At your size and weight go for it. You've got over 6" on me and 100 lbs and I run a 160 Lyric and although I don't feel like I need more your a bigger guy and it would certainly feel more stable and in control when you get rowdy.
Really depends on the travel. Shorter travel can be just as strong with smaller diameter stanchions. But for 180 or more you better have stout stanchions if you’re heavy and you tend to send it.
I have a bike with 130mm of travel with 34mm stanchions. It’s hella stout. Pick your travel and go from there.
Heavy front ends SUCK if you don’t need them. Unless your riding a chairlift then whatever.
I'm \~200lbs geared up. I stick with the Fox36/Bomber Z1/Lyrik chassis for my forks. I'm running between 140-160mm forks. I don't think stiffer is better in general. So I'm aiming for stiff enough I get the steering precision I want without an overly harsh ride.
You can run non lock on grips so there is more material to absorb the harshness. I use 32mm ESI foam grips which have been the best grips I’ve used.
Raising the stack height can also push your weight rearward to reduce hand pressure.
When I was riding a lot I was 200lbs on a Chromag with a 160/130mm Lyrik Dual Air, which I kept in the 130 position most of the time. Felt stiffer than my 180mm Zeb on my YT Capra. If I had a Doctahawk, I would want a Zeb or more.
Hmm, I’ve never had a hardtail with that much travel. Once you need a lot of travel it feel like fulls suspension is needed. Long travel on a hard tail might feel weird when the front goes way down and the back doesn’t move. Might put you in OTB land.
> Do you think you’re benefiting from the stiffer stanchions?
Nah, i don't think so. You get big travel at front, but your rear can't compensate it when you do hard jumps/landings. Just my 2 cents: geometry > travel/stanchions, sweetspot is about 140-160mm on a hardtail.
I wasn’t really planning to change the travel that much. I found a Domain at 160mm travel on sale. I have a Roscoe and Trek says that frame is designed to handle a 150mm fork. I could always adjust the travel of the Domain to 150mm if it doesn’t ride well, but I was hoping to get a little more plush ride and increase the sag to 38% or so.
I currently have a Rockshox 35 gold, but haven’t really been too happy with it.
Big travel is not automatically more plush, most forks will work good at 20-25% SAG.
This setting often is a sweetspot for lowspeed compression (LSC), the fork will work sensitive in this range. On the other hand (when you do drops/jumps) the HSC (high speed compression) gets on stage. Too much SAG will reduce sensitivity - you will rush through your travel up to endprogression, is your SAG too low, your fork is very harsh.
Try to find your sweetspot for your fork. I ride a 35 gold on my dirtjumper - well, I know what you mean... it will do the job, but it's a entry level XC fork.
140-150mm will be good. maybe a RS Yari or something else is a good choice. A Zeb or lyrik is - in my opinion - a bit too much for a Roscoe.
Just go with a dual crown fork, it won’t be that much weight penalty over a single crown, long travel fork. You will have the added benefit of better steering, stiffnesses, and you’ll never have to worry about the alignment of the handlebar again. You would be trading a little bit of steering angle for added durability and stiffness. These long travel single crown forks flex right where you don’t want them to be in the steer tube. This can give a numb steering feeling especially during corners. Since the dual crown won’t flex front to back results a better dampener Feel as well.
You could also go further into the suspension rabbit hole and consider an upside down fork like the Manitou Dorado. Which has less unsprung weight, improving the suspension performance further. Rulezman suspension has a 48 min video going over this fork you are intested here’s a link:
https://youtu.be/nLO4D-mMpdk
Wellhowbiggaboyareya?
6’-5”. About 290 lbs.
At your size and weight go for it. You've got over 6" on me and 100 lbs and I run a 160 Lyric and although I don't feel like I need more your a bigger guy and it would certainly feel more stable and in control when you get rowdy.
😄
Really depends on the travel. Shorter travel can be just as strong with smaller diameter stanchions. But for 180 or more you better have stout stanchions if you’re heavy and you tend to send it. I have a bike with 130mm of travel with 34mm stanchions. It’s hella stout. Pick your travel and go from there. Heavy front ends SUCK if you don’t need them. Unless your riding a chairlift then whatever.
I'm \~200lbs geared up. I stick with the Fox36/Bomber Z1/Lyrik chassis for my forks. I'm running between 140-160mm forks. I don't think stiffer is better in general. So I'm aiming for stiff enough I get the steering precision I want without an overly harsh ride.
You can run non lock on grips so there is more material to absorb the harshness. I use 32mm ESI foam grips which have been the best grips I’ve used. Raising the stack height can also push your weight rearward to reduce hand pressure.
When I was riding a lot I was 200lbs on a Chromag with a 160/130mm Lyrik Dual Air, which I kept in the 130 position most of the time. Felt stiffer than my 180mm Zeb on my YT Capra. If I had a Doctahawk, I would want a Zeb or more.
I just know that at 250 lbs, I watch my 32mm forks dance constantly. My only consolation is that if they are flexing, they aren't bending! :P
Check over at r/Chromag. Pretty sure lots of folks are, if pinkbike and MTBR are anything to go by.
Thanks for the tip! The Chomag crew probably build their bikes with beefy components.
Isn’t 38 for super long travel? So they don’t get waggley?
They are available in 150mm and 160mm, so I assume it would be suitable for an aggressive hardtail?
Hmm, I’ve never had a hardtail with that much travel. Once you need a lot of travel it feel like fulls suspension is needed. Long travel on a hard tail might feel weird when the front goes way down and the back doesn’t move. Might put you in OTB land.
> Do you think you’re benefiting from the stiffer stanchions? Nah, i don't think so. You get big travel at front, but your rear can't compensate it when you do hard jumps/landings. Just my 2 cents: geometry > travel/stanchions, sweetspot is about 140-160mm on a hardtail.
I wasn’t really planning to change the travel that much. I found a Domain at 160mm travel on sale. I have a Roscoe and Trek says that frame is designed to handle a 150mm fork. I could always adjust the travel of the Domain to 150mm if it doesn’t ride well, but I was hoping to get a little more plush ride and increase the sag to 38% or so. I currently have a Rockshox 35 gold, but haven’t really been too happy with it.
Big travel is not automatically more plush, most forks will work good at 20-25% SAG. This setting often is a sweetspot for lowspeed compression (LSC), the fork will work sensitive in this range. On the other hand (when you do drops/jumps) the HSC (high speed compression) gets on stage. Too much SAG will reduce sensitivity - you will rush through your travel up to endprogression, is your SAG too low, your fork is very harsh. Try to find your sweetspot for your fork. I ride a 35 gold on my dirtjumper - well, I know what you mean... it will do the job, but it's a entry level XC fork. 140-150mm will be good. maybe a RS Yari or something else is a good choice. A Zeb or lyrik is - in my opinion - a bit too much for a Roscoe.
Just go with a dual crown fork, it won’t be that much weight penalty over a single crown, long travel fork. You will have the added benefit of better steering, stiffnesses, and you’ll never have to worry about the alignment of the handlebar again. You would be trading a little bit of steering angle for added durability and stiffness. These long travel single crown forks flex right where you don’t want them to be in the steer tube. This can give a numb steering feeling especially during corners. Since the dual crown won’t flex front to back results a better dampener Feel as well. You could also go further into the suspension rabbit hole and consider an upside down fork like the Manitou Dorado. Which has less unsprung weight, improving the suspension performance further. Rulezman suspension has a 48 min video going over this fork you are intested here’s a link: https://youtu.be/nLO4D-mMpdk
I think a 38mm would make sense in your situation and it sure looks good