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Hello
Complete noob here who hasn't riddent MTB since a kid however I'm a pretty highly ranked road racer capable of putting down 375w for 20 @77kg. I've decided to come over to the dark side as letsl face it, you guys have more fun!
I live in the Surrey hills peaslake/winterfold/ranmore and currently building an ally SC Tallboy. I've taken delivery on a 2018 pike rct3 120mm I got for the great price of £485. However, I'm on a budget and have noticed the 2017 fox 34 float performance elite for £110 less. Should I return the pike for the fox? Which fork is better and will I even notice the difference? Will the fox be lighter with the narrower stanchion (trying to build light and the pike feels heavy)?
I see myself riding XC during the week but want a bike capable of more gravity orientated trails on the weekend.
I'm guessing the pike is a better fork (newer, damper? LSC) but will notice with my ability style of riding? Happily lose some features for weight reduction.
Any advice much appreciated.
stick with the pike, the fox will be pretty much similar weight, if your wanting to save weight you'll have to spend more on some 34 step cast fox
Top of the range Pike v Fox Performance - the Pike will be a fair bit better I reckon and not a lot of weight difference.
Stick with Pike I'd say too (as someone who only has Fox forks..) Not worth changing.
If you're looking at the Fox fork I think you are, it has a shorter offset (i think you're looking at a 29er where the Pike will be 51mm offset but that's particularly Fix will be 44mm). Deciding in fork offset will open up a real can of worms for you.
Send back the Pike and get the Fox, for £110, it's a no-brainer.
FWIW, I leave the LSC fully open on my RCT3 so you won't be missing out on that adjustment ime.
Deciding in fork offset will open up a real can of worms for you.
You ain't kidding! Not a clue what you typed before that bit.. 😆
Auto correct doesn't make it any easier. I've seen some cheap Fox 34s. I think they were cheap because of the 44mm offset. However, the Pike is most likely 51mm (if we're talking about 29er forks).
The Fox performance elite uses the same Fix4 damper as the top end fork. It's just the kashima that's mission so it still gets the 3 way adjustment.
The only spec difference between the two MIGHT be the air spring depending on the year of the Pike.
Onzadog is on the right track here, in a nutshell the 34 will be the better fork if it has the fit4 damper.
The 34 didn't get the bigger "evol" negative air chamber until 2018 model year, but you can probably retrofit that or add a luftkappe if you feel it lacks support.
I own the 2018 version of the Fox and a couple of Pikes, one with a Luftkappe. The Fox is a little bit better than the modded Pike.
Nothing wrong with the Fox.
Great fork for trailbiking or or or
And the Pike? Same is true...
Sweet, thanks for all the advice. Managed to find articles stating the 17 fox was 40g lighter than the 17 pike but the 18 got a 150g weight reduction so the pike must be 110g lighter.
I didn't realise the fox had the 41mm offset and if I remember back to my trail research the other night, smaller mm = larger trail and ideally I'm after a small trail so the pike would be better suited?
Part of the 150g weight saving on the 2018 Pike was a switch to a bolt in axle version (Fox have done similar with the step cast version of the 34). So if you run the 15mm QR Maxle then the difference is more like 110g, so by your maths, now 70g difference. Not really enough to choose one over the other as I reckon I could probably fart 70g.
Yes, the principle is, with all other things being equal, a longer offset means less trail and sharper steering. Shorter offset means greater trail and more high speed stability (although the difference may be so small most folks won't notice).
Try not to overthink it 🙂
I can't tell you which fork is best but I don't think you'll notice the weight difference when you're out riding. It's all going to be a lot heavier than you're probably used to coming from road racing, but if you're just riding for fun its not a big deal.
the difference may be so small most folks won’t notice
This! 😀
Was it Chris Porter who pointed out that they don't weigh bikes to decide a winner?
Yes, the principle is, with all other things being equal, a longer offset means less trail and sharper steering. Shorter offset means greater trail and more high speed stability (although the difference may be so small most folks won’t notice).
Trail is very similar to sidecut radius on a pair of skis. Powder skis will have a 20+ meter sidecut which gives them greater stability at speed but takes more effort to initiate a turn whereas slalom skis will be around 15m, turn super easy but unstable at high speed .
I think I'll stick with the Pike, it's already in my possession, lighter and has a smaller trail which should suit the singletrack riding around here and sharpen up this big 29er .
If you are just starting MTB then I doubt you will notice the difference between the two, but it is worth noting that Fox forks require much more regular servicing to maintain thier performance.
Used to be the case, I'm not sure it is anymore. Fox service intervals have been extended considerably since the switch to low friction seals and 20wt oil bath.