Is a $1000+ mountain bike fork worth it?

Strangely, the amount of clicks doesn't always tell the whole story. Each manufacturer usually has their own valving design which makes the amount of clicks subjective. Even if you set up both forks identically they will act differently. Great video!

In all honesty a majority of hobby riders don't spend enough time on trail to notice a difference between a mid level and high end damper. An easy to set basic damper is far better for an average rider. Adding more clicks actually gives more chance to really whack out your suspension unless you understand what each one does.

This guy is really smart to bring up the new rear shock at the last second!

Ur first sentence was literally best thing I've heard on a MTB video. We have all stood at the top of a big hill or drop saying if I had 500mm suspension or a tractor I would ride that. But I believe it's lack of confidence unless ya bike is so cheap you bought it from Halfords and know it will snap.

30% sag seems like a lot for a fork to me. Most I've seen recommended is in 15-20% range. You get a lot harsher of a feeling setting at 30% and running that many tokens because it ramps up extremely fast. Would be cool for you to make a video comparing less tokens and less sag to more tokens and more sag. I've come to realize from my own experimentation less sag and less tokens usually gives an overall more supple feel at the top with a supportive feel in the mid stroke.

Just got an ohlins rfx36 m2. Hopefully it’s worth it! Love the fact that it has a separate air chamber for ramp up. It eliminates the need for tokens and gives you much more adjustability

The Fox Talas 32 I have on my bike was only $200 and it has tons of adjustments including adjustable travel from 100mm to 140mm and it’s definitely the nicest air fork I’ve ever used

The single rebound adjustment on high-end forks affects low speed and also quite affects the high speed rebound.

I don’t have much mtb xp but I can tell you that Ohlins has been making excellent dampers for auto and motorcycle racing for a long time

I think the most adjustment in a fork or rear shock doesnt come from the damper, but the ability to affect the spring curve in general, for example by using Tokens, or 2 positive air chambers, an expandable negative air chamber or completely independant adjustible air chamber. only if these things are setup right, high adjustible damping brings you into paradise of suspension setup and feel

Great video. Nice to see you mention the volume spacers since many people tend to forget that part of the tuning. I agree with the price point, since like you said, it comes down to what you want to spend and what you need the fork to do. I will say for most people a cheaper fork is the way to go since they want more of a preset and go fork.

Many people don't realize that you can adjust your fork by changing the damper oil weight, I have a 35mm revelation that has the motion control damper, which actually performed pretty well, except for dealing with fast braking bumps, and in general it was a bit harsh overall, so I changed the damper oil from 5w 16.1 cst to 2.5w 6.7cst and boy what a difference, it feels great now, at least as good as my old lyric with the charger damper, I did have to add an extra 5psi to compensate, plus turn the rebound to full slow otherwise the fork would rebound too fast, but you can play around with different weights, and its super cheap too.

Causal rider. Try to get out each weekend but doesn’t always happen. I’m 38, I rode on recon silvers for a few years. I went fox 36’s and wow. It was worth it for me and my hands and elbows. 👍🏼 it’s subjective to a point sure. If you can afford it. Why not?

The reason the fork felt so harsh off the top with the stock volume spacers and 30% sag is because the lower the sag, the more sensitive the fork is off the top, so next time something like that happens I would recommend to try a lower sag such as 25%.

I've had two Fox Factory forks and a Performance fork. I find the Performance fork works just as well for my needs and feels just as good. So for me the Performance fork hits the sweet spot.

In my opinion, you don't need super expensive forks. There are forks like RockShox Reba RL or RockShox Judy Gold RL which feel very nice and if you're not a world class rider it'll feel the same as a Fox 34.

Whoa, 30% fork sag? That's way more than usual, I run 10-20%... That's what most manufacturers recommend as well.

Another awesome video thanks for putting in the hard work so that we can learn more everyday day

Mid range is good enough for all of us, let's leave the high end for the racers and save our wallets 😅

Hey just wanted to let you know i really enjoy the content you make! It's amazing to see this channel grow and grow and the way you evolve as a creator. All the best!