The Totem is definitely dead. With the new Lyrik, RockShox is burying the hopes of freeride fans that the fat 180 mm fork could return in a contemporary design. At first glance, the Americans have instead simply blown up the Pike a little: 35-millimetre stanchions, 15-millimetre axle and a pitch-black chassis here and there. But the casting of the Lyrik is visibly fatter: the bridge is wider and thicker, the dip tube on the shock side is longer and the crown is bulkier. It contains 150 grams more material and allows up to 180 millimetres of suspension travel. The new fork is intended to be a small Boxxer and not a large Pike. The air unit and damping cartridge in particular have been adapted for this purpose: A larger negative chamber and SKF seals in the Charger damper are intended to improve the response behaviour. As with the Boxxer, the rebound unit can be fine-tuned internally via shims.
We had a Giant Reign at our disposal for the test ride in the French resort of Les deux Alpes. This was a good choice, as it was this bike that we crowned the downhill winner in our last enduro test with a Pike. This means that we know the bike and its performance well. The Lyrik initially requires more pressure due to the larger negative air chamber. With a Token, we start with 70 psi and 25 per cent sag. We ride the Pike at around 60 psi for the same sag (rider weight 70 kilos). We set off with the low-speed compression stage open. No boah-ey experience on the first descent. The fork is sensitive and more comfortable than its smaller sister, but there is no downhill feeling, although the more stable chassis has a positive effect: The fork holds its line cleanly in the bumpy trail with bombed-out berms. Where a Pike already lets you feel that it is being pushed to its limits, the Lyrik provides more security. In our basic set-up, the fork moves unusually quickly through the stroke and utilises the travel even at moderate speeds. More compression damping (6 clicks) makes it much more active, but the set-up is not yet optimal.
Pit stop and second token in, with identical tyre pressure. So we give ourselves and the fork the descent to Venosc: a kilometre-long berm trail with a few jumps and hard compressions, high speed and hard braking at 1000 metres. This is where the Lyrik really shows its class. The Reign is totally balanced - the very sensitive rear suspension suits the Lyrik perfectly. No fat arms after bend no. 96, no eyes widening in fear when you hit the berm too fast again.
On day 2 of the test session, we pushed a third token into the air chamber and increased the low-speed compression to 8 clicks from full on. At the same time, we reduced the pressure to 63 psi and found the ideal set-up: In this setup, the fork still works very sensitively and comfortably at the beginning of the stroke and noticeably outperforms the Pike. At the same time, however, it is just as stable in its travel and does not sag even under hard braking manoeuvres, making the Reign an even better descender. Even with its 170 millimetres of travel, it seems to be on a par with a Fox 36. We'll start the direct duel soon, but it's already clear that RockShox has a very potent fork in the Lyrik, which makes sense and is equally fun on tours, in enduro races and in the bike park.
Conclusion: The totem is dead. That's probably the case. Visual preferences aside, the new Lyrik is a worthy replacement and fits well between the Pike and Boxxer in the brand's line-up.
Info: www.sram.com/de/rockshox
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
