[Closed] Why don't I like Fox forks?

for me its the 15 hour servicing cycle (if you solo a 24 hour race you are out of warranty), and 90 day life of seals.

To me that smells of BS unfit for purpose, and considering their price they should not be using crappy impossible to meet conditions in order to stand behind there product,

They look horrible, cost the earth and you have to service them every 15minutes.

A classic middle aged weekend warriors forks with more moeny than sense, no ability on a bike but think expensive forks will make up for that

ignoring the maintenance hype, they feel different to other forks, the spring rate is very linear rather than rising which is more common to other forks like Marzocchis
.
it might be that they're just not familiar rather than crap

They 'look' better and have slicker advertising.

Hence they will always be popular with trail centre riders and afford to pay professional riders to use them.

I never used to like them. But then I got some and they are great.

davidtaylforth....you bettter be a riding god to make that sort of comment....or you have no money and you're jealous!

Having never used them I can make no useful contribution to this thread whatsoever.

davidtaylforth....you bettter be a riding god to make that sort of comment....or you have no money and you're jealous!

Both!

Actually, I just dont really like the whole spend spend spend culture - I always used to think mtbing was a bit 'badass' and wasnt really part of this but it seems it is nowadays, and these forks seem to sum that culture up.

you bettter be a riding god to make that sort of comment....or you have no money and you're jealous!

I'm neither but if the Fox's were half RRP on sale then most definitely I'd buy a pair. Be a fool not to. Not at full price though, no matter how good a fork is none are worth £800 to a weekend warrior.

i like them but they came on bikes ive not bought brandnew . Owned reba sl manitou carbon sx and some real old marz and lots of fox. Marz were nice of the rest prefer fox. And the quick service is easy anyway. Only thing im not keen on is talas isnt as smooth as float so im swapping internals for float ones soon or vanilla not sure yet mmm lol

Dunno, they do seem to be good, but comprimise too much in terms of durability to achieve that.

Even when marzocchi were at their height of crapness, you still heard several fox horror stories for every blown cartrige in the 'zocchies.

I'd love to build/modify my own forks someday, something like an RC3 damper in magura menja's chassis and a ti spring where the air one used to be 🙂 So prety much marzochis simplest/best internals in a very light/stiff fork.

I think it comes down to 'how you want to enjoy your biking'.

As I see it, there's three main schools of thought:

I have no interest/ability in fettling and just want to ride my bike. I buy good solid kit and what I save on costs covers the occasional visit to the LBS to sort out problems.

I enjoy fiddling/fettling and like to have everything performing at the top of it's range. I buy expensive kit, look after it and don't need to use LBS for anything except free coffee and new bling.

I'm not that good with the spanners but buy whatever I think will make me look cool, it never seems to work properly so I spend all my time posting on forums about how XTR/Hope/Fox/King etc aren't worth the money

Some components are better suited than others for what you want, secret is to see through the hype (both positive and negative) and get what you need for how you ride - it's all good 😀

I do like my Rock Shox, I know them inside and out, but it has to be said the 140mm Vanilla Rs I got in Canada for about £146 (Brand new) are superb forks.
I dribble a bit of oil under the seals and and again, but in nearly 2 years I've never even serviced tham and they are still [i]slightly[/i] better damped than even a well set up RS fork, and readily give up all their travel. 🙂

With Marzocchi offering 3 year before service back-up on some of their forks and now DT saying 2 years, Fox need to sort out the frequency of their maintenance. And people will come on and say "but it only takes 15 minutes to do." but that's not the point. Having such short service intervals just covers their arses.

mine require very little maintenance, they were secondhand so not expensive and I never ride at trail centres being conveniently placed between the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains, so I can identify with very little above.

hora - Member
but if the Fox's were half RRP on sale then most definitely I'd buy a pair

[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOFOFOX32-118-26S ]what, like this you mean :)[/url]

As I see it, there's three main schools of thought:

I have no interest/ability in fettling and just want to ride my bike. I buy good solid kit and what I save on costs covers the occasional visit to the LBS to sort out problems.

I enjoy fiddling/fettling and like to have everything performing at the top of it's range. I buy expensive kit, look after it and don't need to use LBS for anything except free coffee and new bling.

I'm not that good with the spanners but buy whatever I think will make me look cool, it never seems to work properly so I spend all my time posting on forums about how XTR/Hope/Fox/King etc aren't worth the money

Eh? Option 4: "I am perfectly competent mechanically but don't want to/can't spend a fortune on kit" sums up most riders i know.

hilldodger- you should post that up as a PSA. Thats a good bloody price and any probs on-one should give you backup.

I got mine with my bike, so nothing to do with choosing the 'Fox' brand for the sake of it.
I'd have been just as happy with some U-turn air Revs.

From my experience with the forks so far, I find that they work well and were easy to set-up.
But, i am concerned about their longevity and don't really have the time to be servicing them as often is probably required - although I will do it as often as I can.
And, I just don't think they are designed for wet/dirty conditions. I have found on my fork that it is very easy for small bits of grit to get lodged between the rebound adjuster & the lockout - so if you activate the lockout, you invariably adjust your rebound by a couple of clicks at the same time. After my weekend in the Peak district the two were completely locked together & removing the rebound adjuster revealed the cavity it sits in was completely full of grit! It's just a badly thought out design.

finbar - Member

Eh? Option 4: "I am perfectly competent mechanically but don't want to/can't spend a fortune on kit" sums up most riders i know.

Fair enough, I'm not laying down 'the law' - just trying to say buy what makes you happy 😀

I think if the new 2010 anodising works and seal are better then in 1 years time and if the exchange rates change everyone will be raving about them again I expect - I have 3 fox forks and they are great apart from my 09' Talas forks which have a tiny bit of scuffing of the uppers on one leg coz I didn't do a seal clean soon enough in very bad wet winter.

I shall prob get a 2010 pair sometime if the reviews of the seals/anodizing is better - I also have had some bombers that were bomp proof and seals were great - 2003 model.

BTW here is my article on Fox Forks seal service - tis pretty quick to do in my opnion - [url= http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/maintenance/fox-forks-wiper-seal-service.htm ]Link here[/url]

Fox forks are the best I have ever ridden! (ok, my new bike came with an RP24 and the old one came with a Tora 318, and the one before that came with a Rock Shock Metro something?) In my (deeply limited) experience, so stop telling me they are crap, I like them (but might like them a little more when I drop a tiny bit of pressure to make the most of the travel).

hora - Member
hilldodger- you should post that up as a PSA.

Don't want to be seen to be encouraging people to buy 'crappy forks' 😉

I've had 3 pairs of Fox, still all working perfectly (my mate has the first pair), one service, one new set of seals, between em in the past 4 years.
£400 all 3 forks cost me in total.
Great forks and look better than any other on the market imo.
Each to their own eh.

and look better than any other on the market imo.

See. They are pretty and appeal to possible some of the wrong types. NOT you implied there- just the appeal drives up the price

I think a lot of peoples choices are governed buy what OTHER people have/get - Thus there are 3 sets of purchasers:

1. Not bothered - not influenced just make up their own mind on merits i.e. looks, function, price.
2. Sheep - Follow the pack and trends.
3. Anti-Sheep (Goats) - Will not buy anything that most people have.

🙂 😉

hora - Member

and look better than any other on the market imo.

See. They are pretty and appeal to possible some of the wrong types. NOT you implied there- just the appeal drives up the price

Better not be!
I only mentioned it in reply to someone else saying they are ugly.
Be bit of a shit marketing ploy to make rubbish looking forks though eh?

+1 dezB 🙂

I've only ridden them on a demo bike I had for a few weeks and they worked well, but that is all. They certainly did not put the smile on my face like my Manitous did and still do :o). There's something about the damping in a Manitou fork that makes me just want to go faster and faster until the inner me is screaming its face off while the outer is grinning madly!

DezB, no no. I'm saying part of Fox's appeal is its prettier.

[i]I'm saying part of Fox's appeal is its prettier[/i]

My sole reason for buying 😉

From Foxyrider's list I think i am 1 & 3.

I bought Reba's for the last bike, mainly to do with price and function. They matched the look of the bike OK, but even if they didn't I would more than likely have still got them.
With some things, I am very anti-purchase for completely irrational reasons.

I'd have been quite happy (possibly even happier) with my new bike if it had come with air Revs - I'd rather a fork was reliable and suffer a slight performance drop, than have something that's overly reliant on maintenance.
When I go to Spain in July for a week, I should really service my Fox forks every 2 days (3 max) to keep within Fox's guidelines. That's just unrealistic.

I've owned 5 pairs of Fox forks (2006 32 RL's/2007 32 RL's/2006 32 Vanilla R/2010 32 RL FIT/2006 32 TALAS) and 2 pairs of Rock Shox (2007 Coil Pikes/2009 Revs).

The Fox are by far the better performing fork. Better damping and lighter but the Rock Shox were alot stiffer (too stiff really IMO). The new FIT forks in my lapierre are amazing. A great compromise between stiffness and lightweight.

However....I have never bought Fox forks aftermarket. They have all come on a bike. The Rock Shox were both bought at reduced cost but for good reason IME.

I can only echo what Hilldodger and Finbar have said above.

For me at least Fox fall into the same category as the likes of Hope. I'm happy to spend a fair whack up front knowing that I can service the product, get spare parts and happily use them for years.

I've got a pair of Float RLC's that I imported from the States back in September 2003. They're still going strong, the stanchions are still fully anodised, most of the paint is still on the crown and lower legs and I've even done solo 24 hours races with them.

By contrast I have set of leaky, flexy 2006 RS Reba Team's which lasted two years before I gave up on them. When you compare the component quality of the Reba to the Float, you can see where the money goes with Fox - such as a machined damper body, all metal construction and general design. Reba's are half full of plastic!

Having tried some leaky, poorly damped Pike 454's on my Orange (just to be sure that RS really weren't to my tastes) I bought a pair of Van R's too, which have proven to be the best forks I have ever owned and were considerably cheaper than the Pikes!

I have to agree that with exchange rates as they are Fox are ludicrously expensive now and I'm not convinced by the step back to cartridge dampers. But I don't need to buy any new forks right now, so it's not an issue.

I've owned too many pairs of forks over many years of riding Mountain Bikes

got my first pair of suspension forks - Specialized Future Shock Pro (manufactured by Rockshox)in 1992

owned many pairs of Rockshox, Marzocchi, Fox, even Manitous

in my humble opinion, Fox just make the best fork in each category

you used to pay alot more for Fox, but SRAM raised their prices substantially last season, putting the Lyric at parity with the Fox 36

I've found Mojo to stand behind their product and offer very quick turn around, which is something I cannot say about Marzocchi (Windwave in the UK) or Rockshox (Fishers)

the 15 hour service recommendation on Fox lowers is just a recommendation

I've been doing the lower service on my 36 Talas every 2 months (bike ridden 3-4 times a week) and had no issues with seal or stanchion wear, or contamination with water or mud despite riding through the entire winter we just had

I've had considerably more problems in recent years with Rockshox Totems, Lyrics and Pikes than with Fox forks

I would say that ALL suspension needs servicing, including Rockshox

when forks and shocks are NOT serviced, that is when problems develop..I can think of riders that have ruined Fox 32, Manitou Super Black, Marzocchi Z1 and Rockshox Pike forks by never doing a lower service, and then wondering why their stanchions have worn out!

my '04 float RLs are shite. which is odd, cos all the reviews at the time said they were the donkey's nuts. so now i have a deep-seated suspicion of them being anything but naff. still, at least i don't need to service mine every other day!

I have 2008 F120s that came on my TranceX.

They are plush and very light, a bit too lightweight for a bike with 5.5" rear travel IMO.

Rode the bike exclusively over 15 months (not hours) and I just cleaned and lubed carefully around the seals post rides. Sent them to TFT for servicing - no problems just changed seals and lube.

Have on my HT ATM. What is the fuss about?

+1 they suck.

Fox haters are fox wanters

Just because you can't afford a product no need to bash it !!

Fox is the mtbing equivalent of the i-pod. People are brainwashed by the marketing, but there are plenty of other companies that make just as good, if not superior, versions for a cheaper price.
This is coming from an experienced Fox user.
If I was building up a bike I would get RockShox all the way.

you cant explain it.

ive never owned a speccy, but i would never buy one.
or a trek for that matter.

fox seems overpriced, and sure they feel nice, but with a 15 hr service cycle, stuff that for a game of soldiers.

dunno how DMR manage to get EVERYTHING wrong, how can they make crap grips ffs? GRIPS!!

some stuff just doesnt sit right with me.
im not gonna try and justify it, its not important, its a hobby, so if i want to rule out certain things without personal experience, thats my loss only.

Fox haters are fox wanters

Just because you can't afford a product no need to bash it !!

what? i've got more money than you so that makes me better? ffs 🙄

fwiw. i bought rev 150 over float 150 because they have a 20mm axle, are stiffer, and need a lot less maintenance. cost was never an issue as i can get both trade.

Think I have had about six/seven sets of Fox Forx, still got 4 of them, one about 6 years old now. Always bought second hand or new discounted, could not afford full price. Find them easy to service and use. Have tried others, and been on rides with others who always seem to be fiddling with their forks.
Don't care what people say, if they were that bad they would not be so popular - like with the i-phone culture, image alone will not keep people buying, it has to be use able too.

i have had 3 sets of fox forks in the past and bought them because that was the brand i had most confidence in - probably down to their expensive advertising.

my last set of forks were Magura and i can say that so far i have been well impressed.

as said before fox forks are getting ridiculously expensive and with their latest maintenance regime it appears you spend more time cleaning and lubing the forks than actually using them and having fun!!

Fox haters are fox wanters
Eh no Fox Haters are Fox Owners fed up with oil leaking from there surrender monkey seals!

In the last four years or so I've owned lyriks, boxxers, totems, 36s, 40s, 66s, 888s, 55s to name but a few. Some I've owned multiples of/ Most came on complete bikes, some were upgrades.

IMO setup makes all the difference, a well setup rs fork will feel infinitely better than a poorly setup fox. Obviously. I think the fact that Fox do so appeal to "all the gear" bling merchants is partly to blame for their bad rep - the people riding them have no clue about set up or maintenance. Fox dont make bad forks, just fragile ones that appeal to tarts.

Overall I think the rockshox I've owned have been the superior forks in most instances. Granted my 40s were stiffer than boxxers but they pissed oil everywhere on a regular basis and were no better damped. Rockshox are on a roll at the minute imo with some great products - I feel like sampling some BOS goodness in the near future though. Should be interesting to see if they are any better than the usual suspects.

Oh blimey its only a 15 min job every few rides - take no more time than maybe de-greasing a chainset or re-indexing etc. Blimey peoples time is pretty precious here isn't it 😉

I think that Fox's were out on top until recently however where it seams the others have come up to the mark like Hope brakes really?

Overall I think the rockshox I've owned have been the superior forks in most instances

I'm not exactly sure what your grasping at there, but I'd maybe give sarcasm a miss until you getter a batter grasp of the lingo.