Has anyone done the upgrade on a pre gripx2 fork? Mine in a 2024 fox 36 factory grip2. Was it worth it?
I have always struggled with getting the set up how I would like
Yes... BIG difference... Well worth it...
I was very sceptical, but needed to change travel from 160 to 150 anyway and a riding friend who used to work for Sprung had already done it, and was very vocal about the difference...
Simply put, the fork now no longer suffers (lack of) stiffness related stiction issues. Might not be an issue for some, but having ridden 38's for a few years now on bigger bikes, swapping back to a 36 on a shorter travel bike I immediately notice the stiction issues when cornering hard or under hard braking. Not now with the NA3 Glidecore air shaft!!!
As for "getting the fork setup how you'd like"... Well friction is the main enemy of consistency and performance, so get that sorted first... The NA3 glidecore shaft makes a big difference, but if you can, get your bushings honed too... Then...
Drop the 4/5W oil out of the damper, replace with 2.5W motorex or 3W Maxima instead... Whilst you're there, you could get the WPS piston kit fitted to add a lot more shims to the GRIP2's shim stack, bringing it more inline with the GRIPX2, but just dropping to a lighter oil will bring the range of adjustments far more in line with what most people need... Same applies for the cheaper GRIP damper too... In fact, my £250 Merlin "paint damage" special 36 with an NA3 Glidecore air shaft, 2.5W oil in the damper, and a Diaz Runt (a luxury I'll admit, but I like the extra adjustment afforded and the extra mid stroke support) is easily the best 150mm travel "trail' fork I've ever ridden, and for way less than half the price of many that I've owned/ridden... A GRIP2 or GRIPX2 damper would give it even more compression damping control (GRIP damper is a little rudimentary here, but with a lighter oil, I find the sweetspot is at half way on the dial myself)... But it's a massive upgrade from a stock fork, that's for sure...
Sounds like it is worth a try. Cheers
Similar to @mboy, I swapped to a Glide Core 160mm (from std 150mm) on my GRIPX2 36. I'd never been that impressed with it from new. Preferred my older GRIP2 on the HT, just felt plusher.
The Glidecore was fitted by Sprung who also relieved the bushings and worked their magic on the fork. Didn't change anything on the Damper side. It is so much better- I'm not good enough to be able to say exactly why, other than it feels a lot more supple and I seem to be getting noticeably more grip.
Was curious myself - is this the part? 820-02-714-KI ? (My 36 is 140mm)
Says it's for 2026 forks - I'm assuming it fits older ones?
not sure, got mine from Sprung, mine was an early 2025 model.
I got off my lazy arse and googled it, seems to be the correct part, works for older 36s as long as you have the rounded arch
NA3 Air Spring Assembly New compliant design reducing friction/binding throughout forks travel. Backwards compatible with 2021-2025 36mm forks.
820-02-716-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36, 160mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.287" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate 820-02-715-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36, 150mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.287" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate 820-02-714-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36, 140mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.287" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate 820-02-725-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36 E-Opt, 160mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.214" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate 820-02-724-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36 E-Opt, 150mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.214" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate 820-02-723-KIT Service Set: Air Shaft Assy, 2026 36 E-Opt, 140mm, FLOAT NA 3 Glidecore, 1.214" Bore, Two-Piece Neg Plate
For reference, 2021 is as mentioned above the 'rounded arch' version.
I've had this on my shopping list for a while, might go for it when I do a service next month ahead of Alps trip.
Also be very careful with your e-bike Fox 36's as 'etuned' is not the same as 'e-optimised'.
E Optimised means thicker tubing and thus the piston diameters are narrower - thus, special part numbers.
E Tuned forks are the same base parts as a regular 36, just a literal different valving and tune, like you can get if you have yours aftermarket tuned or change the shim stacks. So you would use the parts from the top of the list, not the bottom.
