • 2 0
 @gnralized: The post-2014 Pike was meant to be the best suspension product since wheeled vehicles were invented (source: errr... PB?). Is this not a fact any more?
That said, anyone who knows that much about phenolic resin is going to be hard to argue against.
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: you have to remember, that was back when fox was making garbage-filled garbage and calling them forks, manitou had yet to come out with the Mattoc (or at least it wasn't in that many hands yet), MRP hadn't come out with the ribbon, etc etc.

there is a lotttt of competition nowadays, the pike is just one of many good forks
  • 28 0
 Cheers to that air spring working with a four year old pike!
  • 7 0
 Nice, looking forward to putting one in my Pikes. Good work RS.

Just need a backwards compatible damper (which they probably do) and you have a new fork for not much £££
  • 5 0
 @fartymarty: that damper will work in your pike as well, just a bit more expensive of an upgrade than the air spring.
  • 23 1
 all you had to do was make a coil option sram.
  • 3 2
 Won't happen. Would require another sku # which apparently drastically affects profits. Speed springs upgrade!
  • 2 2
 @Flowcheckers: Im pretty sure SKU and UPC codes cost like a few bucks. I just bought 10 of them... So I dont think thats the reason why.
  • 5 0
 Funny that they used to have coil versions of the lyrik and they stopped making them, now everyone else is releasing a coil fork except RS
  • 1 0
 @chillrider199: That was an attempted joke reference to srams compromised dub bb combining 2 bottom brackets into one for the purpose of reducing sku's and inventory for shops and manufacturers.
  • 5 0
 I'm hoping they release a coil fork called the Totem.
  • 1 0
 @Flowcheckers: Oh. My bads. Usually whenever Sram releases a new product I just read bullshit so eventually I stopped reading the product release articles.
  • 5 0
 @Boardlife69: with 20mm axle and 38mm stanchions. #makefreeridegreatagain
  • 18 1
 Gotta love the old school colors
  • 4 1
 I'm not a huge fan...I mostly care if it works well.
  • 3 0
 Makes alot of consumers with a black rock shox feel like they have something outdated that they need to upgrade. The color change alone will generate more increased sales than anything they could do inside the fork.
  • 1 0
 @Flowcheckers: it's a fashion industry. That's why I won't buy this...it's all to sell a dressed up airspring
  • 15 0
 Well I know I'll be spending at least an extra $42 next time I rebuild my 2018 Lyric
  • 13 0
 "RockShox's engineers realized the Delrin (read: plastic) air spring seal head wasn't sliding as smoothly as they wanted" Why wasn't this figured out ages ago?
  • 14 6
 Five clicks is better than no clicks but stop treating us like morons! if you somehow gotten far enough thru life to scrape up enough money to buy this fork and suitable bike to install it on, you obviously have some level of intelligence. Give us the ability to set them up how we want to and don't assume we are too dumb to figure it out.
  • 17 0
 Go DVO, bro. Clicks for days. No seriously, it took me 2 days of riding to setup my Emeralds. I kinda enjoy that stuff though, so all good!
  • 4 1
 2020: rockshox makes a “thru life” axle.
  • 7 9
 See, I feel totally the opposite. I for sure could take the time to learn how to set up a fork but I would rather be riding my bike. Give me no adjustment at all on a fork that just works so I don't have to mess with it and also be thinking "this could be better if I did this or that tweak" instead of just enjoying riding it.
  • 8 0
 @Patrick9-32: rather be riding your bike? we're talking about a couple sessions of setup, and then it's a better fork for you for the rest of the life of the fork. i'll take that tradeoff any day
  • 8 1
 I feel like five clicks is a pretty good number. I mean, when you have 20 or something clicks, are you gonna be able to tell the difference between positions 7 and 8, or even 7 and 9? Personally I am doubtful.
  • 3 0
 I've had 18, 12, and 8 click (or something like that) HSC dampers and I think having at least 10 clicks would be ideal with each click being 10%. Beyond 12 becomes almost confusing as your not sure if you be one click +or- and your not sure if you can feel the difference between that one or two clicks. With 10 clicks you can feel the difference and even if your inbetween you can up your LSC a click or two. I normally like to ride my forks rather stiff at around 35-40% closed. Until I get tired, then its click by click until they're fully open and then after that I start to slow the rebound until I realize I should stop doing laps and start drinking beer.
  • 7 0
 "The good news is that RockShox's new air spring is backwards compatible – there are options for the Lyrik, Pike, Yari, and Revelation, and, with an asking price of $42, it's a fairly reasonable upgrade. "

It will be retrofittable to all black stanchion Lyriks and of course Yari but be careful, it will only be retrofittable to 2018 Pike. Older Pike's (2014-2017) have a different dimple location and that alone makes this new air spring incompatible. Older Pikes can still gain a big improvement in air spring performance by installing a Vorsprung Luftkappe.

Also the wear on the red sealhead comes from the fact that the sealhead is probably moving vertically back and forth a bit during pressure reversals on the negative chamber, this was avoided on the delrin sealhead thanks to the wavy washer which kept the sealhead pressed against the retaining ring.
  • 2 0
 Good to gave you posting meaningful information here! ????
  • 1 0
 The 4 question marks in the post above should have been a thumb up sign...
  • 1 0
 There are separate SKUs for 2014-17 Pikes. They are definitely available for those forks.
  • 1 0
 @mobaar: Yeah, I stand corrected as SRAM indeed made 2014-2017 DebonAir upgrade air springs. So there are 3 versions: Pike 2014-2017, Pike 2018+ & Revelation 2018+ and Lyrik/Yari 2016+.
  • 9 2
 Few years ago before charger was released they said: lets get rid off HSC, it's not usefull and now they say: ohhh wait, lets put it back they will buy it anyway. What a bullshit...
  • 7 0
 @Pinkbike : You know what would be interesting : proof-checking RS stats on friction and comparing with other brands/former models. Shouldn't be too hard for you to get access to a dyno
  • 2 0
 Objective testing is the enemy of the marketing people. It's not gonna happen, sorry!
  • 8 3
 This fork looks pretty cool, but I am annoyed at the timing of this press release, much like the release of eagle, they arent going to be ready to ship this for at least 4-6 months. But now its on everyones radar and people will wait till it stars coming on new bikes before upgrading and it serves no real purpose other than to hurt shops
  • 5 0
 Will be in the market in April.
  • 11 2
 Are we really talking about a 2019 model in march/18???
  • 9 3
 Good to see the evolution. I will still be putting a Luftkappe in my 2017 Pike this summer rather than the SRAM airspring update. Rather support Steve and the guys in Whistler.
  • 3 0
 Thinking the same thing with my Yari.
  • 6 0
 Hmm, I was going to put 2018 guts into my Yari and turn it into a Lyrik. Might as well wait for the 2019 stuff to come out in April at this point.
  • 4 0
 Well let’s add red to the palette of fork colors. We have red, orange, green, blue, brown. Can someone make a purple and yellow fork now? What else am I missing?
  • 12 0
 purple formula fork exists. Yellow Helm exists
  • 8 0
 I think formula makes some with a lot of purple.. anyways, get an MRP Ribbon coil, check how much it weights...and forget about stiction, negative air chamber etc... that thing blows all of the air sprung single crown forks, period
  • 2 0
 Turquoise would look far better on Yeti's than the orange.
  • 3 1
 What about PINK? After all, this is PINKbike!
  • 2 0
 Formula does purple. Which brand makes a blue fork?
  • 2 0
 @jsspreier: formula's got you covered with purple fam!
  • 1 0
 the old argyles came in most the colors you could ask for
  • 3 0
 Rock Shox made purple and yellow forks 20 years ago. Judy and Judy DH.
  • 4 0
 @Pedro404: blue cane Creek helm
  • 1 0
 @Pedro404: Cane Creek Helm
  • 1 0
 Schurter was rocking a yellow SID at Stellenbosch the other week...
  • 1 0
 @Pedro404: SR Suntour
  • 1 0
 Purple is taken already - Formula Selva www.bike24.com/p2224869.html
  • 1 0
 @Pedro404: DVO does. Look at the Giant team line up! Also Cane Creek comes in a blue if I am not wrong?
  • 9 6
 A German MTB magazine did a pretty cool test of all current forks, the Lyrik (and Pike) did not "place it right up there in the lead pack" but just in the middle.

Fox 36 and Formula Selva were the test winners.
  • 20 5
 Yea but they're Germans. They love tech and often start world wars.
  • 9 2
 @raditude: While the US only start regional wars... But you're right they love tech
  • 13 1
 @raditude:

A)
Most of the German sites are subscription only.
They make most of their money from readers buying their subscription.
They can not give a positive review to a crappy product otherwise people will stop trusting them and cancel subscriptions.

B)
Most North American/English sites are free.
Meaning they make money from companies buying ads.
SRAM/RockShox and Specialized are the biggest money spender.
Give them a bad review and they won't advertise on the site anymore.
  • 5 0
 @raditude: you probably missed history lessons at school, both world wars started in both cases by austrians.

days from last mass shooting??
  • 6 0
 Yes indeed, breaking news, Rock shox now have alloy internals instead of plastic ! It's so cool that they red anodize it... They just reached a new level of marketing BS. Guys at fox, xfusion, formula, DVO, etc... must be dead laughing...
  • 5 0
 And MRP too...
  • 1 0
 Link ?
  • 1 1
 @vitality: 0 days...
  • 1 0
 @preston67: I can't find that one he is talking about but I found one from 2016, so is reviewing 2017 models:
enduro-mtb.com/en/best-160-mm-mtb-fork-can-buy/12 (don't know why it doesn't make it a link)
  • 1 0
 Here is a recent comparison but I have seen few in the past as well.
www.mtb-news.de/news/2018/03/07/29er-enduro-federgabel-vergleich-test
  • 1 0
 @vid1998: I think you mean to say “liberate” . We can’t seem to get enough of doing that for countries who don’t want it
  • 1 1
 @RedRedRe: subscriptions to read bike reviews is like paying to watch porn, those are the people with real issues
  • 1 1
 @vitality: took a lot of Austrians to drive all those tanks across Europe indeed.
  • 2 0
 @Swangarten: are you serious what's wrong with your people, slow clap
  • 1 0
 @vitality: He is serious, just checked wiki and last one was on 20. march in Maryland...
  • 1 0
 @vid1998: F....ck that’s not funny anymore ):
  • 6 1
 Did I just read a review of the Vorsprung air piston upgrade? I hope Rockshox paid them for using their designs.
  • 2 0
 So my current 2018 feels like garbage off the top compared to the 2017 it replaced. Way more sticky. The 2017 was a 2 position. Maybe a one off thing, maybe I'm crazy but makes me wonder since the 2018 had a 1 year run and spare parts from rs were super limited. Maybe they knew it was junk from the get go but couldn't get this new one done in time for market. Anyone know if there was any internal difference in the 17 2 step and 18 debonair that could validate what I felt?
  • 1 0
 Probably doesn't have enough oil in it from the factory. Rockshox are known for that.
  • 1 0
 @dualsuspensiondave: they both came as 160 and I opened them both to put in a 170 air shaft. Re lubed all the rings and put in proper lower fluid
  • 5 0
 They do look really good .
  • 5 4
 More mid support.
I find all these new forks with lots of mid support feel like crap on the small stuff.
Modern suspensions are harshly over damped.
No wonder they try to reduce the friction.
No wonder every one runs tubless tires at ultra low psi.
Yes my fork dives. The rear suspension compresses too.
And at the end of a long ride my arms feel fresh.
And my tires stick like glue to the trail.
If I purchased a rock shock or a Fox fork first thing I would do is get it re valved to actually function properly.
Or throw in an Avy cart.
Oh yes most people ride "flow trails"
This fork is for you.
  • 1 0
 Sshredder :Its so dificult to find someone saying more than two words and knowledgeable words in this case about bike products.If 50% of all of us real understands what is going on between our legs with our bikes and ask better and reliable products instead of only new ones,you did not whrote the text above.
  • 4 0
 All great and lovely, but I still have yet to ride a fork that feels anywhere near as good TO ME as my DVO Diamond.
  • 2 1
 This is HOT! The first reviews here and there state that this is probably the new benchmark when it comes to enduro forks. Some, (just sayin'...) won't like that. Fox 36, although probably the raddest fork around, is seriously threatened (as far as dethroned? Let's see).
  • 2 0
 Given that some of the red anodizing is worn off the air spring body in the second picture, it looks like something was misaligned in the fork. This sort of thing should never hit the pictures of a website!
  • 1 0
 I got a 3 yr old RS Pike 2 seasons ago. I’m still debating if this year is new bike year. Mojo HD is aging and too much bike for my local trails.

If yes, you can damn well bet I’m going MRP.

In no, you can still damn well bet I’m going MRP.
  • 1 0
 Damn. That's almost as expensive as an iphone Razz

I love how RS makes these things aftermarket upgradeable. I have a history of buying lyriks with bad bushings and swapping out the lowers to have a cheaper new fork.
So much more home mechanic friendly than other brands.
  • 1 0
 Dear RockShox engineers. Delrin is Duponts brand name for POM or acetal. Hyosung have a material called polyketone or POK that has significantly better lubricity or sliding properties than POM => approx 200 times. Would be worth investigating in my opinion.
  • 4 0
 Because the red goes faster!
  • 1 0
 I'm surprised it took RockShox basically 8 years to copy Fox's RC2 damper. I am glad to see RS making solid headway though. That fork is a huge improvement on the original Lyrik.
  • 1 0
 Well the RAD damper is almost here soo...
HSC/LSC and HSR/LSR...
  • 1 0
 If that is supposed to be a reflection of the old Judy DH etc I'm pretty sure the colour is too red... I personally thought it was a Manitou Mattoc until I read the description.
  • 5 5
 I don’t know what other thing to say, than this that my Lyrik is quite good, not as good as 36 but still, so I’ll just say that those 3 dimples on the inside of the debon air can will now allow you to use it as the most nerdy handle for artificial vagina ever. In fact Debon air is a good name for a high tech artificial vagina with pneumatic suction mode.
  • 1 0
 you should step it up to dvo the diamond will blow your mind if you havnt tried it yet
  • 3 1
 I don't get all the "look at the improvement from MY 2018 to MY 2019" graphs crap.
It just says your 2018 product was shitty if there's that much of a difference.
  • 1 1
 Nevermind the colour, it's a matter of taste and can't be argued, but it's 2018 and yet no inverted fork from any major manufacturer, as they claim stiffness is the bigest problem and some other crap, yes I did notice that all big fork manufacturers in motorcycle world mx and gp are trying to move away from inverted forks as riders complaining that there is not enough stiffness and stability at 220mph and big jumps and lanfings... Yes bicycle industry makes sense, that and the red lowers ... Great
  • 1 0
 Rockshox makes an inverted fork as does DVO. There are plenty of others out there as well
  • 1 0
 @danelliott: that ain't an enduro fork, it's aimed at xc mostly, no point there, as far as the rest, have not seen a test here since whatever, my point is every marginal gain in a relatively strong market is promoted like the next big thing. Bigger neg spring is offered as aftermarket from vorsprung and others for a few years now, as damper tuning. What's left? Ahhh the colour,
I think they must invest more on r&d and engineers instead of marketing crap.
  • 3 0
 Almost forgot the word "friction" exists after moving to Formula/DVO, good to have RockShox around to remind me about it.
  • 1 0
 What if I own a dual position lyrik ? Can I use the debonair upgrade to replace air spring ? I don't really care about the dual pos feature, it's ok if I lose it, but I wonder about compatibility.
  • 1 0
 Any word on whether this fork will remain fully home serviceable? Always lives that I could fully rebuild the damper at home with previous model years.
  • 1 0
 @mikekazimer
The new air spring will fit to 2014 pike model as well?
It (air spring) will be available April 2018 as fork will?
  • 1 0
 How can they made it 42% more negative volume with same size piston, same size shaft and same length of negative air chamber??? By using the volume inside the shaft??
  • 1 0
 I'm not 100% but saw a video review on Bikeradar that mentioned something about RS using the space inside the shaft to gain the extra negative spring volume. I might have it wrong but worth a look.
  • 1 0
 @Kickmehard: See that video! you are right, the space inside shaft. Maybe we can drill a small hole at proper place on the old shaft to get same purpose, HaHa
  • 3 0
 Looks fantastic. Looking forward to how the new air spring performs.
  • 3 1
 WTF its March 2018 and were talking about 2019 Forks and Shocks? That red looks sweet though
  • 1 0
 Fancy upgrades mean nothing if RS won't supply basic parts like bushings. Got a 1 year old Pike and RS don't make bushings for it, so their products are basically disposable.
  • 1 0
 So I'm pretty stupid and need some people to help me out here.

Is the Lyrik RC2 29er available with: 170mm travel, black lowers and 42mm offset?

@pinkbike @SramMedia
  • 2 4
 dont like the red but its a damn sight better than those awful orange foxes!! also im not really into all these extra dials and nobs to turn. too much adjustability just fries my mind. so im not fussed about the damper. The air spring however is interesting, given that its basically a Lufftkappe! wont be in any hurry to make this upgrade....
  • 1 0
 Not really diggin' the red. At least the 2018s will start to go on clearance soon! Wink
  • 3 1
 Jeez, a potentially 180mm fork that weighs 4.5lbs.
  • 2 0
 And we've come full circle once again with dampers...
  • 1 0
 Does not have any new standards so it will probably be obsolete next year, why even bother... /s
  • 1 0
 Any word on a dual position Lyric ?
Are they being phased out ?
Will Pike continue to offer dual air ?
  • 4 2
 How many tokens to make it works?
  • 2 0
 Looks like someone painted it in their garage .
  • 3 1
 All I want is a coil option!
  • 3 1
 can´t wait for august for news from the 2020 new line-up!
  • 2 0
 180mm coil single-crown please.
  • 1 0
 www.oneupcomponents.com/products/axle-f?variant=3802324992040

Luckily they got the matchy matchyness dialed.
  • 1 0
 I have a dual position pike. Am I able to install the new air spring to convert to solo air?
  • 2 0
 Doesn’t look like candy apple to me, just looks red.
  • 1 0
 damn, my new bike just got $41 more expensive. Not sure why these aren't coming on 2018 models.
  • 1 0
 Sooo..... now do I still get a Vorsprung Luftkappe for my current Lyrik or do I get this new air spring from RockShox now?
  • 1 0
 RS is back on the radar finally but until there is a comparison between this and the 36 I'll hold off.
  • 1 0
 No one talking about DVO, how come? Not comparable? I think the Beryl is a 170 fork
  • 1 0
 Kazimer killed it at NZ Enduro, saw the homie on the results list. You know it's us.
  • 1 1
 So when do we reckon the replacement air spring will be available? I was going to get a Luftkappe but will probably get a replacement spring instead.
  • 1 0
 May-June
  • 3 2
 Rockshox forks are totally garbage! I've given up and I'll never get another one!
  • 1 0
 So is the chassis the same (sans offset variants) and it's just the innards that are new??
  • 1 0
 where can I buy the DebonAir upgrade kit lyrik? and will this work out with my 2017 Lyrik? Smile
  • 1 0
 No imperial sizing yet for Deluxe.. argh!
  • 7 0
 Rumored to be part of next months 2020 Super Ultra Mega Deluxe RCT2C2T2 release
  • 1 0
 Love the lyric I had a 2012 DH on my Slayer SS )
  • 3 4
 Lol at Midstroke support... Just add more air like most Pros do. Wait until 2020, the Rockshox Totem will come back. 180mm travel with 40mm Stanchions and 27.5 wheels. Lol.
  • 3 0
 Exactly. Small bump is overrated, go fast and you dont notice small bump. Instead the properly harsh fork starts eating rock gardens for breakfast as it never ever reaches end stroke ramp up and feels supple. Its just we are not used to go fast but if you practice... But in that sense adjustable negative spring like DVO and Cane Creek and mattoc and ohlins are the right way. Add adjustable lsc and you are golden. have a linear midstroke without excessive rampup and soften the breakaway with neg air.
  • 1 0
 I thought my white Lyrik was ugly...
  • 2 0
 The Red looks good
  • 7 10
 Didn't Rockshox JUST change the damper and the air spring, and now another change after a year? Sucks for those that bought a new 'upgraded' fork last year, and those of us still running the original version of the Pike who are now two iterations behind.
  • 55 1
 Do the old forks stop working when the new forks come out?
  • 10 0
 @huntstyle: The rubber chew toy I used to like ceased functioning when my new rubber chew toy arrived, so yes they must stop working.
  • 3 0
 Some of the upgrades are backwards compatible, so upgrade your fork at its next service interval!
  • 5 0
 Just put a Luftkappe in your original fork for $90, that has a stronger chassis anyway. Your welcome.
  • 5 4
 @McNubbin: *you're
  • 1 0
 It looked like they were comparing the RC2 to the old charger then new Charger 2 at different points. I'm not sure, but I think most of the upgrades were introduced on the last round of updates with Charger 2.
  • 2 0
 @bruvar: They just changed the air spring last year (which isn't backward compatible to the older Pikes), and they just changed it again by making it all metal seal head which looks like fun to install since at least the delrin version had some give to install the snap ring on the leg.
  • 2 0
 @huntstyle: This is a rich comment, considering most people on here complain incessantly about 'new standards' and 'incremental gains' like DUB.
  • 2 2
 @Bruccio: Really? Have you looked at the horse shit you wrote in your previous post?
  • 3 1
 @McNubbin: painful subject? my english is indeed not perfect, but it's not my first language, as you may deduce from the tiny little flag beside my nickname. maybe it's not yours either, dunnow. peace out, man.
  • 1 0
 Who is using short offset forks on 27.5?
  • 1 0
 Transition, Whyte...
  • 1 0
 @vid1998: Just Transition so far...whyte only doing on the 29er...guess more must be going this way in 2019
  • 1 0
 I had a 26 bos deville with 37 offset since it was 26. Put it on my spitfire first with 26 wheels then swapped over to 27 and did not bother to change the fork, that my the casting had enough room (barely but ok) for a 2.3 high roller 27.5 and rode it. first thing i noticed was the great steering and front wheel traction on the slacked out spitty. so it works on any frame as long as you have enough wheelbase which is fine with modern geo. sadly that bike was stolen but if i can get hodl of another 27 fork with 36 or so offset i would do it anytime. Or actually a 26 inch fork that fits 27.5 wheels ; ) and old is new again XD
  • 2 1
 Off to lowball people on 2017 lyrics!
  • 1 0
 So is this update better than the current RCT3?
  • 1 0
 HSC/LSC huh?? Hmmm..... no comment. *cough bout time cough*
  • 2 0
 Looks like a mattoc
  • 1 0
 RS is basically doing a debonair Super Deluxe right ?
  • 1 0
 Negative 27 percent more static friction. . .
  • 1 0
 any day for a 1 1/8" fork would be nice
  • 1 0
 Would like to see a one piece SKU like ohlins.
  • 1 0
 I love the way a 2019 product is available April 2018
  • 1 0
 But does it have Kashima?
  • 1 0
 That's a friggin unit!
  • 1 0
 No silver crown ?
  • 1 0
 Isn't it still in March?
  • 1 1
 that's one good looking fork
  • 1 0
 Non-torque cap options?
  • 1 0
 Why? Torque cap forks work 100% with "normal" 15x100 hubs.
  • 1 0
 I see new Maxxle 14,99.
  • 1 0
 So damn nice Drool
  • 1 1
 Looks rad! I'll buy it.
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