Rockshox Pike, Lyrik, Yari...What's the Difference??? (Which One Do You Need?) [Video]

Rockshox Fork Comparison: Pike, Lyrik, & Yari

In this comparison, we break down the primary differences between the Rockshox Pike, Lyrik, and Yari forks. Although they all look similar, each has its own unique characteristics that can be fine-tuned to fit your riding style.

Rockshox Pike

The Rockshox Pike is one of the most versatile forks on the market. From cross country bikes to long travel 29ers, the Pike can handle almost any kind of riding. Its industry redefining the asymmetric approach to chassis design delivers an unparalleled stiffness to travel to weight ratio that will have other engineers playing catch up for years. It is truly a "do it all" fork and has been proven time and time again.

Specifications for Pike RCT3:

• Travel: 100/110/120/130/140/150/160mm in 27.5" - 100/110/120/130/140mm in 29"
• Wheels: 27.5", 29"
• Weight: 1841g (27.5" model, 140mm travel, Maxle Ultimate, DebonAir)
• Damping: Charger 2 damper
• Available Springs: DebonAir, Dual Position Air
• Adjustments: External rebound, 3-position compression adjustment (open/pedal/firm), low-speed compression in open position
• Steerer Options: Tapered
• Crown: Forged, hollow 7050 aluminum
• Upper Tubes: 35mm tapered wall aluminum
• Lowers: Magnesium
• Options: RCT Remote with 2-position compression (open/firm) via OneLoc remote and low-speed compression adjustment in open mode
• Recommended Rear Shock: Deluxe, Super Deluxe
• Maximum Rotor Size: 203mm
• Color Options: Diffusion black, gloss black, gloss white
• Remotes: OneLoc
• Other: 180mm direct mount rotor, compatible with 2.8" tires in both 27.5" and 29"

Rockshox Lyrik

The Rockshox Lyrik is made with the same internals as the Pike and designed to be the ultimate enduro fork. Offering three damper adjustments for open, platform, and locked riding allows the Lyrik to be easily adjusted with the flick of a switch. By combining trail bike weight with dual crown aggression, the Lyric is designed to inspire confidence throughout the trail.

Specifications for Lyrik RCT3:

• Travel: 150/160-170/180mm in 27.5" and 29"
• Weight: 2040g (27.5" model, 160mm travel, Maxle Ultimate, DebonAir)
• Damping: Charger 2 damper
• Available Springs: DebonAir, Dual Position Air
• Adjustments: External rebound, 3-position adjustment (open/pedal/firm), low-speed compression in open position
• Steerer Options: Tapered
• Crown: Forged, hollow 7050 aluminum
• Upper Tubes: 35mm tapered wall aluminum
• Lowers:  Magnesium
• Options: RCT Remote with 2-position compression (open/firm) via OneLoc remote and low-speed compression adjustment in open mode
• Recommended Rear Shock: Super Deluxe, Super Deluxe Coil
• Maximum Rotor Size: 203mm
• Color Options: Diffusion black, gloss black, gloss white
• Remotes: OneLoc
• Other: 180mm direct mount rotor, compatible with 2.8" tires in both 27.5" and 29"

Rockshox Yari

Although it is designed to be a "trail fork," the Yari provides the same confidence inspiring stiffness offered by the Lyric but in lower travel configurations. Additionally, the refined Motion Control IS damper features Rapid Recovery rebound and its high-speed compression circuit is tuned to match the feeling of the Charger damper.

Specifications for Yari RC:

• Travel: 150/160/170/180mm in 27.5" and 29"
• Wheels: 27.5", 29"
• Weight: 2123g (27.5" model, 160mm travel, Maxle Ultimate, DebonAir)
• Damping: Motion Control
• Available Springs: DebonAir, Dual Position Air
• Adjustments: External rebound, low-speed compression from open to lock
• Steerer Options: Tapered
• Crown: Forged, hollow 7050 aluminum
• Upper Tubes: 35mm tapered wall aluminum
• Lowers:  Magnesium
• Options: RC Remote with 2-position compression (open/lock) via OneLoc remote
• Recommended Rear Shock: Super Deluxe, Super Deluxe Coil
• Maximum Rotor Size: 203mm
• Color Options: Diffusion black, gloss black, gloss white
• Remotes: OneLoc
• Other: 180mm direct mount rotor, compatible with 2.8" tires in both 27.5" and 29"

If you're one strange human and would like to read a transcript of the video above, continue reading below!

Hey guys, Jeff from Worldwide Cyclery here.

You may have wondered what the difference is between Rockshox Pike, Yari and Lyrik forks.

They all look pretty similar, as you can tell they have some subtle differences to them and we're gonna get into that today. So I kind of want to break this up a little.

The Pike itself. You can kind of consider that one as different from the other two. The Pike is probably one of the most versatile forks you'll ever see out there. So you see these things on cross country bikes, you know carbon hardtails with 100-120 mil of travel all the way to a 29er with 150 mil of travel. That's kind of more like an enduro bike, so a Pike is a pretty versatile fork, they put them on a lot of different bikes. They all have 15 mil through axles; 2018 they've got two charger to two damper, 27.5" or 29" wheels. So a Pike is kind of like a do-it-all -- you see it all over the place like I said, from a carbon hardtail all the way to an enduro bike, 27.5" or 29", so a pretty versatile fork. It's lightweight and amazing -- my favorite Rockshox fork by all means. Like I LOVE the things! I think they're probably the best Rockshox has got out right now in terms of a do-it-all sort of fork.

The Lyrik and the Yari are for a little bit of a different crowd, so these forks come in longer travel ranges so they go from 160 all the way to 180, the Lyrik just being the more expensive one. So Lyrik and Yari, you can look at these as maybe enduro, free-ride, park forks because they're only long travel like I said 150 to 180, so longer travel single crown forks. The Lyrik, since it's the nicer one, has the charger to damper; the Yari has got the motion-controlled damper so that's kind of where a lot of the price comes into play. A little bit different materials on the Yari so it's gonna be a little bit heavier than the Lyrik, but these two forks they're for the longer travel bike -- all-around aggressive stuff -- so they both do a 15 mil axle just like the Pike. There was a lot of controversy over that when these two forks came out. There were a million comments on Pink Bike and the other forums about why on earth Rockshox didn't put a 20 mil axle on these forks. I think they should have as well; I kind of agree with the crowd on that one. So because they're a longer travel fork like this, they tend to go on bikes when people want stiffness. One of the main differences between these two forks and the Pike is that they're a little bit heavier -- not just because they have more travel. Even if you look in the same travel range of a 160 Pike vs. a 160 Lyrik -- what's the difference, right? There's a lot more meat to the actual cab magnesium lowers, and the reason they did that is to stiffen up the fork. So forks flex a lot whether they're flexing backwards or flexing sideways. They do have flex to them while you're riding, especially if you're riding it hard, hitting rock gardens, jumping it and drops. Don't that sort of stuff is where you're gonna see more flex in forks, and the Lyrik and Yari have a lot more meat to the lowers to stiffen things up. So the next step in making it even more stiff would be to do a 20 mil axle. So again, I don't know why Rockshox chose to stick these things with 15 mil axles -- or at least chose not to give us the option -- but they did. It's still gonna be a stiffer fork than a Pike. Whether your going to notice that? Probably not. Depends on how big you are. I'm a smaller guy at 150 pounds and I can't even tell the difference; they're a little bit heavier to me, I mean I can't get these things to flex. They both feel rock-solid to me. It's a 35 mil stanchion all across these three so I don't notice that. However we have plenty of customers who DO, you know some guys that are racing enduro at a really high level who are heavier guys who cause more fork flex than your typical rider. Those guys love the Lyrik because of how stiff it is. So that stiffness is what's adding to the weight, and that's part of what draws certain people to the Lyrik. If you're looking at the same travel range that a Pike comes in, you know another reason if you're looking at 180 mil travel, you obviously kind of have to go with the Lyrik or Yark because the Pike doesn't come in that, so that stiffness adds a little bit of weight. It's just more meat to the lowers on this thing. Those are kind of the key differences there.

So Pike is your do-it-all, almost-can-do-everything on tons of bikes you'll see Pikes on. You know they go from like 100 all the way to 160 as far as travel, whereas the Yaris and the Lyriks go from 150 to 180. And again, the stiffness is the main thing. The Yari is just the cheaper version of a Lyrik, it's pretty simple. They're very similar in design and look, and the damper is gonna be the main difference between the Lyrik and the Yari. And with that, price is a major factor. 

We're gonna drop a link to our blog post with all of this information, and you can look at all these aspects side by side as far as pricing, weights of the different sizes, 27.5-29, all different travel ranges -- all that sort of information. That's important stuff to look at; price is a big thing. The Lyriks are more expensive, the Yari is a cheaper version of the Lyrik, and the Pike tends to fall right in the middle. 

So that's kind of the differences between these three forks; which one is right for you depends on the bike you're building. Pike is a pretty go-to fork for almost any bike. If you really want something for longer travel you're gonna need a Lyrik or Yari. When I say longer travel I mean like 160, 170, 180 -- that's when you're gonna need a Lyrik or Yari. Or if you're a bigger guy and you really want stiffness, if your bike's got a 150 travel fork on it and you're thinking about upgrading, you could go with a Pike or Lyrik. Lyrik can have a stiffer chassis to it. So those are the main differences there, and that's about it for these forks. Forgot something! If you guys liked the video, subscribe/like/comment/share it/whatever!