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Hi all.
New member but a long time lurker here, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the information in here so I thought I'd go ahead and ask for some advice.
I'm a crossroads when it comes to upgrading my bike. I bought a Commencal Meta TR this fall. It was a bit of a case of actually getting a bike at all so I went for the lowest spec with the intention of tuning it along the way. It came with a very basic fork (and shock) which I'm looking to upgrade to get a bit more adjustability. Fork is a big priority as there's no way to adjust it at all and it weights a ton. I'm a pretty much a beginner but I'm also investing a lot of time in it and getting better quick.
Now I'm looking at a few alternatives which are mainly Rockshox due to availability, upgradeability and price. I you have other suggestions that would also be welcome.
Bike comes with 150 mm travel but the top models have 160 mm (same frame) so I might consider going that route, either now or later which is a good reason for choosing RS as they can be increased pretty easy. I'm a big guy at 195 cm and around 85-90 kg in full gear.
The current alternatives:
Rockshox Yari (€450): Cheap fork but with a crude damper (from what I've read) with a lot of options for upgrading along the way. Availability is limited at the moment.
Rockshox Lyrik Select (€630): A little more expensive than the Yari but with a better damper. Looking at it in the long run I might be satisfied with this which makes it rather attractive. Also set and forget from what I've read.
Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate (€820): The most expensive alternative. Might be over the top but not a lot more expensive than the Select so might be worth it. More adjustability but I'm uncertain if I'll use it.
Generally I'm a "buy once, cry once" type of person but I'm uncertain if the Ultimate will be overkill for me, at least right now. The thing that bugs me with the Select is that it's quite a bit more expensive than the Yari but not a lot cheaper than the Ultimate. The Yari will obviously give me more flexibility but will take some more work. There's also the chance that the MC damper will work out ok and that I can ride the crap out of it without upgrading. Then there's also the consideration that if I will move the fork to a new bike/frame (mainly if it's an Ultimate or tweaked Yari) in the future. What's your experiences with this, is it something you do or will the fork be "worn out" at that point?
Good riders I know like yari. I bought a set with a view to going the upgrade path so long as they didn't wear the stanchions. I've had lots of RS over the years and IME it's a bit pot luck with them. Some go for years even with little care and just work well. Some start showing wear after a year or 18 months. These went that way, and I could never get them to feel that good from new. They either felt harsh on small stuff or bottomed out on big stuff no matter what I did with to tokens and pressures. Very likely just bad luck.
I'm on 36s now. Lovely.
Hi @arth, welcome to the forum.
I had a look at the spec of the Commercial Origin and aside from the boat anchor RS 35 fork the rest looks decent usable kit.
For the fork, you could go Yari with a view to upgrading to the RC2.1 damper in the future or id say the Lyrik select is a plenty good enough fork for now and the future. I have a Pike Ultimate and never use the HSC/LSC once you've got them set..
One thing to consider if you decide on a new airshaft to increase the travel to 160mm...get the B1 airshaft, the 'new' 2021 airspring in rockshox forks is not an improvement over the 2020..
The other angle is as a beginner just go ride your new bike, get out enjoy it and don't worry about such things.
But I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't like spending money on shiny bike things.
lyric or a mezzer
Adjustability is there for you to set the fork up to your liking. Don't be afraid of it.
Always worth a quick lower service before you fit to check oil levels etc on Rockshox have been a bit low in oil the past.
If you’ve got the 35 at the moment it’s not a bad budget fork to be fair - just it is a bit heavy and not upgradeable.
The Yari has the same chassis as the Lyrik (apart from perhaps a slightly heavier crown) so in essence if you bought that one and found the damping a bit lacking you could just upgrade the damper and seals to full Lyrik RC2 / RCT3 spec relatively easily.
The select I believe has a different damper to the Yari and Ultimate - I think instead of a sealed bladder damper like the charger in the ultimate it has an ifp setup a bit like the Fox Grip damper on their rhythm and performance forks (not the grip2 which is on a level with / perhaps marginally better than a full charger damper).
So the select is a step above the Yari definitely - and would probably be something you wouldn’t feel you need to upgrade in future.
Generally I’m a “buy once, cry once” type of person
You're not really, otherwise you'd have bought a better spec bike initially.
Go for the Lyrik. It will be everything you need and more.
The RS 35 and Yari both have the same damper so it won’t be much of an upgrade. Although you could get the Atari and then add an upgraded Charger damper at a later date to spread the cost.
Another to consider is the Marzocchi Z1 or Z2 depending on budget and travel requirements. Both are great forks.
And as said above, there was quite a long period when Rockshox forks came as new with very little oil in them.
Thanks for the input everyone.
To clear things up a bit the current fork is a RS 35 Silver R which is a budget OEM coil fork. It rides well enough and monster trucks through stuff but I do lack some support in general and especially when climbing. And again, the weight is hefty to say the least. Saving 5-600 g isn't unrealistic with one of the above forks. And again, there's no means of adjusting it except for maybe changing the coil but that doesn't seem like a very worthwhile option. Generally the Meta TR specs are a bit strange when it comes to the fork.
The thing I really like about the Yari is the wealth of damper options aside from the Charger. There's the Splug, MST, Fast and so on. Any experience with those?
I've also had a look at the Marzocchi forks and they do look nice. What bothers me is that they're pretty cheap in the US but rather expensive here in the EU. For the US price they look like great value but here the Z2 is more expensive than the Lyrik Select and the Z1 quite a lot more expensive than Ultimate.
As for the Mezzer I do see the point if you like to tinker a lot. For me that's probably more than I need or want. I do tinker quite a bit with the bike and make small improvements but when it comes to suspension I'm not so sure I'll actually make proper use of all the possibilities.
There's been some comments on it but what's the life expectancy for a fork like this if it's well maintained? The RS ones that is.
And also, thanks for the tip on an initial lower leg service. I'll definitely make sure to check the oil levels before heading out.