Revised Damper
The Pike’s Charger damper has been revised more than redesigned. Updates include more low-speed, compression-damping adjustment in Open mode (RCT3 model) and, according to the press release, a “more usable pedal setting” and a “re-tuned” firm setting.

What exactly do “more useable” and “re-tuned” mean? Good question. Requests for more in-depth information from RockShox’s press officers have, so far, been unanswered. We’ll update this post with further details as they arrive.

Debonair Air Spring
Borrowing a feature that debuted in RockShox’s shocks, the Pike gets a larger-volume negative spring (RockShox calls it Debonair). This should reduce breakaway force (AKA “stiction”), making the fork more sensitive in the initial part of its travel. The Pike already was—if properly maintained and tuned—smooth and sensitive, so any further (noticeable) improvement would be impressive.

New Lowers
The reshaped lowers—and especially the chunkier brace—are the most obvious update. A less obvious but more significant, update is the Pike is now a Boost-only platform. The switch to Boost helps improve tyre clearance: both the 27.5 and 29er Pike have clearance for 2.8-inch tyres; the 29er can also clear 27.5 x 3.0-inch yres.

Another update: The caliper attachment posts were redesigned, resulting in a minimum rotor size of 180mm (it had been 160mm).

New Travels
Putting a bit more daylight between the Pike and the heavier-duty Lyrik (which are based on the same 35mm platform), the 29er Pike now has a maximum travel of 140mm (it had been 160mm); maximum travel of the 27.5-inch Pike remains 160mm.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Pike’s minimum travel for both wheel sizes is now 120mm—it was 130mm in the 27.5 fork. Unsurprisingly, a 26-inch-specific chassis is not offered.

Lighter
RockShox claims the Pike’s weight was reduced by 150 grams, bringing fork weight to 1,841 grams (27.5, 140mm, claimed).

Remote Option
RockShox is remote-crazy these days and seems to be offering the option with every recent product rollout, including this new Pike. The OneLoc remote can toggle between the fork’s open and firm settings.

Models
The new Pike will be offered in just the high-end RCT3 model aftermarket. Bike brands have access to a lower-spec Pike RC for original-equipment spec. The major difference is that the RC model does not have as many external compression-damping adjustments, like the aftermarket RCT3. This fork will offered with or without a remote.