Tim Coleman Reviews a 2011 Rock Shox Lyrik RC2 DH

Im confused.

The review seemed to be rather negative but was then summed up positively?

Yep.

I debated going with this fork vs. a 36 Talas. Ended up opting for the Talas for a few reasons, one of which was the huge range in reviews for the Lyrik. People seem to love 'em or have nothing but issues. Feels like a bit of a lotto there.

I have been running this fork for a couple of years now and it is the best air sprung fork I have ever ridden. It's one of those products that works so well you don't notice it working. After a hard year of use I took it to Suspensionwerx and they the impression I had was that they opened it up, swapped some fluids and put it back together again because everything inside was in perfect shape. On top of that it's light (under 5lbs for 170mm of travel!), stiff and the Maxle works perfectly.

No top out or funky noises for mine after a tonne of use. This is the first time I have been on an air fork and not longing for a coil. Love it.

If they would only make a U-Turn Air like in the old 454 Pike.

If they would only make a U-Turn Air like in the old 454 Pike.

yeah, cause the 2-step still doesn't work properly or reliably.

lyriks good fork, but i found myself running almost maximum compression, and maximum recommended air pressure(im 190lb). the review has a good perception of the fork, it has good damper, but air spring seems to suffer from blowing through the travel, unless you run higher psi, which makes you suffer small bump sensitivity.

If they would only make a U-Turn Air like in the old 454 Pike.

And make it come in 165mm instead. Oh and make it have the DH cartridge with a lockout option ;)

And make it come in 165mm instead. Oh and make it have the DH cartridge with a lockout option ;)

Now you getting into crazy talk.

Lots of questions in here, and I’ll do my best to answer them all for you folks.

First off I got the fork in October of last year. It’s been ridden once or twice every week since then, and the vast majority of my rides are from 2 to 3 hours. I try my best to put in a substantial amount of time on each product I review.

I currently have this Lyrik Solo Air RC2DH and a Fox 36 160mm Talas FIT. The two forks have different personalities, but it’d be tough to choose between them. They’re both some of the best air forks I’ve ridden, but in terms of suspension performance I think the coil versions are significantly better. To date the best AM fork I’ve ridden on the trail is a Jamesed Fox 36 Vanilla. I’m planning on popping a coil spring in this Lyrik and trying it, and I think it will be a big improvement, and I'll report my thoughts back to you NSMBers. I have also heard lots of good about the 55 RC3 Evo Ti, and trying my best to get one for review.

For the record I’m 180lbs and was running around 72-75 psig with 3-4 clicks of both high and low speed compression. The suggested air pressure of 65 psig was far too soft for me and my riding style.

If you’re frequently riding similar terrain and or trails that are all about the same speed I bet you’re very happy with the Solo Air Lyrik. I could make the Lyrik feel fantastic for a particular section of trail. My main issue was getting the fork to perform well everywhere. For example I could make the fork feel great down Ned’s, but then when I rode something steep the fork was too soft and dove through it’s too easily. This surprised me as I run a notoriously soft suspension setup on my DH bike.

My review was negative in some aspects, but really centered around two things. First off I wasn't a fan of the air spring, I think the performance benefit of a coil spring is well worth the weight. That could very well be a preference thing. As I mentioned in my conclusion, if you like air forks, you'll likely really like the Solo Air Lyrik. The second was around the build quality. A premium product such as this Lyrik Solo Air RC2DH should be put together properly. I find it hard to justifying the need to have my new fork overhauled before it will work properly.

are you typing on a greek keyboard tim?

Thanks for the review Tim. I am getting a 6 and 6 bike and it is coming with a lyrik air. This is something I have wondered about the air fork having it too stiff for small bump yet too soft for steep. It's the same story with the world cup boxxer vs team.

I think this solidifies my decision to go coil u-turn…which I can swap once I get the fork. It will ad .5 lbs which is fine with me.

Lots of questions in here, and I’ll do my best to answer them all for you folks.

First off I got the fork in October of last year. It’s been ridden once or twice every week since then, and the vast majority of my rides are from 2 to 3 hours. I try my best to put in a substantial amount of time on each product I review.

I currently have this Lyrik Solo Air RC2DH and a Fox 36 160mm Talas FIT. The two forks have different personalities, but it’d be tough to choose between them. They’re both some of the best air forks I’ve ridden, but in terms of suspension performance I think the coil versions are significantly better. To date the best AM fork I’ve ridden on the trail is a Jamesed Fox 36 Vanilla. I’m planning on popping a coil spring in this Lyrik and trying it, and I think it will be a big improvement, and I'll report my thoughts back to you NSMBers. I have also heard lots of good about the 55 RC3 Evo Ti, and trying my best to get one for review.

For the record I’m 180lbs and was running around 72-75 psig with 3-4 clicks of both high and low speed compression. The suggested air pressure of 65 psig was far too soft for me and my riding style.

If you’re frequently riding similar terrain and or trails that are all about the same speed I bet you’re very happy with the Solo Air Lyrik. I could make the Lyrik feel fantastic for a particular section of trail. My main issue was getting the fork to perform well everywhere. For example I could make the fork feel great down Ned’s, but then when I rode something steep the fork was too soft and dove through it’s too easily. This surprised me as I run a notoriously soft suspension setup on my DH bike.

My review was negative in some aspects, but really centered around two things. First off I wasn't a fan of the air spring, I think the performance benefit of a coil spring is well worth the weight. That could very well be a preference thing. As I mentioned in my conclusion, if you like air forks, you'll likely really like the Solo Air Lyrik. The second was around the build quality. A premium product such as this Lyrik Solo Air RC2DH should be put together properly. I find it hard to justifying the need to have my new fork overhauled before it will work properly.

This was exactly my experience with my old Lyrik and my newer Totem. Both forks were assembled poorly and were almost dry in the lower legs.
You're spot-on with the DH damper characteristics. With a bit of playing you can get them to feel great on a particular type of terrain but they feel really bad when you hit another type. With a Fox 36 you can dial them in perfectly for a Shore ride and they'll feel pretty decent up at WBP but not so with the RS DH damper. Set it up right for the Shore and it feels REALLY bad at Whistler. At Whistler my hands took a massive beating until I spent a bunch of time dialling it in. I've never felt differences like this in a fork. This isn't a problem if you take the time set it up right AND note the settings down for the next trip.

A premium product such as this Lyrik Solo Air RC2DH should be put together properly. I find it hard to justifying the need to have my new fork overhauled before it will work properly.

This was exactly my experience with my old Lyrik and my newer Totem. Both forks were assembled poorly and were almost dry in the lower legs.

This isn't just a problem with Rockshox. My 2011 Fox Float 36 RCL came wil less an 5ml of bath oil, ment to be 25mm in each leg and the air chamber had over 40mm of fluid which was ment to be 5ml.

I would like a review of a Bos Deville fork. :)

my 2011 boxxer came with enough oil in the lowers. it was a pleasant surprise.

i've had this fork (170mm Lyrik solo air DH compression tapered) on the nomad for a year and it is a fantastic fork. Especially for the terrain around here, it's extremely versatile. feels like a mini Boxxer WC IMO. Like any high performance suspension product, it pays to spend the time to ensure it is setup properly. yes spending a few bucks on a new product seems like salt in the wound (MSRP is a joke on these) but there is not much more bang for your buck than well setup suspension.