With an all-new chassis, air spring and damper, the 2016 34 fork really is a fresh start over the outgoing version. Tipping our scales at just 1760g, it’s been on a radical diet, as has the price tag. It’s now 100g lighter and also 46$ cheaper than the comparable RockShox Pike, with models ranging from 120 to 140mm travel in 29in and 140, 150 or 160mm in 650b. A travel adjustable TALAS model is available too giving 30mm of travel adjustment.
The new FIT4 cartridge damper borrows a larger diameter rebound shaft from their hard hitting RC2 unit for greater oil flow, aiming to give cooler running and more controlled damping. The external low speed compression adjustments are new too, with your pick of Open, Medium and locked out Firm settings. You get 22 clicks of low speed compression adjustment in Open.
It’s a highly usable range and once we’d adjusted it to our liking, we never felt the need to use Medium or Firm to control pedal bob. Rebound is adjusted on the lower leg, and all dials and the fork in general has a quality feel to it. The 15mm through-axle is easy to use and adjust too.
The combination of golden Kashima upper leg coating and SKF seals means the 34 gets moving with barely any effort, translating into excellent grip on the trail. Instead of being deflected, it subtly eases itself through chop, transmitting just enough information to let you know what’s going on without being jarring. Despite having a skinnier chassis, there’s no noticeable lack of stiffness over the Pike either.
The support from the damper in conjunction with the all-new air spring is very impressive. It’s very progressive, though this can be altered with easy-to-fit volume spacers. We ended up removing the lone volume spacer in our 160mm test model and running a high level of sag, but the fork still gave excellent support and resistance to bottom out. However, when pushing really hard through rough ground or on big drops, we noticed a slight hint of harshness, as if there’s a bit too much high-speed compression damping built in. To be honest, if you’re looking at seriously technical terrain, the Fox 36 is a better choice anyway. Distributors Mojo assure us that it’s possible to tune this to suit with a shim rebuild. The Pike may edge on chaos control but the 34 is an excellent all-round option for when weight is a priority.
PRICE 1123$
