Fork Q: Replace/Enhance Lyrik?

[Daywalker]

TL;DR: Out of touch, aging mtb dad doesn't like fork and looking to go the "golf" route and improve biking by throwing dollars at problem.

I've got a 2019 L Evil Offering. I look at new bikes and geo looks within a degree of what I have, there doesn't seem to be a ton of improvement in buying a new bike. I like just about everything on the bike but the Lyrik that came on it. I bumped it to 160mm, added a Charger 2.1 damper, have tried to tune it both with minor adjustments and full start-from-scratch all compression off and it just never feels good. On the air spring side, it feels like I can never find a sweet spot PSI to where I get ~75% of good travel and it's either very mushy blowing through travel or too stiff getting 50% travel.

For reference, I'm ~165 lb rider weight. I've previously gotten along fine with a 130mm Pike, older Lyriks (160mm, 170mm Air DH), 150mm Push'd Revelation, Marz 66. I can generally find a good tune on a fork. This one just continues to elude me.

So, if I want to throw some money at this, what do I do? The current sale market is good. I'm not going to pretend that I'm going to ride and re-ride sections of trail over and over to get to 100% fork perfection. I want the best option for getting to 90% of fork performance. Ideally it's easily serviceable at the local shops (that makes me think stock Fox or SRAM). 2023 Lyrik's with Buttercups are ~$700, Fox 36 Grip 2 slightly more... offset with selling mine makes it not too bad. For similar price, drop in a Runt or do a coil conversion. I know there's also Manitou, Cane Creek, etc. but less schooled on those.

[Spencer123]

I had the same model lyrik I belive (charger 2.1, debonair spring) and am now on a 2022 Fox 36 factory W/grip 2. I haven’t had any issues with either, I might have actually preferred the Lyrik a bit more. Overall though, I would not recommend spending a big chunk of cash on a 36 and expecting a night and day difference, I feel like they both perform very similarly to one another.

[Andeh]

FWIW, I've found the base tune on the '23 RS Zeb to be really easy to get along with. I'm about your weight, took out all the tokens (170mm), added maybe 1 psi beyond what the app says, compression settings are within 1 click of middle, and sped up rebound a couple clicks. I've got 2 of them, one on ebike and one on enduro bike. I typically have 10mm of travel left after bigger features - I think I've bottomed out the fork once since taking out the tokens. But they still feel nice on my hands.

[SJG]

Store the bike upside down overnight, lets the oil flow into the foam rings and lubricates the top end. This may help, if the foam and uppers are dried out from gravity.

The fork also may just need a service. Most fork mfg recommend it at 50hrs of use, which is pretty fast. I've torn mine down a couple times and it was either dry or super dirty oil.

[carlh]

Buy a runt. It will let you get the mix of support and compliance you are looking for.

[grinch]

I keep thinking im going to throw down on a new super fork then i do a quick lower sefvice on my yari and it feels pretty damn good. Cheap little 2019 fork that ive put a 180mm shaft in with the original basic damper. Couple tokens, zero compression, little rebound and gtg. Cost me 2 or $3 for a lower service and 20 minutes with the youtube vid

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[ASmileyFace]

As someone who had similar complaints about my 2019 Pike... the Runt was the best money I ever spent on my bike.

[Daywalker]

I appreciate all the "don't bother replacing" comments... but other piece of info is that I've had a reputable shop service it 2 or 3x since new (and that's with ~1 year completely not riding it with newborn) and it's never felt good. It's a good call to occasionally put bike upside down as I don't ride as much so things may get dry/unlubed.

[zion zig zag]

How many tokens are you running?

Online reviews make this sound like it'd be a good $600 investment if you are going to spend money on a new fork.


https://hayesbicycle.com/collections...ducts/mezzer-1

[GeorgiaSnow]

I did the vorsprung secus on my Lyrik and it is freaking awesome. Blister has a pretty involved review if that product.

How does the fork move through the seals without any air pressure?


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[SJG]

many forks need the bushings reamed, even on new forks. They are tight and have a lot more friction than they should.

[parkmeister]

i am in a similar situation except that i am fairly satisfied with both my current (29er) and previous (650b) lyriks. i replaced the previous lyrik with a fox 36 with push acs3 coil spring swap and while it was a great fork, i was a bit underwhelmed (i think the spring was a little too stiff). with my current lyrik, i looked hard at a secus/luftkappe/runt upgrade, but when the time comes, i'll most likely go with another acs3 setup, but with a softer spring. i always eventually end up with coil springs, front and rear on my bikes. cuz coils fucking rock and i'm not a candy ass weight weinie.

[NuMexJoe]

You might also consider a Novy Parts SPLUG. Maxime does a custom tune for your weight and riding style, and the price is much less than most of the aforementioned options. It transformed the Yari I have on my Trek Rail, although most anything was going to be an improvement on the MoCo damper.

[supermodel159]

vorsprung smashpot is the best thing to happen to my front forks.

[Marshal Olson]

IMO - the Lyrik SHOULD feel good. And I am sure you could eventually figure out whats wrong. Probably the bushings/seals as mentioned previously, But maybe not. Why keep sinking time and money into a fork that is bumming you out, when you have limited time to ride, and bascially all the modern forks out there today ride great out of the box.

I'd say flip it on pinkbike, get something else, and you will probably be out less $$$ than chasing ghosts with all sorts of tuning and add ons.

[XXX-er]

IMO - the Lyrik SHOULD feel good. And I am sure you could eventually figure out whats wrong. Probably the bushings/seals as mentioned previously, But maybe not. Why keep sinking time and money into a fork that is bumming you out, when you have limited time to ride, and bascially all the modern forks out there today ride great out of the box.

I'd say flip it on pinkbike, get something else, and you will probably be out less $$$ than chasing ghosts with all sorts of tuning and add ons.

pretty good advice ^^ it could also be that particular fork is NFG so try to ride another one

i'm probably overforked with a ZEB but being overforked is not a bad thing

[skaredshtles]

IMO - the Lyrik SHOULD feel good. And I am sure you could eventually figure out whats wrong. Probably the bushings/seals as mentioned previously, But maybe not. Why keep sinking time and money into a fork that is bumming you out, when you have limited time to ride, and bascially all the modern forks out there today ride great out of the box.

I'd say flip it on pinkbike, get something else, and you will probably be out less $$$ than chasing ghosts with all sorts of tuning and add ons.

This is what I did with the last two Fox forks I owned, and it worked out to my satisfaction...

[Daywalker]

IMO - the Lyrik SHOULD feel good. And I am sure you could eventually figure out whats wrong. Probably the bushings/seals as mentioned previously, But maybe not. Why keep sinking time and money into a fork that is bumming you out, when you have limited time to ride, and bascially all the modern forks out there today ride great out of the box.

I'd say flip it on pinkbike, get something else, and you will probably be out less $$$ than chasing ghosts with all sorts of tuning and add ons.

Hah, the answer I was really looking for. I was just going down the Runt/other rabbit hold and wondering about that. Bottom line, I'm going to try something. I appreciate folks taking the time to address my whining.

[BigHerm]

My suggestion would be to send it to Diaz for a tune and Runt. He explains on his YouTube channel what he does to the damper to optimize for Runt. Have him check and possibly burnish the bushings while it's there.

[funkendrenchman]

How many tokens are you running?

Online reviews make this sound like it'd be a good $600 investment if you are going to spend money on a new fork.


https://hayesbicycle.com/collections...ducts/mezzer-1

This.

Love my Mezzer. Was not a big fan of the 36 or Lyrik. Don't even think about an MRP.

Interestingly, I love the 34 Grip2, even though the 36 was just ok.