If you wanted a 36 from the get-go, why downgrade to a 32mm stanchion RS fork?

I would get a 36 Float and lower it to 150mm.

I had a 36 @ 160mm on my TransAM and it was fine.

 

my exact thoughts. you already have the 36? and you already have a wheel built? swap the internals and lower it a little.

 

That's great to hear. I guess I'm wondering if 120mm steepens the bike too much and 160mm slacks it out too much.

We already have the fork and frame, but as you can imagine, once it's ridden, I own it.

Maybe it's worth the experiment to build it and ride?

 

Go with a sektor or revelation. Both can be had with black lowers if you can find em. I have a sektor at 140mm on my transam its been perfect for me. This exact debate was discussed a month back too, you can find some opinions there. Plus, IMO rockshox out perform fox any day of the week. I used to think otherwise until I tried a buddy's talas that he always raved about and was left unimpressed. He couldn't believe how much cheaper my sektor was than his because it felt much plusher.

 

Thanks!

Would you happen to be able to hit me with the link to that thread?

Was it specific to the Trans Am frame?

 

Consider a Marz 44 also. I have one on my 456 that works great. Much more stiff than the Rev that I have (but I am big and ride in rocks).

 

http://forums.mtbr.com/all-mountain/fork-trans-am-why-824261.html

 

I ended up buying a used revelation 150. The guys at transition recommended a fox 32 with around 150mm in travel. I've got a fox 36 talas on my nomad, and kind of wish that I would've gone that route with the trans am. On some of the more intense stuff the stiffness of the 36 would be nice. I can't say that I really NEED it though. The trans am is going to be my go to ride for smoother singletrack and some light dirt jumping. The fork probably won't get switched out for a while unless I run into a killer deal on a fox 34.

 

Just know that you can't slacken it too much as it has a 69 degree stock head angle. I would be more worried about raising the BB too much with a taller fork. I am currently running a 150mm 44 RC3 Ti with a 2 degree works headset and don't wish for anything more.

 

Thanks for the all the info.

Looks like I'm going to build it with the TALAS 36 and give it a whirl.

My other rig is a hardtail aluminum singlespeed 29'er that I regularly put through some relatively technical trail.

I sold my 2012 Nomad (which I built and never really rode) to build this so essentially this will be the new "do it all" bike. DH runs at the ski park in the summer. AM and trail in town. Maybe the occasional pumptrack runs.

I'll post up after it's built!

 

Moving to anything from a Fox is basically an upgrade. A 140mm Revo would be perfect for the trans-am.

 

Have a sektor solo air at 150mm on the front of my Bandit for what its worth, Im a big fan:

 

sp13

I have a Fox Van 36 on my transAm and it works great. LOVE that slacked out feel... my ht angle is 66.5. Climbs fine with a 60mm stem. I would recommend the Fox Float 36 and have a really stiff front end that you could lower if needed. Try it at 160mm first.

 

From all of the Fox forks I've ridden, I think Rockshox are hands down better forks for plushness. Fox might have a bit better dampers but they never seem to use the last inch of travel no matter how much sag I was running. The lyrik solo air is a better fork but I think you'd be just fine running a Sektor or Rev with a 20mm TA unless your getting into borderline freeride territory. The rebound damper on the rev is better than the one on the Sektor and that's where the price diffeence comes from. I ran both forks at the same time on two different bikes and could barely tell them apart. I actually preferred the Sektor for the solo air feature. RS solo air forks are SOOOO easy to maintain that it's almost a joke. 15 minutes every few months to swap o-rings and splash oil and you're done. Service the compression damper once a year unless you log a ton of miles. I take all of this into consideration when selecting a fork in addition to everything else.
If you're hell bent on a fatty, go with the Lyrik over the Fox.