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Specifically the 35mm stanchioned forks, there’s just so bloody many.
I’m already mulling the idea of another cheap bike build, primarily for uplift use using used bits, I’m wanting a ~160mm fork, nothing really settled on wheel size or frame even, but I figured I would start looking at the used fork options and honestly the number of 35mm RS forks is huge and I cannot fathom it all. Are the chassis common could I take an OEM “35 Gold” fork and slap some Lyric internals in? What exactly is the target use case for a Pike select when various flavours of Lyrik also exist?
I guess it’s not just that I want to know what is betterer but also why exactly, what magic does one damper do over another and what forks can you cram those parts into?
Sounds like you want a Pike or Lyrik tbh. Don't get the Select version as the damper isn't as good.
35's are heavy and basic, the Revelation and Yari are old school damper versions of the Pike and Lyrik.
I don’t know what fork I want, they do so many 35mm/160mm travel forks. I’m sure I’ve heard/read people say a Yari with lyric bits fitted works just as well(?) is that true? Does year model matter?
Sorry but in what way is something “not good” or “old school”? What does that mean in terms of the way a fork functions, imagine your explaining to someone who’s never used a suspension fork.
Lack of mid-stroke support? Blows through travel? Uncontrollable rebound? What is wrong with a Charger 2 vs 3 Vs the old MOCO I remember from Rebas a decade or more ago? It’s all marketing fluff to me so far.
And to be clear I’m looking used, there’s all sorts of RS forks on eBay and elsewhere.
I figured RS are so ubiquitous now and I am fine pulling apart, servicing and changing parts on a used fork. I just cannot navigate the RS range from the last half decade or so. And no I’m not asking Chat GPT, I want real people with real experiences to offer their insights… please.
It gets a bit confusing because the names have stuck in the range for a while, but it's been ever so slightly rejigged. Basically you've got the options of the Pike and the Lyric as premium lines that cover that travel. These use the fancy 3.1 charger (or for previous years the 3, or the 2.1 etc). Up until recently the same chassis had another version with the open bath MoCo dampener instead of the closed Charger Dampener and these models were the more basic Revelation and Yari.
For this year, they seem to have dropped the Revelation and have the 35 and the Psylo instead. I don't know so much about those but from what I understand the Phylo has quite a good dampener somewhere between the MoCo and the Charger but without the tunability and dials etc of the Charger. The 35 seems rather basic. I don't think that they have upgrade paths.
The previous generation was good for upgrading - I had a Revelation, got fed up of the MoCo (I could have either support, or suppleness, but not both) so I upgraded it to the Charger 2.1 and it's much better. When the new gen (3 onwards) came out there was a different set of products and I don't think that anything from the 3+ range is backwards compatible but from what I've read the threads are actually the same so it's probably viable but there's nothing official on this.
160mm was always at the longer end of the Pikes, so a Lyric would probably be better. For this year they've separated the Pike and the Lyric so there's not so much overlap - this is Lyric territory now. If you're happy pulling stuff apart and having a play, it may be worth having a look for a Yari. You could then mod it as much as you like as there's plenty of OEM things for it - if you have a previous gen one for instance you could upgrade the damper to the 2.1 if you didn't like the MoCo and basically have a Lyric anyway, or you could look at Fast or Vorsprung and put a different air spring or a coil or all sorts in there.
This webpage is quote useful for digesting the MY25 product range https://off.road.cc/content/feature/which-rockshox-fork-is-right-for-you-in-2025-your-ultimate-guide-to-all-the-models
@doubleeagle that’s what I was after essentially.
so Lyrik an Yari are both viable options for a “chassis” but if I want some flavour of charger damper (as I will want both support and small bump sensitivity) and it’s up to me to figure out if I want to buy one ready to go or hunt about for the parts and upgrade it myself (if there’s much of a price difference).
From what I can tell there are fewer pikes about, and some are capped at 140mm(?) in which case it might be more of a gamble for me. 35s and Psylo ruled out because there’s no real certainty over charger damper compatibility.
that’s simple enough for me, Lyrik or a Yari. Do we know if older Non-boost versions make much difference? (I happen to still have an older non-boost hub as an option and this is all about budget thrills…
If you are looking for a used fork, is it really worth bothering with ones which can be upgraded with bits from a later gen fork?
Considering how cheap you can pick up a Pike or Lyric with a Debonair spring and Charger 2.1 damper on the used market these days that would be my choice. Getting the right fork out the gate far outweighs the faff of working out what you might be able to upgrade and then realising that once you have upgraded it you could have just bought the one you need anyway. I guess it depends how much you value saving a few quid on purchase price then spending your time doing the upgrade. Personally I wouldn't, ymmv,
You'll want to make sure you are budgeting for a lower leg service at the very least when buying used.
I got a 2.1 dampener and installed it myself for about the cost of a full service. Admittedly I have good access to Europe, and as it's not a current line item as far as SRAM are concerned stock may not last forever, but that's a cracking price for a damper. But yeah ideally I'd rather get a second hand Lyric if starting from scratch if the budget allowed, but that could double the upfront price for the guy.
Air spring can usually be changed and this adjusts the travel. I have a 150mm air spring in mine but could buy a 130mm and stick it in. New Pikes are 140mm max I think, but the older ones went longer.
Not sure about boost conversion, I'd have thought that would be more to do with the hub than the fork.
Not sure about boost conversion, I'd have thought that would be more to do with the hub than the fork.
All I meant there was my search can include both boost and non-boost forks as I still have an old 100x15 hub to use potentially, certainly not a deal breaker.
And yep there appear to be all sorts of Lyriks about, also lots of people puttng a Charger damper in a Yari and then listing it as a "lyrik" which tickles me.
Considering how cheap you can pick up a Pike or Lyric with a Debonair spring and Charger 2.1 damper on the used market these days that would be my choice. Getting the right fork out the gate far outweighs the faff of working out what you might be able to upgrade and then realising that once you have upgraded it you could have just bought the one you need anyway. I guess it depends how much you value saving a few quid on purchase price then spending your time doing the upgrade. Personally I wouldn't, ymmv,
Yeah I'm coming to a similar conclusion not myself...
If you do decide to go second hand and tinker iv got a non boost 650b 140mm Yari you could have for 100 quid. If your on the south coast even better.
Cheers but I am pretty set on wanting 160mm, and will probably pop for a used Lyrik or Pike now, seems you can still find those around the £150ish mark on fleabay still, not that I’m doing this any time soon, I just wanted to understand all the options. I’ve paid very little attention to RS forks for a long while and things had “evolved” a bit…
cheers all.
If you're looking at secondhand, I'd suggest the Lyrik Select+ with the Charger 2.1 damper is one of the best options.
Or the Ultimate (but might cost a little more).
I just wanted to understand all the options.
Haha, good luck with that.
I'd go Lyrik or Yari for that sort of bike. I bought a virtually brand new Yari a couple of years ago for about £150 or something and then later upgraded the damper to the Charger 2.1 for about £100 from bike Inn I think. I then upped the travel 150 to 160mm for about £40. Cracking fork.
Obvs if you can find a Lyrik Ultimate for a decent price, I'd go straight for that.
Or the other option is a Fox 36 performance with paint defect from Merlin for £250. I've also got one of them on my Cotic RocketMax and its awesome.
I'm baffled by it all too!
It seems to have got worse with the Rush damper and psylo models now as well. I think the 35 stanchioned 160mm forks are now
Domain
Zeb
35 Silver
35 Gold (seems quite different to silver)
Psylo
Lyrik
Yari
God knows about the dampers. Charger 2, Charger 3, Charger Race Day, Rush RC, Motion Control. Even the same damper has multiple different versions.
I'm baffled by it all too!
It seems to have got worse with the Rush damper and psylo models now as well. I think the 35 stanchioned 160mm forks are now
Domain
Zeb
35 Silver
35 Gold (seems quite different to silver)
Psylo
Lyrik
YariGod knows about the dampers. Charger 2, Charger 3, Charger Race Day, Rush RC, Motion Control. Even the same damper has multiple different versions.
Zeb & Domain are 38mm
I suspect RS themselves don't even try to explain their range, because they know how ridiculous it is.
I know Fox only do mid and high-end forks, but their range is lovely and simple by contrast.
They only have three dampers AFAIK?
I suspect RS themselves don't even try to explain their range, because they know how ridiculous it is.
I know Fox only do mid and high-end forks, but their range is lovely and simple by contrast.
They only have three dampers AFAIK?
Fox have the AWL, Rhythm Grip, Grip, Grip X and Grip X2 that I'm aware of
TBH, RockShox, like fox, have a fairly simple range in terms of what they sell to customer, but then they get asked by all sorts of manufactures to supply things for OEM at a particular price point, and that's where the variations arise, and the bike industry being what it is, they all end up on Merlin being sold direct
Sorry but in what way is something “not good” or “old school”? What does that mean in terms of the way a fork functions, imagine your explaining to someone who’s never used a suspension fork.
Lack of mid-stroke support? Blows through travel? Uncontrollable rebound? What is wrong with a Charger 2 vs 3 Vs the old MOCO I remember from Rebas a decade or more ago? It’s all marketing fluff to me so far.
Sorry for the late reply, not been on for a few days. I've had both a Motion Control Yari and Charger Pike at the same time in the past and where as the Pike felt effective in all conditions with minimal set up, easily able to cope with rocky, rooty, repeated hit trails the Yari felt decent when plodding along it quickly got out of it's depth and struggled to respond to even mildly rough terrain. You'd notice hits on the Yari that you wouldn't on the Pike if that makes sense an get fatigued much quicker.
As has been said, you can pick up second hand Lyriks for so little that buying a Yari to upgrade makes no sense to me. Just avoid the Select version (Select + is fine) and you can't go far wrong.
Fox have the AWL, Rhythm Grip, Grip, Grip X and Grip X2 that I'm aware of
TBH, RockShox, like fox, have a fairly simple range in terms of what they sell to customer,
Fair point, but one thing I think RS could learn from Fox is to just have one fork name for each chassis. Rather than having the Lyrik and the Yari, the Zeb and the Domain, etc.
And they could consolidate the range - perhaps making MoCo the lowest level of damping so anyone buying a bike with an RS fork will know it'll do a semi-decent job, even if it's a bit heavy and lacking adjustments.