Submitted by
amrgb
a Weekend Warrior
from Pittsburgh Date Reviewed: October 10, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Bottom Line:
And your opinion from a demo is more informed than that of long term users? Give me a break.
I'm on my 5th (fifth) Lyric, with a myriad of problems ranging from loose bushings (on all of them), blown damper, loss of travel, broken air chamber thread.
These forks have made me loose more than half of the riding time in the past 3 months. I can't recommend these to anyone even if they were selling for $200 a pair (actually I'm quoting from a mechanic who posted this in the forums).
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Submitted by
Arioth
a Downhiller
from Skopje Date Reviewed: October 5, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Vodno
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
The best AM fork on the market
Weaknesses:
Some
Bottom Line:
This product has fake numbers because it was rated from 3 guys only. They give the fork negative point in all theirs posts
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Submitted by
Hurtinunit
a Cross Country Rider
from Alberta Rockies Date Reviewed: September 26, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Bottom Line:
3rd Review...
Completed a 95km XC race after getting the fork back on my 2nd warranty....
Went to Whistler a week later and the fork dropped out!!! Literally, zero suspension, oil everywhere. I was in GD Whistler!!!! I had to "fork out" over a $100 bucks to get a rental for my last day there....Would SRAM refund me? Yeah right.
So why design an XC fork with 6 in of travel?
Obviously this 2-step thing isn't made for an all mountain / FR bike...
BUT.....I must say this fork is very nice when it works!!!!!
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Submitted by
El_Scottamontes
a Cross Country Rider
from Date Reviewed: September 12, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Bottom Line:
At my request, customer service is sending me a 2009 Solo air as a replacement along with drivetrain parts to compensate for the difference in value. I hope the solo holds up better and feel that it will as most of the problems I have seen are with the 2-steps for some reason.
The 5 stars are for the customer service as I have no more opinions on the 2-step.
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Submitted by
El_Scottamontes
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson Date Reviewed: September 8, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Trek Bikes of Tucson
Strengths:
Worked great out of the box. A little tricky to set up, but very smooth, tuneable, stiff. The two step is easy to use and easy to forget. If the reliability holds up, a great fork.
Weaknesses:
At Sram for warranty repair for a few weeks now. Forced me to leave my first ever negative response about any product.
Similar Products Used:
Reba Team, Fox Float 32, TALAS 32
Bike Setup:
08 Trek Remedy 8
Bottom Line:
After around 80 miles of trail use consisting of mostly xc, the fork seemed to lose the first inch of travel and developed an audible top out clunk on extentsion. Pressure was good, but something was off. My local shop was great in sending the fork out to Sram, but I have spent the last 4 weekends waiting for the return. No word yet as to what the problem was outside of the delay of RockShocks stating that they were waiting for steer tubes to complete. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to go through this. In 10 years of MTB I have never had a fork go back for anything. I expect $1,000 bike parts to work and will hold nothing back when they do not.
Sram: Every time the local rep or myself called Sram, a different story of the repair status was given up to and including a statement that it would ship out one Friday only to hear back in a week that they were waiting for a part. Sram claimed they would overnight due to the delay and then sent the fork ground anyway. This does not make me feel good about what is going on at Sram.
I will follow up with the fork's performance on return and the longevity of the fork. One more warranty issue and I will replace the fork with a Talas 36 and hope Trek stands behind the decision. If the problem is resolved, I will remain a faithful RockShox user and if not I will boycot the company as a whole and flame this item mercilessly in every forum I can.
Do not buy this fork unless you have a good shop behind you.
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Submitted by
hurtinunit
a Cross Country Rider
from Alberta Rockies Date Reviewed: August 18, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Silver Star Resort
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Bottom Line:
The is a follow up to my initial post. When the fork works...it feels great and 2-step is awesome to have for XC
Ok the problems:
1st - Warranty - In shop repair because 2 step no longer worked.
2nd - Warranty - In shop repair because fork losing travel (an entire inch of travel in one day!!!)
Stay away!!!! Save money, lose some bodyfat and buy the Domain
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Submitted by
amrgb
a Weekend Warrior
from Pittsburgh Date Reviewed: August 5, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up to my first review. So the fork went to SRAM and got back with new lowers after 2 weeks. Although one of the problems reported to them was the loose bushings (probably why they changed the lowers) it came with even looser bushings. I got it home and immediately back to the LBS, and it's going back to SRAM.
What's up with you, SRAM. Are you still in denial. You can't just reach for new lowers in the warehouse and slap them in without testing things out. You could get away with it if you had 1-2% defective parts, like in the Rebas, Revelations and Pikes. With Lyrics and Totems, probably its 30-50% defective parts.
I'm not officially more had more down time on my new Remedy 8 than ride time. 2 weeks of riding, 3 weeks (and counting) of downtime due to this utter piece of crap of a fork.
Ratings are still 1, because there is no zero yet.
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Submitted by
amrgb
a Weekend Warrior
from Pittsburgh Date Reviewed: July 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
It feels awesome... on the rare occasion where it works.
Weaknesses:
One word is not enough to summarize its weaknesses. But two will suffice: HIGHLY UNRELIABLE.
Similar Products Used:
In this category, none. Have a Reba though.
Bike Setup:
Trek Remedy 8. The fork came stock on it.
Bottom Line:
Avoid it like the plague. That is, assuming that you like to ride your bike instead of shipping this POS to SRAM.
Let me detail what went wrong:
1. Loose bushings out of the box
2. Lost 20mm of travel in the first ride (got them back by deflating and reinflating though)
3. Blown Mission Control cartridge after 150 miles (spitted all the oil through the adjustment knobs)
4. Creaky crown after 100 miles
These are not one-off problems. They are recurrent. I think that fact strikes as obvious given the amount of things that went wrong in a new fork. Moreover, in the forums there are people that have been through their fifth new fork. Highly unlikely that these are isolated problems.
Although the SRAM customer service is good, it is not enough. You pay for the shipping to Chicago at $30-$40 each time (I don't intend to pay anything, if the LBS wants to pay is their problem). After 5 times we are talking about $150-$200. Not peanuts. And, most of all, you are not ridding your bike.
From the feedback on the forums, SRAM occasionally offer the choice of some of their products as a compensation, when the customer is particularly active posting in the forums and complaining directly to SRAM (ask the LBS to put you in contact with the SRAM representative). Free shocks and XO parts as compensation have been reported. So, it's up to you to complain about it.
I'm still on my first round, but when I get to the third round, which shouldn't take long, I intend to put the pressure on them. And I want one of two things. Either another fork to use as a backup while the other is being warrantied, and extended warranty. Or a refund at the MSRP. I didn't pay MSRP (it came on the bike), but I'll have to pay MSRP for a fork from a different manufacturer that works (lots problems afflicting Marzocchi, but Fox is doing better right now). I think this fairer than getting other goodies as compensation. I just want to ride my bike, and for that I need a working fork. It's as simple as that.
Now, the ratings. It would be 0 if possible. But if SRAM ever manages work out the unreliability of this fork, it would be 5 overall and 3 for value. $1050 MSRP is ridiculous.
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Submitted by
ScottW
a Weekend Warrior
from ABQ, NM Date Reviewed: June 12, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Plush travel, adjustments that work, Maxle, 2 step
Weaknesses:
Pretty expensive if you pay full retail price but so are all the other forks.
Similar Products Used:
Marz z-1 light, Marz 55 ATA
Bike Setup:
Intense 6.6, PUSHed Dhx coil,
Bottom Line:
At the beginning of the year I picked up a Marz 55 ATA. Like so many others I spent as much time fixing it as I did riding it. I then picked up a Lyrik 2 step. I had wanted a Lyrik but knew the early model 2 steps had some problems. I called Rock Shox and was assured that the 2 step problem had been resolved so I bought one. I have to say this is a great fork. The seperate high/low speed compression adjustments work and I really like the 2 step feature to shorten the fork for steep climbing. I'm not a freerider but have done jumps and drops and the fork is very plush. I also really like the Maxle, so easy to use.
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Submitted by
HurtinUnit
a
from Alberta Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Porcupine Rim
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
2-step travel adjust is amazing and easy to flip the lever for climbs...
Stiff, Easy to adjust /dial in, Plush when needed, Looks awesome (Mine is Black)
Weaknesses:
None so far...just make sure you check the PSI because your LBS won't set it correctly...take the time to dial it in to your needs...
Similar Products Used:
Fox Talas RC 36
Bike Setup:
08 Nomad, 1.5 Steerer
Bottom Line:
MTB reviews option for reviewing are poor so... I am a freerider, had the fork for a little over 1 month Compared to my old 36 I am super happy with it, stiff when I need it, easy climber with bonus mission control, great descender. Easy manuals for info on set-up. Easy to dial in.
So many features and they all work...imagine that!!
Highly recommended 6 inch travel fork!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Shane
a Weekend Warrior
from North Vancouver Date Reviewed: May 24, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Steed Cycles
Strengths:
After '09 internals - SOO PLUSH NOW! Feels perfect in 115mm mode as well.
Weaknesses:
Had to have it warrantied... see previous reviews
Bike Setup:
Nomad 1.5" head tube, heavy build
Bottom Line:
Ok, got the fork back a week before a trip to Moab (thank you Norco Warranty Dept!). Found out later that it had the 2009 internals put into it.
The fork is F*CKING perfect now!!! More plush than it has ever been. This was my only complaint about the fork, now it's fixed. Yay!
A Note: Took the bike to Moab. If i didn't have a 2-step, it would have been too much bike for alot of the trails there. Having a fork that worked SO well in either setting made it feel like the perfect bike on every trail.
4 chillies on value, just cause it's so damn expensive.
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Submitted by
Frank
a Cross Country Rider
from new jersey Date Reviewed: May 23, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
came with bike
Strengths:
160 mm of travel, plush feel. Once I figured out how all the adjustments work I am appreciating it more. Love the 2-step feature to lock the fork down at 115mm, and it just eats up rocks and drops
Weaknesses:
none so far, too many adjustments if anything.
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Remedy 8. Rp23 fox float, shadow xt derailur, xt shifters and brakes
Bottom Line:
Great fork, makes going downhill fun and climbing tolerable.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Si
a Cross Country Rider
from Peaks Date Reviewed: April 21, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
t bay
Strengths:
Nice travel light Finish is great Air two step works a treat
Weaknesses:
Done the same as the review bellow damming has gone nuts !!!!! I lost all high speed compression damping first just before a ride.
thought it was ok just a stuck adjuster rode it and it felt mike there was huge stiction.
Then it all went went wrong from there it will bottom out under backing but feels totally solid to ride.
Bottom Line:
Mine went bad but i know people that have been free riding these for 6 months !
Interested on hearing what your problem was. as im a poor student and cant afford to fix then at the moment.
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Submitted by
Shane
a
from North Van Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Bike Setup:
Nomad
Bottom Line:
another follow up...
Last weekend, did a pile of riding, and the fork was feeling great. Went to adjust sag tonight, and the fork took on the wierdest feel ever. Slow, Gentle pressure could almost bottom the fork. It feels like there are two spring rates, but inconsistant... Taking it to the shop tomorrow. This better not happen when i'm in moab next month...
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Submitted by
Shane
a Weekend Warrior
from North Van Date Reviewed: December 5, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Steed Cycles
Bottom Line:
This is a follow-up.
It lost about 10mm of travel after the 4th ride. I deflated it completely, pumped it back up, and it was back up to full travel.
Most of the stiction is now gone, but I think I've been spoiled by 8 years on Bombers, as the fork still feels a bit sticky.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Shane
a Weekend Warrior
from North Van, BC Date Reviewed: October 27, 2007
Favorite Trail:
no duff, starfish, peat bog... lots
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Steed Cycles
Strengths:
Two-Step is so cool. seriously. Bike seems to have two distinct modes. Very stiff. light-er. Will be fun to tune. There have been few complaints about rapid warranty service.
Weaknesses:
Unproven track record. Last year's had mixed results. I haven't broken it in yet (I hope), but it seems to have far more stiction than my ole' super-T's. I'll follow up on the break-in. Pricey
Similar Products Used:
Marz98Z1(1yr) Marz'99QR20(3yrs), Shiver SC(2yrs)
Bike Setup:
Nomad sram xt frankenbike, and lyrik 2 step, naturally
Bottom Line:
No one else Optimistic about the claims of a Fixed 2-step?
Only time will tell, but i certainly hope so.
Stiction brings it down to 3 chili's, but 2-step cool-factor brings it back one.
$
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