Avalanche upgrade for Pike

Just saw over on Bike Rumor that Avalanche has Pike upgrades available now. Linky.

I know there's a few Avy users on the board that swear up and down that it's the best upgrade they've ever done to their forks. I view that sort of feedback with less skepticism than massive marketing campaigns or vacuous articles written about the next best thing, like in my other thread over here…

So, being that I have a Pike, I would rather spend $200 on an upgrade that may or may not make a difference, instead of $1,200 on a new fork that may or may not be as good as everyone says. Anyone care to offer their experiences with Avalanche stuff? I see their site has a "rider level" selector. Beginner, Sport, Expert, Semi/Ex Pro, or Pro. If I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty square in the Sport category. Is it even worth considering the upgrade? I'm looking at the Charger upgrade and not the entire open bath system…

Thanks all!

Sportish level rider here. Getting a little slower as mid life creeps in.

Have the Avy cartridge in a 2010 boxxer. Definitely a big improvement over the stock internals. Originally came over damped for my slowish speeds but I think I have it pretty much sorted now. Easy to reshim and rebuild. No plans on upgrading it any time soon.

I have no riding time on an Avalanche tuned Pike.
Just on a regular PIKE RC - and the Avalanche upgrade sounds great.

I´d definitely consider it at some point BUT:

I feel the Pike works very, very good already. If you don´t have money to burn, why don´t wait till your Pike needs a service anyway?

You´ll save a chunk of cash and a proper serviced fork feels always best ;-)

If your PIKE is already due for a service - DO it.
And tell me afterwards if it was worthwile…

I feel the Pike works very, very good already. If you don´t have money to burn, why don´t wait till your Pike needs a service anyway?

You´ll save a chunk of cash and a proper serviced fork feels always best ;-)

If your PIKE is already due for a service - DO it.
And tell me afterwards if it was worthwile…

+1 - that's my plan. Got a new bike coming with a Float X and Pike. I'll send the Float X to Avy at the end of the summer and then do the Pike next if I feel it needs it.

A custom Avy rebuild of my Nomad's shock made the bike 100% better. No regrets there.

Is it even worth considering the upgrade?

what are you aiming to improve with the upgrade?

what are you aiming to improve with the upgrade?

To be 100% honest: I have no idea.

I'm a pretty rudimentary suspension user, I never use the lock out function, and barely even the trail function. That being said, it seems to be a good idea to offer a bit more external tuning options instead of a lock out function.

The Pike is the best feeling fork I've ever used, so maybe I should try to cure my upgradeitis before I spend money on something that won't really make any difference for me…

The Pike is the best feeling fork I've ever used, so maybe I should try to cure my upgradeitis before I spend money on something that won't really make any difference for me…

you think?

If you classify yourself in the "sport"category according to your little chart above, and really don't understand or tune you fork currently, then you won't appreciate the difference.

Save your money and spend it on riding lessons that will up your skill level.

If you classify yourself in the "sport"category according to your little chart above, and really don't understand or tune you fork currently, then you won't appreciate the difference.

Save your money and spend it on riding lessons that will up your skill level.

+1 - take your bike to a suspension expert and get it tuned for you in it's current configuration. Write down those settings and see what happens.

Most riders are on FS bikes that are not performing to their potential due to poor setup. At least based on the sample of bikes that I come across.

+1 - take your bike to a suspension expert and get it tuned for you in it's current configuration. Write down those settings and see what happens.

Most riders are on FS bikes that are not performing to their potential due to poor setup. At least based on the sample of bikes that I come across.

+1 again. Go spend some time with Arthur at Suspension Therapy. You'd be surprised at home much better your bike can feel. Plus you'll have a starting point for a more scientific understanding of how your gear feels. Chances are your bike's performance can be improved a lot.

The Pike is an awesome fork out of the box. I've had mine since last summer and I'm still experimenting with it. I've had it serviced once, put both volume spacers in and extended the travel to 160. I'm still messing with it.

+1 again. Go spend some time with Arthur at Suspension Therapy. You'd be surprised at home much better your bike can feel. Plus you'll have a starting point for a more scientific understanding of how your gear feels. Chances are your bike's performance can be improved a lot.

The Pike is an awesome fork out of the box. I've had mine since last summer and I'm still experimenting with it. I've had it serviced once, put both volume spacers in and extended the travel to 160. I'm still messing with it.

Did you have to buy new parts for the travel change?
I have mine at 150mm right now and wouldn't mind testing it at 160mm…

Did you have to buy new parts for the travel change?
I have mine at 150mm right now and wouldn't mind testing it at 160mm…

Yup. It was an air sleeve or something. I paid around $70 for parts and labour, and had the two volume reducers put in. Plus I got a servicing which was nice since the fork was only a few months old and I wanted to make sure everything was cool as far as fluid levels and whatnot.

Cool, thanks.

I might just buy a proper park-bike instead :deadhorse:

Not having a gf/wife anymore kind of inspires to fulfill some long dreamed wishes. :grinno:

So, being that I have a Pike, I would rather spend $200 on an upgrade that may or may not make a difference, instead of $1,200 on a new fork that may or may not be as good as everyone says. Anyone care to offer their experiences with Avalanche stuff? I see their site has a "rider level" selector. Beginner, Sport, Expert, Semi/Ex Pro, or Pro. If I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty square in the Sport category. Is it even worth considering the upgrade? I'm looking at the Charger upgrade and not the entire open bath system…

Thanks all!

I think the 'rider level' is more or less how aggressive they tune the kit for you. Send an email to them and it'll be a quick reply.

As for is it worth it: I'll just say yes without riding it. My experience each time with Avalanche has been what I wanted. Send a part away, get the same yet better functioning part back. You smile before you ride just by how the compression feels in the driveway. You literally dont have to adjust it, just install and ride (least for the rear shocks. Use the right oil weight if you're doing your own fork).

I'd honestly do it before the summer but thats me and as most of the board knows given some thread I started, I love me my Avalanche stuff.