[Closed] Fork and wheel advice for Solaris Max

Have you had a look at the XFusion forks? I really rated the McQueen with the Roughcut damper when I demoed the Rocket. As always, it's hard to beat coil for plushness, but I don't know what's available.

If you're after comfort then I'd go wide rims and look at the wide trail tyres. Most tyres won't be out of shape on a 30mm rim these days and it keeps the option for chunky if you fancy it.

I had a Fox 34 Performance Elite on mine, it was a great match for the frame.

Did you mean the new Sid rather than Reba? I can see one of them working well for the riding you describe.

I had both 25 and 30mm internal rims on mine, both were fine but I'd go 30mm if you can afford a suitably light wheelset. The extra cush of bigger tyres might be very welcome.

Agree with the XFusion, im running the 140mm Trace36 HLR on my SolarisMax if you want to adjust your suspension for days its not the one but if you want to fit and forget its perfect. Tyres wise im running a 2.4/2.5 WTBs verdict / trail boss front and back combo. Wheel wise I have some Hope Fortus26 which do the job totally fine but I would rather have some wider DtSwiss 511s after getting some for my Rocket.

Big volume tyres on DT Swiss XM 1501’s should be bombproof and light enough. I would say get the best 120/130mm fork your budget can manage.

Thanks for all the replies! That was quick.

I live in Austria and XFusion isn't really popular around here. Spares would also be harder to get it seems, so I guess that's not really an option. Fox and DT Swiss are a bit to expensive for me so I guess it's really down to SID or PIKE - they both retail for the same price.

I believe Reba / Revelation could also be an option but I have the feeling that SID / PIKE have the newer technology (no motion control). When I talk about SID i mean the newest SID Trail 120mm version.

Seems most people recommend 30mm rims. Guess that's what I'll aim at - even though it feels strange as my last mtb rims where 19mm .....

If you want it as a XC-ish bike, the SID seems the better option then, but if you might want more fork travel later - the Pike could be extended beyond 120mm.

I had my SolarisMAX at 140mm but if I was doing it again I'd go 130mm, as an all-rounder, or 120mm for more XC riding.

I've a 29" 130mm 2020 Pike Ultimate which I put the 2021 C1 Debonair upgraded airspring in, hated it as it is harsh as ****, now back on the original B1 2020 airshaft which is better..but I still dont love the fork considering what I paid.

I previously had a DVO Sapphire which can be reduced internally to 120mm...I regret selling to make way for the Pike, much better fork imho.

I think you can do better than rockshox for the money.

Definitely go for a 34/35mm stantion fork.

I have a current model REBA on my XC hardtail and while it is competent (and lightweigt), if I was using the bike for more typical 'trail' riding or it was my only bike then I would definitely go for the Pike.

The Solaris deserves a tougher/sturdier fork than a REBA in my opinion.

I have a SodaMax with the air Helm at 120mm.

The fork is awesome, so plush and feels like it has way more travel. Get one so these if with in budget.

Got mine from Cotic when I ordered the frame so got the special decals they only do for Cotic included.

I would go for the Sid personally and slightly narrower rims to go with it too, just to drop the weight down. I’ve only a few rides on my Sid but I’m seriously impressed so far. Been on 26mm wide Stans arch mk3 rims for the last 4 years and now on 25mm Hunt XC wide and never wished for wider, that’s running 2.35/2.4 Maxxis tyres too.

lawman, which Sid model do you use? which forks can you compare it to?

I have a Sid Select+, it came as standard on a new Transition Spur. I previously had a Pike RC and have a Revelation RC on my hard tail. Sid feels as plush as the pike if not plusher and feels just as stiff as both on first impressions, I’m 170lb kitted up though so not the heaviest. I’m really liking it so far, no obvious downsides but it feels way lighter.

Based on your requirements for plushness I'd say your correct in ruling out the Reba / Rev. I have 2018 MoCo Revs and they're horrible (enough so that I have a charger damper on order to upgrade). If your going with RS then get something with a Charger in it for sure.

My Solaris Max has the Helm Mk2 fork at 130mm, and runs Hunt Trail Wide rims at 30mm. They're a great combo for the riding I like doing (wheels on the ground mainly, some trail centre but mainly local singletrack/xc).

Thanks, lawman, that‘s the comparison I was looking for. Reviews say the Sid ramps up quite progressively. Do you rate it as more progressive than the Pike? Are you able to use the full travel?

The Helm certainly looks great but it‘s too expensive.

I’d say it’s about the same as the Pike, I’ve not used full travel on the Sid yet but then I’ve only had 3 rides and not hit anything too big yet. Honestly though they feel super similar just the Sid is way lighter. Unless you specifically wanted more than 120mm travel or loads of adjustment, there’s no way I’d pick a Pike over a Sid.

Thanks for sharing your ride impressions. Very much appreciated. And that Transition Spur looks fantastic!

Thanks, it’s an awesome ride! My hard tail is a Cotic Soul, so you’ll love the Solaris! I am half thinking of changing to a Solaris down the line, am liking the ride of the bigger 29” wheels. I think the Sid would be the perfect fork, if you wanted more travel, the BfeMax would possibly be a better bet.

I'm surprised dumbbot describes the Pike as harsh as ****. I've not ridden it but generally it seems to be very well liked.

Can a 120mm pike easily be transformed into a 130mm pike? Are additional parts needed?

Just an airshaft swap to increase / decrease travel on a Pike. Under £50 and takes me about an hour to do the swap.

I’d go Pike so if you decide you want more travel at any point it’s easy. That SID sounds impressive if 120mm is sufficient.

If you want to go bigger than about a 2.4 I’d consider 30mm rims. DT Swiss XM481’s are a good choice for trail - I don’t know if they do a lighter 30mm rim or not.

@mikkkki

If you google the C1 2021 Debonair upgrade you'll find various other forums discussing it in more detail, essentially Rockshox made some changes over the previous B1 airshaft to combat a small suck down in travel at the Sag point, amongst other changes they made the negative chamber smaller. This results in a harsher ride over the previous version....It is definitely noticeable on my short travel Pike, the effect of the 'upgraded' C1 airspring was less noticeable on my friends longer travel Yari.( so not entirely comparable).

With the original airspring in it the 2020 Pike Ultimate certainly isnt a bad fork, but again..i just dont love it considering what I paid(about £700 a year ago).

You dont say what your budget is? I really rated the DVO that I had before the Pike and it was cheaper, had better availability of spares etc.

My budget is 600 Euros. I don't think I can get any of the DVO forks for that.

Z2s?

Yeah, I looked at that too. It's certainly heavier than Pike and SID. But is it any better?

“I want a plush fork as my shoulders are already not in the best shape”

In that case, go with a 140mm fork (Pike is good) and run more sag. More plush ride than running a 120mm fork with less sag (to get the same geometry).

I've an older style Soalris with a 120mm fork, I went for a Manitou Machette Pro, cost me under £300 and has been great. Much more reliable than the Rockshox (SIDs and Rebas) I've had an easier parts availablity than Magura or Mazzochi. Definitely recomended.

Pike is better than a Marzocchi Z2 generally. Stiffer, I imagine lighter (as the Z2 is a Fox 34 rhythm basically) and as long as you avoid the pike ‘select’ you’ll have a charger damper.

Z2s are reported to be stiffer than the Fox they derive from, thicker stanchions I think. They aren't light, merely durable. That's the main reason folks buy them. I wouldn't say mine are plush either. Having said that I finally settled on two internal spacers and rode High Vinnalls last Sunday and can't say I thought about the forks once, a sure sign that they are fine.

@chiefgrooveguru that actually sounds like a fantastic idea, thanks!

@joebristol according to the sram website the "select" does have a charger RC damper.

@mikkki

@joebristol according to the sram website the “select” does have a charger RC damper.

Iirc the charger rc damper in the Pike select isn’t a full charger damper with a bladder. It’s something more like the grip damper in the Z2 / Fox 34 Rhythm. The pike select is like the year before’s Revelation Charger RC.

So it’s better than moco but not as good as a ‘proper’ charger.

Yes - Pike Select has the same damper as the revelation charger rc did, and it misses out on the new more expensive skf seals. Same airspring though I think and it gets the newer damper fluid.

Little diagram of the damper - instead of a fully sealed bladder it has an ifp and a hybrid compression damper.

I believe it’s still pretty decent and better than moco - just not quite as good as a charger 2.1.

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As above- 30mm rims and some 2.5/2.6ish tyres are what I’d suggest. Mine has that on the front but I haven’t got around to a wider rim on the back- 21mm and a 2.2 almost feels like a different bike at the back!

I’m using an old 32mm Sid at 120mm and I’m generally pretty happy with it. It’s not the plushest thing though. The new 35mm Sid sounds like a perfect fork for the bike as an all rounder- top of the list for me when I need a new fork assuming no reliability problems come through with trying to make it too light.

Thanks for the detailed answers. I looked at the sram tech documents and actually it appears that SID and Pike have the exact same damper unit. Just that one gets RL and one RC but I guess that does't matter for running it "open". Interestingly the air spring side looks very different on those two forks with the sid select having a lot more parts than the pike select - both are labeled as debonair.....