Mountain Biking - fork upgrade

I want to upgrade my Rock Shox Judy race fork on my Trek 8000. I don't race but ride hard on the weekends. (mostly technical single track.) I want to know which would fit my needs most, the RS Psylo XC, or the Duke (both 2002 models) Any advice?

(stock '00 8000 w/ Shim lx/xt components)

Hey-

I'm not really a fork expert, but.......
I would think that the Duke would suit you better if you want the lighter weight. It really depends on what kind of riding you are looking at doing. If it is more free-ride/hard XC oriented, I would go with the Psylo. Otherwise, I would think the Duke is a good choice. Also check out www.mtbr.com for more opinions and to see what type of riding people use them for.

-Moab

Go with the Duke SL. It still has 100mm's travel, has an air spring(+), and has a much better dampening system than the Psylo XC. The only thing that the Psylo has over the Duke is it can have more travel, but thats it

If you are doing any type of riding with drops or jumps I would not get a R.S.
Every rider I now and I mean every one that has used an R.S. had problems blowing the seals. RockShox make good xc forks but if you ride trails with any type of significant hits I would say go with a Marzocchi.

Slainte:beer:

If you're doin ridin with some bigger stuff...drops, big logs, lots of big rocks then go with the psylo, it's heavier but is better at takin the hits, if not go with the duke it's lighter and still performs very well. All in all if you're just looking to do all around riding either one wont be bad.

P.S. I haven't had any issues with my seals or buxhings on my Rock Shox psylo...and I done a few drops...nothin huge like 20ft or anything...but it's taken some good hits. :D

As mentioned, the Psylo has longer travel, and may mess up the "feel" of your XC oriented bike. A one inch increase in travel will affect the head tube angle by approx. one degree. The more slack the head tube, the "slower" the bike feels like it turns.

I'm not sure about the Psylo XC, but check if it has the "adjustable" travel feature. I have the "SL" and it does! If the "XC" has it, I'd buy that one. That way, when riding XC trails you can reduce it down to 80mm, but if you're feeling brave and want to try some bigger hits and drops, you can crank it up to 125mm.

If the XC does NOT have the adjustable travel, I'd stick with the Duke, almost the same features for less cha-ching!

L8R

They psylo XC also has the adjustable travel along with the rebound adjustment...I woulda got the sl, but man i rode both and don't see a bit of difference, and the weight is pretty close. Do check out the marz. stuff though, I like RS but Marz. makes a good product. If not, then go get that fork and tell us all what you think...Later man! :crash:

doh...that last reply posted...oh well, i had some problems with my system here... :confused:

Apprec. the info. I am not as hard on my bike as you guys, and don't ride as often. I just want a better susp. The price diff. between the Psylo (195) and the '03 Duke XC (260) is my main concern. I want a fork that can handle various terrains, but I'm not ready for intense free riding or big drops. (yet?)

From what it sounds like..you love to ride, but aren't a xc race guy and not a big huge huckster...so go with the psylo! It's a great all around fork. And for the price you're getting it for is really good! the only reason you would want the duke is for lighter weight...other than that they both perform as well....being that the psylo has more usable travel. Hope that helps some more. :beer:

get the Duke, it'll perform better, weigh less, and have better dampening characteristics

Can't agree with "perform better", I think a coil performs significantly better that air. I will agree that it'll be noticibly lighter!

The Psylo will be stiffer due to their new crown (not on the Duke), and the adjustible travel are two features that would steer me (pun intended) to the Psylo over the Duke.

However, if you're only a recreational rider and not a clydesdale (under 200 lbs), YOU may be better off with the Duke.

The damping is be the same for either fork, yet externally adjustable on the Psylo.

Either way, both good forks.

L8R

Get a marzocchi.

actually the psylo xc uses a dufferant dampener than the duke does. Also the Psylo wont be any stiffer than the Duke b/c even though it uses a redisigned break arch the duke is over built from the begginnng, and it's air sprung so you wont have to worry about the settings b/c you can toy with them until they're right. GET THE DUKE! If it were a Psylo SL it'd be differant but the XC isnt anything special

actually the psylo uses a different CROWN...not brake arch than the duke...but that is only for 2003. the years prior they didn't have a different crown. As for air...the coil spring does perform better than it! how many pro dhr's do you see riding an air fork? none bacause the small bump performance is crappy! An air is great for xc because of the weight it saves.

Think of it this way... an air fork is less supple because it uses air pressure, thus the more pressure you put in there is being put on the seals that press against the stanchion tube so there for you get more sticktion. Now with a coil spring you don't have the pressure on the seals so there for the seals are causing much less sticktion on the tubes. The damper actually works about the same in both forks...neither has a huge difference in dampin rates...and honestly what do you neet the fork to rebound like a slow moving turtle for? you only need small adjustment anyways!
:crash:

never said coil didnt perform better than air, but with the weight air springs save and the way they perform anymore there's not really a need for coil forks in XC use(freeriding and DH is differant)

Great info, guys. Just to help clear things up; I don't race and weigh 185 lbs, so the wt of the fork is no concern to me. The type of susp(air vs coil) is more of an issue here. Mind you, I am moving up from a Judy race that came with the bike, so anything would be an upgrade, right. Also, with the technical trail riding I have done in WI and GA, I had no problem with the Judy. I am just ready to expand my riding a bit(ie intesity and difficulty) and want something to hold up. I haven't been riding long and honestly no nothing about the design and specs (pros and cons) of the Duke and Psylo, so the info is appreciated.

OK guys. How bout this one. After some research on MTB review. I found good reviews on the Marz MXR '02. Any thoughts compared to the Psylo xc? The Marz reviews ranged from single track to xc to light free-riding.

that fork feels pretty nice! I've ridden it for a few months on a demo bike we had at the shop....

Pro's:
super smooth.
pretty light
oil bath system


con's:
noticed you have to make sure the air pressue is exactly the same in each leg other wise the front wheel works itself loose
It bottoms pretty hard over some stuff, with a big bang. This might be fixed with different oil, but that may change the ride of the fork.

Depending on what price you can get it for it'd be pretty good.

I still like my psylo xc a little better, easier adjust ments, but make sure you get some other peoples opinions that have ridden it for a while longer than I did.

That sounds good. I don't know any serious riders, or bike shop guys, so the info helps. The Psylo goes for 195, and the Marz MXR for 219. Does that help? I haven't had to service or maintain a fork so is it difficult or time consuming. Remember, I only ride usually one day of the weekend. 10-15 miles on a good day. How often would I need to check either of the forks over? I always have liked RS products, but am willing to open my narrow mind and try a marz.

Both forks do need service...just like a car, they both use oil and it needs to be changed. I know RS has manuals available on their web site, and I'm pretty sure marzocchi does too. It's not to difficult if you have any kind of mechanical experience, but then there are some guys that just cant figure it out. Check out both of their sites and the manuals and see what you think, see if one looks easier than the other. I like my RS products...others love Marzocchi, it's up to you both work great! I think the psylo has a little bit better tuning ability over the marz fork, it'll work better for drops too.
:crash:

I've got to say, I prefer Marzocchi products over Rock Shox. I'm running a Psyloc SL right now because that's what came on my bike. So far, I've been very impressed with it. It feels as good as my old Z-2, yet with more travel. I'm also running the 20 mm thru axle and that makes a huge improvement in stiffness.

For the money you're spending, you can't go wrong with either fork. Buy the one that matches your bike better. Really! Both are good, and the performance isn't significantly better or worse in either.

L8R