[Closed] FOX FORK FAILURES - SURVEY

Fox Talas RLC 2006

Bought from LBS early 06 and used on cove hustler, then swapped to cotic soul

Didn't do anything to them other than keep them fairly clean

No problems whatsoever, no stanchion wear. Flawless performance

2008 Fox F120 RLC bought direct from Noah's Ark in early 2008.
Flawless performance for 2 years despite the lack of servicing. 😳

Fox TALAS 36 '09: maintained as per instructions, flawless performance
Fox F120 '09: Ditto
Fox 32 Vanilla '09: Ditto
Fox 32 140 Float RLC '10: too early to tell, but I'll maintain it and I'm sure it will continue to display the excellent performance I've had from it so far.

F120 will be up for sale soon if anyone wants to share my enjoyment of it.

Now, where is the Rockshox failure thread?

2008 Revelation: travel loss, stanchion wear (continued even after service from reputable UK suspension service outfit looked at it)

2008 Lyrik 2 Step Air - repeated failure of 2 Step TA. Finally got a replacement and ebayed it straight off.

Erm isn't the stated purpose of the coating to reduce friction rather than increase durability?

And it's not getting done to all models either.

I don't see how it's an admission myself, but good luck with the campaign. Has no one tested this through trading standards or in the courts?

2007 FLoat R, 140mm - OEM

Serviced once a year by LBS, kept clean by me

No problems at all

Haha, this thread is an awesome fail!

2006 F100 - maintained well, flawless!
2009 36 Talas - maintained well, flawless!

Though i should add friends fox too...
07 40 - Very little maintenance, no problems.
08 40 - Maintaned well, no problems.
07 32 - Pretty much zero maintenance, no problems.

2005 Float R OEM
serviced every 6 months
No problems what so ever.

Several sets over lots of years never had a problem.!!
I think the only problem is some of the customers who buy em
then never even show there bike an oily rag.

Talas 36 150mm (talas 1 air adjust)
Talas 36 160mm Rc2 (Talas 2 air adjust)
Vanilla 36 Rc2
Float R 130mm
Vanilla 125mm
Vanilla 130mm
Vanilla 140mm

All fine, stuck fairly closely to maintenance guidelines, apart from the one 140mm vanilla which I'm seeing how long they'll last with nothing done, seals just starting to weep after 16 months or so of fairly hard riding in south Wales.
The issues seem to arise as a result of use of proprietary caustic cleaners (despite what the manufacturers call them) and overly vigorous use of jet washes/hoses on to seals. Causing a dirt ingress and forcing water dispersing/degreasing cleaners into the forks. The type of soil in your area will effect it to e.g Thetford sandiness would be like grinding paste!
Any problems that are manufacturing issues e.g if the coating had gone through in the first month would be sorted without question in my experience. Mojo are pretty good on warranty.
Some of the fox forks will be more prone to wear due to having less lubricating oil in the legs to 'soak up' any solid that get in the closed cartridge (FIT) forks run a fair bit less, so that may have a bearing on it too.

2008 f100 rlc
do the seal service when i recon its time.
no bother so far.

2005 Float RLC, never serviced, quick clean when needed. no problems
2006 Float RLC, as above
2008 Talas, No problems to speak of.
2009 F120, no problems
2009 F100, no problems.

Sorry.

It has to be said my Vanillas have been faultless for 20 months or so now. Never been serviced, just some lube under the seals now and then.

I do know someone who had the stanchion wear problems a few years ago, but to be fair he's not one for looking after bikes all that well, and I know a lot of people with Fox forks with no issues at all. I know of one old pair of 125mm Vanillas that must be 5 years or more old, still in perfect nick, still in very regular use.

Fox changing their coating on stanchions is not necessarily an admission that they were bad before.

[i]Perhaps we now have ammunition we need to get some consumer power going?[/i]

I doubt it

Peakmonster - that is right.

End of the day the issue is this, IMO. Fox are moving more or all of the forks to FIT dampers. Already, those that didn't have FIT dampers (e.g. my '09 F120) had low oil volumes in the left lower, with a sealed air spring having it's own lubricant internally (and hence the need for less oil in the spring side). In the damper side the oil bath in the lower has a larger volume (~4.5 x the volume of the spring side in the case of the F120). Added benefit of this of course is that there is plenty of oil to lubricate the upper and the bushes in the lower. This is why some report wear occurring preferentially on the left side and have, IMO, erroneousnly associated it with braking forces in some way.

Now, with the FIT dampers, the free oil volume in the lowers on both sides is less - a function of moving to said dampers, which I have to say perform excellently if the 2010 Float 32 is anything to go by. It does mean that care and attention may be needed to ensure the small oil volume in the lower is sufficient to keep the bushes lubed. A compromise perhaps but one I can live with as doing this service in no big deal.

End of the day, if you don't like the service schedule, don't buy them.

Oh dear, hasn't gone well.
Don't own any myself (too poor) but if it's any consolation everyone I know that's owned a 36 vanilla has had big problems. Same problem on all, damping cartridge blown. But the stanction wear has only happened in one case and he was riding in Whistler (happened after six weeks though). He has no good things to say about em.

My 2004 TALAS had stanchion wear and I did as instructed by Fox.

2005 FLoat 80RL, 80mm - OEM

Never been serviced, turn bike upside down to keep seals moist, kept clean by me

No problems at all

My 2004 TALAS had stanchion wear and I did as instructed by Fox.

Which is what? My 2004 floats are wearing through the anodizing as well.

IMO all fox have wrong is the seals they use...they let oil out and crap in (hence the short service intervals). If they got a better quality sealing system then this problem (for folk who dont like oil 😀 ) would be dramatically reduced.

Which is what? My 2004 floats are wearing through the anodizing as well.

Lift the seals add lube, turn bike upside down, eat a virgins spleen under a blue moon, that sort of thing.

I should add mine started to wear within 12 months.

Lift the seals add lube,

For me thats not the proper way

Quite possibly, but at the time those were the instructions given by Fox or Mojo, can't remember which.

2008 32 Floats, no issues.
2009 32 Vanillas, no issues.

I probably do about 50-75km a week spread over the two bikes. Always wipe the stanchions clean and once a month I put some finish line wet lube on, pump the forks round the car park and wipe clean.

It probably gets the occasional over night storage upside down.

Quite possibly, but at the time those were the instructions given by Fox or Mojo, can't remember which.

I don't have any fox forks but, if I had 2, I reckon one would be expensive and the other absolutely the same

maybe I could go down as a don't know ?

2005 Vanilla R 130 never touched them - seals just started to leak but stantions fine.

2009 Float 32 RLC second hand off here too early to tell but will try to look after these better!

2006 Rockshox Pike- Like a pogo stick (something replaced- cant remember)
2009 Rockshox Pike- blown moco
2009 Rockshox Lyrik- siezed compression Cartridge replaced

All these forks were brand new/bought new by me.

Especially on the Pikes- they are supposed to have very simple and bombproof internals.

I honestly think the stanchion wear on Foxs (especially in the nook of the brace is users not cleaning after every ride.

Which is what? My 2004 floats are wearing through the anodizing as well.

But it is 2010.

My 2004 TALAS had stanchion wear and I did as instructed by Fox.

Which is what? My 2004 floats are wearing through the anodizing as well

i wouldnt be unhappy about having anodizing wearing off a 6 year old set of forks (as long as they have been used a reasonable amount).

How long do you expect it to last?

Some Mazzi 55ATA, Warrantied by Windwave, they sent me some Talas instead

The complaints re Rockshox et al: WTF do you think Fox iwll do about that? LOL111

Not one single problem with any of the Fox forks (5) Ive used or rear shocks (3). I dont really understand what the issue here is?

I've had three pairs of vanilla's - they are the best fork I've owned. The first two did wear out, stantion anodising and bushes, three and a half years. I serviced them myself - new seals and oil, once IRC. I have a pair of 07 on my 5spot, it doesn't get used that much, haven't even changed the oil on them. I tip the fork upside down when I remember and keep the seals clean, I've also lifted the seals for a clean once.

They are a great fork, but something could be done on bush/stantion wear IMO. I think they put the bare minimum oil in them, to keep weight down - maybe an issue.

I've got some coil revs, a year old TF tuned as well, and I've noticed some scores/wear on the anodising there!

I have a set of fox vanillas I bought a few years ago from a mate knowing they were goosed. Wore out stanchions and bushes in a years use but I have no idea how he serviced them - probably not at all.

There are a lot of tales of foxes of this generation wearing out the stanchions on one side - simply because there is only a couple of teaspoonfuls of oil in that side so unless you invert the fork every ride the bushes run dry and wear quickly on the one side.

I pout 150 ml of oil in them rather than 15 ml and the wear stopped as splash lubrication now works.

anything with a 15 hr service interval is unacceptable IMo. Its a consequence of the design of these forks that they are like that. either invert after every ride and follow the service schedule, add a lot more oil to the empty side or put up with a shot life - or buy open bath marzocchis where this cannot happen 'cos the splash lubrication works due to having large oil volumes

32mm Talas bought second hand. Slight scoring on one stanchion and tiny oil leak when I bought them which gradually got a bit worse. Sent them for repair via my LBS and they came back with new sliders, stanchions, crown and steerer for £180 (ie. just the old internals reused)

32mm Talas Terralogic bought second hand. Tiny leak from one seal. Asked about replacement seals at the Fox distributor stand at Mountain Mayhem last year. They stripped the forks and fitted new seals free of charge while I waited. No problems since.

Float RLC 03 Regularly removed seals and added float fluid to foam rings. Stanchions show a little wear but are fine. Seals keep blowing though which is annoying.

04 to date vanilla rl's=flawless
05 to date talas rlc's=flawless
06 to date talas 36 rc2's=flawless
09 to date (6 months) talas rlc's= flawless
09 to date (5 months) talas 36 rc2's=flawless
all serviced infrequently with a quick oil change and float fluid on foam rings and the 05 talas pushed in 08 by tf
EDIT i also run some paper between the seal and stantion to pull any dirt/grit out when the seals are lifted

lol, so who's going to mail a link to this thread to fox?

Like I said, regarding the service intervals, like it or lump it. If you think it unacceptable buy something else.

Anyway, doesn't look like there are too many takers for the consumer crusade.

F80X / 2004/5
Christmas 04 / EBC
Did you follow the service guidelines? Don't think so, they were washed down with the rest of the bike, the seals lifted every 3 months and fluid added to them, but that was it - never sent off for a service.
Problem, costs associated, and fox's response to any warranty issues - none, they were great forks if a little pricey!

F100RL / 2005/6
Nov 05 / OEM on Giant Trance 1
Did you follow the service guidelines? Doubt it - washed with rest of bike, seals lifted every 3 months and fox fluid added - sent off to Mojo once in the 4 years I had them.
Problem, costs associated, and fox's response to any warranty issues - only 1 issue - rode at Laggan and after getting to car park, shock oil was all over bottom of fork - sent to Mojo and serviced - repaired for free and rest of service done.

2009 / Fox F120 RL
May 2009 / OEM on Marin Mount Vision 5.8
Did you follow the service guidelines? Nope, washed with rest of bike, not lifted seals yet and not sent them for a service yet - not issues with them so far though. Service will be done in May.
Problem, costs associated, and fox's response to any warranty issues - no problems so far.

If I didn't have them with the bike when bought I suspect I wouldn't be riding Fox forks - they are good but very pricey compared to competition and from what I've tried, seen and read, the competition is just as good if not better (being cheaper).

Fox 32 Van - never serviced and never had problems for 2 years. Flawless.
Fox 36 Van - seals changed by LBS and kept clean by me. No problems and great performance.

The above two forks were ridden daily in all sorts of foul weather and muck.

Fox 36 Talas - seals swapped and serviced by LBS/Mojo. No problems and great performance.

My Totems, Pikes and Lyrik DH's have all followed similar servcing and have been flawless as well.

Haha, the fox backlash backlash begins! This thread would have gone quite a different way about 6 months ago...

That said, I've got a set, reasonable use in manky conditions, look perfect. BUT thats because I've been doing the 15 hour service, and like TandemJeremey, I'm not so happy about having to service them every fifteen hours, simple or not.

I'm going on a 15-20 day off road tour in may, at an average of 5 hours riding a day in typical Scottish Highland's conditions. Am i going to have to remove the lowers, clean and lubricate 5 times in that period? I'm not about to throw a bottle of 7wt suspension fluid in with my camping gear...

Tandem, do you notice any difference to the performance by adding oil to the spring side? Based on my experiences with old (read good) marzocchis, adding oil would affect the performance (as the remaining air volume compressed).

I always thought it would be a cool idea to biuld an oil pump into forks, just a pipe with a non-return valve (or two for relibility) in it, so that when the fork compressed if would displace the small ammount of oil up to the area between the seals and bushings, the fork extending would then create a partial vacumn in the lowers, sucking the oil back down through the bushings.

Tandem, do you notice any difference to the performance by adding oil to the spring side? Based on my experiences with old (read good) marzocchis, adding oil would affect the performance (as the remaining air volume compressed).