The main focus of this article is going to be to provide a comprehensive overview of the best suspension forks for bikepacking.
It might feel counterintuitive to mount a front suspension on a rig meant for touring. Isn’t a rigid fork the best platform to mount luggage to, to ensure stiffness and low rolling resistance, to prevent constant bobbing while you’re trying to get from point A to B? The short answer is “no”, but let’s dive into a number of aspects related to using front suspension for bikepacking purposes.
The first one has to do with usage. Mountain bike suspension is meant to traverse terrain with various degrees of roughness, probably as fast as possible, with as much comfort and control as possible. I assume that’s not the case for bikepacking. Although you might want to ride fast and comfortably, you’re probably not looking to become the next UCI downhill champion.
It means forks applicable for bikepacking are traditionally going to be used for lighter MTB disciplines like cross country, downcountry or endurance XC, or (short-travel) trail riding. The amount of travel within these disciplines is between 80 and 160mm. The stanchion width for XC is 32mm, or 30 for cheaper variants. That for downcountry and trail riding is between 34 and 36mm. Trail forks start at a stanchion width 35mm and go up to 38mm for long-travel trail and enduro, and have160mm of travel or more, which I feel is just too much for an ATB or bikepacking bike.
Another aspect is that bikepacking doesn’t have a racing-aspect associated with it, so stiffness, durability, and longevity trump weight saving gains. Especially when the bike is carrying extra luggage, and that luggage might be mounted to the lower legs of the suspension.
The most technical aspect has to do with the compression and rebound configuration or rather, what type of damper is most suitable for bikepacking. That question is a little more difficult to answer, because even for bikepacking it’s kind of personal. That being said, I do feel that by far low-speed compression, or reduction in what is known as “trail chatter” should be at the forefront of what’s really important.
Sure it’s nice that you can soak up big hits at speed, but it’s probably far more important to prevent harshness and its accompanying hand and body fatigue as you’re eating up mile after mile. But the forks with the best dampers and the most options to configure offer both, because suspension is not intended to be used for smooth riding only.
A front suspension needs to be regularly maintained, about 1 time a year or after 1500 miles. The amount of abuse the fork will receive should be significantly less for bikepacking than for XC or trail riding. I just can’t imagine anyone doing a bikepacking trip that’s a long concatenated string of single-track. So unless you’re in an accident or riding a lemon, I do not expect the front suspension for bikepacking to be needing more maintenance than for its more traditional use of mountain biking.
Since I have written a special post about front suspension for gravel riding, I’m going to cover forks meant for 26, 27.5, and 29 inch wheels here. With that out of the way, let’s head over to my list of the very best suspension forks for bikepacking.
Fox 34 Factory
Though they might have very similar looks and even share the same name the Fox 34 Factory is still a very different fork than the Fox 34 Step-Cast Factory.
The latter fork is very XC-oriented, with a focus on weight reduction (Step-Cast), tire clearance in line with the popular 2.25 width of cross country tires, up to 120mm of travel, and a FIT4 damper with optional lockout for climbing and sprinting.
The Fox 34 Factory sits much more squarely into trail territory by moving the max travel to 140mm and offering the highly adjustable GRIP2 damper, which has both high- an low speed compression adjustment (instead of only low speed). The option to dial in your compression adjustment for both high- and low speed starts to make more sense if there’s more travel to work with, hence you don’t see this damper on XC forks.
With the GRIP2 damper the Fox 34 is the first four-way adjustable front suspension in their lineup. Besides a little weight penalty over the FIT4 damper, and the fact its a bladder-less cartridge damper that holds more oil, by far the biggest difference between the two dampers is the amount of adjustability. The GRIP2 goes all-out in this respect with a 16-click dial for low-speed compression adjustment, within a 9-click dial for high-speed compression adjustment.
That immediately showcases the target audiences for this fork, since both damper options are available with the Fox 34 Factory. The 3-position lever to quickly configure your compression is incredibly easy to setup for every rider out there, and is still a fantastic option for this fork. The GRIP2 damper is the better option for quickly traversing rough terrain, and is the core reason why it makes its appearance on a trail fork.
The FLOAT EVOL (Extra Volume) air spring has a larger negative air chamber, besides the standard positive one. Aside from supporting your weight in a neutral position, the air spring offers a more linear spring curve that’s supple off the top on small bumps yet still has the support to resist bottoming out on those big hits.
The size of the positive air chamber can still be reduced as you’re used to with air volume spacers, without affecting the functionality of the negative chamber. By reducing the air volume of the positive air chamber you make the fork act more progressive, resisting bottoming out more for those of you who like to ride hard and aggressive.
I’ve already meantioned this is a much more trail-worthy partner than the Step-Cast. Besides the different damper, the Fox 34 Factory has a max tire clearance of 2.6 inches, which covers the entire range of trail tires and probably enduro as well. The orange version only comes with 140mm of travel, while the black one is also available in a downcountry-ish 130mm.
- Same name as the Step-Cast, very different but excellent fork for short-travel trail riding
- Max travel of 140mm
Fox 34 Performance Elite
The Fox 34 Performance Elite is the non-Kashima coated version of the Fox 34 Factory.
All premium front suspension has anodized stanchions to protect them, increasing its longevity and durability, and offer low-stiction, smooth performance. The Kashima coat enhances both by smoothing out the microscopically rough bumps in the anodization layer even more with the characteristic bronze coating.
As far as damper options are concerned there’s only one, which is the FIT4, which can adjust the low-speed compression in a 130mm travel fork. The entire package makes this a somewhat more affordable option for endurance XC and/or short-travel light trail bikes.
- More affordable Fox 34 for endurance XC and light trail riding
- Only comes with FIT4 damper and 130mm of travel
Fox 34 Performance
As far as entry-level goes with Fox the Fox 34 Performance is the most affordable option with 34mm stanchions, coming with 140mm of travel and the GRIP damper.
This damper further simplifies the setup. The GRIP damper is a compression-damping technology that offers 3 on-the-fly settings equating Open (no damping), and Firm damping configurations with infinite adjustment in between 3 detents. The settings can be configured with a single dial.
Furthermore it offers a 10-click rebound adjuster knob at the bottom of the damper, which means you cannot independently adjust high- and low-speed rebound. This improves ease of setup at the cost of adjustability.
With 3 settings including dedents in between, there’s still a ton of low-speed compression adjustment this fork offers. And you might argue that, for obvious reasons, a well configured GRIP2 damper improves support and stability for your mid-stroke and your big hits.
But that’s emphasizing the willingness and ability to configure your damper correctly. This much more straightforward approach to front suspension adjustability will probably suit more riders.
- Meant for the majority of riders who want a hassle-free Fox front suspension for short-travel trail bikes
- GRIP damper lacks sophistication in mid-stroke and tail-end of the travel when compared to the GRIP2
Fox 36 Factory
Probably every “best of” list concerning trail suspension has this one on its list, which is the Fox 36 Factory. And with a travel sitting in between 150 and 160mm for the black version, and 160mm for the glossy orange one, it has trail ridding written all over it.
Max rotors of 230mm, tire clearance up to 2.8 inch, and the GRIP2 option for both 29 and 27.5 wheels, means you get all the adjustment you’re ever going to need to shred basically any kind of trail. And depending on your bike and weight, this fork can also be used for more enduro-style adventuring.
Just as the Fox 34 Factory, this one with 36mm stanchions still offers the FIT4 damper as well. The FIT4 is the top-of-the-line damper for Fox’s XC lineup, so one is not really better than the other. The difference resides in its usage, and where adjustability of high-speed compression starts to make more sense.
A 160mm travel trail bike can definitely be used on hard-hitting terrain where you want to maximise your control and finetune the mid- and end stroke of your compression. It’s not to say that you can only do that with the GRIP2 damper, you can just do it in a more fine-grained way.
But you not only have the damper side to contend with, there’s also the FLOAT EVOL air spring with independently adjustable positive and negative air chambers. And on top of that, you can change the volume of the air chamber with volume spacers to change the linearity of the spring curve. Or rather, in layman’s terms, how fast the fork will stiffen when going through its travel. The less air volume the quicker it stiffens.
I guess all I’m trying to say here is that you can write an encyclopedia about the amount of adjustability you can tinker with the top-end version of this fork. It’s just mind-boggling. So to end this little review, that’s both its strength and maybe its downside.
The Factory version of the 36 is nothing short of absolutely awesome. It’s one of the very best trail forks ever made, and you can play with the configuration to your heart’s content. The specifications besides the adjustability of the fork are outstanding and will support any configuration of trail bike. It’s up to you whether you want to go for the FIT4 versus the GRIP2.
- Gold standard for trail suspension
- Price. GRIP2 might be over-specced for the majority of riders.
Fox 36 Performance Elite
It’s very interested to see that where the Performance Elite for the Fox 34 favors the FIT4 damper over the GRIP2, it’s just the other way around for the Fox 36 Performance Elite. In this case, there’s only the GRIP2 damper option. All other options (except for Kashima coating and additional rake options) are exactly the same.
What we can learn from that is what I already concluded earlier. High-speed compression adjustability, something which only the GRIP2 offers, starts to make more sense with longer travel forks. In this case the Fox 36 Performance Elite only comes in a 160mm version.
And just to reiterate. The GRIP2 damper has a total of 25 settings to configure, divided into 16 clicks for low-speed compression adjustment, and 9 clicksl for high-speed compression adjustment. And if you’re willing to spend the kind of money for this type of fork, you’re also somebody who’s willing to spend the extra time setting it up correctly.
Whether those assumptions from Fox’ sales department is true is up to you of course.
- Saving those 100 bucks you'd otherwise spend on orange lower legs and still get all the specs of a Fox 36
- GRIP2 only (no FIT4) with no Kashima coat
RockShox Recon Silver RL
RockShox Recon Silver RL (Rebound and Lockout) has a number of things going for it that set it apart from the pack of budget-friendly MTB forks.
The most obvious one is the price, which sits just above 200 USD depending on the travel you choose. This is very cheap for a 32mm stanchioned front suspension offering low-speed compression and rebound damping.
Because of its popularity and widespread appeal, RockShox has been smart enough to offer them in a broad range of travel, ranging from 100 up to 150mm of travel, for 27.5 and 29 inch wheels, 1.5 tapered and 1 1/8 straight steerers, various fork offsets, ample tire clearance, and Motion Control damper with Solo Air air spring.
The RockShox Motion Control damper is a budget-friendly option with minimal adjustability, offering an incredibly easy setup. It’s the oldest and most simple damping technology in RockShox lineup, with more complex variations either no longer available or being replaced by newer compression damping-technology.
The damper offers a single dial for open and closed low-speed compression damping. A full lockout can be enabled and completely closes the compression oil ports. The damper also offers a neat failsafe mechanism, which opens the compression valve cover on a locked out fork during a big hit, preventing possible damage to the internals and enabling fork travel again. It allows for a single big hit before a spring closes the valve cover again.
The SoloAir air spring simplifies suspension setup by being able to inflate both positive and negative air chambers using a single schrader valve. It means you always run the same pressure in both chambers. Although it is easier to set up, the fact that there’s no independent configuration of both air chambers does away with customisation of the initial travel characteristics, which translates to fine tuning small-bump sensitivity.
Since both chambers run the same pressure, it’s not possible to run a higher pressure in the negative air chamber, which is used for the downward stroke since it sits at the bottom of the air spring. This reduces the small-bump sensitivity obtainable with this type of air spring.
Simply looking at the specs and what you need to pay for this fork versus high-end ones, which are 2 to 4 times as expensive, it’s very easy indeed to see why this one also sells 2 to 4 times as much. Probably more than that.
- Incredibly well-specced budget offering from RockShox. Many configuration options to suit a wide range of bikes. Cheapest fork with 32mm stanchions.
- None within this price range
RockShox Revelation RC
The RockShox Revelation RC (Rebound and Compression) is based on the trail chassis of the more premium Pike. The difference between the two, besides a substantial drop in price, is both the damper and air spring technology used in this fork.
The fact it uses the same chassis means that you can upgrade to the more expensive damper and air spring used in the Pike, if you feel you’ve outgrown it. However, that’s not why you should buy this fork, because the combined price is much more expensive than buying the specific Pike in the first place.
It can be called a mid-tier mountain bike suspension with a Motion Control damper but an upgrade from the Recon with the DebonAir air spring. The biggest feature of the DebonAir air spring is the large negative air chamber sitting at the bottom of the spring.
Because of its larger adjustable volume it offers better configurability of small-bump sensitivity. And because there’s more air to compress it ramps up more linearly providing improved control and comfort while reducing the risk of bottoming out.
Because of its popularity, RockShox offers a wide variety of options and specifications similar to those of the Recon. Only the 9mm open dropout and lack of 1 1/8 steerer might be missing for those with older rigs.
What you see with products in general and front suspension specifically is that prices ramp up pretty quickly. RockShox needed to differentiate their lineup enough for people with varying budgets to be able to pick a fork they like, and the combination of features of this year’s Revelation is probably the best one of their entire lineup if you ask me.
It’s one of the best trail forks that can still be called budget-friendly, sitting well below the 500 dollar mark. It’s not as ridiculously cheap as the Recon but offers more riding versatility with 35mm stanchions and better adjustability. A well maintained Revelation can last you many years with foolproof performance, making this fork a financially sound investment in improving your riding experience.
- Best budget trail fork with high levels of adjustability
- None within this price range
RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
When you start comparing the big brands in front suspension, probably the most popular comparison is the one between RockShox Lyrik Ultimate and the Fox 36 Factory. Here’s my take on that comparison.
Although there are obvious similarities, there are a number of differences which might nudge you into the direction of one over the other. As for similarities, they both come with 140 to 160mm of travel, 15×110 axle width, 44mm rake, tapered 1.5 inch steerers and for both 27.5 and 29 wheel sizes.
The difference, besides the damper, is small as well. 35 versus 36 mm stanchions, 220 versus 230 max rotor size, 3.2 versus 2.6 inch max tire width, which you’re probably not going to need for normal trail riding, and a pretty similar weight and price as well. And you can leave your zip ties at home, since the Lyrik also features lower leg bleeders to remove pressure buildup caused by sucking air into them.
Then for a little bit of tech-talk about the damper. The RockShox Lyrik Ultimate features the Charger 3 damper, offering a 15-click dial for low-speed compression adjustment, within a 5-click dial for high-speed compression adjustment. This pretty extensive low- and high speed adjustment can be achieved without introducing additional harshness and loss of control.
The Charger 3 offers a 18-click rebound adjuster knob at the bottom of the damper, which means you cannot independently adjust high- and low-speed rebound. This improves ease of setup at the cost of adjustability. The damper does not use an expanding bladder (neither does Fox’ GRIP2), which is a more durable construction offering a lower risk of stiction and smoother fork action.
It also has more oil volume using a spring-backed floating piston to control oil flow, making it the plushest fork in RockShox’ catalog. Even more so, because both damper and air spring are offered with otherwise optional ButterCup suspension technology.
It reduces high-frequency vibrations otherwise known as “trail chatter”. This is the result of a fork not being responsive enough to handle small rocks and roots, directly translating the impacts to your body, causing fatigue, hand numbness, and even neck and shoulder issues on longer rides.
The buttercup on the damper side essentially holds two elastomers looking like small rubber pucks between a metal plate sitting within an aluminum housing, at the end of each shaft. The air spring side only has one of those pucks, with an o-ring sitting on the upper side. That’s because the air spring is much more effective on compression (downward stroke) not on the rebound (upward stroke).
They function as a suspension within a suspension, offering about 4mm of vertical compliance, taking out the smallest of trail irregularities, before the more advanced suspension technology is activated and reducing roughly (a claimed) 20% of trail chatter.
The first thing I thought as a guy having bikes with 30-year old suspension on it, was that it was nothing else than an elastomer with a fancy name slapped onto it. But it’s not, and it would be unfair to compare technologies decades apart. The only thing from a durability and financial perspective is that it definitely does add more components and complexity to the overall fork.
An air spring is made up of a shaft on which in this case a floating piston is installed, sitting between two seals. The Debonair+ air spring improves upon earlier models, by swapping out the plastic shaft for an aluminum one.
Larger volume negative air chambers for all three iterations is achieved by hollowing out the top hat of the piston. Just as with Fox’s Float EVOL air spring, the DebonAir+ larger negative air chamber offers a more linear spring curve and a reduced risk of bottoming out.
All skepticism aside, the suspension giant has outdone itself by creating the Lyrik Ultimate, which could indeed be the ultimate trail riding front suspension to dig deep into your wallet for.
- The best trail fork currently on the market
- None
RockShox Lyrik Select
The RockShox Lyrik Select is cheaper version of the Ultimate. Similar to other Ultimate/Select pairs, it swaps out the most expensive damper, in this case the Charger 3 with ButterCups, into a Charger RC (Rebound Compression) version. RockShox has been smart enough to make the drop in price exactly the same as well.
Recently RockShox has started messing up their naming conventions for damper technology, which makes it really difficult to know what’s what through the years. The Charger RC (Rebound Compression) is basically an older-style damper using bladder technology. This means a little bit less robust than the current Charger 3 damper, but is being offered for a much lower price.
You lose high-speed compression adjustability, which might not really make a difference for women and lighter riders. There are still a ton of travel options available, all the fork offsets you ever want to choose from, and the ability to mount a massive rotor without an adapter with a very burly front tire.
It’s a great platform for the average rider, since if you do want to move up in terms of specifications, the chassis supports compatibility with the better damper. Yet the lack of ButterCups combined with the initial force to get the fork moving, makes for a poppy fork that’s a bit harsher than both its more expensive brethren and the competition. On the flipside, you do get a fork that handles rough terrain at high speed excellent, and you can preload the suspension on jumps and in corners.
With so many of the specifications being the same, you’d argue that the cheaper Select would be a great value for people wanting to save a bit of cash. However, the upgrade ability is nice, but in the end will be more expensive than buying an Ultimate from the start. So unless you already have the better damper laying around and know how to install it, the feature is an expensive one at best.
- Poppy and active trail fork
- Harsher than its competition, in the same price category and earlier iterations. No high-speed compression adjustment. The Ultimate version is really better
RockShox Pike Ultimate
I could copy and paste the exact same text of the Lyrik Ultimate here for a description of the RockShox Pike Ultimate. I have no idea why RockShox slaps two different names on products which are basically identical.
Going up from 120mm of travel up to 160mm in steps of 10mm the Pike overlaps the Lyrik on the 140mm version. I don’t know if it’s the case, but the 140mm Pike could be exactly the same as the 140mm Lyrik except for the decals.
If the Lyrik Ultimate was dubbed as the “Ultimate” trail riding fork, the same could be said for the Pike as being the ultimate downcountry or heavy-duty XC fork.
- Downcountry dream fork
- None
RockShox Pike Select
Just as the Pike Ultimate is very similar to the Lyrik Ultimate the, you guessed it, RockShox Pike Select shows the exact same similarities to the Lyrik Select.
Similar specifications with overlapping travel, again for the 140mm travel version.
- See Lyrik Select
- See Lyrik Select
Manitou Markhor
My heart rejoices in the fact that there’s still a manufacturer of front suspension that deems it wise to offer a fork for 26 inch mountain bikes. And just as legendary as the brand itself was in the 90s with the Manitou Markhor you can mount a new front suspension to your old rig. Making this fork, one of the best options for 26 inch mountain bikes.
Of course there’s also a 27.5 and 29 inch version of this fork. The fork is internally adjustable to various travel lengths residing in cross country territory, from 80 to 110mm. So it’s not only for bike restorers, but also for (patient) DIY bike mechanics.
Featuring 30mm stanchions, 9mm dropouts or a BOOST thru axle, the fork is available in a 1.5 and 1 1/8 steerer, increasing its versatility of being used for older style bikes.
It has a reverse arch, which means the arch sits at the back of the legs, not the front. The benefit of such a setup is a small reduction in weight and/or a small increase in stiffness. A much bigger benefit is that the arch serves as a protection against dirt and mud getting onto the stanchions and seals. You also move the brake hose to the back of the suspension, which is arguably a more protected area than sitting out front.
MTB suspension is actually suspension you find on regular motocross bikes turned upside down. Normally the lower legs are up and the stanchions come out of them at the bottom. Because of stiffness problems MTB suspension has evolved into the design as we know it. The biggest downside of the MTB design is that dust seals face upwards and are far more exposed to debris moving past them. The reverse arch goes a long way in protecting both your stanchions and seals, thus the entire fork, from getting contaminated.
Whether you like the aesthetics of the reverse arch is of course a personal choice. The downside of the arch bearing the brunt of everything the front wheel picks up and throws at it, is that the open parts of the arch clog up, but that’s a small price to pay for the benefits this construction offers.
The fork has a fairly standard lockout for the damper, so no compression adjustability besides open and closed. A rebound adjuster knob with infinite adjustment sits at the bottom, and a simple schrader valve is used for your air spring. The lockout will still allow for a small amount of travel when activated. The entire process is as straightforward as its easy, which probably suits the target audience for this budget-friendly option.
- Reverse arch construction improves longevity, reduces need to clean seals, and increases stiffness. Lots of options for XC oriented bikes, including a 26 inch version. Travel can be reduced using spacers.
- None
Marzocchi Bomber Z2
The Marzocchi Bomber Z2 shares the same air spring as the Fox 34 Rhythm, which means you also get the same adjustable travel within a single front suspension, from 100mm up to 150 of travel.
Being able to use high-grade components from its mother company pays dividends, creating one of the best-performing forks in its price category for budget-minded people. The Marzocchi Bomber Z2 is one of the best examples where you can obtain a premium riding experience without paying top dollar simply because the fork doesn’t bear the name Fox or RockShox.
The FLOAT air spring sits in Fox’s top-of-the-line XC and trail forks and can be found here as well. It supports installing volume spacers to reduce the size of the positive air chamber for increased progressiveness and bottoming out resistance. Since the volume spacers do nothing with the negative air chamber (used for the downward stroke), small bump sensitivity is minimally impacted.
The Rail damper is where the biggest difference sits. It’s a semi open-bath construction, which means the containing cartridge is removed and the internals are sitting in the shaft of the stanchion, which reduces complexity and costs. It arguably is a design that needs less maintenance as well, because of the larger volume to hold oil and the lack of a bladder, which is a delicate part of the damper. An increase in weight is the downside.
Whatever the design, the heavy Z2 does smooth out the trail as none of its competition does, reducing trail chatter to an absolute minimum. And the easy adjustability of both external damper and air spring, as well as the ability to reduce air volume enables you to finetune the entire length of travel to your specific setup, just as you would with any of the most expensive forks out there.
And they come in a glossy red finish as well, what more could you ask for?
- Remarkable trail fork offering the best value-for-money for a mid-tier suspension fork. Highly adjustable with Fox premium internals to smooth out any trail.
- None for its pricepoint
MRP Ribbon SL
The MRP Ribbon SL differs from other more race-oriented XC forks. It’s heavier and comes in a 130mm version and is the only high-end XC fork in a 1.128 (1 1/8) tapered steerer. With 35mm stanchions in combination with the weight, you can clearly see why it you shouldn’t compare this fork to your Fox 32 or RockShox Ultimate SL.
MRP calls this an endurance XC slash trail fork, which basically means longer slower rides, instead of shorter faster trips. Its direct competition would be the Fox 34 and RockShox SID Ultimate, the latter also coming with 35mm stanchions.
The 120 or 130mm version with a choice of 44 and 51mm rake can be internally adjusted to a 110mm fork. Although actually setting it up this way means you’re probably introducing an off-balance rig, with your rear shock being underpowered with respect to this front suspension. So either 120 or 130mm is the way to go for this fork.
It means it’s a beefy XC fork with proper trail capabilities that’s meant for hard riding, since there’s a noticeable stiction in the beginning of the stroke. What it does to your riding style is enabling a planted feel on bumpy, high-speed sections, while it very quickly ramps up in the last third of the travel. It might actually outshine both the Fox 34 and RockShox SID Ultimate. Those forks however, offer better small-bump sensitivity.
Another downside of such a late ramping up of the fork is that it’s less playful while cornering and on small jumps. Instead of properly pre-loading the fork, you simply use the suspension and it stays in mid-stroke or halfway there.
The FulFill Air air spring’s dual air chamber can be independently inflated. This means you can overinflate the negative, or lower chamber for additional support and provide greater control for small-bump sensitivity. Increased control on harsher terrain, and reduced risk of bottoming out are also more highly tunable. The increased adjustability of the air spring does mean it takes a little more time to setup correctly.
Just as with the Baxter fork MRP has made a smart move when trying to compete with the big dogs, by making a similar product with distinct enough characteristics to target a specific niche. A true downcountry XC fork for the most aggressive trails within this discipline are up for grabs with this fork.
- Great downcountry option for staying in control on fast, rocky trails
- Less playful than its competition with prolonged mid-stroke and late ramping up.
Specifications suspension forks for bikepacking
Name | Price | Wheel size | Travel | Stanchion | Rake | Axle | Rotor size | Max tire width | Damper | Air spring | Steerer | Color | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fox 34 Factory | 949 USD | 29″ | 140mm (orange) 130mm, 140mm (black) | 34mm 7000 series aluminum w. Kashima coating | 44mm (orange) 44mm, 51mm (black) | 15x110mm (QR orange), 15x110mm (QR/Kabolt black) | 180-203mm | 2.6″ | GRIP2, FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | gloss orange, gloss black | |
Fox 34 Performance Elite | 869 USD | 29″ | 130mm | 34mm 7000 series aluminum | 44mm | 15x110mm QR | 180-203mm | 2.6″ | FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | matte black | |
Fox 34 Performance | 749 USD | 29″ | 140mm | 34mm 7000 series aluminum | 44mm | 15x110mm QR | 180-203mm | 2.6″ | GRIP | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | matte black | |
Fox 36 Factory | 1139 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 160mm (orange) 150mm, 160mm (black) | 36mm 7000 series aluminum w. Kashima coating | 44mm (orange) 37mm, 44mm, 51mm (black) | 15x110mm KaboltX | 180-230mm | 2.8″ | GRIP2, FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | gloss orange, gloss black | |
Fox 36 Performance Elite | 1049 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 160mm | 36mm 7000 series aluminum | 44mm | 15x110mm QR | 180-230mm | 2.8″ | GRIP2 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | matte black | |
RockShox Recon Silver RL | 268 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 100mm, 120mm, 130mm, 140mm, 150mm | 32mm straight wall steel | 37mm, 42mm, 46mm (27.5″) 42mm, 46mm, 51mm (29″) | 15x100mm, 15x110mm BOOST 9x100mm QR | 160-220mm | 2.45″, 2.8″ | Motion Control | Solo Air | 1.125S, 1.5T | gloss black, matte black | |
RockShox Revelation RC | 537 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 120mm, 130mm, 140mm, 150mm, 160mm | 35mm tapered wall aluminum | 37mm, 46mm (27.5″) 42mm, 51mm (29″) | 15x110mm BOOST | 180-220mm | 2.8″ | Motion Control | DebonAir | 1.5T | gloss black, matte black | |
RockShox Lyrik Ultimate | 1107 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 140mm, 150mm, 160mm | 35mm tapered wall aluminum | 37mm, 44mm (27.5″) 44mm (29″) | 15x110mm Maxle Stealth | 180-220mm | 3.2″ | Charger 3 w. ButterCup | DebonAir+ w. ButterCup | 1.5T | gloss black, meadow green | |
RockShox Lyrik Select | 843 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 140mm, 150mm, 160mm | 35mm tapered wall aluminum | 37mm, 44mm (27.5″) 44mm (29″) | 15x110mm Maxle Stealth | 180-220mm | 3.2″ | Charger RC | DebonAir+ | 1.5T | gloss black, matte black | |
RockShox Pike Ultimate | 1054 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 120mm, 130mm, 140mm | 35mm tapered wall aluminum | 37mm, 44mm (27.5″) 44mm (29″) | 15x110mm Maxle Stealth | 180-220mm | 3.2″ | Charger 3 w. ButterCup | DebonAir+ w. ButterCup | 1.5T | gloss black, gloss silver | |
RockShox Pike Select | 790 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 120mm, 130mm, 140mm | 35mm tapered wall aluminum | 37mm, 44mm (27.5″) 44mm (29″) | 15x110mm Maxle Stealth | 180-220mm | 3.2″ | Charger RC | DebonAir+ | 1.5T | gloss black, matte black | |
Manitou Markhor | 300 USD | 26″, 27.5″, 29″ | 80mm, 100mm, 110mm | 30mm | 15x110mm BOOST 9x100mm QR | Kwik Toggle w. TPC | TS Air | 1.125S, 1.5T | gloss black | ||||
Marzocchi Bomber Z2 | 519 USD | 27.5″, 29″ | 140mm, 150mm (27.5″) 100mm, 120mm, 130mm (29″) | 34mm | 44mm (27.5″) 44mm, 51mm (29″) | 15x110mm QR | 220mm | RAIL | FLOAT | matte black | |||
MRP Ribbon SL | 1050 USD | 29″ | 110mm, 130mm | 35mm | 44mm, 51mm | 15x110mm BOOST | 180mm | 2.5″ | EssenTTial | FulFill Air | 1.125T, 1.5T | gloss black |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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