Mountain Biking - Which fork would be the better choice?

I've found 2 forks that I'm thinking of getting...

1. 2002 Psylo SL (Pricepoint has this fork for $249)

2. 2003 Duke XC (Pricepoint has this fork for $259)

There's more of a discount on the 2002 Psylo SL because it's last year's model. On the other hand, the Duke XC is the current model, and though it's a lesser fork it gets very high reviews (4.62 out of 5) at mtbreview.com. The 2002 Psylo SL scored a 3.47 out of 5, although almost 100 more people reviewed the Psylo SL fork and that may be keeping me from getting an good comparison of the two. If anyone has a suggestion on which fork to get (if you know of another fork around this price range feel free to list it). Thanks for any suggestions!!

Oh yeah, the bike is a Trek 4500 (it has a Judy TT fork now)

Currently using a Psylo SL on my bike. I'm quite impressed with it. If I had my choice, I would've purchased a Marzocchi, but as the Psylo came with the bike, I figured I keep it until I destroyed it or had some extra cash. It's held up very well, and I have 0 issues with it. I'd recommend it over the Duke!

L8R

What kind of riding do you do? I've always understood the Psylo to be more trail-bike/real rough XC oriented than the Duke. I also believe that it weighs a bit more than the Duke. I have only ridden the Duke, so I can't compare it to the Psylo from my own riding experience. Its only a ten dollar difference and the Duke is newer, but its up to you. Good luck!

-Moab

P.S. - I currently ride a Manitou, but have ridden many friends' bikes with Marzocchi forks and have always been surprised at how nice they are. Might be worth looking at if there is something in your price range.

I've got a Duke XC on the new bike and IMHO it's a great fork, it corners very nicely, no flex, dampening is terrific (even if the adjustment is twitchy) all things I considered before ordering it on the new ride.

Originally posted by moabrider47
What kind of riding do you do? I've always understood the Psylo to be more trail-bike/real rough XC oriented than the Duke. I also believe that it weighs a bit more than the Duke.

I mainly ride on my local bike trails here in Auburn (usually the Tuskeegee National Forest trails). The trails aren't awfully rough, but keep in mind I am attempting to think ahead here, and I want a fork that will not have to be upgraded in the event that my riding becomes a bit more.......umm.......ambitious.

I recently built up a steel frame and put a SID SL on the front. I was very unhappy with the performance of my Fuel 90 (lousy fork and too heavy) so went back to a hardtail. I am most happy with the result. I weigh 210 and the SID is just great. Set the air on compression and rebound per the instructions and it works better than any of the other forks I have ridden over the years. I bought mine as an '02 leftover on eBay for $289. Right in the ballpark you are talking about. Good luck.

hell get a duke SL U-turn that way you'd have the availibility(sp) of anywhere from 63(dont know why you'd go that low) to 100mm's of travel. And IMHO i think 4" of travel is plenty unless you really start getting gnarly

I've heard great things about both forks, but I think unless your fork is lacking for you riding style, you should do what a2psyklnut is doing and wear out the fork it came with first. That said, I own a 4500, and the geometry seems maybe a little slack with the 80 mm TT (part of that is my stem, though). Having the psylo (63 - 100 mm?) could adversely affect geometry. It would probably be fine for most riders, but it is something to consider. Just my two cents

I got a psylo on my ride and have has 0 issues with it! I read some review on it and some people were saying they had lots of issues, kinda scared me a bit...but man, i love the way it feels! And I haven't had to touch it.

yes the 80-125 mm travel will have some affect on the head tube angle, but that is another nice advantage to a psylo you can play around with it by just using the dial on top and see what feels better! The longer the travel the slacker the head tube angle.

But it all depends on what your riding style is and will be. :beer:

Thanks for all the replies people.......I'm gonna go with the Psylo SL. What I need to decide now is, do I pay $249 for a new 2002 fork off pricepoint or do I pay in the vicinity of $270-280 for a new 2003 fork off Ebay. The only difference I've been able to find so far is that the 2002 Psylo SL is .31 lbs lighter than the 2003 model.

Oh, and are Psylo SL forks supposed to come with a fork pump?

GelatinousFury,

The Rockshox site says that a remote lockout is a new feature standard on the 2003 model. You'll have to decide if its worth the extra money. I checked several other sites and none listed a shock pump as coming with the fork. I don't believe they are very expensive though. Personally, I would buy from an established site unless you have had good luck with an E-Bay seller, but it is up to you, as many people use E-Bay a lot.


-Moab

EDIT: The 2003 Psylo is listed as $395 on www.jensonusa.com . I have had good luck with this site. Shock pumps run between $20 and $30.

Originally posted by moabrider47
I checked several other sites and none listed a shock pump as coming with the fork. I don't believe they are very expensive though. .

I own a Duke XC, and have no problems with it at all, very nice for the money if you ask me :) However, I purchased mine at a LBS and it came with a pump... not sure why the internet places seem to be selling them seperate :rolleyes: but from a lbs you might save a few bucks in the long run... just MHO :)

Quick question.......on higher end forks they have "dual air springs"

Could someone elaborate on what this is and the benefits of it?

This can probably explain it better than I could. Taken from faq's at RockShox site:

What does the negative air spring on my DUAL AIR fork do?
The negative air spring is used to help increase or decrease the movement of the compression stroke of the positive air spring. Negative air provides a plush feel to the initial compression stroke of your DUAL AIR fork or rear shock by assisting the compression stroke activation. Negative pressure helps to 'pull' the upper tubes into its compression stroke. It is used primarily to provide a more active compression stroke at slow speeds, over small bumps, as well as larger hits when riding enduro terrain (01-02 Psylo Race).

Think of it this way ... more negative air pressure = plush, active compression in the initial stroke of travel. Less negative air = firm, less active compression stroke.

It is best to experiment with negative air pressures to find the setting that suits your body weight and riding style. Negative air shouldn't be used to tune big bumps. As the fork gets deeper in the stroke, the negative air chamber size is going to decrease, and should stop effecting the spring curve.

Wow, thanks for finding that info Dirtgrinder. I just measured my steerer tube on the Trek 4500 and the thing's over 9" (measured from the top of the fork crown up to the stem cap). Subtract .25" from that like everyone said and that's still a pretty long tube. I'm seeing everyone selling used forks with anywhere from 6-7.5" steerer tubes, but the one on my bike seems to be significantly longer.

When a fork is "bossless", does it mean that it doesn't have the V-brake mounts on it?

Perhaps I should have mentioned in my post on tube length, if your bike came like mine (trek 4500), there are a couple of spacers between the top of the head tube and the stem. I just measured mine, and it is 9" as well. That counts, however, 1.5" of spacers which don't need to be there. You may choose to leave those out if you put a Psylo on you bike in order to keep the handlebars lower and give you a more agressive geometry. That means that distance can be as little as 7.5" I assume the .25" you mentioned was space for the cap to fit into the stem?
Sorry, I don't know about "bossless"

Originally posted by iamlucky13
That means that distance can be as little as 7.5" I assume the .25" you mentioned was space for the cap to fit into the stem?
Sorry, I don't know about "bossless"

Yes, the .25" was for the cap. I'll definitely take the spacers off when I install the Psylo.

Bossless means the fork is disc specific!

BTW, the Psylo will NOT come with a pump, since there are NO air chambers.

I'd go with the '02 from mail-order vs '03 from eBay. If you do have a problem, you'll never be able to send it back to the eBay seller!

To summarize, I don't think you could go wrong with either fork. If your tendency is for more XC, stick with the Duke. If you're gonna do more aggro stuff, get the Psylo!

L8R

Without really getting a feel for what you're doing it's hard to go with one fork or the other. Just remember that you're not going to save much money if you have to have your LBS install the fork for you. As was said above, bossless means disc only on that fork so you either have to upgrade to discs or find a LBS with some spare bosses.

Hey Waldo, welcome to the forums. From what I've read, you work at a shop and seem to know what you're talking about.

However, I must point out, that the bossless on the Psylo's means there are no mounts for bosses. It's disc or nothing. It's not anything a bike shop would be able to install. The new forks have completely smooth lowers, with the exception of the disc tabs of course. They did this since almost everyone was going to discs on a 5" travel fork.

I wish my fork didn't have the empty mounts. I think they're atrocious! My next fork will be bossless (if available).

BTW, here's the link to RockShox. If you look at the SL and compare it to the Race, you'll see the difference in the lowers where the bosses are shown on the Race, but not the SL.
RS PSYLO (http://www.rockshox.com/03RSProduct/03RSPsyloPage/03RSPsyloPageFlash.html)


L8R

Thanks, a2psyklnut. You beat me to the correction. I'm an idiot. Hard to mount studs on bosses that aren't there. One thing worth mentioning on forks like this is that they are often OEM forks. The way to tell is that they will have a silver steerer with something stamped on it about the fork being OEM. As such, there is NO warranty whatsoever.

Hey Waldo, what kinda Yeti do you have?

Got any pics?

I was wanting an AS-X, before I got my Intense Uzzi-SL. I've always been a fan of Yeti's, and had a job offer in Golden this past fall. If I'd accepted it, I'd be there right now, and probably have some money set aside to buy the AS-X. As life goes, I'm here still and happy with my Uzzi.

L8R

I don't have any pics of my Yetis. I've got a 2001 ARC and a 2002 Road Project that I haven't finished building yet. They just redesigned the AS-X. Our shop just got some crazy closeout prices on last year's frames so if you're wanting one, depending on your size, a pretty good deal can be had.
EDIT: Never mind, Yeti is officially out of 02 AS-X.