[gpgalanis]

Hi guys.

I have a 2015 Enduro 29 Comp with a Pike RC and a Monarch Plus Debonair and I am trying to find the best setup for AM riding.

I initially started with the recommended psi for my weigh (110kg) but both the fork and shock where terrible.

Then I decided to go by sag and feeling and I tried about 35% sag in the attack position for both fork and shock. The ride was much better and more controlled but there was a little but more diving than I would like even though I didn't bottomed them not even once but I have to admit that I don't do any big drops or jumps.

In my last ride I used 30% sag in the attack position and the ride was actually good and the bike felt quicker. As for the exact settings I run 1 token in the Pike, 80 psi and rebound in the middle and in the Monarch that is full of volume reducers 260 psi and 6 clicks from slow rebound.

I will keep experimenting but if you could also share your settings it would be great.

 

[Count Zero]

I'm quite a bit lighter than you are, but here's my setup:

Fork: ~30% static sag, 2 bottomless tokens, and 2 or 3 clicks of compression damping.

Rear shock: ~30% static sag, with 7 bands. 6 or 7 bands is just right for me.

One comment I will make is that I find the Enduro very sensitive to changes in rider weight. On a long ride, drinking and sweating out a lot of water, it can go from being perfect to being quite harsh. The CCDB shocks I found were much more sensitive than the Monarch (which is currently the best shock for the Enduro IMO).

 

[gpgalanis]

Do you measure the sag seated or in the attack position? Also what are your rebound settings?

 

[ACLakey]

Although I don't have a Monarch shock on the rear... Yet my settings are as follows on my 2014 Enduro 29.

Weight - 225lb
Fork - 70psi (30%sag) 2 tokens 2 clicks of compression
Fox CTD shock - 230lb

Both have rebound set the middle setting.


Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[gpgalanis]

Thank you guys. It seems that 30% is the sweet spot for many people when it comes to the Pike.


Just another question. Does your Pike have a dead spot at the start of its stroke when it is fully extended? My Pike seems to have a 3mm dead spot so if I press it then it will drop 3mm before actually start working and then if I pull it up it will return again in full extention.

 

[Count Zero]

Attack position.

For the fork I typically run 7 or 8 clicks of rebound, from full open. I've never run less than 6 or more than 8.

For the rear shock, I think 13 to 15 clicks of rebound from full open. 13 is reasonably fast in rebound, 15 pretty slow.

Having said all this, I suspect you'll probably run more rebound than I do. I'm 77 kg.

 

[gpgalanis]

Thank you. Do you have any brake dive with the Pike?

 

[Count Zero]

Just a little. For me at least it's controllable with the tokens and low speed compression damping. I play with the compression damping a bit during my rides. I'll go between 0 and 3 clicks, depending on the trail.

 

[ACLakey]

^^ What he said.

 

[softbatch]

These settings have made my Pike and Monarch feel perfectly in tune with bump compliance. Also I haven't measured it but they seem to use the same % of travel.

105kg

Pike:
100 Psi (Sag Unknown, 20% @ 110Psi)
1 Token
Rebound centered
Compression adjusted during ride

Monarch: (I copied gpgalanis and it was GTG)
260 Psi (30% Sag)
Stock Configuration (9 bands)
Rebound 6 clicks from Slow
Compression adjusted during ride

 

[gpgalanis]

After some rides I have settled to a similar setup to softbatch's and I was really happy with the performance (controlled without any brake diving) but I wasn't using full travel (75-80%) and I thought that the ride could have been a little plusher so I removed some air and went for another ride.

To my surprise and despite the fact that I preferred more sag in my previous bikes the ride was worse (and still not using full travel) so decided to go to my initial setup with around 27.5% sag in the attack position both for my Pike and Monarch Plus Debonair. I suppose that they both prefer to ride higher in their travel.

The only thing that I need to dial is my rebound settings.

 

[gpgalanis]

Since I couldn't get full travel with the above setup I decided to drop the pressure both in Pike and Monarch. So I dropped from 100 psi to 85 in my Pike (30% sag) and from 290 to 250 in my Monarch (35% sag in attack position) and still I don't get full travel!

The ride is plusher for sure but even when I do small drops or jumps I can't use more than 80% of the travel and I am quite heavy (110 kg).

My next step would be to remove the token from the Pike and half of the rubber bands for the Monarch and hopefully I could get a more linear behaviour.

 

[gpgalanis]

Coming back to this old thread I have actually tried many different settings but strangely enough I returned almost to my initial ones.

More specifically I have removed the one (and only) token that was preinstalled in the Pike and 4 (out of 9) rubber bands from the Monarch Plus Debonair and also dropped the psi to 90 in the Pike and 260 to the Monarch Plus Debonair. This resulted again in around 30% sag both in Pike and Monarch but without the token and rubber bands they both moved easier through their travel and had a more linear behaviour. On the negative side I had more pedal strikes but overall I may quite happy.

 

[jpec29]

Coming back to this old thread I have actually tried many different settings but strangely enough I returned almost to my initial ones.

More specifically I have removed the one (and only) token that was preinstalled in the Pike and 4 (out of 9) rubber bands from the Monarch Plus Debonair and also dropped the psi to 90 in the Pike and 260 to the Monarch Plus Debonair. This resulted again in around 30% sag both in Pike and Monarch but without the token and rubber bands they both moved easier through their travel and had a more linear behaviour. On the negative side I had more pedal strikes but overall I may quite happy.

The Pike RC that came on my Enduro was pure garbage, was my first experience with a Pike and I was really excited after hearing all the hype. Mine had a initial dead spot too. No matter what psi, tokens, or setting it was either rock hard or super soft. Not progressive at all. The Revelation on my Stumpjumper performed better. Rebuilt it after 200mi and found there was zero oil in the shock. Sold it and picked up a 2016 Fox 36, huge improvement.

 

[gpgalanis]

Well before the Enduro I had an after market Pike RCT3 in another bike and it was really good. Maybe the fact that the Enduro is an OEM RC model had to do something with it. Except for that I also think that it is overhyped but still it is a good fork and works quite well with my Monarch Plus Debonair.

 

[jpec29]

Well before the Enduro I had an after market Pike RCT3 in another bike and it was really good. Maybe the fact that the Enduro is an OEM RC model had to do something with it. Except for that I also think that it is overhyped but still it is a good fork and works quite well with my Monarch Plus Debonair.

Yea my friends all have RCT3 models and love them. I've seen several people complain about the OEM RC, suppose to have exact same air spring so I dunno. I was disappointed in mine. Had a Monarch + on my stumpy and it was great.

 

[Silent_G]

That OEM Pike can be converted to a RTC3, about $400 parts and labor, much less than an entirely new fork. However, I'll second jpec29's advice, sell the OEM Pike and get a Fox 36, just a better fork.

 

[gpgalanis]

Honestly I am quite happy with the Pike as it is now after making some changes back and forth. The 36 is a great fork for sure but it is also quite expensive. And I don't like the Kashima coating at all.

 

[softbatch]

Coming back to this old thread I have actually tried many different settings but strangely enough I returned almost to my initial ones.

More specifically I have removed the one (and only) token that was preinstalled in the Pike and 4 (out of 9) rubber bands from the Monarch Plus Debonair and also dropped the psi to 90 in the Pike and 260 to the Monarch Plus Debonair. This resulted again in around 30% sag both in Pike and Monarch but without the token and rubber bands they both moved easier through their travel and had a more linear behaviour. On the negative side I had more pedal strikes but overall I may quite happy.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing when I service my fork over this winter. I'll also be installing 170mm cranks so hopefully the pedal strikes won't increase.

 

[gpgalanis]

In my previous Pike (also 160 but 26) I didn't have any tokens installed so I knew what to expect. And what I wanted and expecting was a more linear behaviour and the same applies to the Monarch Plus Debonair as well.

The tokens and rubber bands reduce the air champer volume so you can run lower psi to have better small bump sensitivity but then ramp up quite a lot. Considering that I have never bottomed both my fork and shock and since I don't do any big jumps, drops etc I don't really need a progressive behaviour so I don't really need the tokens and rubber bands. At least not all of them.