[Closed] Are Fox forks that bad ??

Sold a set of unridden (so basically brand new) Fox 32s off my Zesty last year as fitted new forks at time of purchase. They were 140mm 32 Evos. Got just over £200 on eBay.

Most people know the Evo versions are basic internals and so value reflects this as they are not so sought after. Same goes for the rear shocks (looking to upgrade at some point but may as well keep the exitig shock as a spare as so little value).

I saw your add in the classifieds and was interested in whether they would sell.

My own experience is with a pair of Fox Float Evo CTDs on a 2014 Giant Trance, with the overdrive steerer.

They are a big disappointment after the Revelations I had on my last bike (on my wife's bike now), I had hoped they would improve after a few months of riding, but they are harsh with almost no small bump sensitivity in the trail setting, so I find I have to keep switching to descend on anything remotely rough, which means they bounce around if I'm pedaling.

It doesn't help that they don't have the trail adjust of the FIT damper equipped forks.

So, I guess this means that when I replace them with Revs or Pikes I will be left with a pair of forks that aren't worth anything.

I would love the try Fox...
But the question no one can answer.. "When are Fox releasing the 2015 Fox 26 TALAS, 180/140?". The answer I get is, we will, but we don't know when. My Lyriks are shit.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/03/12/new-2016-fox-34-float-27-5-goes-wide-to-fit-plus-sized-mountain-bike-tires/

I wonder if this will get more Fox forks on bikes next year.

To be fair I can't fault them apart from the fact they aren't long enough.

I don't feel them flexing despite being a heavy lad myself.

I thought they might appeal to someone doing a budget 650b build.

Ignore what a lot of people say.

Including you? 😉

[quote> http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/03/12/new-2016-fox-34-float-27-5-goes-wide-to-fit-plus-sized-mountain-bike-tires/

I wonder if this will get more Fox forks on bikes next year.

Saw that Mr O. But a new hub standard too...? I like the idea of it and it makes sense - but do we [i]need[/i] it?

Rentons fork has a unique steerer? WTF.

So Renton will either have to find someone who has/needs the same fork as theirs is goosed (slim) or buy a new CSU?

Probably best storing the forks, buy new forks (with h/set adaptors?) then when you come to sell - sell the F&F as a package.

Renton's fork doesn't (2015), mine does (2014 Giant Overdrive)

They are both compatible with tapered headtubes, but the overdrive one needs a specific headset and stem

Hora read what I have wrote ffs.

Mine has a normal tapered steerer.

Giant went to a funny size in 2014 but switched back in 2015.

Okay okay keep your alans on ya big angry bear.

If it's any consolation I have a set of 150mm 32s with a straight 1.5" steerer. WTF. There's literally no point in even trying to sell those, the market for them is non existent because who wants flexy forks on a bike that's got a 1.5" steerer??

They're not bad forks so they're sat in the shed and get an occasional airing on my Jekyll if I'm riding it places where Totems are a bit big.

paulrockcliffe - if you do want to sell them super cheap they'd be grand on my Mrs's 'Dale, even better if they are QR!

The ludicrousness that is a full 1.5in headtube mated to QR dropouts.

Saw that Mr O. But a new hub standard too...? I like the idea of it and it makes sense - but do we need it?

Milkie - Member

My Lyriks are shit.

Get them fixed? Lyriks are as heavy as a rock but unless they're 2-step, they've never been shit. And 2-step you can fix easily by throwing the 2-step in the bin.

Still can't forgive Fox for their year on year price hikes and short product life cycles. Basically, it boils down to the fact that if I'm going to spend a grand on a fork, it needs to be future proof because I ain't buying another for a good few years yet.

Would I buy a secondhand Fox? Absolutely, provided the stanchions were in fine fettle.

Do we need it.. depends what you want and why I guess. Hard to get excited over +3mm chainline when bikes have been out there for a few years with wider DH hubs and 83mm BBs. Some may say the +10-15mm Q-factor is a problem with 83mm BBs but I'd be happy enough on it.

I was referring more to the 110mm hub proposed by Fox. 🙂

Ha, yes.. I was thinking about the 'Boost' F+R hub design that the 110x15 front is part of - Trek's new thing - and pinballed a bit. Rowley Birkin moment : )

Are Kashmir stanchions softer than the older ones - I've got some 2010 36's stupid open bath damper aside they've been amazing, but the allure of Kashimir to match my fancy Float X shock - but all the ones I've seen on eBay / Pinkbike look like they've been had at with a bar file - there's a few that look okay bar a few tiny marks but they want almost new money for them - certainly more than a new set of Pikes.

And there was me thinking 26" stuff was worthless now!

I'm gonna throw a spanner in the works here....

Iv got a 2013 Zesty. Came with fox 32 150mm CTD evos, and a float CTD Evo on the back. I thought they were a good idea having come from a DH background moving to XC/trail after an injury incase I decide to have a dab on anything silly. They stay in climb I'd say 50% of the time and in trail the other 50%. I honestly can't fault them in these settings. I love them! The very few times I have used descent setting to play on id say it's not the best Iv felt. Was very 'spongy' and dipped heavily under heavy breaking in the corners. But the end of the day it's what you use it for. I don't think its claimed to be a hardcore downhill drop taker.... It's an all rounder that can cope well in most situations should you need it.

Well that's what I think anyway. It's certainly done well for me. As said previously, I too don't like the feel of rock shox. Personal preference. And that's just it, I think they got some bad press and its dented them slightly. Its not the best fork Iv had by a long way... But it's definatly not the worst.

My opinion of course.... Bring me back a pair of triple clamp bombers anyday! 🙂

I had 2011 Lyrik RC2DH coils for a year and they were pants. Divey, useless at any small bump compliance, not exactly stiff, under damped and the dust seals used to love sucking in dirt and dust ruining the anodising on the stanchion. They were £899 new! I sold them for a measly £175 because they were knackered.

I have replaced them with 2012 Fox 36 Tala FIT CTD Kashima's. Sensible tool free dropouts, stiff, compliant, much better damped and thats only a few rides in. They probably were closer to £1k but I paid £300 in excellent condition.

As someone said they are only worth what someone wants to pay. Considering all the change Fox have gone through recently since their linear-gate fiasco in 2013 Id say they are doing a better job of persuading consumers and manufacturers that they are back on track. Compare Fox with Marzocchi and how long any recovery from bad decisions has been.

Kashmir stanchions

Kashmir eh? In the press pics it always looks lovely and golden but with mine, all I see turns to brown

I've had Fox, X-Fusion and Rockshox on my bikes, never owned Marzocchi but ridden a mates bike with the new 350's....I consider myself very average, my best racing result was finishing in the top third of the field at the FoD mini-DH one year....and to be honest I struggle to tell the difference between any of them!

I'm sure a lot of average riders like me get caught up in the hype of a new release (Pikes?) or read a review by an elite rider who can actually feel any drawbacks in the forks they're testing and then the seed is planted for ourselves, call it placebo if you like, the power of suggestion maybe?....Revelations are good forks and were seen as a good upgrade a little while ago however once the new Pikes were released you'd be forgiven for thinking they turned into crap overnight!....suddenly nobody wants them and out come all the cliches (they're flexy etc), progress is always welcome but suspension in particular is about feel and can therefore be very subjective.

I'd happily have a Fox-34 on my bike, I'd probably send it to TF, Mojo etc for some fettling but I do that with all my forks anyway!...can't say I'd spend 1k on a fork as that sounds bonkers to me given that the best 'feel' I've ever had from a fork is still the 2013 Sektor (coil spring) that currently provides damping duties on my hardtail....and they retail for less than £250!

I've never ridden any Bos items so I'd like to try their stuff one day, seeing as they are OEM on some of the Capras I may well go that way for my next complete build in a year or two.

The best advice I can give fellow average riders like me is to spend £100 on your current forks by having them set up properly for your bike, your riding and your weight by one of the many companies out there, throwing away a £500 fork to replace with another £500 fork before an expert has had their hands on the original one you're having problems with seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water!
Also don't rule out coil conversions, it's something TFtuned offer and for some bikes, riders etc it can be preferable....an extreme example but Danny Hart is back on coil suspension now he's moved to Mondraker and Marzocchi!...air suspension gets better year on year but it's not the only option if you're having issues.

extreme http://singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/bike-chatexample but Danny Hart is back on coil suspension now he's moved to Mondraker and Marzocchi!..

Given that he can only use marz units, do you think that might be something to do with their air shocks.... 😉

& yes regular maintenance & servicing does make a big difference along with actually setting them up correctly.
A good 50% or more of riders don't have them anywhere close (from watching from the side of the trail)
Setup guide here: http://locotuning.co.uk/tech-info.html

Well put deviant

Agree about setup

My pikes were feeling wooden, played with the pressure, twiddked the nobs etc,

Tf tuned tip of getting some lube past the dust seals with a zi tie and hey presto , all lovely again !

I have to agree with hora about 2015 Fox 34s. They're not the lightest, but at 140mm, mine are pretty spot-on. Stiff enough for my lardy arse and respond beautifully to every kind of bump I've thrown at them so far (no big, lumpy rock gardens so far, though).

Agree with andysredmini completely,
I've just sold pikes in favour of new 36 rc2's which are superb, the feeling over the 34's is amazing & you feel like you can hit anything harder.
That's said the factory 34's are good though TFT do a re tune for them & they really do improve, they also do something similar for the kashima ctd rear shock.

Cheers
Mark

Are Fox's bad?

Ppl complain about Fox stanchion wear.

Yet forget that Rockshox also had stanchion wear issues too.

My forks just sold for £140 posted. I feel slightly robbed but can't complain if that's what they're worth on the open market.

@Hora- Rockshox stanchions can wear but when did they ever have "stanchion wear issues"? It's been a recurring issue for Fox for as long as I can remember, despite several seal revisions and coating revisions all promising to fix it (and randomly changing service intervals).

Anyone doubt that most worn stanchions are Fox? Especially wear not caused by neglect? (despite heroic efforts from BOS to punch above their weight)

The most worn forks each year are the forks that are most commonly fitted to mass market bikes, so it tends to fluctuate from year to year what we see.
Everything wear if not maintained, expect to start getting 'my pike stantions have worn, but I haven't done anything to them for a year' soon as there are loads of them about...

Edit: I run Fox, rockshox & DSP units currently on my bike but have had Xfusion and various other bit, quite fancy trying some of the New MRP stuff just had a few Stage rear shocks in for Project enduro which are very nice so one maybe replacing the DSP on the back of the FS. 😀

I ran 36 floats for 2yrs in the Peaks and before that 36 talas (da'an saf) and religious after every ride I'd dab oil on the stanchions and cycle the forks until the dirt ring had gone/wiped away.

Peaks is very very gritty gritstone and lots of sand too so its naturally you might experience more wear round here on any forks.

[img] [/img]

What's going on there? Has the whole stantion slipped down or something? 😕

Looks to have sheared in line with bottom of crown, google will give you a images of pretty much every type of fork having broken in some shape or form.

On another related note, that's a good reason for not knocking out individual stantions out of yokes and replacing them with others.
Actually had another supposed 'suspension specialist' contact us last week trying to buy our scrap crown steerers to use 😯
Told them it was very dodgy & we wouldn't be selling them anything.
(don't know who they were either before you ask)

Looks like he only rides park...

He'll be fine, he's got a spare

I've had dozens of Fox forks including 32,36 and 40 on bikes that came with them or on special deals through retailers I worked for.

Can't say I'd be buying any more now that I am paying regular prices for them

The thing that has killed my interest in the single crown 32 and 36 forks was the creaking CSU which happened to every pair after 6-12 months. Within the 12 month warranty Mojo were very good at taking care of the issue, no complaints about their professional service for Fox in the UK.

However, once out of warranty it gets stupidly expensive to have the CSU replaced.

On my last pair of 32's - just a 100mm pair used on my 29'er for mild XC riding, it was more expensive to have the CSU replaced at my cost than buy a new fork off CRC; bear in mind Mojo had already replaced the CSU on the same fork for the same issue, under warranty 13 months before. I was a month past warranty on the repair...

I ended up with a Manitou fork, which has been surprising as its actually got more controlled damping than my Fox 32, and is structurally much stiffer.

No creaking yet, but not surprised, as its a little heavier than the Fox, with a much "beefier" crown where the stanchions are pressed into place.

This confirms the conversation I had with an honest technician at Mojo who explained the CSU on Fox is very light as people want a light weight fork. He said the assembly grease used when the stanchions are pressed into the crown tends to leach out over time, especially during bike cleaning that all UK riders are too familiar with!

He said its not a structural issue, but who wants to ride a nice mountain bike that creaks / clicks every time you pedal hard, brake or turn into a corner..

Where were you riding these to get every pair to creak?! 😯

My 2009 Fox F120 RL's are just buttery still.

Keep em clean. Keep em lubed (juice lubes fork juice). Shove fresh oil in them a couple of times a year, new seals every so often.

So far, so good.

Sold them now anyway. Got £210 for them so not to bad.

Ordered a set of revelations from Alltricks now in nice stealthy black.

Rev's- they'll be very flexy on the Giant Renton

@LoCo

its not the terrain as such (not the fork's structure reacting to terrain) but riding often in wet mud, meaning the bike is being cleaned after every ride.

The tech at Mojo said this is something that Fox had been surprised about; the amount of warranty claims on creaking CSU in the UK market compared to other international markets.

Their explanation was that we ride all year round (compared to perhaps, riders in North American or European countries that could be snow bound for 3-4 months of each season), and we ride all year round in muddy, wet condition which means lots of cleaning with products like Muc-Off which cause the assembly grease to leach out of the stancion/crown interface over time.