Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I appreciate you getting into it.
I agree with everything you said about the respective feels for Fox and RS air springs. I was on a Lyrik the past few seasons and am now on a Zeb. I made the swap last year from the Debonair B1 to C1 air spring and the differences you mention are accurate. I also have a 2018 Fox 36 on my hardtail (with 2019 EVOL spring) and I agree that the feel is closer to the C1 Rockshox spring.
I recently had the chance to take my wife's bike for a ride, which has a 2017 Pike A1 with the solo air spring (same air spring that existed in 2014). Granted, I only had the bike out for one ride and could have likely further optimized setup, but I found the feel off the top similar to the latest C1 spring, in terms of ride height, but with quite a bit less support in the second half of the stroke. It felt almost like, once you broke past that first portion of the travel, the support was lost and the fork wanted to wallow. I suspect I could have added more air to improve support but would have lost initial stroke sensitivity. I also could have added tokens, but that mainly impacts the end of the stroke, and I am talking more about what felt like the middle 3rd of the travel (though I acknowledge that we are probably pretty bad at knowing by feel what portion of the air spring curve we are on - what feels like mid-stroke can sometimes be end of stroke).
So yes, I felt there are differences in the most recent air springs from Fox and RS. But from my brief ride with that 2017 Pike A1, all seem to be improved in providing support through the travel while still being smooth off the top.
Long of the short, my sense is that a few things have been figured out since the air spring on the 2014 Pike you mention.
But... it sounds like you have had no issues finding a setup that works on the Suntour fork, so that is encouraging. My 36 is starting to make some noise, and I am tempted to take the plunge on a Suntour (more likely the Auron) based their reputation for creak-free CSUs.
July 13, 2021, 10:47 a.m. - DMVancouver
Thank you very much for the detailed reply. I appreciate you getting into it. I agree with everything you said about the respective feels for Fox and RS air springs. I was on a Lyrik the past few seasons and am now on a Zeb. I made the swap last year from the Debonair B1 to C1 air spring and the differences you mention are accurate. I also have a 2018 Fox 36 on my hardtail (with 2019 EVOL spring) and I agree that the feel is closer to the C1 Rockshox spring. I recently had the chance to take my wife's bike for a ride, which has a 2017 Pike A1 with the solo air spring (same air spring that existed in 2014). Granted, I only had the bike out for one ride and could have likely further optimized setup, but I found the feel off the top similar to the latest C1 spring, in terms of ride height, but with quite a bit less support in the second half of the stroke. It felt almost like, once you broke past that first portion of the travel, the support was lost and the fork wanted to wallow. I suspect I could have added more air to improve support but would have lost initial stroke sensitivity. I also could have added tokens, but that mainly impacts the end of the stroke, and I am talking more about what felt like the middle 3rd of the travel (though I acknowledge that we are probably pretty bad at knowing by feel what portion of the air spring curve we are on - what feels like mid-stroke can sometimes be end of stroke). So yes, I felt there are differences in the most recent air springs from Fox and RS. But from my brief ride with that 2017 Pike A1, all seem to be improved in providing support through the travel while still being smooth off the top. Long of the short, my sense is that a few things have been figured out since the air spring on the 2014 Pike you mention. But... it sounds like you have had no issues finding a setup that works on the Suntour fork, so that is encouraging. My 36 is starting to make some noise, and I am tempted to take the plunge on a Suntour (more likely the Auron) based their reputation for creak-free CSUs.