Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Pike Debonair vs Older Pike

Jump to Latest
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
B

BigART

· Registered
Joined
·
77 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
I was riding the original Pike, 140mm, 1 extra toke(3 total), 5 clicks of rebound from full slow, 102psi for 25% sag. It was perfect, felt great and I was very happy.

I gave that to my wife to replace her Reba. She's thrilled.

I bought a new Pike with Debonair 140mm. At 25% sag with the factory 2 tokens I'm at 130psi. Rebound is full slow and I ping off off over everything. I'm out of rebound adjustment. I tried 30% sag which left me at 108psi and I managed to get 1 click of rebound from full slow. Small bump sensitivity doesn't feel nearly as good to me as the old Pike.

Both Pike's are solo air.

Bad news is my wife won't let me have the old Pike back. LOL


A buddy of mine just went from the older Pike 160mm travel to the new FOX 36 Grip 2 160mm and he says it's way more plush. I'm wondering if I should go that route, try upping my new Pike 140 to 160mm or look for an older Pike 140. I can't use my old Pike, other than to test, or my buddies 160mm Pike as they're 15x100. My new wheelset is Boost.


Any advice or knowledge about the new Pike?
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
Swapped forks/wheels yesterday with my wife's bike. 2 different bikes and 2 different forks.

Sag set at 25% on both forks.

Wife's Highball 70.5 head angle. Old Pike, 89psi. New Pike 110psi.

My Vanquish 67.5 head angle. Old Pike, 90psi. New Pike 130psi.

This tells me a lot of why the new Pike feels not as plush. The wife rode the new Pike yesterday on her Highball and she said it was harsher than the old Pike and worse than her Reba she was on previously.
 
#3 ·
OP - good thing fleabay has lots of older Pike for sale. I agree, RS ruined the Pike adding Debon Air damping... the previous Pike is pure buttah.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#6 ·
I have a 150mm Pike RCT3 I'm selling. It's 27.5 wheel size and boost. I replaced it with a Pike with DebonAir.

I get the same sag with the same psi as I did on my non-DebonAir Pike. I haven't ridden the new one yet so can't say how it compares otherwise....but just driveway testing the DebonAir definitely feels plusher and easier to start into the travel.
 
#10 ·
The pike's rebound gets super goofy when you're near the end of the range. I did the 'heavy tune' on mine and it was a big help. That involves rebuilding a charger damper, and that experience has seriously put me off rebuilding chargers.

For whatever reason my lowered 140mm 1st generation lyrik rc2dh is a dramatically better fork than my pike. Chocolate and turds. I suspect it's because at my 225lb weight the chassis can't handle braking and bumps at the same time, but it could be because the compression side gets overwhelmed with really high speed hits. I speculate, and i've learned that with suspension you can't assume much.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#14 ·
BigART said:
I'm at 1 click from full slow on the rebound and at 35% sag roughly to get this fork to ride even close to the old Pike.

That link keeps timing out on me.
Click to expand...
Yeah me too. It was an old link in my bookmarks. I dunno why the information has been removed; the new pike service manual doesn't have the instructions. I don't know if it's no longer possible on the charger2 or if sram just decided not to publish it.

To my mind, no matter. I think the pike is a poor performing fork for clydesdales, and it sounds like the debonaire revision is even worse. 1 click from full slow sounds awful. I would be sorely tempted to get a 36 as you suggested, or something else. Sorry for your struggles.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #16 ·
scottzg said:
Yeah me too. It was an old link in my bookmarks. I dunno why the information has been removed; the new pike service manual doesn't have the instructions. I don't know if it's no longer possible on the charger2 or if sram just decided not to publish it.

To my mind, no matter. I think the pike is a poor performing fork for clydesdales, and it sounds like the debonaire revision is even worse. 1 click from full slow sounds awful. I would be sorely tempted to get a 36 as you suggested, or something else. Sorry for your struggles.
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I'm going to get the Fox 36 Grip 2. I had a chance to try out my buddy's bike on Monday with his new 2019 Grip 2 and it is more plush than the old Pike. I was at 110psi for the recommended 20% sag. I didn't even have to open up the HSC or LSC all the way and it was already more plush. He came from the older Pike as well.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
Update:

I've been riding with the Fox 36 Grip 2 160mm Boost on my Transition Vanquish XL and I'm pretty well pleased.

It's a little stiffer than the Pike. The small bump is a little better than the Pike as well. I'm still full slow on the rebound adjustments, but it feels pretty good. I drop a couple pounds and I'll likely need to add a click or two.

I'm glad I got the Fox.
 
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
About this Discussion
16 Replies
6 Participants
Last post:
BigART
Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
posts
16M
members
534K
Since
1990
A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bike parts, components, deals, performance, modifications, classifieds, trails, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Discussion Downhill - Freeride California - Norcal Shocks and Suspension Passion