It’s funny how things can come full circle. When mountain bike suspension forks were first introduced, RockShox was the king of the hill. Their famous Mag21 fork was legendary and everyone drooled over the fold-flecked magnesium lowers and how plush 60 mm of travel felt. Ahh, the days.
Then, Marzocchi came on the freeride scene with all the grace of a 500-lb. gorilla just squashing both RockShox and Manitou out of the market. RockShox’s lone ray of hope was the Boxxer World Cup, which shined on World Cup courses and was and still is ridden by the DH man-to-beat, Steve Peat. Somewhere in between the decline, the ray of hope, the amazing success on the DH circuit and my garage, RockShox has once again emerged as (in my mind) the premiere manufacturer of mountain bike suspension forks.
About the RockShox Lyrik 2-Step
Billed as an all-mountain fork, the Lyrik boasts 160 mm travel (that’s just over 6 inches for the Metric-deprived) that’s adjustable down to 115 mm with the flick of a switch on top of the left stanchion. Unlike the U-Turn, you only get the two aforementioned settings, which should suffice for most riders and conditions.
The magnesium (they still use the stuff) lowers are burly with a noticeable bulge about 1/3 down from the top of each leg. That bulge houses oversized bushings to keep out fine dust particles and provide extra stiffness. The 20mm RockShox Maxle keeps the wheel on and tracking straight–making for uber-simple wheel removal. Post-mount disc tabs keep adjustments simple without the need for adapters.
More features of the RockShox Lyrik 2-Step
- Travel: 160 / 115 mm
- Weight 5.52 lbs
- Spring: Solo Air
- Damping: Mission Control (External rebound, high speed compression, low speed compression, Floodgate switch and internal Floodgate)
- Upper Tubes: 35mm diameter (nice and beefy)
- Learn More: SRAM.com
RockShox Lyrik 2-Step Review
As I said, I’m a believer in the latest round of RockShox forks. Having ridden a Pike 454 for several seasons, I can truly attest to the smoothness, plushness and durability of their fork designs. The even-smoother Lyrik is going into its sophomore season and looks to continue gracing many all-mountain bikes and flying off aftermarket shelves.
I’ve ridden several bikes equipped with the RockShox Lyrik since its introduction at Interbike 2006 and the latest long-term test has been on an Iron Horse 6Point6 that I’ve been flogging this spring. On the 6Point, the Lyrik has been the perfect balance of plushness and efficiency and let me tell you why.
On long climbs, the quick flip of the 2-Step reduces the fork down to 115 mm travel. At that setting, the front end sits down and the head angle steepened to keep your weight forward and the front tire on the ground. I found that the fork maintained its suspension capabilities while in the reduced mode. This is something that not all forks can do. Sometimes reducing the travel also means a significant reduction in the effective travel. The Lyrik feels just as squishy at the reduced travel as it does at the maximum travel.
I love how supple this fork feels. It behaves as a top-tier fork should… it’s supple on the small stuff, but moderated throughout its travel so it truly feels bottomless. Regardless of your riding style, I think you’d be hard-pressed to bottom this thing out. It ramps up nicely, but still allows you to take advantage of the entire stroke.
When pushing the fork hard, it tracks as straight as an arrow. Thanks to the beefy stanchions and Maxle thru-axle, you won’t feel the front end wander one bit. Compression and rebound adjustments are easy to do and make a marked difference in the fork’s handling characteristics.
The only downside of the RockShox Lyrik that I can see is the price. At $1049, this fork alone costs as much as many entry-level complete bikes. If you want one, find a bike that’s equipped with one, or save your pennies and get stoked for one of the best-performing all-mountain forks on the market today.
Good Lyrik
- Very plush and smooth in all conditions
- Progressive, bottomless feel
- Tracks amazingly-well… laterally it’s very stiff
- Adjustable travel on-the-fly
- Maxle thru-axle is simple and easy-to-use
Bad Lyrik
- Expensive… $1049 MSRP
- Only two travel settings… can’t dial it in beyond that
- 20mm front can mean a new wheel/hub
The Bottom Line: RockShox Lyrik 2-Step
Thoroughly impressed is an understatement when talking about the Lyrik. This fork is the cream of the all-mountain crop with beefy stanchions and uber-smooth travel under all conditions. It soaks up everything in sight, ramps up nicely to give you a bottomless feel all while still providing excellent small bump absorption. If you’ve got your eyes on a new 6-inch travel all-mountain fork, the RockShox Lyrik should be the one to choose.
Buy One: Find RockShox at CompetitiveCyclist
8 Comments
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I’m looking for a dual-purpose fork. all day rides, climbing etc. Ive been offered a brilliant deal on this fork but yours is the only review that I can find on the itnernet- you dont mention rock gardens or technical trails specifically. Do the 2steps become overwhelmed from repeated impacts/hits?
It’s been awhile since I did this review, but I can’t recall any instances where I felt the fork becoming over-compressed on repeated rough terrain. I quite liked this fork and felt it to be solid overall.
yo tengo una y es un pufo se rompe cada dos por tres
si tienes a bien te doy mi correo y te exolico mas estoy arto de la horquilla y no me solucionana nada y ya conozco un monton de casos como el mio, no entiendo como una marca de la categoria de rock shox cae tan bajo es una verguenza y lo peor es que yo cmpre una remedy 8 (trek) y no entiendo como una marca asi monto esta horquilla encima es carisima
Sorry you’ve had such a poor experience, amigo! Mine was and has been to the contrary and my experience with SRAM’s customer service has been outstanding. Are you in Spain? If so, maybe their international support is a little bit lacking… not sure there.
Es apartir de las 50 horas de uso cuando se rompen. Una preguna ¿sabrias decirme si han solucionado el problema del cartucho? y… si entras en foros de bikers veras cuantas se venden y cuanta gente esta desesperada con esta horquilla. E enviado correos a las distintas sedes de SRAM quejandome sobre la mala atencion de ROCK SHOX, cuando una marca decoches detecta un fallo en uno de sus componentes de inmediato lo sustitullen como me a pasado a mi incluso pidiendo disculpas en ROCK SHOX no ¿que pasa que somos los usuarios de estas horquillas los que hacemos de probadores (conejillos de indias)? me parece feo de hecho si no recibo una respuesta por parte de esta marca me voy a ver obligado a hacer varias portestas que la van a perjudicar lo aseguro 1ª hacer un censo de gente descontenta a traves de dichos foros y enviar el enlace de la pagina para que SRAM se ponga las pilas y 2ª mandar a varias revistas dedicadas a este segmento el mismo correo que e enviado a SRAM creo que asi me hagan un poco de caso GRACIAS. Is apart from the 50 hours of use when broken. A Would you know me questions if they have solved the problem of cartridge? y. .. if you enter you will see how many bikers forums are sold and how many people are desperate with this fork. E mail sent to the various venues of complaints of maladministration SRAM ROCK SHOX attention, when a brand decoches detects a failure in one component of the immediate past sustitullen like me to my apology even in ROCK SHOX not what happens who are the users of these forks which do testers (guinea pig)? I feel ugly, in fact if not get a response from this brand I will be forced to make several portestas that going to hurt assure 1 st to take a census of unhappy people through these forums and send the link of the page SRAM to put the batteries and 2 nd sent to several magazines devoted to this segment of the same mail and sent to SRAM so I think I do a little case. Thanks.