Levo SL Gen 1 160? 44mm? GRIP2? Stock fork swap on the S-works 2020

[teapeaage]

Hi!

After some time riding on the stock Fox Factory 34 150mm (51mm offset) on my Levo SL, I think I'm ready to upgrade the fork, as I feel I need more suppleness - I'm a 6"1 190lbs dude, from time to time I will go on a couple gnarlier trails (used to do proper DH but not anymore), usually it's a lot of allmountain trails with a couple steep descents/rockgardens and jumps.

I want to stick to FOX (I have a decent deal on them in Europe), but my options are the following
- FIT4 damper, 150mm 51mm offset - No change to geometry but I heard GRIP2 is miles better than FIT4 and this one is only 80EUR cheaper than GRIP2 alternatives
- GRIP2 damper, 160mm, 51mm offset - will make my H/A a bit slacker (which should be ok for my gnarlier moments - but again, not that many of them in my riding), but offset and manoeuvrability should stay the same?
- GRIP2 damper, 150mm, 44mm offset - Never reduced offset on a bike, I heard it will be less manoeuvrable on twisty trails (I like to be manouverable), but more stable at high speeds (not sure I need that), but the H/A won't change.

I'm most leaning towards 160mm/51mm GRIP2 option but was wondering if anyone here can help here or has experiences with these changes? Maybe those 10mm of travel will be fine in the end?

Regards,

 

[salko]

You won't really notice +10mm in fork travel ...

 

[Mcharza]

10 mm is not much and you can keep lower pressure and more sag. HA doesn't change too much and you keep already gentle seatpost angle almost the same

 

[PCRover]

I swapped up to a 160mm/51mm fork and didn't notice any difference other than a better ride from a better fork.

 

[Pdoz]

If you are good enough to really need to move from 34 to 36 then you probably WILL notice the difference 10 mm makes , but if you dislike the feel it'll be easier to swap airshafts than offset !

I was perfectly happy with the 34 but grabbed a 36 x 160 at a great price because my ego is more advanced than my skillset. Every ride since has involved suspension tweaking in an attempt to replicate the original magic.: " correct" sag and I struggle to keep the front down on technical climbs , extra sag and the front feels mushy, extra tokens with extra sag is getting close, dropping the stem is getting closer. A smarter person would slip the 34's back in but I'm thinking perhaps upgrading the rear shock will be more ego friendly......