In both stiffness and stiffness to weight ratio, Pike is the clear leader in the All Mountain Extreme category.
Updates for 2006: -Aluminum Control Knobs, -Air U-Turn Option, -Long Travel Dual Air Option
Key Features:
-Motion Control with adjustable Floodgate
-Forged, Hollow 6061 T6 Crown (454)
-Custom Butted Aluminum Steerer Tube (454)
-Maxle 20mm quick release thru-axle system
-Stiff 32mm 7000 series aluminum upper tubes
-Compatible with all PopLocs
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Sta. Rosa, Philippines
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2007
Strengths: Value
Weaknesses: Takes a while to set-up
Bottom Line:
Looks Good enough despite the price. A coil believer. coming from the Fox I hated this fork at first. The damping has a bit harsh, kept bottoming out, when I adjust the gate to stiffer settings, it would hurt my hands and forearms on rattly and choppy downhill sections. Just too many things to think about at first. Lock-out, Rebound, Gate... Had only preload and rebound to think about on the Vanilla R.
After a couple of months of Abuse the Pike has improved considerably, Got it set on the right setting for the trails i'm always on and have left it ever since. This is turning out to be a really good fork. Not thinking about upgrading or going back to Fox until I blow it. Kept on thinking of a switch early on.
Give it some time and bash it down the hills. It will grow on you and you'll learn to appreciate it.
Similar Products Used: Manitou Black Elite, Vanilla R 130
Bike Setup: Chumba XCL
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Submitted by
Paul Losordo
a Weekend Warrior
from Boston, MA, SA
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2007
Strengths: supple, responsive, no brainer set up, nice coil feel, travel adjust combined with lockout and blowoff great for wintering in the park
Weaknesses: too light weight to heavier free riders (200lbs+), bottoms up too fast
Bottom Line:
Bought the 454 U-turn Coil based on seeing lots of much better riders using and loving it. Initially loved it a lot more than my Fox 36. Found it bottoming out real easy with stock spring, added heavy weight spring...still bottoming out. On cross country ala Boston area (somewhat rockier than other places) fork is awesome. On more free ride ala Boston area (aka, Lynn Woods) and downhill (Highland Mountain) I no longer am happy with the fork. Bottoms out too easily, not enough travel for the steep rolls, just sitting on it things sags over 20mm when set to 140mm travel (yeah, i know, lose some weight. If you weigh in the 165lbs range, good fork. Over 200lbs, don't free expect to free ride this thing....
Bike Setup: Azonic Steelhead, single speed (32/20), Avid Juicy 5, rear:24" DX32 with 2.75, front:26" Mavic
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Submitted by
russell
a Downhiller
from vancouver, bc
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2007
Strengths: adjustablility (actually makes a noticible difference), travel adjustment, maxle, looks
Weaknesses: 140mm of travel. rs never really had any freeride forks but these performed quite well. a little more travel would be nice but whatevs. 2007 fr lineup looks promising. also that retarded red thing at the bottom is actually an alan key and it comes off easy so u should prolly just take it off before u ride
Bottom Line:
probably a good fork for all mountain but will perform well in the freeride scene as well. if a 150mm rs single crown fork was out that year, or just the totems or domains i prolly woulda got them just because of the travel. but the pikes didnt let me down and performance was a nonissue. brand new, they were easy to adjust and did not take long to break in.
Bike Setup: 06 cove foreplay, pikes, nines, racface evolve
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Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2007
Strengths: Stiff; plush; reliable; adjustable; cheaper than realistic opposition; a looker!
Weaknesses: I've had lighter long travel forks I suppose, the crown wears away pretty easily with brake hose rub. 150mm travel rather than 140mm might be nice.
Bottom Line:
Definitely an improvement over my Pace Fighter which I had on before (which were expensive, unreliable, but admittedly quite sexy). You can feel it's stiffer, it doesn't bottom out noticeably, it's easy to adjust, and is neither heavy nor silly light. For most of the riding I do it's great. Wind down the height for long climbs and then open it up for the rest. I like...
This review is for a U-Turn coil 454 model. After riding the TALAS for 2 years, I decided to try out a coil fork and a thru axle system. This fork is far stiffer than the TALAS. Going through rock gardens, and rolling over logs seems easier now. The fork responds well, and the stiffness is far more than I expected. The Maxle design is super easy to use. I also like having the travel stamped on the stantions. There's no more guessing, or counting clicks. Over braking bumps, the fork ismore responsive than the TALAS was. This might be because it's coil instead of air though.
Strengths: pike 454 dual air pop lock w/out uturn forgettably good they just work they never let you down flex creak etc the track the ground superbly in long or short travel settings. nice and easy to setup super stiff and light. plus for a top end fork they are a bit of a bargain price.
Weaknesses: when letting air out of the negative air chamber it sprayed oil al over my disc rotor and ruined a new set of pads. i think the internals should be in opposite legs. also the pop locks lever sometimes doesn't go without me turning the fork top dial by hand which defies th epoint in having pop lock, graphics are dull (07)
Bottom Line:
a fantsatic all round fork useable for anything from hardcore xc to slpestyle. a few little niggles but nothing that would stop me from recomending this fork to many riders. maxle system is spot on and rs reliability beat all but marzocchi.
Similar Products Used: fox 36 talas and float. 32mm vanillas. marzocchi all mountain 1 and zocchi mx comp.
Bike Setup: intense tazer vp, full xt group,hope mono mini's, pro 2 fr hub xc ti rear, mtx camo rims, thomson seatpost & x4 stem easton bars maxxis tyres
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Submitted by
John L
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2006
Strengths: Lightweight for 140mm of travel Its black Nice graphics/air chart right on the fork very smooth, easy to adjust, tons of adjustments, Maxle system
Weaknesses: rebound knob is removable/can fall off or rattle
Bottom Line:
I cant find too many problems with this fork. I use it mostly for aggressive XC and some urban jumping, its been incredibly stiff, and that 140mm will soak up a nicely sized jump. The poploc feature is pretty neat, for my type of riding, i close off the floodgate so it pretty much locks out the fork when im standing up and hammering the pedals, then i simply flip it off for 140mm of plush travel, works great for me! Simply put, its very easy to adjust this fork to your liking. The maxle system is great, its stiff as hell, and is even FASTER than a regular quick release.
my only nitpicking is the rebound knob. Not too sure if this is on all models, but mine is removable by simply pulling it off, if left on the fork it wil rattle around/fall off after a few big jumps. small problem...but kind of annoying... i have to stick it in my pack. But since thats my major complaint.... this is a great fork. Holds air well and stands up to abuse. thumbs up.
The maxle QR axle is the best thing ever to happen to bikes. I hated my Z.1 FR 2, pounding the axle out with a mallet and requiring 2 sizes of allen keys.
This is so easy to remove, a little tight due to the marzocchi hub.
The adjustments are awesome. The aluminum dials look aesome. Compared to the TALAS you instead have the rebound knowb on the bottom but get the lockout threshhold (floodgate) on the top. It ends up being better because you rarely need to adjust rebound while riding but often mess around with floodgate.
I like how light it is for what it can do. It feels like your riding 6+ inches of travel. I'll see if it is what they claim when I take my bike apart this fall.
For people who ride it all this fork is for you. I ride XC road training rides with it and appreciate the lockoutand u-turn to dial it down but them like the plushness and solid axle on days riding the lifts in Whistler.
If leaning more to XC go with the revalation.
If going bigger and you ride less road wait till the lyrik or domain next year.
Best fork. I got it in a buildkit for 1200 CAD so cost was really cheap.
Similar Products Used: Fox 36 TALAS, 32 TALAS, Vanilla, Rock Shox Revelation, Marzocchi Z.1 FR 2 & 3, Drop Off, All MTN 2
Bike Setup: Cove Hustler - Maxxis Advantage 2.1s, X9, Mag Brakes, Race Face
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Submitted by
colin belisle
a Downhiller
from fort bragg, ca, usa
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2006
Strengths: super nice travel and plush too. the 20mm QR axel is really nice too, and the u-turn is good for climbs, although it takes a while to crank it down to 110mm.
Weaknesses: none yet, lets keep it that way.
Bottom Line:
this fork rocks, a little expensive for the average person but i'm loving it.
Strengths: This review is for the U-Turn 454 Very adjustable..travel, progession, blow-off, damping. Neat travel graphics right on the stanchion tube. 20mm Maxle - cool. No cheap plastic parts to break.
Weaknesses: Rebound adjustment is on the bottom of the fork leg. (I know I'm whining and that's the way most forks are set up - but I got spoiled with the top mounted adjustment on the TALAS.)
Bottom Line:
I thought that my TALAS was top of the heap until I got this bad boy! It took me a little while to get it tuned cuz it has so much to fiddle with. Just be patient...
I really like the pos/neg air chamber. I can set it up for the proper sag/head angle for my ride and also adjust the spring rate (high or low) depending on the trail. The "flood gate" control is neat...I don't have the pop-loc feature, but I don't need it cuz I can reach down on the fly and flip the fork lock on and off or adjust the blow-off threshhold...couldn't do that on the TALAS. I don't need to stop between climbs and decents...
Little gripe - The rebound adjuster is on the bottom of the fork leg. I know it's not a big deal and that's the way that a lot of forkes are set up, but I got used to tweaking it on the fly with my Talas' top mounted adjuster. The fact that I can easily lock/unlock for hammering makes up for it.
The Maxxle is really neat. This is the first 20mm thru axle I've had and it's just as easy to get the wheel on and off as a QR.
The travel settings are marked right on the stanchion tube so you can measure sag, or set up your travel witha quick look.
This fork is not cheap, but it's still less expensive than the TALAS...but, I would be hard pressed to choose because they are both very good.
Can't speak to warranty or service issues cuz this is my first RS...but I've heard that factory support is very good. (I hope I don't need to find out.)
Bike Setup: Stock on my 06 Iron Horse MKIII Expert
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Submitted by
Scooter
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, AB, CAN
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2006
Strengths: Maxle, simply designed 20mm axle (no tools required). Travel Adjustment (140-110mm)via U-Turn. Lockout with threshold blow-off control (Motion Control & Floodgate). Lateral stiffness and smooth travel. Aluminum caps and levers.
Weaknesses: Difficult to find, not stocked in LBS. Positive & Negative Air Pressure settings sticker on the fork (wrong)does not match the manual (correct). Not as plush as the Fox 36.
Bottom Line:
Affordable trail fork with a 20mm axle. Better stiffness than other trail forks with similar travel but, QR dropouts (e.g. Marzocchi All Mtn). Travel adjustment is great for long climbs. Lockout is nice for short sprints or short climbs. This fork replaces the stock Marzocchi EXR Supra that was stock on my bike. What an improvement! Handles trail riding beatifully and can take a little abuse at the bike park (obviously not a freeride fork).
I use a roof mounted bike rack and the Maxle gets me on the trail faster. I highly recommend it to anyone that frequently removes their front wheel to transport their bike.
Similar Products Used: Fox Talas 36 (pricey & need tools to remove the wheel). Marzocchi Z1 (heavy & need tools to remove wheel). Manitou Nixon (pricey & need tools to remove the wheel).
Bike Setup: 2004 Rocky Mountain Slayer 30 customized for trail/bike park riding (Nokian NBX 2.3 tires 750g, Float RL with ProPedal, shorter stem & higher riser bar than OEM parts, RockShox Pike 454 Air U-Turn, Crank Bros Mallet pedals.)
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Submitted by
ian ross
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide, South Australia
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2006
Strengths: 140mm travel, holds air well, set and forget, 20mm maxel, pop lock for up hills
Weaknesses: None yet
Bottom Line:
Sweeet forks. Handles all terrains well, not for XC racing but good for all mtn riding. Handles rock gardens and 3-4ft drops well. Poplock is excellent for no bob pedalling up hill in a standing posi. Good value for $$ if buying off shelf and heaps better that any previous fork I've ridden. Cant see need for adjustable travel 454 but choice is there.
Strengths: THIS is a review of the 2005 PIKE AIR TEAM. It light,strong, stiff, super platform adjustment, much better than spv. and it it progressive, so you can set it up to ride at the top of travel, clearing rocks, and still very smooth on smaller bumps. Brillant.
Weaknesses: None. really.
Bottom Line:
So good it hurts, platform is super, tracks like crazy, Weighs of scaleweight:1940 grams with maxel, top-dollar! Big holes are swallowed like peanuts, and still small bump senitivity is top, you can adjust it neg and pos-airchambers, and rebound, and the motioncontrol, so setup is endless. the fork completes the 5.5 so fine, and it my best trailbike, so far
Similar Products Used: Nixon platinium(scary bad, but i got a lemon) sherman`s, marz Z1(too heavy) minute 1 (an ok fork)
Bike Setup: Intense 5.5, Chris ding wheels, Atlas cranks, Swinger 4 way TFT tuned rear shock. Wtb laser Ti saddle. Schwalbe fat albert 2.35 snakeskin front only, rear-Nokian nbx kevlar 2.3
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Submitted by
Zach
a Downhiller
from West Chester, Ohio
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2006
Strengths: Very light, tons of adjustment, Maxxle is amazing! Looks pretty good.
Weaknesses: Maybe I had a lemon, but first it broke before I had even ridden it. My boss at the shop was looking at it, he turned the uturn knob, and the air cartridge separated, making the fork about 160mm of travel that was locked out. Sent back to RS, got it warrenteed. Brand new internals on the air side. Got it on the bike, took two rides, pulled UP for a bunny hop, and the fork broke before it even hit the ground. Same thing, sent it back to RS got it warrenteed.
Bottom Line:
Even though I never got to use this fork for any urban or djing, it is deffinately not cut out for it. I think mine just might have been defective, it is a great all mountain/light freeride fork. That's it.
I have the PIKE 454 Dual Air and its now adjusted to no more than 110 mm of travel, I wish it to be 140 mm and cann't find the way to do this. The fork was bought with the bike (Mongoose Teocaly Super) and at the so called "proffesional store" no one heard about "changing the spacers internally"- as Rockshox mention at their web site. Does anyone knows how to preform this procedure?
