RockShox Pike Select Charger RC Suspension Fork [Rider Review]

 Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Suspension technology has improved drastically in recent years, so its great to see more entry level forks like the RockShox Pike Select benefit from that technology trickling down from those top of the line forks. Our friend Nick recently upgraded his Trek with one and has been loving the upgrade. Read on for more!

Overview

I bought the Trek Fuel EX 5 with the intention of upgrading the components over time as the EX 7 and 8 didn't have the upgrades I wanted. The standard fork that the EX 5 comes with is a 140mm Recon with pretty thin stanchions. Trek states the frame can handle up to a 150mm fork which in my opinion is a nice sweet spot for the set up I was looking for.

I knew I was gonna stay with RockShox as their forks seem to be very easy to get dialed in, easy to service, they feel great and they seem to deliver quality above their price when you stack them against competitors. The 35mm stanchions on the Pike was also a nice upgrade and added some extra stiffness at this price point. I noticed a huge difference right away when I swapped out the Recon for the Pike with the most noticeable difference on larger drops and rough terrain at higher speeds.

Once I had it dialed in, it just seemed to absorb whatever I hit and rebound nicely.

Set up is really easy, just get your preferred psi in it and get the rebound dialed in to your preference. There are a couple of clicks of lockout compression which I really only use for long fire road climbs otherwise I leave it fully open.

You also cant beat the RockShox sag % marks on the stanchions. I could be mistaken but I believe that is exclusive to RockShox. So no need to use a ruler just set, adjust, and go. Also easy to check before every ride. My preferred set up is to run this fork a little firmer with it set slightly on the faster side for rebound and run the rear shock with a medium feel with a little slower rebound.

World Wide Cyclery has also been top-notch. Shipping was faster then they quoted. I sent a few messages prior to purchasing and they responded in a timely manner especially considering all the hurdles businesses face during these times - they have been exceptional. Videos on their YouTube and website are great and help a ton with product information. Definitely will be ordering from them again. 👍🏼👍🏼

Final Thoughts

Overall I would highly recommend this fork. This is a set it and forget it fork that feels great without much tweaking. If I was looking into a higher travel build DH or aggressive enduro at 160mm+ I would definitely be looking at a Lyrik or ZEB (which looks sick) and I think would be worth the extra cash for the extra stiffness. But I was looking for medium travel on a long slack trail bike with bigger tires(29x2.6) and the 150mm Pike fit the bill and has performed great.