Product Full Name | Rockshox Lyrik RCT3 Solo Air 170mm 27.5in

Retail Price | £819.99

Available From | SRAM

Rockshox Lyrik RCT3 – more than just a burly Pike

The Rockshox Pike is one of the most popular suspension forks on the market – and offers incredible performance and value.

The 160mm travel of the Pike handles terrain extremely well – but can get a little overwhelmed on the faster, rougher and steeper terrain that the latest bikes can handle.  Which is where the updated Rockshox Lyrik steps in…

The new Rockshox Lyrik looks like a Pike – but performs more like a mini Boxxer

As you’ve probably noticed, the new Rockshox Lyrik looks virtually identical to the Pike. It has the same stealthy look, bulges in the same places and even uses the same 35mm stanchions as the Pike.

But with a redesigned crown and lowers; a new air spring design and the same rebound unit from the Boxxer it is a bigger fish altogether – and aimed firmly at the Enduro racer; chairlift lover and serial bike park shredder…

The Detail

Though the Lyrik uses 35mm stanchion tubes, the crown is deeper than the Pike for increased strength and stiffness. The lower legs have more material on them than the Pike, and a new brace design is stiffer and features more clearance.

Surprisingly there is no 20mm bolt through axle on the Lyrik – like it’s predecessor – but instead Torque Cap compatibility. This increases the surface contact of the hub with the fork – increasing stiffness whilst using the existing 15mm Maxle design.

When you put the Lyrik next to a Pike you can see the subtle differences. Crown shape; brace shape and axle area all feature changes.

A neat feature – though compatibility is limited. SRAM, Hope, Race Face and DT are amongst those that currently offer this system.

Regular 15mm hubs (21mm end caps) are compatible – but don’t benefit from the increased stiffness of the 31mm Torque Caps, and can be fiddly in installation as there is no lip for the hub to sit against.

Lyrik, Pike, Lyrik, Pike. Note the meatier fork ends that house the Torque Cap drop outs.

The Rockshox Lyrik is available in 160/170/180mm versions in 27.5in with a regular 100mm spacing, and 150/160mm versions in 29in, which are also 27+ compatible via the Boost 110mm spacing. Both Solo Air and Dual Position air are available, and the Lyrik is typically about 200grams heavier than the Pike. Our 170mm fork weighed in just over 2000grams.

The air spring on the Lyrik has been improved too – taking ideas from the Debon Air rear shock system to offer a larger negative spring, and more progressive action.

Our test fork was a 27.5in wheel model, with Solo air and the RCT3 Charger damper – with three position lock out, and low speed compression. The damper has improved SKF seals too – for a slicker action and more time in between servicing.

The rebound damper on the Rockshox Lyrik is the same as the Boxxer – with an internally adjustable shim stack for adjusting the low and high speed feel.

Out on the Trail

The Rockshox Lyrik has a similar feel to the Pike, but is noticeably more supple on the initial stroke and quite supportive out of the box with a single bottomless token in place.

On smoother trails you’d be hard pushed to notice any difference between the Pike and the Lyrik – but when the going gets fast and rough, the Lyrik starts coming in to it’s own.

Pushing it hard in to turns it feels more positive than the Pike – and more composed too. A combination of the increased material on the lowers and the improved air spring and damper combination keeps the fork higher in the travel. Even in those turns when the bike is fully loaded – there is no misbehaving or twisting.

I did 4 runs back to back on my Mondraker Dune on 50 Shades at BPW on the Lyrik – and felt so confident on it. The fork just eats it all up. Photo | Dan Wyre

And on those runaway train sections when you really let the bike go, the fork feels sturdier fore and aft too – especially under braking or in those pocket turns that can make a fork feel like it binds.

Despite the fork feeling progressive, I did end up installing more bottomless tokens – as I was using a lot of low speed rebound to keep the fork higher in the stroke. I settled on three spacers in the end – which felt just as supple off the top – but left me with about 1.5cm of unused stroke for all but the biggest hits.

On those big hits it felt excellent. Even on those nasty over jumps to flat, the Lyrik sucked it up.

No nasty bottom out clunk, and a very well controlled rebound stroke. I didn’t feel the need to adjust the shim stack as the stock setting felt great at both low and high speed. The rebound stroke is nice and quick with just enough control to avoid it feeling springy on smaller hits – and has plenty of rebound there to tame the energy from big hits. The fork just feels excellent.

Although mud clearance is still not brilliant – there is a lot more room than the frankly rubbish clearance of the Pike. Enough to run our favourite Dfender mud guard on those foul weather days.

We tried the Rockshox Lyrik with both regular wheels and Torque cap equipped wheels.

With regular wheels you do have to take care installing the wheel as there is no lip for the hub to butt up against, but they work perfectly well. The Lyrik still feels sturdier than the Pike like this, but with Torque Cap equipped wheels it feels noticeably stiffer – on a par with the Fox 36 running a bolt through axle.

We Say

Although the Pike is an excellent fork, the Lyrik is definitely more than a beefed up version. The whole chassis feels that bit tougher and sturdier – more like a slimmed down Boxxer. It feels more like a Boxxer too, with that bigger fork feel that boosts confidence when you wade in to rock gardens on the cocky side of fast.

And it’s incredibly forgiving on your hands too. Even on long chattery descents – the Lyrik does a great job of soaking up tiring trail buzz. 

If you ride a 160mm bike to the limit, or are on the heavier side – the Lyrik could be the perfect fork for you. It’s only 200grams heavier than the Pike, and is right up there with the 36.

And it’s well priced too – £80 cheaper than the Fox 36 Float RC2, but commonly available online for £700…

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