Pike vs. Nixon vs. fox Vanilla......
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I'd go with the 07 Fox 32 Vanilla 140RLC for $427 shipped from www.universalcycles.com.
I have an 02 Fox Vanilla 125RLC and love it; super plush, smooth, and stiff. I will probably upgrade to the 07 Fox 32 Vanilla 140RLC soon.
The 06 Nixon Elite is also a great fork. Stay away from the 05 cuz of the travel issues. You don't get full travel cuz the top of the tire hits the crown before the fork bottoms out. They "fixed" it by added spacers to prevent that, but the spacers take away from the travel so you get about 135mm of the 145mm advertised. The 06 Nixons don't have these issues. The 06 also gets TPC+ damping compared to TPC on the 05. The 06 Nixon is also on my possible upgrade list.
I don't have experience with the RS Pike, but I had a Reba Team, which is the xc version with 115mm of travel compared to the 140mm of the Pike. I did not like the Reba very much. It was stiff torsionally, but the ride was harsh overall. I tried many different air settings (factory, 60/60, 60/100 to name a few) and just couldn't find one that worked for me. I replaced that with an 04 Fox TALAS 125RLC that I had sitting around and was blown away at how good my TALAS felt.
Fox Forx aren't usually discounted, but the best deal for them including the 07 models that I have found is at universalcycles.com. The 07 Vanilla 140RLC is $490. But they have a coupon on their site that saves you 15% on anything over $300. That comes out to $427 including shipping.
The Nixon Elite at UC using the same coupon is $468.
The RS Pike 426 Coil U-turn with Poploc is $459.
Of course, you could find them for less on ebay. The Nixons are discounted much more on ebay than the RS and I doubt the 07 Fox Forx are discounted much on ebay. Good luck.
I have an 02 Fox Vanilla 125RLC and love it; super plush, smooth, and stiff. I will probably upgrade to the 07 Fox 32 Vanilla 140RLC soon.
The 06 Nixon Elite is also a great fork. Stay away from the 05 cuz of the travel issues. You don't get full travel cuz the top of the tire hits the crown before the fork bottoms out. They "fixed" it by added spacers to prevent that, but the spacers take away from the travel so you get about 135mm of the 145mm advertised. The 06 Nixons don't have these issues. The 06 also gets TPC+ damping compared to TPC on the 05. The 06 Nixon is also on my possible upgrade list.
I don't have experience with the RS Pike, but I had a Reba Team, which is the xc version with 115mm of travel compared to the 140mm of the Pike. I did not like the Reba very much. It was stiff torsionally, but the ride was harsh overall. I tried many different air settings (factory, 60/60, 60/100 to name a few) and just couldn't find one that worked for me. I replaced that with an 04 Fox TALAS 125RLC that I had sitting around and was blown away at how good my TALAS felt.
Fox Forx aren't usually discounted, but the best deal for them including the 07 models that I have found is at universalcycles.com. The 07 Vanilla 140RLC is $490. But they have a coupon on their site that saves you 15% on anything over $300. That comes out to $427 including shipping.
The Nixon Elite at UC using the same coupon is $468.
The RS Pike 426 Coil U-turn with Poploc is $459.
Of course, you could find them for less on ebay. The Nixons are discounted much more on ebay than the RS and I doubt the 07 Fox Forx are discounted much on ebay. Good luck.
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61 Posts
So, would you choose the talas over say, the fox vanilla? which is lighter? got RS j3's on at the moment and want to change for something lighter!
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217 Posts
TALAS or Vanilla? Hmmmm...
If we are comparing straight out 07 Vanilla 140RLC or 07 TALAS 140RLC, I would probably pick the ... uhh...umm... Both my Vanilla and my TALAS are such good forx, it's hard to decide.
The TALAS is noticeably lighter than the Vanilla, but not by THAT much. The TALAS is air sprung and is adjustable travel. The Vanilla is coil sprung and is fixed travel. Your choice comes down to that. They both are super plush, smooth, and stiff. Oh, and the TALAS costs about $200 more than the Vanilla. If you want air but don't need adjustability, then the Float 140RLC is only $110 more than the Vanilla.
I want to add a few more points to the fork choices among the Fox, Manitou, and RS.
The Vanilla comes with 3 springs to match the rider's weight. The installed spring is good for riders in the 150-175 lbs range. The light spring is for 125-150 lbs and the heavy spring is for 175- 200 lbs approx, if I remember correctly. The Vanilla is also fixed travel, though you may choose from 3 different travel choices at setup. It is also quick release (QR) only; no thru-axles.
The Nixon Elite comes with only one spring for riders in the 150-175 range. You must purchase separately a lighter or heavier spring; that usually runs about $25 or so. The Elite has RTWD, so the travel is adjustable from 115-145 mm. And the Nixon Elite comes in 3 axle versions: QR, thru-axle, and QR thru-axle.
The Pike comes with only one spring in the 150-175 range and you must purchase the proper spring if you are out of range. Travel is adjustable from 110-140 mm via the U-turn. And the Pike is QR thru-axle (Maxle) only; no standard QR hubs allowed.
Hope this helps.
If we are comparing straight out 07 Vanilla 140RLC or 07 TALAS 140RLC, I would probably pick the ... uhh...umm... Both my Vanilla and my TALAS are such good forx, it's hard to decide.
The TALAS is noticeably lighter than the Vanilla, but not by THAT much. The TALAS is air sprung and is adjustable travel. The Vanilla is coil sprung and is fixed travel. Your choice comes down to that. They both are super plush, smooth, and stiff. Oh, and the TALAS costs about $200 more than the Vanilla. If you want air but don't need adjustability, then the Float 140RLC is only $110 more than the Vanilla.
I want to add a few more points to the fork choices among the Fox, Manitou, and RS.
The Vanilla comes with 3 springs to match the rider's weight. The installed spring is good for riders in the 150-175 lbs range. The light spring is for 125-150 lbs and the heavy spring is for 175- 200 lbs approx, if I remember correctly. The Vanilla is also fixed travel, though you may choose from 3 different travel choices at setup. It is also quick release (QR) only; no thru-axles.
The Nixon Elite comes with only one spring for riders in the 150-175 range. You must purchase separately a lighter or heavier spring; that usually runs about $25 or so. The Elite has RTWD, so the travel is adjustable from 115-145 mm. And the Nixon Elite comes in 3 axle versions: QR, thru-axle, and QR thru-axle.
The Pike comes with only one spring in the 150-175 range and you must purchase the proper spring if you are out of range. Travel is adjustable from 110-140 mm via the U-turn. And the Pike is QR thru-axle (Maxle) only; no standard QR hubs allowed.
Hope this helps.
Pike coil is adjustable between 95 and 140mm travel. You can modify the spring and base plate to get more/less travel.crashdang said:If we are comparing straight out 07 Vanilla 140RLC or 07 TALAS 140RLC, I would probably pick the ... uhh...umm... Both my Vanilla and my TALAS are such good forx, it's hard to decide.
The TALAS is noticeably lighter than the Vanilla, but not by THAT much. The TALAS is air sprung and is adjustable travel. The Vanilla is coil sprung and is fixed travel. Your choice comes down to that. They both are super plush, smooth, and stiff. Oh, and the TALAS costs about $200 more than the Vanilla. If you want air but don't need adjustability, then the Float 140RLC is only $110 more than the Vanilla.
I want to add a few more points to the fork choices among the Fox, Manitou, and RS.
The Vanilla comes with 3 springs to match the rider's weight. The installed spring is good for riders in the 150-175 lbs range. The light spring is for 125-150 lbs and the heavy spring is for 175- 200 lbs approx, if I remember correctly. The Vanilla is also fixed travel, though you may choose from 3 different travel choices at setup. It is also quick release (QR) only; no thru-axles.
The Nixon Elite comes with only one spring for riders in the 150-175 range. You must purchase separately a lighter or heavier spring; that usually runs about $25 or so. The Elite has RTWD, so the travel is adjustable from 115-145 mm. And the Nixon Elite comes in 3 axle versions: QR, thru-axle, and QR thru-axle.
The Pike comes with only one spring in the 150-175 range and you must purchase the proper spring if you are out of range. Travel is adjustable from 110-140 mm via the U-turn. And the Pike is QR thru-axle (Maxle) only; no standard QR hubs allowed.
Hope this helps.
Pike Air is 110 to 140, and is just as plush as the coil with more tuning options.
The Pike requires a 20mm hub.
The Reba is basically a scaled down version of the Pike, and is available in QR. If you need a QR, but want more travel, check out the Revelation, Recon, and Tora. The Tora is the heavier one since it has tapered 4130 steel stanchions.
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1,382 Posts
I dont know if this matters to you, but the Fox's are a real nightmare to work on. I suggest you take a long look at the Enduro Site's fox section. Please read the section about dremeling a slot in the foot nut rod so you can put it back together, and "crush washers", which I really really hate. I've owned marzocchi and manitou's and they are so much easier to work on and you dont need a ratcheting strap clamp or a dremel tool. If you are the type who installs the fork in and forgets about it dont read this. If you are the type who likes to change his fork oil every 6 months and tinker, I would get a marzocchi.
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1,753 Posts
I have worked on all of them, a bunch
I don't think Fox are hard to work on
I don't think Fox are hard to work on
Pike.
It is simply the most versatile fork on the market right now. It is stiff and plush, while having the most adjustments. I had the Fox 36RC2 on my Pack and the Pike has a much better feel. It is a better fork overall as well. The Fox 36 Talas is over rated and over priced. Watch for RS to pretty much own the fork market in 07.ROG30Y said:
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1,382 Posts
Charles, how do you keep the foot nut rod from spinning when you reassemble the lowers?hammerheadbikes said:
I've talked to a lot of people who say the same thing, that they are easy to work on. Only to find out their "working on them" means they pull the top caps and drain the oil=not completely dissasembling. The first 3 times I took mine apart I had no issues, annoying as hell, but no issues. The last time the foot nut rod started to spin, which made torking it down impossible without dremmeling the rod. I do not have the ratcheting strap clamp that enduro does. Is that what we are missing?
On the marzocchi topic- both my mx comps and z2 race did not need a machined socket, I think thats for the marathons or z1's - cant remember. But they were stupid easy to work on and the seals didnt leak.
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3,257 Posts
I've owned a 05' Vanilla R and a Pike 426 coil. The Pike is a far, far better fork than the Vanilla IMHO. Better damping and way stiffer. It could do with some bottom out control though. Vanilla was good at absorbing mid speed stuff, but it deflected all over the place when hitting rocks at speed. The pike has less stiction also
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if people aren't removing the lowers and pressing in on the bottom of the cartridge and cycling the cartridge to get the oil out, they are overfilling it and not doing a good jobthebronze said:
sometimes I use a dremel to cut a slot, sometimes I don't need to
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