Levo Gen 2 Used 170 Lyrik Select+ or 150 Fox 36 Performance on my base Levo 2019?Please read

Miru

Member
Oct 23, 2020
75
37
Romania
Hello boys and girls, i'm in a bit of a dilemma lately as to what fork should i replace my stock 150 Sektors off my 2019 base model Levo size L. After lots of searching around on the used market i've come down to 2, what i can tell mint condition forks, that are at the same price ( around 420 euro):
1) 2020 Lyrik Select+ with 170mm of travel, 42 mm offset, steerer tube cut to 181 mm( i am wondering if anyone installed a shorter steerer tube on their bike and had to remove 1 or more of the spacers that came standard and if or how that influenced the geometry or if it caused/ can cause any problems whatsoever)
2) 2019 Fox 36 Performance with 150 mm of travel, 42 mm offset steerer tube cut to 185 mm (same length as i have now and from what i've heard stock length for an L size Levo 2019)
Now for my considerations:
I'm ~188 cm, 94 Kg not that experienced rider(not into the techy stuff as of yet) doing mostly Trail to light Enduro but i want to replace the forks so that's not up to debate( just to eliminate the "ride what you have and than you'll see" discussions) because i feel the Sektors are too flexy for my weight.
For now i'm leaning towards the Lyrik as it's more reliable(from what i've read there are no design flaws), cheaper to maintain, cheaper and easier to find replacements(like different length air shafts, dampers, etc.) plusher from what i've read and also has the charger 2.1 damper(without HSC adjustment tho) but i'm also wondering if in this configuration(170mm) it will "destroy" the geometry or if i should just replace the airshaft with a 160mm one.
The reason i was considering the Fox 36 as my first option before was that the higher end Levos come equipped with it as standard, stiffer chasis (36 stanchions vs 35 on the Lyrik), bling( Fox...) and steerer tube lenght matched exactly what i need. The downside, and why i am leaning now more toward the Lyrik is that it's "only" a 150mm travel ( again the sweet spot seems to be 160mm and changing the airshaft seems to be more expensive on the Fox) BUT the most important aspect that threw me off the Fox(insert funny meme here) was the fact that i've read countless reports of riders having problems with creaking CSUs on these fox 36/34 especially on the higher travel ones (150+) and since i'm buying a used one and the warranty is non existent i'm really weary of this stuff happening to me as i'm pretty OCD about it. Please let me know what your opinions are and which would you recommend. Also if you have experienced the creaky CSU on a Fox fork from your own Levo.
Thanks.
 

Doomanic

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There's bugger all in it between the Lyrik and Fox 36 stiffness and the Lyrik can be made stiffer by running torque caps if your wheels are compatible.

A 4mm shorter steerer won't be an issue either; it's not like the stem clamps right at the top so if the steerer is a couple of mm short it'll be fine.

Technically, 170mm will void your warranty as Spesh specify 160mm as max fork travel but unless it's got a 2020 airshaft it'll be 160mm anyway due to the way the RS fork sits down into it's travel.
 

Miru

Member
Oct 23, 2020
75
37
Romania
There's bugger all in it between the Lyrik and Fox 36 stiffness and the Lyrik can be made stiffer by running torque caps if your wheels are compatible.

A 4mm shorter steerer won't be an issue either; it's not like the stem clamps right at the top so if the steerer is a couple of mm short it'll be fine.

Technically, 170mm will void your warranty as Spesh specify 160mm as max fork travel but unless it's got a 2020 airshaft it'll be 160mm anyway due to the way the RS fork sits down into it's travel.
Thanks, i've already got the torque caps on the front hub(stock Roval/Formula 110). So i get it that you would also go for the Lyrik between these 2 if you were in my position?
 

Doomanic

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Yes. Fox don't support torque caps so as you've already got them I'd go for the Lyriks.
 

Dirk74

Active member
Subscriber
Jun 6, 2020
98
55
Germany
If you go with the 2020 Lyrik, then upgrade the airshaft to the 2021 version (150mm or 160mm as you like). The airshaft is not expensive and the 2021 improvement is worth the money.
 

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