[smoothmoose]

I'm moving up from a Fox 34 performance to full on enduro bike. Bike will come stock with Fox 38 performance, but asked the shop if they can upgrade it to the Fox 38 factory - they said sure - you can pick any fork you want in that price range.

So now that got me thinking (over-analyzing the decision) - which is the best enduro fork for lighter rider? I'm no racer, just a average weekend warrior that not too fast, but not slow either - say top 25-30% on Strava. My current Fox 34 is setup very close to Fox recommendations, the main difference is I have a Vosprung Luffkappe on it and I do like it for the small bump compliance and midstroke support, but I never get full travel (usually 15-20mm less). I would like it to have better absorption of repeated mid-big hits.

Here's what I've read on the following options:
Fox 38 - Multiple reviews says overdamped and too stiff for lighter riders.
Zeb - general consensus is Fox 38 is better and Charger is also overdamped
Fox 36 - is it better for lighter rider? I've tested ridden it on multiple bikes, but never got a chance to really dial it in
Mezzer Pro - is it the unicorn? Also read it is overdamped
DVO Onyx - how does the OTT coil translate for lighter rider?
EXT Era - best fork I've ridden - just wanted to put it out there for reference, but not in the budget.

Thoughts from riders that are similar weight as me?

 

[RS VR6]

I'm about 150lbs geared up. As a lighter rider...you can even look into a DVO D1 Diamond. The stiffness should be there with a fox 36. The lowers on the Diamond is noticeably bigger than the 34. I have a Factory 34 and like you...I have a hard time getting full travel. I also have a Diamond I find that the damper is less harsh feeling than the Fox. It feels more plush than the Fox. I really like the OTT adjustment too. I have about four rotations of the OTT. The DVO damper is also easier to tune than the Fox and Rockshox.

 

[Macharza]

As a light rider, why not watch the RS Lyrik too?
It's a good fork and easy to setup

 

[fuzz_muffin]

Why bother though? Seems like a perfectly fine fork, grip works goodly.

 

[justwan naride]

+1 for DVO and OTT. You can achieve great support with amazing small bump sensitivity. You add as much pressure as you feel is necessary and compensate with more or less turns of the OTT. I own a Diamond and weigh 70kg. Peiple say the Onyx is even better.

 

[jpjp18]

I'm around 150lbs with gears, have used fox 36 with Luffkappe then switched to DVO Onyx SC with custom tuned.
I think the main problem for lightweight is most suspension are generalized to a specific range of weight.

I would say DVO is slightly bit flexible than 36 but for me, I'm pretty happy with it. The OTT once you get it dailed, it's good. I do jumps, enduro, tech. it's plush and supportive. Tuning is bit different coming from Fox, need bit getting used.

As far as I know, the new 2022 Onyx have internal upgrade, quieter OTT, better bushing.
If you really want to improve small bump on most fork, you can look into bushing resize.

 

[ashmtb]

I am your weight and have a 2020 lyrik ulimate. Feels very smooth to me. I have also heard the fox 38 is very light on compression. I previously had a 2018 fox 36 and it was extremely harsh and overdamped.

 

[kpdemello]

You are overthinking it. Any one of those would be a good choice.

But for more helpful advice, I'd go with a 36 if I were you. You didn't say what kind of riding you were doing, but unless you do full on bike park stuff on a regular basis, the 38 is probably overkill. You get significant weight savings over the 38, which at your body weight is a good thing. And the 36 can handle bike park just fine if you need it to (I take mine there 10 times a year or so).

Personally I prefer Fox over Rockshox as I think the FIT/Grip dampers are better, but they do have a more stiff, responsive feeling. As for the DVO and Manitou offerings, I hear good things but have never tried them. But again, you probably can't go wrong with any of these options.

 

[Cary]

Just my two cents:

• Fox 36 Grip- Great out of the box, easy to dial in. Lighter dampening than a Lyrik, better air spring. Grip 2 gives more adjustment, more chances to screw up setup, but can also get a bit better performance.
• Lyrik- Great out of the box, easy to setup. Likely too much HS dampening, it relies more on the damper and less on the air spring than the Fox.
• Mezzer Pro- Amazing fork, can setup pretty much however you want. If too much rebound dampening, it is easy to pull the extra shim. Setup is time consuming, has a lot of moving parts, and can be easily screwed up. Get it all right and it is wonderful.
• DVO Diamond/Onyx- Heavier than the competition. High speed stack is very firm, tuned for fast aggressive riders. Setup is different, use the OTT for the initial travel, LS compression to play with midstroke, air pressure to control bottoming. DVO has great support (don't email, call), the HS stack is easily tuned so you don't just have to run it wide open and can actually get a useable range. Lots of oil in the lowers for long service intervals.
• Fox 38 and Zeb- Both likely complete overkill for your use.

Any of the above forks can be setup to work extremely well for your use. All will feel different in how they go about their job and user preferences will vary. I would read up to see what feel you prefer, pick one, spend the time to get it set up properly (by far more important than anything else), then be a d*ck to everyone telling them how your fork is the best.

 

[Headoc]

Disclaimer. Not a lighter rider. Also, ridden all of these except the DVO and the Zeb. About 200 geared. But...

Wouldn't do a 38 or Zeb. I could tell the difference between the 36 and the 38 and currently am running a 38 but its not an insane difference. The slightly larger negative air spring was a nice improvement over the 36 and I think for a heavier rider the small bump compliance of the 38 is better but its not worth the extra weight. I didn't get along with the Lyrik at all and ultimately ended up sending back to the factory only to find out it was working as intended. I found it to be very harsh when psi was appropriate for 20% sag or extremely lacking in mid stroke support when small bump compliance was good. Others rave about it so I don't know. Clearly YMMV.

I like the Mezzer Pro probably the best out of the forks I've had. I had one on my last bike and am seriously considering selling my 38 and putting it on this bike. For a lighter rider the ability to separately tune the main air spring and the IRT would be really beneficial. You would have all the small bump compliance you could want with great progression should you decide to get after it. I find that the Mezzer can be set up for a wider variety of riding by tuning the air spring. As well as the Mezzer does bombing down steeps it also does great in the tech stuff as well. Particularly uphill tech. But it requires you to really put the time in and, as stated, can be screwed up resulting in a sense of harshness as the fork cycles into the more progressive part of the curve. I have been less successful getting the 38 to feel good in both descending and the slow tech. Not what its designed for I guess. Regardless both forks absolutely crush going downhill and honestly I can't say one is better then the other when smashing through stuff. The fact that the Mezzer is about 300g lighter is a nice plus.

No wrong choices here really though.

 

[smoothmoose]

Yeah, I know I'm overthinking. One riding buddy that is around my weight - maybe 5# more likes the Fox 38 more than Fox 36 (though he was coming from an older 2017 Fox 36?).

I do think on paper the Fox 38 is fine Grip1 or Grip2. It probably has the best resale value given it's the newest and top-of-the-line in the Fox range. Just want to validate if it is overdamped compared to the lighter forks. I'm less concerned about the extra weight - but definitely want to the best fork to achieve my ride feel I prefer.

 

[misterha]

Yeah, I know I'm overthinking. One riding buddy that is around my weight - maybe 5# more likes the Fox 38 more than Fox 36 (though he was coming from an older 2017 Fox 36?).

I do think on paper the Fox 38 is fine Grip1 or Grip2. It probably has the best resale value given it's the newest and top-of-the-line in the Fox range. Just want to validate if it is overdamped compared to the lighter forks. I'm less concerned about the extra weight - but definitely want to the best fork to achieve my ride feel I prefer.

I'm about 145lbs rode both the fox 36 grip2 and lyrik charger 2.1 and felt that both were perfectly fine. Stiff enough to track and hold the line I wanted. The fox imo felt a little smoother off the top when charging down a rough section. I never rode them back to back so its all my perceived memory. Both did not feel over damped.

 

[smoothmoose]

BTW, if I do go Fox 36 - can you still install the 170mm air shaft on the 2021/22 model? I know stock they only go up to 160mm and want to preserve the stock geo on my new bike.

 

[Dougal]

I am ~73kg (160lb) and ride a mezzer (one damper shim downsized from 17.5-12mm). I also have a highly modified Fox36 that I've spent a bit of time riding. I've ridden stock and tuned Lyriks but not the Zeb.

The F36 and Lyrik stock are both harsh but lack support. They have less high speed damping than a Mezzer but the way it comes in makes it feel harsh. Tuning a Fox GRIP2 VVC or Charger 2.1 RC2 I put in a lot more compression damping but combined with modifications to remove the harshness.

Were you able to get full travel from those forks?

 

[smoothmoose]

I am ~73kg (160lb) and ride a mezzer (one damper shim downsized from 17.5-12mm). I also have a highly modified Fox36 that I've spent a bit of time riding. I've ridden stock and tuned Lyriks but not the Zeb.

The F36 and Lyrik stock are both harsh but lack support. They have less high speed damping than a Mezzer but the way it comes in makes it feel harsh. Tuning a Fox GRIP2 VVC or Charger 2.1 RC2 I put in a lot more compression damping but combined with modifications to remove the harshness.

Were you able to get full travel from those forks?

I've only owned Fox 34 Grip1 long term. Test rode plenty of bikes with F36 Grip2 - but never got time on test ride to really dial them in. The Mezzer Pro does sound like a unicorn and I guess by design similar to the EXT Era which I liked a lot on my test ride. I'm willing to spend a few weeks dialing it in, but not looking to do any special revalving or custom damper on any fork - that's why I want to find the one that would work within the manufacturer settings will provide out of the box.

 

[smoothmoose]

Well, so I've spent a good ride 25miles and 4000' of descending on Fox 38 yesterday. Coming off a Fox 36 the week before, the Fox 38 is definitely smoother off the top, seems to provide pretty good mid stroke support, but still seems to pack up and get a bit harsh on larger repeated high speed hits. Didn't have time to play with settings or spacers, since I had limited time on a rental. But overall it seems promising. Still curious if Mezzer Pro will provider a closer feel to the EXT Era though.

 

[fuzz_muffin]

Why not put the money into a re-shim for your weight/style? Rather then drop chedder on a new fork.

Seems like all these fork chassis are good, probably better bang for buck but I dunno.

 

[smoothmoose]

Why not put the money into a re-shim for your weight/style? Rather then drop chedder on a new fork.

Seems like all these fork chassis are good, probably better bang for buck but I dunno.

I'm talking about new bike with a new fork. Shop gave me the option to swap the Fox 38 Performance to a Fox 38 Factory. Choices is good, or bad, assuming there is inventory, which might limit my decision anyway.

 

[Muddy-Runs]

If the new bike comes with Fox 38, i would keep it, and change the damper to Grip2 instead of buying new factory fork. And if you want to cut some wait get Fox 36 (you can change the air shaft up to 170mm).

 

[OU812]

I’m about 155 geared up, never really got along with Fox forks without modding them. My old 36 was awesome with the Vorsprung set up, I hated it before that though. I’m currently riding a Zeb Ultimate with the Push HC97, I’m getting along really good with it.