[Closed] Fox? Are they really that bad?

Go with Rockshox, if nothing else you won't have to deal with Mojo

lol - fox , without doubt, have the greatest, and most obviously capable damping system currently available.
however, i reckon most folk wouldn't notice the quality / difference.

Wow you must be special then.

This is the home of niche and Rockshox fanbois. Most of the FS riders here appear to have Fox shocks though. Try a different forum or review and you'll get different answers. I like what comes on my bike when I get it providing it works and lasts. Both RS and Fox have done that for me. I did swap some Fox 32 Flaots for Pikes because of the U turn though.

They're fantastic if looked after properly, which isn't difficult (despite much chit chat on this forum). Personally I don't think Rock Shox can match either on performance or quality.

Not as good as Marzocchi 😉

Depends if you want to take them to bits to service them once a year, or once every 15 hours of riding ..

In my limited experience fox forks do feel a little plusher - the 15 hours service thing is ridiculous though.

My Pikes are noticeably better than the Talas they replaced. Granted they are newer, and a slightly different type of fork. Adstick has a fair point; if you like fettling and are prepared to service them regularly then the Fox's would be ok. I don't and wasn't, hence my Talas cost me £300 in 2.5 years of ownership. Pike so far has cost nothing, will take them apart in the summer to see how they are doing. I think they are slightly easier to service than fox, no?

You don't need to service them every 15 hours, just be aware that covering them in mud then not keeping the oil in the cartridge leg topped up may **** them up, but that's the same for any cartridge fork.

Thought you did have to if you wanted a warranty? Or is that a STW urban myth?

It seems I cannot really go wrong with either. Both have pro's and cons.Fox lighter and maybe plusher but higher maintanence? RS bit more robust but with a bit of weight and comfort penalty to it?

So why's everyone flogging fox forks then?

I'm no fan of Fox, but even I know that the 15 hour thing is just inspecting/wiping the wipers clean....The service interval (an oil change) is 50 hours, which is about the same as every-one else

Mojo are fine to deal with, don't know what you did to them to piss them off. Every time I have sent them in I have talked to the actual engineer that serviced them. Each time he tells me what is up and how to improve their life and performance. No other service company will do that!

No other service company will do that!

Windwave did when I sent back my Marzocchi Z.1's, great service from those fellas.

Apart from TFT, and Windwave, and Hope, and Fisher, and Lumicycle...and... 😉

As you'd expect Fox forks vary by model. The simpler Floats (R) are easy to set up and in my experience, so good you don't notice them when riding. My Rebas took a bit more effort to set up right, but are really good now.
I've always found Mojo excellent. After a couple of years of wipe clean and occasionally top up oil servicing, the uppers started to show signs of wear, but my brother's still using them 3 years on from that.

Fox have massively improved in the time I've been riding them. The shocks are great - the best I've used, but the problem with the forks a few years ago (pre-08) was that the seals were pretty useless, meaning that in UK conditions they broke pretty much all the time.

I had loads of warranty issues with 06 and 07 forks, then got a set of the 08 36R Talas and they were amazing. Nicely tunable and happy with riding around the Peak/Alps etc without a stutter or leaky seal.

Grum - you're not going to need a warranty for scored stanchions if you keep them lubed. I think 15 hours is Fox's 'recommended' service interval but how are they going to measure your riding time anyway? You can tell when you take it apart if a fork has been looked after or not, loads of mud jammed under the seal and dry lower legs means they needed a service a while ago! Mine get some new oil every few months or when the guilt gets the better of me. In the workshop I see plenty of Fox forks still going after a number of years, and occasionally ones that are buggered after 6 months following lots of deep claggy South Downs mud and owner neglect...

Most people can't tell the difference in feel between RS and Fox. I took my F100s off to be serviced after they started p155ing oil up the legs after 10 months. I put some REBAs on instead off another bike and never got around to putting the F100s back. I just couldn't see the big difference in performance. The F100s do feel a bit plusher, but not £200 plusher than RS. Fox have more kudos in the car park at the trail centre though.... I really should get around to flogging them.

i have had both makes, i much prefer my fox, had 4 pairs over the years with no problems,just for reference i am a 12 stone timid xc rider who rides in all weathers and conditions

here's the solution for pain free fox ownership.

1. keep wiper seals and stanchions clean after EVERY ride.
2. store upside down when not riding.

sorted.

Horses for courses. Spoke to Mojo this morning about the old warranty - just said get them serviced in the first 12-18 months for the 2 year warranty, and do the quick lube every 15-20 hours. Seemed decent enough bunch and service interval doesn't seem outrageous. Got a 36 Talas and an F120 (yet to fit and ride).

The RS forks I had previously were shit. Lyric 2 step was a joke, and the Revelation was decidedly average and lasted less than 9 months before terminal dropout corrosion knackered the lowers and a service by TF Tuned was less than impressive on them. Oh, and the anodising wore badly around them as well. Also have 2 pairs of Maguras right now, have used them for ages - just fine, and would have them over RS also. Of course, plenty of RS users here have had a totally different experience to mine.

i like fox and i'll be getting another set when i can afford them. and for the record i have an 04 talas - still going strong

I, for one, ride Manitous and old Bombers forks and Fox rear shocks. Issues? None, ever.

So the big question therefore seems black or white forks with a team tig sl bike? 😀

Every fox fork I've evry ridden feels much better than every RS fork I've ever ridden.

Here's the solution for pain free rock shox ownership.

😉

Got nearly 4 months out of my Fox Forks before they needed new stanchions
However now doing full strip and rebuild every 3 hours and they seem fine 🙂
Actually using an old Trek single speeded with Rock Shox Recons on until it's dry. Wipe most of the mud off and ride. Cannot be arsed with looking after the Fox's

What the hell do some of you do to our forks??
I have had around 8 bikes in the last 6 years and had everything from manitou to fox and have never experienced anything like the rediculous comments on here!
The worse thing iv'e ever had is the lockout not working on some manipoo forks, apart from that I clean my bike with a light hose and a sponge and everything has always feen fine 🙂
Must admit though out of every bike iv'e had Marzocchi have always been by far the best reliable, built well and super smooth!

Pimpmyride, 8 bikes in 6 years, and you not seen any of the [i]long[/i] term maintenance issues described here... I wonder why?

Only thing I do is ride...often

I have recently had 2 sets of rebas and currently have a set of fox float rl's, the rebas were nice as i've always like rockshox and they work nicely, however i can definitely notice a performance increase with my floats! They seem smoother and plusher, the adjustments such as rebound are easier to keep note of as the adjusters actually click.
I'm not too fussed about giving them a wiper seal service every 15 hours, as thats about once every 4 rides and it takes no more than 15 mins to do. I also enjoy the maintenance side!
Re-sale value seems to be better on the fox forks too!
Both the fox and rockshox after sales/support have been good for me.

I'd go for the fox forks

Whilst you talk to the engineer who is mending your forks (probably wasting his time as well as yours) he is not mending someone else's forks. Do us a favour and only ring up if you have some idea what you are talking about. By the way I don't mend forks I mend power tools but I still have to deal with people who send stuff in for me to fix then argue about it; if you're that clever why didn't you mend it yourself??

the 15 hours service thing is ridiculous though.

here's the solution for pain free fox ownership.

1. keep wiper seals and stanchions clean after EVERY ride.
2. store upside down when not riding.

sorted.

Do this and you probably wont need to do the 15 hour service. Although long rides in the Peaks or gritty muddy places and it makes sense to increase the frequency your maintenance routines. But that's the same for everything right? Brake pads, chains, jockey wheels, pivot bearings, cassette etc etc

Dry stanchions with dirty wipers and dirty oil would eat a fork up very quickly (as would a dry chain covered in grit)

[url= http://service.foxracingshox.com/consumers/Content/service_intervals.htm ]Fox service schedules[/url]

The new "Black Box" damping on the Reba Team fork is easily as good as Fox damping, shame it's not available on a wider selection of their forks - then there'd be very little reason to buy the shorter travel Fox models (with their stupid 15mm axles).

Can anyone explain why 15mm axles are stupid, mine seems to have stiffened the front considerably, requires no faffing with any tools to remove the wheel, and is quicker to use than a QR as it's tension is already pre-set.

I would imagine he's making comment on fox (and co) making up a new std size 15mm bolt though, when there's nothing wrong with 20mm everyone else was using..

I would imagine he's making comment on fox (and co) making up a new std size 15mm bolt though, when there's nothing wrong with 20mm everyone else was using..

Yes, I'm sure 15mm axles are better than QRs - but I like to swap wheels between my bikes so Fox forks are out for me now.

i have 15mm on my Van 32 RLC's and 20mm on my TALAS 36.
the difference in stiffness is barely noticeable, and manufacturers know cyclists generally obsess about weight, hence the 15mm option.
i however wish they'd stuck with 20mm BT as the standard.

interesting to see that no rockshox owners even claim that they are a smoother ride. Seems like a given that fox are a better ride.

So the only decision is can I be bothered with the maintanence of the fox?

Fox far better than the other shite out there.

Got Fox and Rockshox kit. Ok if you look after them. Reading this makes me want to buy a hardtail and stick some rigid carbon forks on it.

Z1ppy, are you being a numpty or are you always like that?
Iv'e owned a few bikes but still have 2 of the bikes, one happens to have fox floats and the other bomber mx comps, I always wash my bike wipe the seals and check the oil levels every 6-8 weeks and guess what they are fine!

Think a bit of simple maintenance would solve half the daft moaning on here.

I've had numerous Fox and RS forks.

Overall, the Fox with the RC2 damping outperforms any other fork I've owned. However, the R, or Rlc models do not and are overpriced when compared to the competition.

Fox forks are probably in the top 1 for performance however that comes at a huge price, v.regular servicing, bi-annual new stanchions etc etc etc etc etc etc...

decided to go with fox in the end. Seems like the only reason to go rockshox is if you cannot be bothered to maintain them as no-one said that rockshox were a better ride? Bike is now in the post!

Also, I may never be able to afford another pair of fox forks again as bought seperate they do seem a tad on the expensive side. Rockshox seem more affordable and I could pick up a Reba race from merlin for not a huge amount more than a service and some new stanchions from mojo (which I won't need as I will maintain it every 30 seconds 😉 )

just don't do any 24 hour races on the Foxes as you will void the warranty 🙂