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Totem or Lyrik or 66... air or coil

Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
My wife needs a new fork on her 08 SX Trail. She mostly rides resort and shuttles DH. I want the plushest fork for her. She weighs about 140 with gear and is a decent rider. She use to run a 08 66 RC3, but with the lightest spring she only used about 1/2 travel.

So Lyrik or Totem or 66... coil or air?
If I go coil what springs are available? Do they make one light enough?
I see the coil Totem and Lyrik come with 2 springs. Does it come with the lightest spring?
 
C

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
Just out of curiosity, why no 180 van or float? My wife has a talas 180 on her 2010 SX trail and loves it. lightweight just look good.

The totem coil DH i owned only used about 75% of its travel and i weigh about 190. Not a smooth fork but I may have had a bad one.

my lyrik solo air is ok, nothing special but it works. It was my wifes fork on her sx until we got her the talas which works a lot better for her.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
How plush is the air Totem? My Lyrik air feel good when going fast, but its not that plush on the slow stuff. Since she is a slower rider, Im thinking air might not be a good idea.
 
R

roel_koel

Monkey
Mar 26, 2003
278
1
London,England
Kntr said:
How plush is the air Totem? My Lyrik air feel good when going fast, but its not that plush on the slow stuff. Since she is a slower rider, Im thinking air might not be a good idea.
Click to expand...

Totem Solo Air is definitely somewhat 'sticky', takes a reasonable bump to get it moving

I actually preferred it to my Totem Coil for FR, as i found the medium coil spring too soft for handling good sized drops and stunts

and the firm coil spring was too firm (harsh) for DH runs, although it handled the drops

with a shock pump, i could get the spring rate just right for freeriding or downhill, and easily adjust the spring rate for different riding situations

however, it did not have the plush feel of the Totem Coil for DH runs, especially on small roots / ripples


what about Fox 36 Float with Kashima legs? I am very happy with my fox forks :)
 
E

Eli.

Chimp
Aug 14, 2011
12
0
My Lyrik air is anything but plush. If your wife is concerned with plushness rather than performance/weight it would probably make more sense to buy a coil fork. Lyrik coil is still pretty light and has plenty of travel.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I think I've decided on a 2012 Fox Van R 180 with the lightest spring. I just don't think air is the way to go for plushness.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Is the Fit cart that much better than the open bath?

Is the Kashima coating that much better?

I cant decide between the 180 Van R and the 180 Van RC2 Kashima
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
Kntr said:
Is the Fit cart that much better than the open bath?

Is the Kashima coating that much better?

I cant decide between the 180 Van R and the 180 Van RC2 Kashima
Click to expand...
the several 160 Float Kashimas we have gotten in have felt fantastic over the non-coated forks

i would go for the VanRC2 since it is Kashima coated and has hi/low compression adjustments.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
IH8Rice said:
the several 160 Float Kashimas we have gotten in have felt fantastic over the non-coated forks

i would go for the VanRC2 since it is Kashima coated and has hi/low compression adjustments.
Click to expand...
Ya for me no doubt, but I dont think the wife needs all those adjustments. :)

ALEXIS_DH said:
FIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>R by faaaaaar.
on the kashima, i dont have much experience to comment...
Click to expand...
I thought Fit R was OEM. I dont see a Fit R on the Fox website.
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Dec 8, 2004
8,891
2,546
I'm dude playing dude pretending to b another dude
Kntr said:
Ya for me no doubt, but I dont think the wife needs all those adjustments. :)
.
Click to expand...
LOL I say the same thing for my wife but ultimately its me being cheap. ;)

RC2 will have better resale, if she doesnt like it you inherit it and its a damn good fork.
Kashima feels smoother out of the box compared to non coated I have squashed both side by side at bikebling.
 
xy9ine

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
roel_koel said:
Totem Solo Air is definitely somewhat 'sticky', takes a reasonable bump to get it moving
Click to expand...
mine is buttery awesomness. given the seal area they are sensitive to lubrication. i do regular wiper lubrication (drop of triflow on wiper, cycle, wipe, done) to keep them supple. keeps things clean & improves seal longevity as well. great fork
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I see Fox makes an Xtra soft spring for the Van for 90-120 lb riders.

What springs are available for the Lyric?
 
jekyll991

jekyll991

Monkey
Nov 30, 2009
478
1
Belfry, KY
Kntr said:
I see Fox makes an Xtra soft spring for the Van for 90-120 lb riders.

What springs are available for the Lyric?
Click to expand...
There's also an extra soft spring for it. I'm 120 soaking wet (actually i've lost weight while trying my dammdest to gain it... go figure) and it seemed to soft to me, I bottomed it on my mellow home-built trails. I threw the red spring my used fork came with back in there and love it. I'm pretty sure it's meant for a 180lb rider but I still get plenty of sag and plushness but it stays higher in the stroke which helps maintain stability under braking in my experience.
 
jekyll991

jekyll991

Monkey
Nov 30, 2009
478
1
Belfry, KY
IH8Rice said:
are the extra soft springs pink?
Click to expand...
For the lyrik? xsoft is white(<140lb), soft is silver(140-160lb), standard is blue (160-180lb), stiff is yellow (180-200lb), and extra stiff is red (200+lb).

Kind of strange the spring intended for a 200+lb rider feels fantastic, and most people seem to say you need to go softer than what sram's chart recommends.

If you go for the lyrik, I have an xsoft u-turn spring assembly I could stand to lose.
 
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
@Kntr,

I can give my 2 cents here. I've used both the 2011 Van 180 RC2, and the 2010 Marzocchi 66 RC3 Ti. From the get go, I've not a bad thing to say about these 2 forks. As for any bicycle component, it boils down to personal pref. :)

First off, stiffness-wise, no difference imo. And you saying you want the plushest fork for her, the 66 RC3 Ti is the plusher of the 2. There's a little weight penalty with the Marzocchi, it's open bath vs. the FIT cartridge of Fox. Kashima is defo smooth as well, and they come with 2 extra springs; a firmer green and softer pink(?). With the compression adjustments however, I have to give the :thumb: to Fox. Compression adjustments on the Marzocchi are kinda vague for me, it kind of on/off. Fox got theirs dialed on this one. And the RC2 is defo miles better than just the R model. Especially doing DH laps all day, with drops, jumps and all that, you need that compression adjustment for sure.

Either of the 2 she'd be stoked. Good luck.
 
Mo(n)arch

Mo(n)arch

Turbo Monkey
Dec 27, 2010
4,441
1,422
Italy/south Tyrol
The new 66 got the Evo Cartridge like the 888s. So they should be easier to set up right. I'm on a 888evo. Plushest fork I've ridden to date, but still lots of support troughout the travel.
 
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
Mo(n)arch said:
The new 66 got the Evo Cartridge like the 888s. So they should be easier to set up right. I'm on a 888evo. Plushest fork I've ridden to date, but still lots of support troughout the travel.
Click to expand...
Yep Evo=shim stack tweaking, have no idea how but shouldn't hurt to have more HS compression adjustments. If the RC3 isn't cutting it anymore, could always get an EVO cartridge direct from them.

Like you said plenty of support throughout the travel, absolutely correct. I found the air preload help A LOT more vs. the compression adjustment :hmm:
First ride on my 66, no air preload, did a decent jump to flat (close to 20ft maybe), felt and heard the bottom out clunk. Wasn't happy. I put a little air preload, 5 shock pump strokes worth; did the trick! I felt more mid to full stroke support, but still really smooth/plush in the initial, first 2ish inches of the travel. It's really very, very smooth. Just be careful with the amt. of air you put it, too much and it's a pogo stick.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I called Zoke. He told me to try the new 2012 air 55. I told him I dont want air. Then he says they dont make a spring light enough for the 55 or 66 for a 120lb rider.

Its either the Van or the Lyrik with an xtra soft spring.
 
boylagz

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
^Im not a 100% sure. The Kashima on the 2012s are bolder in color, I meant a deeper gold. I dunno if thats better imbedding of the Molyb. Disulfide to the alu. stanchions, but if its cheaper hell go for it! Ive heard they improved the seals as well.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Anyone know who has the best price on a 2011 or 2012 36 Van RC2 180 Kashima 1 1/8" steer? My LBS sells them for $899.
 
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