RockShox Lyric 2 Step 2010
Reviews / Forks
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At a Glance
Straight out of the box the Lyric looks a fork that can take you places. 35mm 7000 grade aluminium uppers sit in power bulged magnesium lowers that sport the tool free Maxle Lite 20mm axle system. The 2 step ¼ turn lever sits atop the left leg within easy reach with the Floodgate toggle is close at hand on the right leg. There is external beginning stroke rebound and high and low speed compression adjustment which is great if you like to fettle. Improved internals mean you get a dual flow rebound system that has improved the feel of the forks overall performance. Axle to crown measurement for our 160mm 2 step was 545mm. and the fork weighed in at 2397g with a full steerer. Setting the fork up with the recommended pressures left it too firm and it felt quite wooden. We ran it at these pressures for a rough 5 hour ride but it did not free up at all so the pressures were dropped the after some experimentation we got the fork working well.
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At the Mega
On a bike set up with a 67º head angle we still never got the fork to sag correctly but it felt stable on big hits and bottom out control was impressive considering we were hitting full travel on most runs. Small bump compliance was not great with the fork set up to take a hammering but it never became and issue and we soon got used to how we had the fork set up and just got on with riding.
The 2 step system is great if you have to pedal up long steep ascents to get to your gravity fuelled fun and we used it more than was anticipated and we never experienced any fork creep with it in the lowered position.
The 35mm chassis and 20mm Maxle keep the fork straight and true and it held its lines well through some harsh terrain soaking up medium to big hits without fuss and only losing complete control on terrain that would be better tamed by DH offerings.
There is a niggle with the Lyric… that being that the ¼ turn 2 step lever can get knocked whilst riding, this resulted in some pretty hairy moments as we found ourselves plummeting into steep rock sections with only 115mm of travel available and a head angle somewhat steeper than we had bargained for. This was resolved by cable tying the lever in the full travel position which is how it has stayed and to be honest we have not missed the 115mm option.
Overall
The Lyric is a good fork that handled Alpine descents and UK trails well and never let us down. There is a multitude of adjustments that can help you get the fork set up just as you want it so you can tune it to the terrain you will be riding. We never experienced any problems with the Lyric.
Right now there are some great deals on these forks which makes them a front runner for anyone in the market for a solid performing fork with plenty of tunability.
RRP £899.99
Buy Forks onThis review was in Issue 7 of IMB.
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By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
