Fox 36 2018

I came across this "shootout" from Bike Radar while researching my latest acquisition.

Note that he is comparing 29er versions. Also note that the top-out he mentions at the end of the video has not presented itself in my 27.5 version.

 

Interesting.

 

2018 Fox stuff is really good. My 2017 Lyric has some top-out going on, my Fox doesnt. FWIW.....
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My initial reactions to my new 2018 Fox 36 Factory FIT4 27.5.

I set it up initially with two spacers installed - the one it came with and another I added. I aired it up to 80 psi - about 10% lower than recommended. I prefer about 25% sag for a fork, which would be 40mm. I settled in at mid 30s, best I could measure. I then set my rebound where it should be, and added 7 clicks of 22 (from open) of LSC.

Context: I weigh 210 and it's on an XL Intense Tracer 275c shod with Maxxis DHF 2.30 in front and DHR-II 2.30 in back (both tubeless), front aired to around 20 psi., rear at 22.psi. Stans Flow EX in front and Stans Flow Mk 3 in back. I am using a DVO Topaz rear shock. Carbon Syntace bars. My two previous forks on this bike were the DVO Diamond it came with and my Marzocchi 350 NCR that I owned prior. Same h-bar, wheel, tire and shock set up. Only the fork was changed.

First ride on The Luge. Very plush in the first inch or two of travel, but then, too progressive for my tastes. It ramped up too soon and took away some of the plushness. Used about 140-145mm of travel max. I like to use almost all of it on The Luge. It was better (easier on my hands and arms) than my DVO Diamond, which I ran as soft as I could get away with, but not as comfy and thus precise as my Marzocchi 350 was. One thing I did notice was that despite feeling it in my arms a bit more than my Marzocchi, the Fox held its line. The wheel seemed to track the ground really well, and side deflection was minimal - meaning it's a nice balance of stiff and forgiving.

I removed one spacer and dropped about 2 psi for my next day. Test tracks were 5-Oaks, Rock-It and Lynx in Aliso. Much better. Precise and a bit more forgiving. Used all of the travel (probably in a couple of g-outs), but never felt the fork bottom out. As I was getting to a fast section of foot-deep holes on Rock-It, I ran into traffic and had to slow to a crawl. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. I hit Lynx at a frantic pace, and it's as rough as I've seen it. Again, I could hit all kinds of precise, chunky lines with no worries. Used all of the travel on the little g-out drop on the very last rock section, but did not feel the fork bottom out. I smiled widely and often. It didn't erase the foot-deep braking bumps, but it didn't seem to care either.

Day 3. Took about two more PSI out - so 15% below recommended - about 76 psi. Bingo. Test tracks were 5-Oaks STAIR STEPS, Lizard, Camarillo and Rock It in Aliso and Laguna Coast Wilderness Parks. Stair Steps is in all caps because it is a serious test of suspension with steep, consistent two foot holes, small ledges and general rocky mayhem. Not loose rock mind you. Solid stuff that doesn't move. I used all of the travel, but never felt it bottom out. The mid-stroke support was very good and I did not feel like I was diving. I will run a few more clicks of LSC next time at that air pressure, just to firm up the mid stroke more on those deeper, slower hits. Then I finally got to hit Rock-It at Mach Chicken. The fork was very precise - meaning I could pick a line and hit it without thinking about it, and the fork stayed in that line without being deflected or bucking the bike around. All I know is at the bottom of the rock garden, I was going so fast my contacts were shaking. Maybe that means the fork was too harsh? Doubt it. I've done the run 1000 times. I know when I am going fast.

Bottom line is I think I will get along with this fork very well. I found myself really pushing the envelope with silly confidence, hitting precise lines at speed and holding those lines and just generally having a blast. Could just be the aggression that comes with equipment testing, however.

Oh - and I love the three-position switch too. Almost a full lockout for climbing pavement (my Marzocchi had this, but the DVO bobbed like crazy), and the middle setting for upsy, downsy riding and all non-pavement climbing. The initial travel remains super plush in the middle setting, so nothing really lost.

I'll add to this thread as I gain experience with the fork. Not much left to adjust however. Now we will just see if it "breaks in" or remains as is.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the Fox 36. I've been trying to figure out my next fork. It's good to hear from someone who's not a paid schill and has experience with competing forks.

You have any experience with coil forks? Im considering the MRP Ribbon coil for my next bike. I have a theory that some of my issues with forks is due to air spring seal stiction and trapped air. I'd love to be able to demo a coil fork to see if they live up to the recent hype. The weight penalty for the coil isn't too bad. I wish the fork manufacturers could work out a system where you could swap back and forth.

 

@SoCal_Rider If I was to get a new fork it would be the mrp ribbon coil. I have an mrp stage and love it, especially in the steep chunk around Laguna. Feels better than any other forks I’ve owned (all coil rockshox and an air xfusion, to be fair I’ve never run a Fox). Super supple off the top, yet somehow has great mid stroke support. The ramp control which ribbon also has is a very useful feature, tuning the progression at the very end of the stroke on the fly with zero effect on the beginning and maybe slight effect on the mid. Killer customer support and fully serviceable at home if you’re so inclined. Back in the day I’ve always run coil suspension because of the lower stiction and consistent performance, for a few years it seemed coil forks weren’t really made anymore (particularly for 650b) and I went air, but seems like now there are more coil options again. (Cane creek helm?) If the stage feels like a coil then an mrp coil must feel like....

 

Great review herz!

 

Thanks for the review! Although my fork tastes are on the smaller side, your reviews always give me something to think about...

 

Coil forks are amazing. However - and this is a big however - getting a spring rate that is just right can be very difficult. Pre-load really doesn't do anything but make the first inch or two of travel more harsh. On my Fox 40, I wanted a spring between the regular and stiff options. Stiff hurt my hands and arms, and regular dove too readily. I tested a few bikes with Fox single-crown coil forks in like 2008 (a 32) and 2013 (a 36) and they were as buttery as advertised.

Warning - MRP mounted the Ribbon's arch backwards! I guess the mud won't stick in the nooks and crannies that way, unless you are going backwards really fast!

I tried an MRP Stage (air) on a Knolly Warden for three days. I couldn't get it right for my tastes. Way too firm at the recommended pressure, and still not right with 25% less air (with other adjustments made to compensate). Maybe it needed a service.

 

MRP Ribbon offers 5 different springs so hopefully there's a goldilocks one.

I hear ya on the Ribbon backwards arch. I'm trying to like/tolerate it. Not quite there yet.

Another option is to start with the Fox 36 and put in a Push coil if it needs it. There's just no going back once you do.

 

Update:

I am not completely satisfied with this fork yet. I now have two more rides on it - including some very chunky stuff, ledges, high speed holes and high speed chop. The first two inches of travel is as plush as can be, but the fork still does not like high speed chop - meaning little to medium rocks, smaller braking bumps, small roots and such at 15+ mph. I still stand by my assessment of precise however. In the chunkier stuff, I still feel I can hold my line as well or better than with any previous fork I've owned. The faster the better. I just have to find that right combo of spring pressure, spacer(s) and rebound setting. And, maybe it will break in a little more?

See here for related info on fork set up.

 

^^^ @herzalot Man..... You just want it all!

 

I just want it to be as good as or better than the Marzocchi it replaced...

 

I only own one marzocchi back in the day... 100 mm travel and I will say it was probably one of the finest Forks I ever owned. Beat the living crap out of it and it never flynched. Far as I know still out there.

 

Some random Marzocchi trivia:
I had a 100mm Marzocchi Bomber for quite awhile and it descended well for the price, but mostly I liked it because it was light and you could compress it for climbs. Of course it lost all its travel when it was locked in the down position, but it made climbing steep, non-technical trails/fire roads more efficient. Unfortunately, it also caused the v-brake cable to move the pads closer to the rim, so push it too far and it'd actually slow you down. But maybe the worst downside was realizing you'd started a descent without unlocking it and your fork was compressed, basically rigid and the only to release it w/o crashing was to carefully stop before reaching down to re-activate it.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programing on how high-end forks work..

 

Update in two installments.

First - my buddy Kevin also has a new 2018 Fox 36 Factory Fit 4 EVOL yadda yadda. Same as mine. Also 160mm travel. You may have read in another thread that I noticed a picture of his bike it looked like the fork had reduced travel. Kevin went out to his garage and sure enough, it measured 145mm of stanchion showing. He pumped it to 80 psi (he had it at about 52) and it grew back to 165mm of stanchion showing. Hmmmm.


He contacted a friend at Pivot who told him to let all of the air out of the fork, cycle it all the way through about 5 times, and re-inflate to desired pressure. That seemed to work, as of yesterday at Holy Jim.

Speaking of Yesterday, I was not at all happy with my fork yesterday. The suppleness in the first 2-3" of travel that I mentioned in posts above was gone. The fork felt overly firm, and I had not aired it up. As I rode down Trabuco Wash, I was really disappointed as it felt locked out. My hands were taking a beating on the stutter bumps all the way.

When I got home, I put my Marzocchi (branded) pump on it and it said it was at 80 psi. Interesting, my DVO-branded pump (of the same exact design and manufacturer) read about 75 psi. I let it out to about 73 psi on the Marz pump and was anxious for today.

Continued in next installment...

 

Today was interesting. Yesterday I was not happy with the fork at all (read above). When I got home, I reduced spring pressure to about 73 psi using a different pump.

Today - first up - 5-Oaks. Lever set to open. LSC set at 7 clicks in (of 22). I typically run my forks in such a way that they use all of the travel at the g-out towards the bottom of the run. Last two runs on 5-O, my new 36 did exactly that. Today, about 130mm of travel. WTF? Did I lose 20 lbs? Did I forget my hydration pack? Did someone install two spacers in my fork? I certainly didn't go any slower into the g-out - in fact, I was being watched, so I may have gone faster. Hmmmmm... I better test it out on my "test rock" at the top of Lynx.

So I hit my test drop at the top of Lynx - a 3ft. huck to flat. I usually set my fork to use nearly all of its travel on this hit. My new 36 was set that way last time I tried it. But today - huck - drop - look... 130mm travel (of 160). Crap. Then I remembered the trick Kevin used. So I let all of the air out, cycled the fork five times and re-pressurized to about 73 psi (Marz pump). Huck - drop-look - 155mm of travel used. That's better! As I pedaled away, I could feel that the suppleness had returned also.

Rock-It - I didn't use as much travel as I normally like to. Not sure why. I certainly smoked the run. It felt good though.

Lynx. I did use almost all of it on the g-out drop at the very end of the trail. Certainly not completely plush in the 8" deep braking bumps, but pretty good.

So I don't know what's up with this fork. It's a little ominous that both Kevin and I would have to "reset" the fork using a deflate-cycle-re-inflate process.

Stay tuned, as they say.

 

I admire your attention to detail with suspension @herzalot and am unsure if I am ignorant or just not as “in tune” with suspension feel. I can’t say I’ve ever finished a DH and thought my suspension was off, then again I didn’t even ride a FS bike until the end of 2013. Maybe I’ll start paying attention more, perhaps give that whizzonator or whatever it’s called a try.

 

Pos/neg chambers not equalized? Are they self equalizing? Sounds like at first not enough pressure in neg chamber?

 

It's what you're experiencing that is so frustrating about air springs. Setup and it feels great. After awhile you know something is off. Dump air and start over. I refer to it as resetting the air spring.

Don't forget the whole burping the stanchion seals too. Ugh!

 

PUSH has a great coil conversion for the new 36 - but once you go there, you can't go back. Tempting. But I'll give the air spring a bit more time.

 

Allegedly self-equalizing. There is only one valve for pumping it up.

 

Here is a recent review of the 2018 Fox 36 150mm version.

https://singletrackworld.com/2018/0...ppery-smooth-with-the-2018-factory-series-36/

 

Another stellar review.

I'm diggin' the fork, but it's not the best I've ridden. It may be when PUSH comes to town!

Both of my Marzocchis - 2012 55 Microswitch TA and 2015 350 NCR - handled high speed deep chop (6" to 12") better.

 

Hey, Chris.
I'm rollin' on a 2017. Recently I slapped in a Push ACS3, and have been quite pleased. It's not cheap, but I think it was worth it.

 

My friend just stuffed one in his 2018. He got the spring weight I would get, so I will have to give it a try on one of my favorite test tracks. My fork is running pretty darn good as it is, but I do love a fork that can do it all!