Best EMTB fork?.

[Alex Ebiker]

Will be upgrading to a better fork in the near future for aggressive trail riding.What have you found works for you in the 150-180mm range?.

So far I am thinking Zeb, Lryrik, Pike or Fox 38.

 

[Mteam]

If the lyrik and pike are on your short list , then the fox 36 (and maybe even fox 34) should probably also be on there.

To be honest , all/any of those will be decent options, just depends on your budget and what you class as trail riding.

It looks to me like the zeb ultimate is possibly the best for the money, or the fox 38 factory if money is no issue.

I think most people will not have ridden the current version of all those forks though , so people will largely recommend what they have.

 

[CJaMTB]

Have a very good look at the SR Suntour Durolux forks. I have previously always favoured the Lyrik Ultimate but, having recently picked one up through the trade, I have been riding a Durolux36 R2C2 for the last couple of months and so far have only good things to say about it. Performs way above its price point, which is half that of some of the Fox forks! My initial review is here.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

SR Suntour Durolux forks

I know there's suntour, and then there's suntour, and that their better forks are better and more in keeping compared to Fox or RS. But I've s-pent 20 years avoiding suntour, because from my standpoint, they've always been cheap and nasty. I am acknowledging higher end models, but how many cheap not fit for purpose bikes are there out there, both E and non E, and they all share a similar design, cheap, not fit for purpose parts, and the fork(Usually coated in more rust than a deep sea trawler), is always a suntour.

 

[CJaMTB]

I know there's suntour, and then there's suntour, and that their better forks are better and more in keeping compared to Fox or RS. But I've s-pent 20 years avoiding suntour, because from my standpoint, they've always been cheap and nasty. I am acknowledging higher end models, but how many cheap not fit for purpose bikes are there out there, both E and non E, and they all share a similar design, cheap not fit for purpose parts, and the fork(Usually coated in more rust that a deep sea trawler), the fork is always a suntour.

I think you need to get over that and look at guys like Sam Reynolds, Brett Tippie, Tom Isted, and others, who are charging far harder than you ever will, and all on Suntour forks. I take it you've never looked at the cheap, rusty, Rockshox crap forks then? Do some proper research, instead of turning your nose up dude.

 

[CJaMTB]

And just to qualify my above comments, I teach suspension mechanics at the only school in Europe that is directly supported by SRAM/Rockshox.

 

[eMullet]

Will be upgrading to a better fork in the near future for aggressive trail riding.What have you found works for you in the 150-180mm range?.

So far I am thinking Zeb, Lryrik, Pike or Fox 38.

If you are not big and heavy, Lyrik or Pike is would be okey. They are ~200-400g lighter than ZEB/Fox 38

 

[Alex Ebiker]

If you are not big and heavy, Lyrik or Pike is would be okey. They are ~200-400g lighter than ZEB/Fox 38

That is quite a bit lighter then. What about the rockshox domain. I think that is quite heavy too though. But once your over 20kg I should imagine it’s negligible anyway.

 

[Chicane]

If you are not big and heavy, Lyrik or Pike is would be okey. They are ~200-400g lighter than ZEB/Fox 38

My 160 Lyrik Ultimate w/ fender is right about 100g lighter than my 2021 150 Fox 36 w/fender.

 

[CJaMTB]

The Domain is indeed a heavy fork. If weight is your primary worry, I'd go Lyrik for anything 160mm or more, Pike for 150mm.

 

[Shjay]

Better than the Lyrik & 36 is the Manitou Mezzer very similar weight, & superior performance & stiffer than both having 37mm stanchions

 

[2WheelsNot4]

I think you need to get over that and look at guys like Sam Reynolds, Brett Tippie, Tom Isted, and others, who are charging far harder than you ever will, and all on Suntour forks. I take it you've never looked at the cheap, rusty, Rockshox crap forks then? Do some proper research, instead of turning your nose up dude.

Oh my, a real fanboi tantrum.

 

[CJaMTB]

Oh my, a real fanboi tantrum.

Pro cyclists ride what they're told to ride, they dont get much say in the matter.

But im just a lowly cyclist, not a pro rider, and ive only been riding a bike daily as my only form of transport and enjoyment for a mere 30 years, I mean what the fk do i know. How dare I have an opinion

Nice try at being a Dick, but I won't bite. You have any opinion you want, just understand that it doesn't make you right. Can't help but notice you use no facts or data to support you, just calling names. Get back to the playground...

 

[militantmandy]

As others have said, all the forks you mention will be good. I've had great experiences with Lyrik Ultimate and certainly haven't ever felt they were flexy. They can be had for decent money and are easy to set up. The Decoy came with a 38 Performance. I was initially sceptical but it's proved itself to be a great fork. Less adjustable, but easy to set up and feels great.

 

[CJaMTB]

Oh my, a real fanboi tantrum.

Pro cyclists ride what they're told to ride, they dont get much say in the matter.

But im just a lowly cyclist, not a pro rider, and ive only been riding a bike daily as my only form of transport and enjoyment for a mere 30 years, I mean what the fk do i know. How dare I have an opinion
Besides, if you read my post again, first wiping away the tears of incandescent rage, You can quite clearly see that I feel Suntour's poor reputation for much of their company life has left them with a poor reputation for quality gear, capable of the task its set.but I didnt apply that to suntours higher end fork. Any company can make one out of 100 products very good quality, but the fact remains if it says Suntour on it, and its not followed by XC Pro, or Superb, then its likely to be at the bottom end, and really not fiit for purpose.
But to keep you happy, we'll add 'Durolux' to the better quality and more up to the task Suntour component range.

So whats that now for Suntour 'quality' components - 1 fork and some discontinued groupsets.

Keep going with the edits...

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Nice try at being a Dick, but I won't bite. You have any opinion you want, just understand that it doesn't make you right. Can't help but notice you use no facts or data to support you, just calling names. Get back to the playground...

I wouldnt have reacted had you shown me any respect. About everyone here has one opinion or so on a range of bike related products.

Keep going with the edits...

Will do.

 

[CJaMTB]

I wouldnt have reacted had you shown me any respect. About everyone here has one opinion or so on a range of bike related products.

According to you, their opinion isnt worth tat because some pro's are paid to use that brand. My opinion differs from yours. So rather than saying 'Yeah, know what you mean, but this Durolux is pretty ok'. Nope you spouted off claiming a few pro riders go really hard, and because they go really hard on a single suntour fork, that to you is the epitome of of opinion. If you dont go 'Really Hard' you must be a complete amateur.

You mean like the respect you showed with your original post, or did you edit that too now? You are right though, I have no respect for you.

 

[CJaMTB]

Also, apologies to the OP, all I did was offer an alternative to the mainstream. A genuine alternative that I have ridden and rate, despite working indirectly for a different brand. And that's using my experience of riding since the late 70s. I would strongly urge you to read some proper reviews and make a judgement from there.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

You mean like the respect you showed with your original post, or did you edit that too now? You are right though, I have no respect for you.

I've shown you no disrespect. I have stated Suntour arent a great company, they mostly deal in the cheaper end of the market and in that their products are not worth having.
A quick look up on durolux confirms that.
" Unfortunately, at this point in time I can't recommend the Durolux 29 R2C2 as a viable option for riders looking to upgrade their current suspension. Its performance simply doesn't measure up to the other contenders currently on the market that weigh less and offer quieter, more consistent performance.— Mike Kazimer "


@OP. Ignore Suntour. Stick to a Fox 38 or a Zeb and you wont go wrong.

 

[Mikerb]

I can only speak for the Fox 38 factory and Lyric Ultimate. Both are great performers, the Lyric being more trail/all mountain and the Fox 38 more Enduro so I guess it also depends on your style of riding.

 

[CJaMTB]

I've shown you no disrespect. I have stated Suntour arent a great company, they mostly deal in the cheaper end of the market and in that their products are not worth having.
A quick look up on durolux confirms that.
" Unfortunately, at this point in time I can't recommend the Durolux 29 R2C2 as a viable option for riders looking to upgrade their current suspension. Its performance simply doesn't measure up to the other contenders currently on the market that weigh less and offer quieter, more consistent performance.— Mike Kazimer "


@OP. Ignore Suntour. Stick to a Fox 38 or a Zeb and you wont go wrong.

So your one quote means Suntour Durolux isn't worth riding? Geez, you are determined, I'll give you that.

OP: I work on MTB suspension, it's how I earn my living. I teach suspension mechanics at a school that is putting out the most highly qualified mechanics in Europe. Try the Durolux, it's happily up there with the rest but at a fraction of the price. It does not have the fully refined performance of some of the ultimate top-end forks, that's where the cash savings come in, but it is not far off. As I said previously, if weight is your primary concern (which it shouldn't be on most ebikes, the extra 2-300g won't even be noticed, unless riding something like the Levo SL, Lapierre E-Zesty, etc), then go with the Lyrik. I've put my money where my mouth is and ride a 170mm Durolux36 EQ R2C2 on my Vitus E-Sommet. The pros I mentioned above, please check out their riding and tell me if it looks like the Durolux isn't up to the job. I know guys who ride with Tom, he's a local, and he doesn't switch out forks every ride, or have custom tunes. He just rides the off-the-shelf product, and rides it relatively hard I think you'd agree. I could now chuck in links to reviews that show the Zeb ain't all it's cracked up to be but, as I said earlier, I'd encourage you to do your own research instead.

I won't post again, as there is nothing more I can add to back up my point and you should never argue with an idiot, so over to 2wheels, who doesn't seem to be willing to let this go...

 

[2WheelsNot4]

you should never argue with an idiot,

Well im trying not to, but you keep quoting me.

 

[CJaMTB]

Well im trying not to, but you keep quoting me.

But I'm not making you reply!

 

[George_KSL]

Not going to argue about any specific fork, as seen above how that can end :- ) but I am of opinion that even light-weight e-bikes (Kenevo SL, which I ride, Levo SL, Orbea Rise, etc..) are heavy enough (18+ kg) that the added weight of most heavy-duty forks (ZEB, Float 38, RFX 38, Mezzer, EXT,..) which is around 200-300 grams is more than reasonable penalty for all the benefits, which really isn't just about more stiffness (and less binding sometimes). Those forks have larger air chambers, bigger dampers with more oil, etc.. resulting in better ride characteristics.

And they also look really damn cool ;- ) And lot more proportional visually on e-bikes. I would buy ZEB again again just because I love how it looks. I mean it's still not Totem level good... but close enough for me!

 

[Gary]

It's all subjective.
All the major suspension brands have very good forks.
There's a lot to be said for ease of set-up though and amount of folk who've splashed out on top end Fox suspension who don't even understand what the adjusters actually do is quite astounding.

 

[Gary]

Just ignore 2Wheels input to the thread. He has no idea what he's talking about.
The irony is that Suntour is an absolutely massive organisation who as well as being a huge OEM supplier to bike companies actually manufacture parts for many well respected brands . Including forks. (he would probably argue are better)

 

[urastus]

but how many cheap not fit for purpose bikes are there out there, both E and non E, and they all share a similar design, cheap not fit for purpose parts, and the fork(Usually coated in more rust that a deep sea trawler), the fork is always a suntour.

Isn't it more to do with the people who buy those bikes? How many of them do any maintenance? I see them all the time too - most of the time they can't change gears because of simple adjustment issues, chains are never lubed, tyres are flat. I started into mtb about 12 years ago and bought a cheap fluid mtb from anaconda. It had 75mm travel steel forks. I soon upgraded but kept that bike for practice and urban transport, and kept it well maintained. I ran it down stairs all over Hobart and off concrete ledges, tried to climb up small sets of steps, track standing, playing at skate parks etc. I only gave it away a year ago, still in very good order; no rust and everything working. I kept the wheels trued and strong. The rear hub was a bit bent so the bearings had a loose spot - it was a hardtail and I really didn't know what I was doing. It took a lot of punishment.

 

[VWsurfbum]

If you're interested i have some 27.5" Fox 36's off my Heckler that I took off last night to try a Mullet set up?

 

[Waynemarlow]

No mention of Marzocchi yet, got to be one of the best value for money. All the benefits of Fox's engineering with Marzocchi design on a budget. Been using them since 1990 and always been so reliable to boot.

Review: Marzocchi's New Bomber Z2 Fork is Impressive & Affordable - Pinkbike

Marzocchi's 150mm-travel Z2 is the revitalized brand's first stand-alone fork. We think you're going to like it

www.pinkbike.com

 

[CJaMTB]

Marzocchi are good but they're just old Fox tech. You get (most of) the best of Fox engineering but not the best of Fox tech, just look at the dampers. A good budget fork for sure, but you can get a lot better performance for the money, especially if you shop around a bit. That said, some good 2nd hand or old stock deals about.