The Final Boss of trail bike forks? Very probably. With a price tag to match.
- Brand: Fox
- Product: 36 Float Factory GRIP X2 160mm 29in fork
- Price: £1,399 (currently £1,119.19 on sale)
- From: Silverfish UK
- Tested by: Ross for 6 months
Pros
- An improvement over the previous 36 (that we thought was flipping amazing)
- Maintains ride height on steeps
- Feel comfier and calmer than ever
Cons
- Four figure forks are very much a thing now
- Er… some folk may not like the Kashima colour?
Our rating
We love a 36 here at STW (yes, more than a 38) and the changes to the new 36 sound… er, sound. The new arch gives the 36 a claimed 87% of the torsional stiffness found on the 38 but is 275g lighter. The redesigned air spring decouples the stanchion from the air shaft, allowing the piston to move freer even whilst the fork is bending fore-aft. 30mm more bushing overlap in there too. Which is nice.
If your riding involves “I’m not racing, but I am going quite fast, thanks” then a Fox 36 is still an excellent choice.
For the damper settings, I referred to Fox’s own set up guides which I’ve always found to be a good starting point. During the first couple of rides I then adjusted the settings to suit which equated to me removing a little more low speed compression damping and adjusting the rebound slightly.
I’m going to get straight to the point and say the Fox 36 Factory Grip X2 is, in my opinion, one of the best forks you can currently buy. I’ll get on to the performance in a minute, but one of things that I think works in its favour, is how versatile it is. It can be plugged into a trail bike without feeling like overkill but also won’t shy away from some pretty heavy enduro duty. It’s a fork that would be a great opinion for a lot of riders. One fork to rule them all.. Potentially.
Straight out of the box the Grip X2 damper is buttery smooth. I spent a lot of time on the Grip2 damper in a 38 and highly, highly rated it but the updated Grip X2 damper builds on that performance and increases it. Soft and plush off the top, but then support where you need.
It’s supple and supportive on flowy trails, working in the top half of the travel, but has plenty of support for popping off things. It’s super sensitive off the top, and floats across lower level repeated hits, hoovering up carpets of root and smaller rocks, staying high in the travel and adding grip. You can confidently commit to high lines on off-cambers and awkward roots knowing the fork will provide the grip you need.
Opening the taps and hitting rougher tracks, it holds a line through chunky rocky sections without getting pinged around or flexing, but never feels ‘too stiff’. Compared to a bigger stanchioned fork, it definitely feels more compliant, and actually less fatiguing when things are really fast and rough.
Smashing through big holes and square edges it stays composed, and you can pick a line through the roughest, nastiest diagonal rock gardens and it’ll track through, using its travel predictably, and keeping support. The new Grip X2 offers more levels of damping support and control compared to previous 36 forks, no doubt this is possible due to the reduction in stiction overall.
Overall
I’ve already said it, but I’ll say it again. This fork is up there with the best you can currently buy, and given the travel options, will suit a lot of riders on a lot of different bikes. It feels perfectly fine to be used as a ‘trail’ bike fork but is completely unfazed when you up the stakes and drop into steep-rough-fast-scary enduro bike territory. It’s not cheap, but the performance backs up the price tag. Recommended.
Specifications
- Wheel Size: 29, 27.5
- Travel: 140mm, 150mm, 160mm
- Rake: 37mm, 44mm offset (27.5) / 44mm offset (29)
- Axle: KABOLT 15 QR ON Performance Series
- Rotor Size: 200-230mm
- Air Spring: FLOAT EVOL Complaint
- Steerer: 1.5 Taper
- Starting Weight: 1920g (29 160MM GRIP X)
