I haven't been riding for the past 2 or 3 years and havent been keeping up with the new stuff. I'm hoping to start riding again this season and i'm in the market for a new bike. I've already decided to get a 06 bighit frame, but i'm still deciding on a fork. I currently have a 02 shiver, and had a 02 boxxer before that. I'm looking for something light that can soak up the small bumps(whistler washboards). Basically i want a modern equivalent of a 02 boxxer. The guy at john henry recommended the totem solo air, but i've never ridden an air fork and i'm a bit concerned if it can absorb the small stuff like a coil fork. I did a bit of research and i'm aware that it's a high maintenance fork, but i'm ok with that. Another option is the boxxer race, but have they improved the valving at all since they first introduced that model? Also thinking about the marz 66, are marz forks still "set it and ride it" like they used to be? can it soak up the small stuff like the old boxxers?
any other suggestions appreciated, thanks.
go for totem solo-air, coil or domain 180mm.
You can't go wrong with any of the choices. Boxxer team is another solid fork, but i find single crowns to be better for nimbleness(not because of turning radius, but lower height.)
Boxxer is still the stiffest out of all of them, but totem is still very stiff. Lyrik is still a good option at 160mm, but i find it abit flexy. The Rockshox products are very easy to service, motion or mission control(the damping) is very easy, and effective.
Solo-air is awesome on Totem, i had it on lyrik i was very pleased with it at whistler kinda of riding, now im on u-turn, while coil is slightly better for smaller bumps, air ramps better for hits better.
One of the issue i had with lyrik solo-air was finding a good sag with sensitivity.
it would either be too stiff and blow out at the end, or be too soft to be useful. Having said that the solo-air never failed me, and i didn't feel too overwhelmed at garbonzo.
However, the Totem just feels soo much better with solo compare to my lyrik(it might be something with the larger air volume) i'd definetly go back to solo-air on my next bike if it equipped the totem.
I'venever tried totem coil down a trail, but i imagine it is slightly better than the solo-air in smaller bumps.
edit: The forks are pretty much set and forget it, but you can make minor adjustments that definitely make you faster. turn on the compression two clicks for less rocky, and bermy trails, you get superior cornering, and a less sluggish bike. Set the rebound faster for small bumps, and turn it up for dirt-jumps. Forks these days are super user-friendly.
