[Closed] RS Pike, anything else?

i think youve answered your own question there

Recently had the chance to try a Pike RCT3, 2015 36 RC2 and a Manitou Mattoc Pro (I think). All 160mm. I felt that the 36 was the better performing fork out of the 3 but as you said it's a lot of money. But I was very happy with the performance of the Mattoc and am actually thinking of buying one myself.

They were all fitted to the same model of bike and set up using the base settings (plus a little fiddling of dials later on) and I would be hard pressed to chose which I would buy. I've heard more people complaining about the Pike but there are a lot more of them out there being ridden by the general public than the other 2.

I can only comment on their performance that day, but I am pretty sure that they were all stock forks.

Tom KP

X-Fusion sweep is a great fork, as is the Mattoc. I have a brand new set (Mattoc) knocking about if you're interested for a great price 😉

If you've got a set of Mattoc in 26" I'd be very interested.

Fox pricing and stanchion longevity issues put them well out of contention for me.

We are running Pikes and X Fusion Slants on our bikes, I have to say that I cant tell the difference in performance between the two, probably because I'm a girl. Both sets are dual travel and the Slants are 650b compatible.

Mine

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Abigales

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Fox pricing and stanchion longevity issues put them well out of contention for me.

Same for me. The Pikes are mind bogglingly good and you can pick them up for about half the price of a 36. It'd be silly to get anything else really.

I haven't had any "wear" on my 36's as yet, but their pricing has gone loopy. If I could shoehorn 6fiddys into 26" 36', I'd get a second hand set but as I'll be running some pretty large volume tyres with wide rims, I'll get a 650 fork.
It does seem like the pike is a no-brainer.
Shame really, what on earth made marz think that they could pitch their 350 at a higher pricepoint than a pike? Crazy italians.

Pikes do seem to be hard to beat these days, good performance, good price, good parts availability etc.

Just built up a new bike, really wanted to re-use my marz 55 rc3's because they're fantastic, but dont fit 650b wheels, so had to get a new fork. I looked at all the options, couldnt justify the price of fox 36, or the new marz 350's.

I've owned fox 36 rc2's in the past, and didnt have any issues with stanchion wear etc, and Thought they were pretty good until I tried the marzocchis. I think if the fox or marz were priced more similarly to rockshox then I'd go for the 36's or 350's, but their prices are way too steep.

Found some pikes in 650b/160mm rct3 solo air form for £500 from winstanleys. Only done a couple of miles on them, but they feel good, and are very light for what they are.

+1 for the slants

Hmmm. These seem very good value.
http://www.merlincycles.com/2014-marzocchi-350-cr-tapered-275-71191.html?utm_campaign=googlebase-GB&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shopping&utm_term=Marzocchi+Suspension+Forks&gclid=CL7gkurD2cICFYbKtAodKmgAaA
Not the bells and whistles NCR, but nice nevertheless.
Be interested to hear the opinion of the suspension gurus.
I've not ridden a hardtail for years, is it more important to get a good fork considering the lack of rear bounce?

Ohh.... Merlin have the 2014 350CR back in stock they are a bargain!

From memory the options are

Fox 36 RC2 - The Fox 36 is probably the new class leader in terms of performance but expensive and short maintenance intervals.

BOS Devile - High performace but is expensive and crap to service/warranty.

RS Pikes - The baseline

Manitou Mattoc - The Manitou Mattoc seems to be highly rated not heard anything bad about it. It has a super snazzy bottom out feature so if you have issues with harsh bottom out this might be a good option.

Marzocchi 350 CR/NCR/NCR Ti - I have the CR it is a very stiff fork and very active my usual riding is the peaks which are quite rocky I get noticeably less arm pump with this fork.

X Fusion Sweep/Slant - I have heard that X Fusion slant/sweep is very capable but not quite as composed or as stiff as the Pike.

X Fusion Vengeance - The Vengeance is heavy.

Suntour Auron - From what I have read the SR Auron is not very refined but not terrible.

Have you tried the 2015 36's? Try them and you will then realise.

I've had 2 sets of pikes on a different bikes. Put a set of 36's on and it's night and day difference. Plusher, better damping, sit higher in their travel, more adjustment possible.

IMO of course, it's definitely worth the extra cash for the 36's.

Marzocchi 350 CR/NCR/NCR Ti - I have the CR it is a very stiff fork and very active my usual riding is the peaks which are quite rocky I get noticeably less arm pump with this fork.

Plusher, better damping, sit higher in their travel, more adjustment possible.

IMO of course, it's definitely worth the extra cash for the 36's.

MRP Stages? Seems to get some favourable resonses.

I'd probably buy Pikes, or some second hand BOS. There isn't an issue in servicing them now, and to be fair, they are nice & simple to work on at home, they are an open bath design & Fox 34 seals fit the lowers fine.

We have Pikes on one bike & BOS on mine. I prefer the feel of a Deville, in reality though I don't go any quicker with them on the bike.

I haven't tried the new 36 RC2. Out of those I have tried the Pike and X fusion Sweep.

I don't find that the 350 CR dives that much, it just seems to sit in the mid stroke and behaves quite actively. I find that you can have confidence to grip the bars with a light grip and it encourages you to pump the trail knowing that you wont get any harsh feedback. I have done back to back runs on some rock descents with the RS and the Marzocchi and it is noticeable to me how well it soaks it up. I find the spring rate is fairly linear as well which I guess should not be surprising for a Marzocchi fork. The pike is probably more efficient and sophisticated but I think it is also about characteristics and where you ride.

EDIT - I Guess I should also say I'm on my 2nd set of 350 CR some of them had out of spec bushings that caused adverse wear on the fork. The sign of this is a huge amount of stiction when new followed by wear marks on stanchions. I had a replacement set about 10 days after sending them off for warranty.

Have you got a service guide for the Devilles, Hob Nob?

Going to do mine over the holidays. Might do seals while I'm at it, although there's no signs that it's needed.

X Fusion Sweep are an excellent fork. Ime Pike feels a bit more composed over really rough stuff or repeated fast impacts but otherwise the X Fusion is just fantastic for the monies.

Ben... How much for the Mattoc fork if its 650b?

I have both X-fusion Slant and RS Pike on different bikes. The Pike just shades it in terms of overall damping quality (it's very good indeed). The X-fusion for the money is fantastic though. All the fork you need for 95% of the time. It's basic as it only has rebound but it's reliable and simple to service.

Have you got a service guide for the Devilles, Hob Nob?

Going to do mine over the holidays. Might do seals while I'm at it, although there's no signs that it's needed.

I found some guidance on here - they areally are a piece of cake to work on. I found getting the Motul oil harder than actually servicing the forks. I used Fox 34 seals with no issues.

Cool... have seen the BikeBert stuff over on PB, and it's reasonably clear, but the more info, the better. And I have the Motul oil - which one did you use? Think it's 7.5w I have, the Loco recommended one.

Not sure if I need the seals, but then again, shame not to change them while the forks are apart.

I used 7.5w in the damping leg and a few ml of 20w in the other leg for lubrication. I'd chuck in some new seals whilst they're in bits.

The info I found on here was helpful apart from it recomended 5w oil - everything else appeared to be OK (well my forks didn't kill me although they do need some professional TLC because they leak out of the rebound adjuster these days).

I'd go Pike. My RCs are as plush as my top-end coil 55s, they cost £320 new, and they weigh nowt.

Thanks for that frosty125. Seriously tempted by those Marz.

I have just gone from the pike to the 350 NCR,
With the pike I was finding I was getting Arm pump quite bad so decided to ditch them in favour of the 350.
The 350 NCR is such a plush fork just eats the bumps up, still sits in up in the travel like the pike but does not feel so much chatter.
Also the build quality of the fork is quite high with all the dials machined from Ali. The Lock out just firms the compression so the fork still remains active, Really like these forks feel like a mini dh fork 😉

wrecker - did you go for a Switchback in the end? Is that what these forks are for?

Element, have you tried climbing without the lockout, just ask as I'm looking at the CR's and want to know if they are gonna be a pita for climbing.

I'd go Pike. My RCs are as plush as my top-end coil 55s, they cost £320 new, and they weigh nowt.

This, except mine aren't [i]quite[/i] as effortlessly plush as my old 55s.

Little bit more arm fatigue on really jarring rides (thinking Dollywagon Pike for example).

Still v happy with Pike though.

wrecker - did you go for a Switchback in the end? Is that what these forks are for?

I have a 350CR. Haven't ridden it yet but the build quality is great, they feel stiff as hell and not much heavier than the Revs they replaced. They're so easy to strip down (I had to install a spacer) which I recommend doing as they had nowhere near 25cc's of oil in.

Steve, what oil do the 350's take? I am looking at a new set of forks and i want a set i can strip down and do the seals and re-lube easily.

Thanks 🙂

Silikolene rsf 7.5wt iirc, this thread has all the info forums.mtbr.com/27-5-650b/marzocchi-better-late-than-never-908511-4.html#post11652577

Hmm. That thread has got me thinking again. Money to upgrade the seals, money to buy the spacers, no oil in the legs, possible removal of a bump stop to stop it clicking. Plus the issues frosty had.
Decisions decisions.

Selling my pike 650b's in the classifieds 🙂 ---->

You should get the spacer with the fork, if not Windwave will send you one for free, they did for me. Why do you have to upgrade the seals? Mine feel great with no stiction. What bump stop?!

Too pricey for me hora thanks. The 34 CTDs are tempting though, mind CRC have them brand new for £430.
Just seems like the 350CRs have a few issues. The lack of oil is pretty basic IMHO. I'd want to send them straight back if I received them like that.

Brake-neck. Can't comment on the cr climbing performance as the 2 models use different damping internals but I have no trouble with the Ncr 350 climbing performance it's much like the climb switch on the db air still a bit of movement for traction but not enough to upset the climbing. I quite like it never been a fan of complete lockout fork.

Too pricey for me hora thanks. The 34 CTDs are tempting though, mind CRC have them brand new for £430.

That's because no bugger wants them. From what I've heard from people who've ridden them, the damping is comparatively poor, they're not as stiff as Pikes, they're not all that light and they're hardly fit and forget. Apparently there is a damper mod for them that addresses one of these issues and turns them into a respectable fork, but for the price Fox wants for them they're well wide of the mark, even at £430 they're knocking on the door of discounted Pike territory before you factor in any damping upgrade.

I've not tried the 350CR but I have owned a set of 55CRs. They were very good for the price, if a little basic in terms of adjustment. I found them to be a tad wallowy and dive-prone straight out of the box, I had to prop up the front with more pressure than I liked until I added some oil to the air spring cartridge. With a little fettling you could end up with a very nice fork, which is in keeping with Marzocchis of old. Reliability wise, it's hard to comment with only ten months of ownership, but mine never missed a beat. After selling my AM bike, I even considered chocking them down to 130mm and putting them on the front of my Camber.

There's a gap in the market for a budget enduro fork out there, if the 350CR is more of the same then Marzochhi could have a hit on their hands.

If they are even slightly flexy its giing to open the door to wear/reliability issues too. Plus CRCs warranty no diybt will be 1yr especialky with mojos 'did you service it daily' get out.. A review: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/review-fox-34-talas-160-ctd-adj-fit-275-14-48084/

£1,020?????

Thanks...but no. Fox deserves to have Rockshox et al wipe the floor with them for that.

What fork is for you now hora? You have had the Fox 34s, Marzocchi 55 CR and the Pike 😉 FOX 36 RC2?

I would go Bos. Regardless of price. They feel the best, perform the best. If not those then 36s. Pikes are just wallow and are unresponsive.

That's because no bugger wants them. From what I've heard from people who've ridden them, the damping is comparatively poor, they're not as stiff as Pikes, they're not all that light and they're hardly fit and forget. Apparently there is a damper mod for them that addresses one of these issues and turns them into a respectable fork, but for the price Fox wants for them they're well wide of the mark, even at £430 they're knocking on the door of discounted Pike territory before you factor in any damping upgrade.

Yeah, that's the bastard. The 2014s are supposed to be a marked improvement over the 2013s, but still not great. My worry is that after riding my 36 RC2s for so long, pretty much anything cheaper than £1k is going to feel a bit crap.
The marz parts are even more expensive than the fox stuff. £50 for SKF seals?
I'm no closer to a decision now than when the thread started!

They feel the best, perform the best. If not those then 36s.

TBH I always read the pinkbike review as a good pointer. Michael Levy's/pinkbike is a good review on the 14 34 fork.

My worry is that after riding my 36 RC2s for so long, pretty much anything cheaper than £1k is going to feel a bit crap.

You could just get a Pike for less than half that though. Mine's a fair bit better than my old 36 RC2.

Can't someone let you have a go on one if you're concerned? They're bloody everywhere.

Will a BOS deville 26" fit a 650 wheel with a decent sized tyre on it?

Yes.

Although the clearance won't be great ~5mm.

Tyre deflection if you run lower psi plus what if you went through a muddy section and something claggy became lodged..over time of this happening? I wouldn't. Road bike clearance- tight yes on a mtb? I wouldn't but thats me.

Tempted to try it. Am I right is assuming that a wide (29mm internal) rim would lower the tyre profile? As such, would it not make it more feasible or is it tight on the sides too?

wrecker - what travel are you thinking of running these at?

It's the top of the arch clearance that's a bit tight, however that was with a 2.5 Magic Mary, which is on the large size, for any tyre.

A more 'normal' big tyre would give fairly decent levels of clearance.

Wide rims don't seem to reduce the height of the tyre oddly IME, they just square it off. Whether that's good or bad, remains to be seen.

No way I'd go down to that clearance, my pikes can be tight and have clagged up a few times with the right sized wheels !

Not tried bos or new 36 but with a bit of playing around, the tokens are essential IMHO, the pikes are really nice not quite as plush as my old rc3ti Marz but sit up in their travel much better

Fox are just silly expensive

Fox are just silly expensive

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

wrecker - what travel are you thinking of running these at?

It's the top of the arch clearance that's a bit tight, however that was with a 2.5 Magic Mary, which is on the large size, for any tyre.

Fox are just silly expensive

I've got a friend who changed from 26" Deville's with 26" wheels to the 650b equivalents of both and he rekons they're using the same lowers as the clearance is so much less on the 650.

How right he is, I have no idea 😕

The ‘sweet spot’ (not my words) for a Switcback is 130 – 140mm. I’d not wish to run with much more travel than that as it will obviously slacken an already notably relaxed head angle even further.

Thanks deluded. I did ask Stanton and they told me that it used to ship with a 150mm fork. They did not tell me that there was a sweet spot.
If it is indeed 140, then I would have appreciated being told!

wrecker - just something to think about. The below are quotes from Dan contained in a Stanton Bikes Facebook thread -

Too true Pete! 160 is for super steep and tec, most of the time it's just not needed on the Switchback due to its already slack geo

130-140mm seems to be the winner, Buch from Dirt is saying the same thing!

yes a 140mm would give you the best all round, I'm running a 140 BOS Deville on my Ti Switchback Sample (when they arrive-hopfuly tomorrow) the frame is designed around 140mm so 130mm-140mm is the sweet spot!

It's no probs, you can change the travel on most forks nowadays. I was anticipating a bit of fettling until I got it right.

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

Highly unlikely to get a 650B or a model that you can still get spares for.

There's a set of new looking Kashima 34s on Flat Out Cycles for not a lot of dough...

There's a set of new looking Kashima 34s on Flat Out Cycles for not a lot of dough...

JEJames had some 36 Talas cheap.

Talas forks feel nasty though.

If I do end up buying a Switchback, I think I'll end up with Pikes despite my irrational hatred of Rock Shox forks. Nothing comes close for the money if the reviews / love on here is anything to go buy.

With regards to BOS, having had a second hand pair I reckon they are worth the money. I loved my 36 Van RC2's. I thought they were amazing and they are back on the bike whilst the BOS go in for a proper service (leaky o ring in the rebound assembly) and they feel rubbish. They dive and just seem really uncontrolled compared to the Devilles.

If you've got a set of Mattoc in 26" I'd be very interested.

Jairaj yes I do. Call us on 0333 444 0650.

Suntour Auron - From what I have read the SR Auron is not very refined but not terrible.

I had the opportunity to buy an Auron fork at a great deal and the simple nature of the fork appealed to me so I bought one.
The reviews are pretty amusing TBH. It sums up the fact that many reviewers are either crap, lazy or just write nice things in return for product. "I had trouble getting full travel" Well stop being a pussy! "Small bump sensitivity isn't great" well, did you put any oil in the lowers? They come stock with just grease, but Suntour recommend using an oil bath if you want extra performance over super simple servicing.

Suffice to say I really like the fork. Before I picked up the fork, the local suspension shop added some Fox Gold oil to the lowers and dropped the travel down to 140mm (something else the reviewers don't mention that you can do...). The chassis is pretty solid and handles waaaaaaaay better than the 650B Revelation RCT3 that it replaced (different offset helps, as well as the more obvious difference in stanchion size). It may not be a Marzocchi Shiver with soft springs, but small bump sensitivity still seems great to me, again better than the Rev. The fork also takes bigger hits with ease and no harsh bottoming out. I don't really know what else a fork is meant to do. Sure, the ported rebound makes a bit of noise but I've never wished for 'better' rebound damping.
The fork certainly gets the thumbs up from me and you are not paying for gimmicks like gold coloured stanchions (it was switching to SKF seals that improved the performance of Fox forks, but they kept that a bit quieter.....).

If the fork can handle the gnarly gnarly gnarly trails of North Vancouver it'll probably totally own Cut Gate 😉

I'm stuck in the same process as you wrecker, trying to decide on a set of forks for a switchback build.

At the moment it's between a pike and the marzocchi 350cr's.

Has anyone ridden a pike rct3 and an rc back to back? Is there much of a difference in performance between the two? There is a big difference in price so I'm guessing there is.

Has anyone ridden a pike rct3 and an rc back to back? Is there much of a difference in performance between the two? There is a big difference in price so I'm guessing there is.

The biggest reason for the difference in price is unlikely to be the actual function of the fork, but more that the RC is OEM only at the moment, so the stock that is out there has probably been procured pretty cheap, and arguably less desirable as it comes without nice stuff like a box, manual or shock pump.

Thanks for the info tenacious Doug, sorry if this is a stupid question but what is the trail mode? I can live without lockout.

For "threshold" read trail or pedal mode...

RCT3 – Designed for riders looking for more bump gobbling performance. ?The new
RCT3 damper features three distinct knob positions – Open, Threshold and Lock. The rider is able to quickly and easily access these three modes to manipulate damping performance for specific terrain:
Open for bump-gobbling performance
Threshold for efficiency and moderate bump compliance
Lock for ultimate pedaling efficiency
In addition to its three distinct modes, RCT3 features an independent adjustment of low speed compression.

Sounds suspiciously like CTD........

Sounds suspiciously like CTD........

Also sounds like something I can live without.

I think I'll go for the pike rc's then, they're £383 delivered from alltricks.com

Quick update. Merlin have a 10% offer at present which brings the marz 350crs to £333. Pretty hard to beat that for a good quality, brand new fork with full warranty.
An email to merlin, and they have confirmed that they are the full boxed version with all accessories.
Order placed, hopefully they'll be here soon! I won't be able to give a review until March when the switchbacks come back into stock though!

Thats really good vfm.

I know I'm late to the party but for anyone elses reference, I've got a set of Devilles on my Five. Even after x months I'm still making little adjustments to them but they're getting better with every little tweak I make - far, far better than anything I've ever used before.

I have both the Sweeps and the new 36s and used both on my Spitty. Whilst I like the Sweeps they are outclassed by the Fox's in terms of plushness and stiffness but for the extra £££s that the Fox's are you'd expect that.

If you're on a tight budget then the Sweeps are brilliant and I'd highly recommend them. If your interested I could probably do you a deal on mine as my plans for a winter ht have gone out the window now I've got a mini-me on the way. Email in profile.

wrecker - did you consider the 350 NCR's at Merlin? I looked at those for my build.

Just been out for my first proper ride on the pikes, and contrary to my expectations they are remarkably close in performance to the coil marzocchi 55rc3 ti I had on my old bike. very supple over small stuff, ride high in their travel and dont give it up easily.

They are very very good, I am fairly impressed with them.

wrecker - did you consider the 350 NCR's at Merlin? I looked at those for my build.

How about a set of 2nd hand forks and an avalanche damper upgrade. Personallt would love one for my lyriks

Mine are now reduced 😀