Would you buy for XC -trail: a Fox 36 140 mm Factory or Rockshox Pike, Lyrik, Ohlins, Cane Creek, or? Why? Cost of ownership? Feel? Other factors?

Fox 36s are in stock and shipping quickly at most US retailers. Fox has them in stock and your favorite LBS should be able to order them no problem. You shouldn't have any issues getting that fork if that's what you want.

That being said there is endless stuff written up about the different forks and their feel. So you need to consider what bike you are putting it on and your usage.

Depends on the travel

I just bought a used Lyrik. It’ll be fine.
Much less than new. Easy to get parts. Weight is normal. Chassis has been around the block.

I was Mezzer-curious, but they are constantly in-then-out of stock. When push came to shove at the beginning of the pandemic, I was able to sell my old 36 for a boatload of money because Fox was having supply chain issues and got myself an Ohlins RXF36 m.2. Damn glad I did, because it's the best fork I've owned. It has been dead reliable so far, no crush washers needed for re-lube which makes it that much easier to work on, and the air spring and damper are the best I've ever used for the steep, raw riding I like.

Downsides are, full rebuilds are expensive and require that you send it off to someone who is a certified Ohlins tech, the axle to crown height is a little tall and the chassis could be a tiny bit stiffer. It's maybe a hair stiffer than a 36, but Mezzer, 38 and Zeb are all a lot burlier.

Mezzer still goes in and out of stock constantly - throughout the Pandemic I have been mostly running Hayes products (forks+wheels). But, it's a wait. I think I waited 5 months for my Mezzer. It is a great fork, but the set-up charts were not useful for me and I had to go off of feel. Luckily I ride with someone who actually used to be a motorcycle suspension tech and I was able to use his feel and not my imprecise don't know what I am doing feel. Plush, soaks it all up, just grips at 160mm.

The Grip 2 damper is also decent and seems to work well - but I have only ridden it at 130mm and it is much firmer. But that works for the bike I have it on.

Nurse Ben said:

Fox and SRAM are fine products, but they’re not the best off the shelf forks, but they are popular and it’s hard deny the gold stanchions look pretty.

Unless you’re really into your suspension and can tell the difference in a blindfold test, just get a Fox or SRAM.

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This pretty much summarizes it perfectly.

I’d go Mezzer or DVO Onyx. Both are excellent forks that ride well, are easy to maintain and service, and have great support direct from the manufacturer to consumer (no dealer involvement needed). DVO can be called anytime and Manitou usually gets back to you in less than 24 hours.
Ohlins I was interested in, but not enough to be into sending my fork away every time it needed servicing…


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Th3Bill said:

I’d go Mezzer or DVO Onyx. Both are excellent forks that ride well, are easy to maintain and service, and have great support direct from the manufacturer to consumer (no dealer involvement needed). DVO can be called anytime and Manitou usually gets back to you in less than 24 hours.
Ohlins I was interested in, but not enough to be into sending my fork away every time it needed servicing…

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To be clear, there's nothing special about doing regular services on the Ohlins until you need a damper rebuild - that's where the dealer involvement comes in. The vast majority of consumers don't do their own damper services, which typically require specialty tools anyways. It's not a fork for the at-home tinkerer if you insist on doing all of your own suspension work, but basic lowers/seal services are no harder than Rockshox/Fox...and no crush washers required!

Another thing I should add is the fork is going on a Pivot Trail 429. Not downhill or bike park bike. Plan on more cross country, down country, trail riding. Thank you.

zhendo said:

To be clear, there's nothing special about doing regular services on the Ohlins until you need a damper rebuild - that's where the dealer involvement comes in. The vast majority of consumers don't do their own damper services, which typically require specialty tools anyways. It's not a fork for the at-home tinkerer if you insist on doing all of your own suspension work, but basic lowers/seal services are no harder than Rockshox/Fox...and no crush washers required!

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I do my own servicing. It wasn’t a total deal breaker, but it did make it easier for me to choose a different fork.

But I definitely was interested in a coil Ohlins fork.

I love coil feel. My current fork is DVO Onyx with Smashpot conversion. Absolutely amazing fork.


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mtnbikerva1 said:

Another thing I should add is the fork is going on a Pivot Trail 429. Not downhill or bike park bike. Plan on more cross country, down country, trail riding. Thank you.

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Mezzer is 2000gm, which is pretty light (that better Snoozer?) weight and can easily be converted 140-180.

DVO Diamond is a really nice fork as well that will do Trail.

I wasn’t overly impressed by the Lyrik I had…Never ridden fox…


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2000 grams is not XC fork weight. Not sure why the word XC is even in this thread or conversation regarding 36 and 37mm forks.


Speaking of non XC forks, any feedback in the purple formula forks?


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At 130mm I'd probably go Pike. At 140mm I'd also probably go Pike but might step up to something beefier depending on usage but you said XC/trail so Pike.

Right now, I would get whatever is in stock

Oh and that is 100% serious advice. I don't know how other countries are going, but if I was to give a customer a list of options like that and they went away to ask on a forum which one they should get, then came back in a few days, half of the options would have sold out.

mtnbikerva1 said:

Another thing I should add is the fork is going on a Pivot Trail 429. Not downhill or bike park bike. Plan on more cross country, down country, trail riding. Thank you.

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Why not just get a Fox float 34 in a 140 (Grip 2). Seems like a 36 would be overkill.
I just got back from Moab and mine was fine - on a Trance 29. I'm 165 lbs.
This trip was riding Hymasa/Ahab and Raptor Route, but I've ridden all over down there on the 34 with no issues.
My son uses a 160 Fox 36 and loves it, but he's on a Ripmo.

Yep, availability is important. I looked for a couple days across the 35/36 sizes. Figured what the going prices were for new. Decided that was way much. Looked across the major used sources for a couple days. Figured what the median prices were in the travel range I needed, and then just bought the next one at the price I picked in decent condition from a reputable source.
I did appreciate that the Lyrik and Pike use the same airshafts, so I could tune either of those to the length I want, and easily change after purchase. That opened up a lot of options for purchase. Probably other brands allow something similar.

mtnbikerva1 said:

Another thing I should add is the fork is going on a Pivot Trail 429. Not downhill or bike park bike. Plan on more cross country, down country, trail riding. Thank you.

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Ahhh, yeah that changes things, a Mezzer is a lot of fork fork a little bike, shortest travel is 140mm, so you could get a Mattoc, but the weight is so close I’d probably swing for a Mezzer.

How much travel do you want? 130-140mm:

Fox Performance 34 which has the Grip damper, or step up to the factory and get the Grip 2 damper.

The Manitou Mattoc Pro 3 29” can be adjusted internally from 100-140mm, good fork, but I’ve only found them by ordering overseas.

The Pike is another option, but I’m not a fan of SRAM Dampers.