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The Surly Mountain Biking Thread


Braff Zacklin

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8 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Do any of you guys wear masks on the trail? 

First, I think it's unnecessary as our trails aren't crowded usually.

Second, I can't really imagine.

I have to confess though that at the trailhead or stops, the whole MTB thing seriously reduces my consciousness of social distancing.  Although while mounted its hard to get closer than six feet, and there's not really any reason to if sitting around on picnic tables/benches at trailhead.

I've almost never been within 6' of another person while mountain biking.  Ever.  Granted, I'm not trying to do it within the confines of a large metro area either.  Only time I can think of was the week after Memorial Day this year when I had to venture out during the middle of the day.

There are places I can ride (Yellow River specifically) where there might not be another person within a mile of me at any given time.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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I heard recently that when you're exercising, your sphere of funk can extend 30ft.  so the 6ft rule is kinda pointless, as are the rules that state masks are to be worn at all times "except while exercising", like they have at Angel Fire.

definitely been in train with some ripe individuals.  one time, a juicing fanatic farted and the guy right behind him gagged strenuously and repeatedly.  the rest of us behind barfy got a greatly diminished dose, fortunately.  then there's those artificially-wet face slappers...

so, strive to be the lead dog, I guess.  or just stay home.

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Rode again tonight. Thursday is usually my night to road bike with buddies, but being as I'm still awaiting test results, I'm behaving as if I'm infected.

It was 92 when I started.  Warmest conditions I've ridden in.  I've ridden on many days that got that warm eventually, but started early in the day when it was milder.  Humidity was way down from last night, thank god.  More elevation than last night, but similar mileage.  Pretty strong ride, but holy fuck did I sweat and pound water.

With no ability to socialize (for now), this is going to be the 4th of July du MTB.  Frankly, I'm totally fine with it.

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I had more work to do, especially not really realizing that a lot of people are "off" tomorrow.  My days and dates have been really off since the virus.

The temps haven't been too much higher this week, getting to mid 90s after noon, but the humidity is staying above 70% well into the day.  So they have been issuing heat advisories saying heat index in mid-100s to 110s.

That's a small exaggeration so far, but doesn't make me want to go ride when I can't start until almost noon.

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Took advantage of the off day to get a really early start. Or to be more accurate, I can’t sleep in and I can’t sit around the house.

Went down to the old Boy Scout camp near Waterloo I’ve posted about. Just love those trails, but it’s a bit of a haul.

Awesome ride. Dirt conditions I’ve never experienced before. Just barely tacky, but not so much that it sticks to everything. They definitely planted some new rocks in the few rock gardens, which threw me for a loop.

Glad I got it in earlier. It was already disgusting levels of humidity and headed into the low 90’s.

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12 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Took advantage of the off day to get a really early start. Or to be more accurate, I can’t sleep in and I can’t sit around the house.

Went down to the old Boy Scout camp near Waterloo I’ve posted about. Just love those trails, but it’s a bit of a haul.

Awesome ride. Dirt conditions I’ve never experienced before. Just barely tacky, but not so much that it sticks to everything. They definitely planted some new rocks in the few rock gardens, which threw me for a loop.

Glad I got it in earlier. It was already disgusting levels of humidity and headed into the low 90’s.

I think that's what we tend to refer to as hero dirt.

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5 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

You can blame (credit?) my buddy I bought it from.

Any problems with it?  Texas riders seem to share Braff's opinion that it doesn't have enough lateral grip for the kitty litter around here.  They like em a lot in some parts of the country, rocky places like Arizona, I think.

What kind of soil do yall have?

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Any problems with it?  Texas riders seem to share Braff's opinion that it doesn't have enough lateral grip for the kitty litter around here.  They like em a lot in some parts of the country, rocky places like Arizona, I think.
What kind of soil do yall have?

It’s a mix of heavy black dirt and limestone chunks.

My buddy rode it primarily in Indiana, in a place that is geologically similar to where I do most of my riding.

I’ve never given any thought towards using a different tire.
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1 minute ago, Al_4_ISU said:


It’s a mix of heavy black dirt and limestone chunks.

My buddy rode it primarily in Indiana, in a place that is geologically similar to where I do most of my riding.

I’ve never given any thought towards using a different tire.

Is the black dirt high clay content?  That's what we have in North Texas, but it's generally regarded as notso hotso agricultural soil.  I'd think yours would be quite different given that afaik, Iowa was never under of the Gulf of Mexico or any other ocean, and you are prime agricultural country.

When it dries, it cracks, then makes large clods, then those get broken down into smaller and smaller pellets on top of a hard surface, which is why it's called kitty litter.  If it stays dry for a long time, those turn into fine, silty powder.  The kitty litter can be pretty slick when you are trying to carve turns.  It's actually worse than the silty powder.  It's a different kind of slick than sandy stuff, though.

I wouldn't worry about it if it isn't a problem for you.  A tire with more lateral grip like an Ikon or Rekon might be a change for the better when it's time.

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Clay almost always exists at a sub-soil level here, and the places where it’s mixed in heavily appear lighter.

 

When our dirt dries out, it just gets crumbly. It can get hard on top, but I never struggle with grip unless it’s wet.

 

And yeah, most of Iowa has prime agricultural soil. Even where I ride, which is too rugged for large scale agriculture.

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As mentioned, I have kind of become a soil and geology geek while riding.  It's interesting to observe the differences just in a 2-3 county area here.

The critters tend to be a little different, too.  Oak Cliff Nature Preserve reminds me a lot of Austin/Centex.  Even the dirt is busted up limestone and lots of cedars.  So you get a bunch of spiny and horned lizards (the latter are cool to see because they are increasingly rare). 

Most of the rest of the trails are hardwood forest where the soil is also busted up limestone, but it busted up a thousand years ago or so and mixed with organic matter to make black gumbo soil.

Then out to the northwest, it's a lot of sandstone and sand, with some black gumbo spots mixed in.

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7:45 start, this morning.  Lanced some boils, so to speak (literally, on a particularly chunky/tight switchback where I nose-wheelied in the middle and fell against a swiss-cheesy limestone boulder...more of an ex-foliation).  humidity seems to be calming down.  would have felt great had it on almost any other trail.  felt well enough afterward to grind up a nearby hill to do the gdh run.

anyhoo, at the first rest stop, I asked my buddy, who's a bit of a mtb wrenching wizard, about a noise coming from my crown/headset area (swapped out the headset bearings a month ago, and it won't go away).  pretty sure now it's the bushings in the fork.  

2x, if you hadn't already figured this out or fixed it yet,  have someone hold the front break while you hold the fork and rock it back and forth with some fingers  where the stanchions meet the seals.  if there's play there, or up where the stanchions meet the crown, there's your answer.

so now the dilemma I'm faced with is:  the cost and insane lead-time for a fork service these days, or buying a new fork, which will likely mean a new front wheel, since mine is non-boost.  or see if I can get an adapter kit to mount my current front wheel on a boost fork.

bikes, man.

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My sons agreed to ride with me this morning so I gave them a little more time in the rack. Wheels down a little after 10 for some SATN sweetness. I’m real hot and tired but having a pool is absolutely worth it after these rides. Being old and fat increases the calories burned. I don’t believe it but will use it as the reason for my second barbacoa and egg taco.

 

cb54319c6e9ea3bb91a05b3c4e9b61c0.jpg

 

 

In May I started getting serious about logging some miles. Still old and fat but my stamina, wind and power have definitely improved.

 

7d3c9adbdb9e6ed24757caceec301957.jpg

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Rode in pretty similar conditions this morning starting about 11 or so.  Was great for about six miles, breezy, overcast, a few sprinkles, hero dirt.

But toward the end of the last loop, it got still and kind of gross and I just lost all motivation to go around again, even just one loop.  Also, tons of mosquitos at the trailhead so I couldn't cool down to go again, had to GTFO.  Didn't even ride an hour, but got a bit of a workout anyway.

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My sons agreed to ride with me this morning so I gave them a little more time in the rack. Wheels down a little after 10 for some SATN sweetness. I’m real hot and tired but having a pool is absolutely worth it after these rides. Being old and fat increases the calories burned. I don’t believe it but will use it as the reason for my second barbacoa and egg taco.
 
cb54319c6e9ea3bb91a05b3c4e9b61c0.jpg
 
 
In May I started getting serious about logging some miles. Still old and fat but my stamina, wind and power have definitely improved.
 
7d3c9adbdb9e6ed24757caceec301957.jpg

I’d buy that calorie burn
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3 hours ago, wd40 said:

7:45 start, this morning.  Lanced some boils, so to speak (literally, on a particularly chunky/tight switchback where I nose-wheelied in the middle and fell against a swiss-cheesy limestone boulder...more of an ex-foliation).  humidity seems to be calming down.  would have felt great had it on almost any other trail.  felt well enough afterward to grind up a nearby hill to do the gdh run.

anyhoo, at the first rest stop, I asked my buddy, who's a bit of a mtb wrenching wizard, about a noise coming from my crown/headset area (swapped out the headset bearings a month ago, and it won't go away).  pretty sure now it's the bushings in the fork.  

2x, if you hadn't already figured this out or fixed it yet,  have someone hold the front break while you hold the fork and rock it back and forth with some fingers  where the stanchions meet the seals.  if there's play there, or up where the stanchions meet the crown, there's your answer.

so now the dilemma I'm faced with is:  the cost and insane lead-time for a fork service these days, or buying a new fork, which will likely mean a new front wheel, since mine is non-boost.  or see if I can get an adapter kit to mount my current front wheel on a boost fork.

bikes, man.

What kind of noise are you experiencing?  Creaking?  Popping?

Based on what I read about play in the crown/steerer and crown/stanchion joints, I took the wheel off, turned it upside down and "split" the fork and torqued it around and couldn't get it to make noise.  Didn't notice any play in it, either, although I wasn't specifically looking for that.  It cycles up and down normally and noiselessly, but when the front wheel is getting jounced around, particularly in a lateral or twisty fashion (as opposed to just going over bumps up and down), it creaks and pops a lot.  Seems to do it, too, when the shock is compressed/ing.  Turning the bars doesn't cause it, unless that contributes to a twisty condition, like I'm going over a rock or reacting to a deflection from something.

I can bounce around like the beginning of or a lame bunny hop and it doesn't make much noise.  It's weird.

I know the upper seals are dirty af.  Which means it's dirty af inside, too.  I have never seen any oil coming out of it anywhere, but I suspect that it's dryer than it should be.  Last year I had the bike in for a general purpose maintenance and they said it was fine.  And who knows what could be jacked up inside as a result of the dirt, which is why I hesitate to DIY.

The other day when I rode, it seemed to quiet down after a couple of bigger hits, as if it got down into the oil bath and lubed stuff up.  Today it wasn't so bad either, but that was probably a product of the flatness of the trail.

EDIT:  Hahahaha.  I went out and tried to do what wd40 mentioned by myself.  So I'm holding the front brake and wobbling the front wheel around and stuff.  And there's this kind of quiet thumping that's different from anything I have heard before, but it's sort of resonating through the frame like bearing type issues do.  I clamp the back brake and do it some more.  More thump thump. 

What fresh hell is this?

Then I notice it's coming from higher than the hubs or bottom bracket and it's my under-seat bag moving and thumping against the seatpost.

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Told my buddy I was looking for a bike and he gave me this. Said he hasn't ridden it in 4 years and hates bikes. 

I gotta give him something. I did a little research and was thinking 300. Fair? But then I noticed it appears the serial number has been scratched out. On the rear drop out, doesn't it? 

I'll have to ask him about that. 

IMG-20200707-212256.jpg

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Upper 70s this morning, but so was the humidity.  Between getting some work done and letting the humidity burn off, wheels down at about 1130.  That put the temp in the upper 80s, but the humidity still in the 60s.  Not a bad ride, though.  A little breeze.

Toward the end, after noon, though, it was getting still in the sunny spots and the breeze, both natural and self-generated, wasn't real effective.

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16 hours ago, BBQ2Bayou said:

Told my buddy I was looking for a bike and he gave me this. Said he hasn't ridden it in 4 years and hates bikes. 

I gotta give him something. I did a little research and was thinking 300. Fair? But then I noticed it appears the serial number has been scratched out. On the rear drop out, doesn't it? 

I'll have to ask him about that. 

IMG-20200707-212256.jpg

I'm on a couple vintage mtb sites on FB, so I looked up Klein Attitudes. They kind of seem all over the place from $300ish to $2000 for a verified team bike with XTR gruppo. Do you know what components are on it? 

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1 hour ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I'm on a couple vintage mtb sites on FB, so I looked up Klein Attitudes. They kind of seem all over the place from $300ish to $2000 for a verified team bike with XTR gruppo. Do you know what components are on it? 

I think it's a 98', which some seem to think is still classic Klein because Trek bought them in 95, but I think kept using the Klein shop and parts for a few years, until they fully integrated with the Trek place in Wisconsin or something.  Some shit like that. He doesn't give a crap about the bike at all, I just don't want to lowball him. 

IMG-20200708-153419.jpg

IMG-20200708-153141.jpg

IMG-20200708-153107.jpg

IMG-20200708-153058.jpg

 

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Twice is probably right. For a daily rider, $300 is a little high. If your goal was to restore and sell to a collector, maybe...Looks like it's a mixed bag of parts, which is fine for a rider, but collectors would want complete groups, or at least the non-OEM parts to be tricked out bits (Ringle, Synchros, etc)

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sucks out there all day, now.  wheels down at 8:30 this morning and I was dying after 2 miles.  heat index when I got done was only 93.  felt like a total pussy, looking at that number.  the whole trail is about 3.25mi, with 1k ft of climbing.  tuesday afternoon was just as bad with half the humidity on mellower trail.

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9 hours ago, wd40 said:

sucks out there all day, now.  wheels down at 8:30 this morning and I was dying after 2 miles.  heat index when I got done was only 93.  felt like a total pussy, looking at that number.  the whole trail is about 3.25mi, with 1k ft of climbing.  tuesday afternoon was just as bad with half the humidity on mellower trail.

Even though I get up early-ish (630 or 7) I seem to get involved in work, or taxes, or something until about 10, or a little later.  It can be a productive time of the day for me.

Sometimes, that puts me into the hotter part of the day, but maybe with less humidity than 8AM.  I have ridden without seizing up this year into the mid-90s (before heat index), but I am just mighty fearful of getting into a still, steamy mess.

I guess the other thing is, since I have to drive various distances to trails, I don't like having to fight rush hour traffic before 9.

I had to do some outdoor work around the house this week, so I waited until about 8, when the sun had been low for a while.  Felt ok when I started, but I was a dripping mess within about 30 minutes, so I know the evening is no solution.

All that is a lot of BS to say I haven't ridden but once this week.

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On 7/10/2020 at 10:51 PM, wd40 said:

sucks out there all day, now.  wheels down at 8:30 this morning and I was dying after 2 miles.  heat index when I got done was only 93.  felt like a total pussy, looking at that number.  the whole trail is about 3.25mi, with 1k ft of climbing.  tuesday afternoon was just as bad with half the humidity on mellower trail.

Yep.  I've been doing more lunch rides during the week.  It isn't too bad at that time - low 90's with lower humidity than the gross early morning.
But the heat got to me for the first time this year last Thursday.  I met a friend at Reimers, wheels down just before 6.  Truck read 100 when I arrived. We were gonna do most of the blue/black loop then do some runs on the new flow trail.  We did most of the loop then one run on the flow trail and both of us felt like shit, so we decided to bail and go back to the truck for a cold beer.  Shortest ride I've done in a long time...7 miles and 45ish minutes.  But the beer was good.
I'll probably avoid the afternoon rides until temps moderate a bit (so, October I guess).

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1 hour ago, KuЯdt said:

Yep.  I've been doing more lunch rides during the week.  It isn't too bad at that time - low 90's with lower humidity than the gross early morning.
But the heat got to me for the first time this year last Thursday.  I met a friend at Reimers, wheels down just before 6.  Truck read 100 when I arrived. We were gonna do most of the blue/black loop then do some runs on the new flow trail.  We did most of the loop then one run on the flow trail and both of us felt like shit, so we decided to bail and go back to the truck for a cold beer.  Shortest ride I've done in a long time...7 miles and 45ish minutes.  But the beer was good.
I'll probably avoid the afternoon rides until temps moderate a bit (so, October I guess).

I've still never been to Reimers.  it's a bit of a journey from my house, and from what I've read about it, it's mostly flat and there's not a lot of shade.  deal breakers for me, in general.  I would be driving by a lot of primo (and free) trail to make it out there.

maybe one day someone will shoot some cool vidyas of whatever gnar and funstuff it has to offer...

freakin broke my helmet, apparently.  no idea when it happened, but I noticed a crack in the styrofoam and gave it a wiggle to find out it goes all the way through the plastic cover.  it's under the visor, too.  you would think an impact there would get dissipated.  best helmet I've ever had, in terms of comfort and durability of the pads.  it's taken it's share of low branch hits, and it's 5 years old, but damn.  $225 later...

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2 hours ago, wd40 said:

I've still never been to Reimers.  it's a bit of a journey from my house, and from what I've read about it, it's mostly flat and there's not a lot of shade.  deal breakers for me, in general.  I would be driving by a lot of primo (and free) trail to make it out there.

maybe one day someone will shoot some cool vidyas of whatever gnar and funstuff it has to offer...

I like Reimers, but it is kind of two-faced.  If you do the entire loop (follow the black trails) it's about 11 miles.  The first 6-7 miles is fun, climby, techy stuff.  The rest is flat, windy and meandering which I usually just want to end.   It's only a 30 minute drive from my place, and I like the park so I hit it every now and then. And there is little shade.  But I go to Pedernales Falls 2-3x as much, and it's another 10-15 mins.

However - they just built this new downhill trail which they call the Flow Trail.  Not sure why they call it that because it is more of a jump trail and is much gnarlier than I was expecting.  It has doubles, tables, gap jumps, drops, and a large hip jump near the end.  There are 3 features that are signed as double black with signed blue B lines.  2 of them have high penalty for failure (I went ahead and skipped those).  It was a bit surprising to see a trail like that pop up in a Travis County park.  Kudos to whomever made it happen.

 

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Got my first post surgery ride in just now. Wheels down at 10:30 @ 87 degrees. Finished in about 45 minutes. One lap around the border roads of my neighborhood, then one lap on the main WilCo regional trail, leaving off the more technical loops. I feel surprisingly good, and if I'd had more time, I might have gone for another lap. If I'm not saddle sore tomorrow, I'll hit it again. 

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*****Non Mountain Bike Alert*****

 

Back in May, a few pages back, I put up a pic of the SE I ordered for myself to go riding with my girl.  It came in, and it is so fun to ride.  But, this led to a chain reaction that is still unfolding.

Next, the daughter wanted a new bike.  Her only requirements were that it was pink.  And she's large enough for a 20", so I found a Haro Girls shredder for her.  It arrived, was put together, and she loves it.

 

2020-Haro-Shredder-20-Girls-Pink_1024x10

 

 

Older son, who really wasn't into biking, started to go riding on his old Wal-Mart bike that was too small for him, so....

 

weblrg.jpg

 

And last....wife, who has had two bikes in her life...started hinting around.  Yeah, you guessed it:

 

2019_SE_SO_CAL_FLYER_WHITE_PINK_REAR_240

 

Sheeesh.

 

*****<Mountain bike talk can resume now.  Thx for indulging me.*****

 

 

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3 hours ago, wd40 said:

boioioioioioing

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What's the diff between Lyrik and Pike?  If you put a gun to my head, I would have said the Lyrik was the longest travel of the lineup, but otherwise similar to Pike.

But that is probably not right.

What is it replacing?

Edit:  looked for myself and I seem to be correct.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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Yeti dropped this beauty yesterday. 35th anniversary ARC. First time they've had a hardtail in their lineup for a while. Everything on it is top bin. XX1 Eagle AXS drivetrain, Custom CF wheels with Chris King hubs (and matching stem), Fox Factory 34 fork and factory dropper. $9,900 for a hardtail. 

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First ride in 2 weeks tonight. Just a short one (6 miles, 45 minutes), but I felt very dialed in and plenty strong. I flubbed my first real steep incline by unseating too late, but after that I was on. Nailed a very rooty climb late in the ride that I almost always get hung up or spin out on.

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4 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

What's the diff between Lyrik and Pike?  If you put a gun to my head, I would have said the Lyrik was the longest travel of the lineup, but otherwise similar to Pike.

But that is probably not right.

What is it replacing?

Edit:  looked for myself and I seem to be correct.

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dunno, to be honest.  but for the 29er version, I believe 160 is the max, which is what I bought, to replace my 160 Pike.  got the same 42mm offset.  so, geometry should be the same.

the difference, besides 5 years of wear and tear on the Pike, is the Lyrik is is stiffer where you need it (bigger stanchions and boost), and softer where you want it (better damping, etc.).  had to get a Problem Solver kit to keep my existing non-boost wheel.  thought about servicing the (Hadley) hub while I had the rotor off, but it's still buttery smooth, so I left it.

got lucky and happened to have the correct 203mm brake mount adapter from a previous ordering fuckup (old fork was 160 native, new one is 180 native, as it turns out).  the usual shitshow in my garage, in otherwords.  just need to figure out how to tune the bitch.

 

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9 minutes ago, wd40 said:

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dunno, to be honest.  but for the 29er version, I believe 160 is the max, which is what I bought, to replace my 160 Pike.  got the same 42mm offset.  so, geometry should be the same.

the difference, besides 5 years of wear and tear on the Pike, is the Lyrik is is stiffer where you need it (bigger stanchions and boost), and softer where you want it (better damping, etc.).  had to get a Problem Solver kit to keep my existing non-boost wheel.  thought about servicing the (Hadley) hub while I had the rotor off, but it's still buttery smooth, so I left it.

got lucky and happened to have the correct 203mm brake mount adapter from a previous ordering fuckup (old fork was 160 native, new one is 180 native, as it turns out).  the usual shitshow in my garage, in otherwords.  just need to figure out how to tune the bitch.

 

Yeah, I think Pikes go out to 160, Lyrik to 180.

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