Here's the Trailhead screen grab and a couple of photos of the fork. The fork is a take-off from a bike I bought new.
![Font Number Darkness Electric blue Circle]()
![Automotive tire Bicycle part Camera accessory Material property Rim]()
![Bicycle part Shelf Line Wood Bicycle tire]()
![Hand Hood Bicycle part Bicycle handlebar Automotive design]()
Lyrik mystery - what do you guys think?
I have a 150mm Lyrik scheduled for a new build (assuming the LA port can find a way to move 22 billion dollars worth of stuff off the ships and onto trucks). I was considering internal upgrades.
This Lyrik is an RCT3 from 2018. It has some weird markings, IE the air spring shown on the label is Solo Air, and 'Debonair' is not printed on the stanchion. It has a Charger damper. Cassette tool top caps. Seems straight forward so far.
When I put the serial into Trailhead, it shows damper type N/A, volume reducer N/A (this takes standard bottomless tokens), and a Debonair spring. WTF? Confused is about all get from it. I thought Solo Air was old skool and now fitted only to their low-end forks.
Any way to tell what's going on in there without pulling the lowers? Any others entered their serial into Trailhead and gotten conflicting information?
This Lyrik is an RCT3 from 2018. It has some weird markings, IE the air spring shown on the label is Solo Air, and 'Debonair' is not printed on the stanchion. It has a Charger damper. Cassette tool top caps. Seems straight forward so far.
When I put the serial into Trailhead, it shows damper type N/A, volume reducer N/A (this takes standard bottomless tokens), and a Debonair spring. WTF? Confused is about all get from it. I thought Solo Air was old skool and now fitted only to their low-end forks.
Any way to tell what's going on in there without pulling the lowers? Any others entered their serial into Trailhead and gotten conflicting information?
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
I have a SoloAir 2018 Lyrik, it is basically the same spring as DebonAir, only the sealhead is plastic while the newer versions have a sealhead made of aluminum. I kept the piston and shaft from SoloAir and put a aluminum sealhead in.
SoloAir is not that soft like DebonAir B is. DebonAir C should be somewhere in the middle.
If you are happy with this 2.0 rct3 Charger, keep it. If not, get a 2.1 RC2.
SoloAir is not that soft like DebonAir B is. DebonAir C should be somewhere in the middle.
If you are happy with this 2.0 rct3 Charger, keep it. If not, get a 2.1 RC2.
Thanks, that's good to know. IIRC, the aluminum seal head was supposed to reduce breakaway stick by a good margin. I remember this being a good fork, I'll just have to see how it does on the new ride before messing with it.
Before the red B1 debonair (V2 in my terms) they had the same style solo air spring as the Pike but longer negative chamber. It was also called debonair and I call it V1.
Negative volume was less because the seal-head took up more volume and the shaft wasn't used for negative. The Vorsprung Luftkappes fitted those forks and it was a good improvement.
The V2 debonair maps out pretty similar to a V1 debonair with Luftkappe (with one less positive volume token).
The red aluminium seal-heads sealed better and slid better. They held and guided the shafts better so not as much seal crush was required to fight the shaft wiggling around in the seal-head.
Negative volume was less because the seal-head took up more volume and the shaft wasn't used for negative. The Vorsprung Luftkappes fitted those forks and it was a good improvement.
The V2 debonair maps out pretty similar to a V1 debonair with Luftkappe (with one less positive volume token).
The red aluminium seal-heads sealed better and slid better. They held and guided the shafts better so not as much seal crush was required to fight the shaft wiggling around in the seal-head.
I have a Lyrik of this vintage (160mm) that came on my 2018 Norco Range. I prefer it with the V2 debonair but that might be psychological. I had an older Charger 1 Lyrik on the V1 Solo air spring that was such an effective weapon that I never felt tempted to mess with the formula by changing the spring.
Compared to Dougal, I'm much more in the "run what you brung" camp, making do with the compromises in the shipped product as long as I can find some sort of a sweet spot. No disrespect intended to tuners and I do not claim out of the box forks are without faults, it is just that my small brain has plenty enough to cope with and I would want the budget and access to work with a tuner iteratively rather than second-guessing my hopes and excuses compared to a one-shot tune.
My experience with my equivalent Lyrik is that I struggle to get full travel... but my first shakedown on it was an avalanche type enduro event where I careened down a mountainside with a bunch of other loons and beat everybody in my age group and the group 10 years younger. The fork often only uses 130-140mm of travel but feels smooth and supportive while doing so. I'm sure it could be better but it is hands down an awesome 130mm travel fork! I've raced it in Scottish enduros taking in Fort William amongst others. I won't use the "plush" word but my experience is of top to bottom race runs in rocky terrain with no arm pump or tingles and great control.
Compared to Dougal, I'm much more in the "run what you brung" camp, making do with the compromises in the shipped product as long as I can find some sort of a sweet spot. No disrespect intended to tuners and I do not claim out of the box forks are without faults, it is just that my small brain has plenty enough to cope with and I would want the budget and access to work with a tuner iteratively rather than second-guessing my hopes and excuses compared to a one-shot tune.
My experience with my equivalent Lyrik is that I struggle to get full travel... but my first shakedown on it was an avalanche type enduro event where I careened down a mountainside with a bunch of other loons and beat everybody in my age group and the group 10 years younger. The fork often only uses 130-140mm of travel but feels smooth and supportive while doing so. I'm sure it could be better but it is hands down an awesome 130mm travel fork! I've raced it in Scottish enduros taking in Fort William amongst others. I won't use the "plush" word but my experience is of top to bottom race runs in rocky terrain with no arm pump or tingles and great control.
Would suggest that first you try to ride it as it is and set it up properly (sag, air pressure, rebound) and try to play a little with that basic settings if you don't like the ride.Thanks, that's good to know. IIRC, the aluminum seal head was supposed to reduce breakaway stick by a good margin. I remember this being a good fork, I'll just have to see how it does on the new ride before messing with it.
The truth i think is that well-known forks are good enough for vast majority of riders (with proper basic settings of course) and you don't need to rush into upgrades, tuning etc.
Many many times it's the problem in the rider, not equipment - but of course its easier to throw some money into "upgrades" than put some effort into becoming better rider (training plan, fitnes, diet, skill camps etc..)
I'm in the 'ride what you brought' camp also. The only real reason I considered the upgrade was that there is so little information on the solo air spring out there in the wild, I made the assumption that when RS introduced the Debonair it was some kind of major sea-change improvement over previous designs. Sounds like that isn't the case at all, and I'm going to skip upgrading it. I frankly remember it being an excellent fork as is. But you know, boredom while waiting for a frame to build and only $42 to upgrade the spring, so I was tempted.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
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
Top Contributors this Month
View All
ilmfat
826 Replies
DIRTJUNKIE
472 Replies
Sparticus
368 Replies
Recommended Communities
