Skip to main content

RockShox Pike RCT3 Dual Position Air trail fork


The Travel-adjust version of RockShox’s benchmark trail fork delivers user-friendly damping and geometry control but it’s noticeably more linear than the Solo Air Pike.

Adding the 30mm travel switch technology adds an extra 100g and 99$ but it’s still a decent weight for a travel-adjust fork and stiffness is good. There’s no external high-speed compression adjustment but the Charger damper is immaculately controlled through hard and fast hits. Being able to switch between locked ‘climb’, firmer ‘pedal’ and low-speed compression adjustable ‘open’ mode for descending simplifies set-up for most riders too. The Dual Position fork has a noticeably linear stroke and you can’t add ‘Bottomless Token’ volume reducers to ramp up the spring rate like you can on the fixed-travel Solo Air version. The transition from ultratraction smoothness to impressively composed block and drop swallowing makes it a mostly worry free way to lead your attack on the trail though. Reliability of the multiple sets we’ve ridden has been excellent. You even get the parts for your first service included in the box, which is a nice user friendly, value enhancing  touch.

Travel 130/160mm
Weight 1,950g
Length 553mm
Wheel sizes 26in, 650b, 29in (150mm)

PRICE 1290$






Labels

Popular posts from this blog

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

READ MORE >>

CANYON NERVE AL 8.0

  S ince their entry into the UK market a few years ago, Canyon have made a name for themselves as purveyors of well-made bikes that exhibit often extraordinary value. The secret (or catch, depending on your point of view) is that the brand don’t have dealers – they ship bikes directly to your door.

READ MORE >>

COMMENCAL EL CAMINO 3

Commencal are going from strength to strength at the moment and they’ve taken their tough trail hardtail bang up to date with 650b wheels. With its skinny rims, crankset and fork, the El Camino certainly isn’t perfect and it’s the least hardcore bike here. The handling, smoothness, speed and all-round agility of the basic bike still make it a real blast for technical trail riding though, and it’s a great base for upgrading over time.

READ MORE >>

GT Zaskar Evolution

While some bike models last just a couple of years, others change with the times to stay at the top of riders’ wishlists. In the second part of this series looking at the evolution of bikes that enjoy enduring popularity with UK riders, we turn to the GT Zaskar – a bike that was at the forefront of our sport for a long time and still has plenty of appeal today.

READ MORE >>

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

READ MORE >>