[Closed] Forks... Are we being brainwashed or not?

Rockshox seem to be the safe/reliable option to go for. Other brands like Manitou, Marzocchi have had periods of time where there forks have been shite, they've suffered since.

Fox are expensive, there are plenty of people who will go for these just because (like Apple)

DT forks seem to be as expensive as Fox RRP but you never see them discounted, unlike Fox sand relativelt few places seem to sell them.

The X-Fusion forks look very good value and are getting very good reviews.

Its fashion for some but all bout the feel for other.

Also if you have a fox fork and like it you are taking a risk buying anything else. Some folk dont like change and like to stick with what they know, but seem to forget there ounce was a time when fox or rockshock ect was new to them as a brand. Its the same with loads of things we buy not just forks.

I've got Maguras and I rate them, reliable forks.

Marzocchi had a period where they made very unreliable forks and suffered, and haven't had the money to reinvest in the world cup sponsorship they used to. So you don't see them any more.

Manitou were never very good, but had a real bad patch around the mid 2000's when the Nixon and Minute "IT" forks were launched and they made the decision not to make cheap forks like the Axel anymore that they've not really recovered from as the OEM market moved away. So you don't see them anymore.

DT Swiss are phenomenally expensive and have no OEM share and so you don't see them.

Magura are still quite small, and you never saw that many in the first place, and they were divey as a divey thing for a bit, so you don't see them.

Rockshox had a duff period in the early 2000's, but made a very convincing recovery post buy-out by Sram, and they're not as expensive as Fox, and they do cheap forks, and are cheap to OEM buyers, so you see loads of them.

Fox made a massive impact when they launched, and while they are in a duff patch they seem to be still riding the coat tails of earlier success and still have a decent reputation, so you see loads of them.

X-fusion are relatively new and not as good as RS and Fox, and you never see them discounted, so you don't see many of them.

Until about 2008 I was a sworn Marzocchi rider, but they had such problems then that I switched to Rockshox (who, in the early 2000's after I had a Psylo, I said I'd never use) because Fox cost too much (and, as we now know, wear out very fast) and RS just seem to work. I'm willing to trade the less smooth feel and "riding on the spring" feel of RS for less servicing and more money in my pocket. Inbetween I had some Manitou Nixons which kept breaking, and some Magura Thors which had absolutely zero support in the midstroke. I am normally rubbish at telling the difference between forks but they were very divey even with loads of air in, to the point of making it hard to ride stuff. So Rockshox were the only affordable alternative left.

I've some 2010 120mm Fox F120 FIT on my yeti suppleid OEM - they are the only Fox fork I've ever had by they outclass anything I've ridden. But I wouldn't pay £799 for them.

I've some 2012 100mm RS Sid RLT's on my HT which I bought for £295 (originally £499) from merlin and despite the hype / alledged mechanical longevity they don't feel as smooth as the F120's - but there is a £300 RRP price difference.

I did wonder what the price differential is. Because of setup difficulty I now know whats inside the SID, and basically it isn't much as at all. So whats inside my F120 FIT that would justify me paying as much as £300 more?

What about society forks, they seem pretty cheap, are they cheap for a reason? Anyone tried them?

Fox seem to have the market cornered so far as what manufacturer's fit to their bikes. That doesn't mean everybody likes 'em.

Personally, I wouldn't touch Fox forks again with a barge pole!

I have RS reba on my hardtail and have had to replace uppers on those so I'm not exactly their biggest fan either.

For me, the only forks that have been fit for purpose (i.e. lasted more than 9 months) have been 'zocchi RC3ti from 2010 onwards.
44s on the Five have had only 2 oil changes and are still on original seals after >2 years of abuse. It helps that I think they're also the best performing forks I've had.
So impressed that I've bought 66 version too for big bike.

Most people I ride with are looking for 2010+ 'zocchi as first choice when their Fox $#!7£ inevitably fails.

Ads678- They are rebranded RSTs and as such are distinctly budget.

I've had Fox, Rockshox and Magura. Without a doubt the best I have ridden was the Magura but then that was a xc bike. Fox are nice and plush but you really need to keep up the maintenance, Rockshox worked well with no maintenance issues. The Maguras were excellent nice and plush when open and rigid when locked out. All functions remained fully operational, no maintenance done whatsoever for 2 years and it was pretty heavily used.

Ease of service and accessibility of spare parts was a factor for me. I had some pace forks pre the DT takeover and it was a right PITA getting them removed and sent up country every time something went wrong. A mate had maguras and had the same problem. I'd consider any make now but there'd have to be a good reason for me not to plump for fox or rockshox when it came to parting with my hard earned.

X-fusion are relatively new and not as good as RS and Fox, and you never see them discounted, so you don't see many of them.

I can see why you might think this but honestly, from experience, it's just not true.

Apart from being made in the same factory as Fox, and basically the same design, their internals are top quality being all CNC machined and metal, rather than plastic.

And they perform excellently, well the Vengeance HLR I have does; easily as well as fox maybe even better. OK so they don't have that lovely looking Kashima coating but interestingly some research was done by RS that says break away force is lower when the surface is slightly pitted (microscopically) as it allows oil to sit in the pits and act as a lubricant.

The only things the X-Fusion line doesn't have currently is the high price (they are about 20% cheaper on RRP so you don't need to see them discounted) and brand recognition.

I've only ever had good experiences with Fox Forks - both of my 32 Vans were ace for the money. Ridden lots in the Peaks with little or no maintenance other than cleaning them.

I also have a pair of 05 36 RC2's that are still in use now (they were Talas but have been converted to Vans). They still work well but are a pain to service at home.

The early Marzocchi's that I've had have always been faultless and very easy to look after. I still have a set of 2003 Z1's on my BFe. I lost faith when I bought a pair if AM1's..they were poo and spent more time with Windwave being fixed / waiting for a new ATA cartridge than on my bike.

Not a big Rock Shox fan - I still haven't forgiven them for the Psylo! The worst fork I've ever had, even worse than my Indy's and Judy's that I started with. I have had two pairs of Pikes and not liked either of them; I thought the damping was rubbish on repeated hits and packed down.

Manitou are dire - the Blacks that I had just leaked, the Sherman with SPV damping just didn't bother with small hits. The TPC ones weren't too bad.

Not experienced Magura or X Fusion.

I will be in the market for some new forks this summer (just because) and am amazed at how much they cost. First I though about some 36 Floats but I can only afford the R's which don't seem to get good reviews so am coming round to the idea of a pair of Lyrik's or possibly even a pair of X Fusion Vengance forks which are a bit cheaper and seem to get good write ups from those who have them.

And they perform excellently, well the Vengeance HLR I have does; easily as well as fox maybe even better.

We'll agree to disagree on that. They are not as good as most alternatives IME, by a noticeable margin.

I would always buy a discounted RS fork than a full price X-fusion.

to counter the Manitou hate, the Tower Pro 29er and the QR15 axle are great

Not brainwashed, it's just a market at work. RS are a safe bet because people buy them. People buy them because they are a safe bet.

Fundamental to the dominance of RS and Fox is they get their kit onto fully built bikes, presumably they have the economies of scale that they can offer the parts cheaper than anyone else to bike companies. Most people's first bike is fully built, and then they stick with that they trust.

riding on the spring

I've never been able to put in to words why I didn't really like my old RS Revs but that's exactly it!

Thanks for the replies. Seems that what the bike companies fit OEM makes a huge difference to what people then go on to buy. I guess it makes sense.

Wonder if the problems with Fox will lead to them having a sticky patch like the others?

The mags seem to be accused of bias towards certain brands due to advertising etc. Does this play a part?

I had some circa 2005 Marz air forks that were ace (light and plush, a revelation at the time) but the bad press after that put me off. Cheap RS forks I had were ok but nothing special. Currently on Fox and they are very good but 8 years on from the Marz and they are no better for feel. If you think forks have got massively better in the last 8 years id say you’ve been done. Bigger/Stiffer axels aside forks are no better at their basic function now than they were years ago. (IMO)

I've never been able to put in to words why I didn't really like my old RS Revs but that's exactly it!

It's actually premium, a-grade MBR review bullshit, but I thought it described it quite well.

The mags seem to be accused of bias towards certain brands due to advertising etc. Does this play a part?

It's probably not quite such a direct relationship. The brands that are successful are visible in the market so are going to get reviewed. They're also the brands big enough to spend the bucks on marketing, they also probably have good PR departments that feed the mags press releases, scoops, test units and so on.

All this makes it pretty tough for a new entrant to get into the market, which is exactly what the established players want.

If you think forks have got massively better in the last 8 years id say you’ve been done

'06 Fox 32 qr Talas to '11 RS 15mm Sids - a world of stiffness difference. Pretty sure it's not all down to the axle.

The Fox were plusherer, the Sids just work alright - I wouldn't get very excited about them.

The sensible money stays away from brand new whatever. Pay 1/2 price for non fox 2nd hand and only a year or so old. I realized fox were over priced rip off a few years ago. Kashima coating covering up their inability to correct the stanchion wear problem!

ck shox and xfusion owner. My xfusion vengeance hlr are incredible forks. £300 and imo far better than mates talas 36 (which are starting to wear!)

Brainwashed? Well, no, we all have a choice.

I love my Magura Wotans. My experience of Fox and RS only makes me want to stick with what I've got. They're about 7 years old old and are 'as new' so why want more? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Fox and RS have massive marketing leverage and mountain biking seems to be very 'label sensitive' which I've never understood. I'm constantly amazed by new fork prices from the 'Big 2'

Should the question be "Why are so many bike riders sheep-like in their brand allegiance?" and "Why do so many bike riders switch and swap their kit so often?"

Isn't it about getting out and having fun rather than kit and labels?

Xfusion (or the company that owns the xfusion brand) made a lot of Fox's stuff.

I like the feel of fox, and the price and low maintenance of RS. Not 100% happy with either and would welcome newcomers to the fork/suspension table. I'm very interested to see what DVO come up with.

I don't pay enough attention to what I ride to say exactly why I think my x- fusions have felt better than the fox forks I've had in the past but I am ocd enough to notice that it terms of quality of finish, feel of adjusters etc fox are a long way behind and in no way warrant their premium price.

well ive service a heap of forks over the years in bike shops and at home, seems like you dont get much for 500+ notes... (fox especially)

but ive still got a pair of Marz Z1 BAMs on my XC bike, they are a bit weighty but easy to service and just keep on going after nearly 15 years...

anyway spares are getting harder to get these days

im just wondering about the possibility of putting together some 'open source' forks from off the shelf bits... maker style

I've had plenty of Rockshox forks over the years, Dukes, Pikes (2 sets), Rebas (2 sets) & Domains.

Most have been run for 2 years + and I have had some go wrong (Pikes blew a seal on an alpine holiday), but they had had a good few years use before they went wrong.

I do service my forks about twice a year (myself) depending on how often they get used.

Personally never had any of the problems which seem to plague fox forks (i.e. stanchion wear).

I now have a couple of sets of Marzocchis (2009 66's & 2012 55's) - not had any notable issues with these yet.

If I bought a new bike with a set of Fox forks then I'd sell them immediately. Sure they feel great to ride but the servicing needed to keep them running well is too frequent. I've seen plenty of people who've had stanchion wear issues with Fox, some after very short periods of ownership. Not known anyone who has actually managed to get them replaced on warranty - usually they are refused on the grounds of not meeting the service intervals.

Rockshox my fave too. Did have a set of Fox forks for a very short while. Could never get them set up as my previous RS pikes, so sold them on.
Seen too many fox forks with leaking seals and shiney worn stanchions to ever buy a set again.

Jim Smith, OS forks would be a smart move but could you really put everything together for a reasonable price?

The mags seem to be accused of bias towards certain brands due to advertising etc. Does this play a part?

X Fusion won just about every category in the latest MBUK grouptest; nothing but Fox ads in sight.

Personally I'm very comfortable with reasonably modern RS forks. They're cheap and they just work, and are also easy to fix when they don't for some reason.

I haven't had problems with breaking stuff or prematurely wearing things out since mid-90s forks (I think there are still a few Judy corpses lying in my old garage).

Some of my favourite forks ever have been Manitous and Maguras though (I still have my old Magura Wotan on top of a wardrobe waiting for an appropriate project).

I've had rockhox, rockshox, marzocchi, fox, rockshox...

from a suspension point of view i was most impressed by marzocchi and fox....

I'm currently on rockshox and underwhelmed by them - id like some x-fuion of marzocchi again just to be diffrent from fox

The Fox service schedule gets me. Do they /really/ need to be done that often?

(I had my Revelations TF'd and a firmer spring fitted over 3 years ago. Stored upside down, cleaned and seals lubed. Works for me).

Do like the look of Magura forks but never tried them.

FWIW I've always had Rockshox, but my next set of forks will be Marzocchi (possibly).

I know Fox have a rep for poor reliability and short servicing intervals but I know a bunch of lads who all have Fox, give them regular hammerings, don't service them and have reported no issues.

Serviced my Rev's the other weekend, bought them 2nd hand and thought it would be a good idea.

Lowers were bone dry, as were the seal foam rings.

No stanchion wear. 8)

what is it with people thinking Fox forks have an onerous service schedule - or am I missing something.

Looking at the Fox manual compared to the Rockshox manual (for Reba's) they look pretty much the same...

Cheers

Danny B

- thepodge
re OS forks
thats what im trying to get a handle on at the mo, the ballance of off the shelf and custom bits i think is critical. getting stuff CNC d isnt that expensive, but im sure bigger numbers would bring the price down significantly.
What im really after at the moment is a 29er 100mm fork for bikepacking/off road touring.
Im looking at coil + oil for bombproof reliability/field serviceable and mounts for rack/anything cage/lights.
as far as i know theres nothing to fit that end of the market at the minute an judging by the numbers lining up for races like the great divide i reckon theres a need...

Isn't lowers service every 20 hours for fox, but 50 hours for RS? TBH, the process (for both) is so easy, I'm not sure why people wouldn't bother. Especially given the concequences with Fox stanchion wear.

I don't bother because if I have an hour spare for a fork service, I'd rather just go and ride the damn thing.

The reality is that Fox forks often wear themselves to death if you don't follow the service routine, while Rock Shox just keep on going.

Check and lube seals every 15 hours, change oil and float fluid every 30 hours for Fox. Nothing else mentioned.

Check and lube seals every ride for Rockshox, speed lube oil every 25 hours, remove lowers every 50 hours and change oil in damping system every 100 hours.

That's looking at the 2012 manuals for both.

Agree the consequences of not doing this may differ but if you've paid £££ for a some forks why not maintain them?

Cheers

Danny B

Jimsmith,
I'm not sure of your specified market (I know nothing of that area) but I do think its a good idea.

I'd have also thought that if someone could supply reasonably priced uppers, maybe CNC crowns a bit like the old Pace ones, you could supply the secondhand market for ages as it seems to be these that go first

The problem is with fox, even after servicing mine 5 times in a year (lowers, once uppers/dampr as well), i still got wear on stanchions. Changed seals too.

The reality is that Fox forks often wear themselves to death if you don't follow the service routine, while Rock Shox just keep on going.

oh no, not this again....

I always like to wade in to these threads with some balance, out of our regular riding group the ONLY forks to have suffered stanchion wear are Rockshox, to be specific a Pike, a Sektor and a Reba.

Where as all the Fox forks (some dating back to 2004) are still going strong with no problems.

All makes can suffer from it in the right circumstances.

Less then 10 years ago I'd have looked in to what Pace, Fox, Manitou, Marzocchi, RS, etc were selling before deciding what to get and all these were considered and available.

Thing is, they moved the game on so far, with Revs and Rebas, that others have struggled to keep pace. A couple of years ago you'd struggle to recommend Marzocchis, not because they were rubbish, but because RS were so good. Manitou kinda haven't produced any big name forks for a while, and their last reputation was for slightly twangy forks (rightly or wrongly).

Plus a lot of it is marketing, really. SRAM and Fox are undoubtedly in our line of sight much more, whether through ads, being in-stores or featured on pro bikes.

speed lube oil every 25 hours

Speed lube is ridiculously easy though - from what I remember with my Totems you don't even have to take the fork apart.

First ever pair of sus forks came on a bike I bought when I got back in to biking when I was 25. A pair of Manitou super black airs. They were crap

I ditched them for some Pace RC 40's which were superb, I then changed my frame and wanted more travel so got some Pace RC41's which were even better.

When DT Swiss took over Pace forks I got a pair of XMM 150's. they have to be the best forks ever made IMO!

2 years ago I got a Ti HT which came with some Fox forks on it, they were dire in comparison to the DT Swiss, so I ditched them and have XMM 140's on it.

I will never buy another brand of suspension fork. Nothing comes close

Thing is, they moved the game on so far, with Revs and Rebas, that others have struggled to keep pace.

Thing is, I just don't like how they feel so don't think they're all that. I much prefered the Fox I had to the Revs.

I ditched them for some Pace RC 40's

so I ditched them and have XMM 140's on it.

Same as me really. I guess it's the fact that I rate my DT's (and the RC40's I had in the past) so highly where as so few other people do that got me thinking. I need a pair of forks for a build so wondered if it was worth casting the net. Fancy some Magura's.

Fact is though, and the reason for the brainwashing comment is that if money was no object I'd probably get Fox, even though the ones I've had are no better then the DT's and even though I've had a set turn to mince. 😕

The Fox service schedule gets me. Do they /really/ need to be done that often?

No. But it's better that you do.

I don't get this Fox is crap thing. They work great. When they wear out, you can buy replacement parts reasonably.

I wore a set of Lyriks out. The price for a new CSU was more than double what Fox were asking. And more than I paid for the fork new.

X-Fusion Forks look very nice. Dirt cheap and when you pick a set up you can tell why. The heaviest forks I've ever held in my hand. They should last until the end of time...

IMHO the fox thing is that the seals are quite loose (close to exact tolerance) from new hence the 20hr service interval.
compare this to say marzocchi (pre relocation to SE asia) which had a bed in period of 20 hrs for the seals to loosen up as they were basically really tight.
this makes the fox s really plush on the shop floor but means the seals wear quite quick and if you dont replace them in time the possibility for ingress of crud is high and the stanchions get worn easially.
thats my experience anyway...

Isn't it a lot to do with aesthetics? Fox have got the [i]look[/i] right, whereas the others look dull (even cheap?).
Sad to say, it definitely sways me towards Fox. (Aside from the fact that they do work brilliantly.)

[IMG] [/IMG]

I'm a bit of a Magura convert here, i bought some Thor Lift Select at christmas for my 5 spot and they are the lightest, plushest forks i have tried. The double arch design definately makes them stiffer.

Had revs before and although they were great the dual air just annoyed me along with the being pretty flexy when i was chucking the bike down some techy stuff.

Each to their own really, i honestly dont care what anyone else rides or what they have on their bike but i am very glad i took a chance with the thors.

All forks, now matter how good or expensive they are, work the same (poorly) if they aren't serviced and/or poorly set-up.

IME, all forks (mid-high end) i've tried in the last couple of years, are all the same (very good) if setup correctly and serviced regularly.

I see a theme here.

There is definitely brain washing in effect here though, typical customer shopping for forks "i want fox because they're the best, aren't they".

Check and lube seals every 15 hours, change oil and float fluid every 30 hours for Fox. Nothing else mentioned.

Oil change every 30h seems excessive. People reckon Lefties need a lot of service, but they aren't that bad.

Andy

Market forces innit 😉

Product wise there are probably no real stinkers out there like there used to be (except at the low end). Some feel better than others and have features or functions which riders may prefer the sound or feel of... mostly I think we like what we know and thats why market share is so important... but in reality it only takes a ride or two on something new to adapt.

Fox charge what people will pay... the perfect capitalist way is to charge a little more than people want to pay which makes the item "aspirational"... this gives you a big budget for marketing/sponsoring/advertising; and if you have product left over at the end of the year you drop the price in a "sale" and those people who want the item but can't or won't buy at full price may be tempted to grab a "bargain" and clear your shelves ready for next years stock. This is what Fox and Mojo do very well controlling the UK market with aspirational product and loads of marketing.

One fly in this ointment is the "OEM" or "grey" market whereby stuff is sold to somebody destined for one place but actually ends up for sale and sold somewhere else. In this way the control of the price of the item is lost as if there are enough grey market items available you have to drop your main market price if you want any sales... this is where RockShox seem to be. They would love to get the full price they quote sometimes which is nearly the same as Fox... but their stuff is always available at a discount somewhere so they seem to have dropped the price to that slightly lower level. Pushing for market share is eroding the ability to change a high premium and be fully "aspirational".

Marzocchi get some OEM stuff at the lower end which unfortunately is not the best product and gets them a bit of a bad reputation. The good stuff seems to be available in limited quantity so they can keep the after market prices high.

Magura and DT are only really in the aftermarket game at the moment so have to have a good enough product to stand up for itself... getting buyers who don't want products from the other manufacturers... niche mongers or people who value the "features" only available on these products... or bargain hunters on last years product 😉 .

Manitou seem to be fighting for any sales they can get. I used to like Manitou and if they had a produst which suited me I would probably give them a whirl for nostalgic reasons (I loved my Travis TPC fork).

Not sure where X-Fusion will go. If the product is great they should be able to make dents in top end sales through reviews and pricing below Fox/RS. This won't bring big profits until they make dents in the OEM market where big product share and shifting huge numbers of units kicks in. It will be interesting to see who suffers as X-Fusion tries to take a bigger slice of the market... which might eventually erode the higher price they can change for the top end stuff? Perhaps it's all calculated so for a few years they might take a hit on pricing and profits to get market share and awareness of product?

Obviously other stuff is available and I just made all that ^ up; it's an opinion. Buy and ride what you want for the reasons you see fit.

My experience of forks over the last 20 years has shown me that all company's make good & bad forks its just knowing which year & model works (which makes buying new forks difficult unless you buy last years when they sell them off) My fox 36's were among the worst I've owned & manitou nixon elites were one of the best. But according to everyone on forums that should be the other way round. So all I can say is good luck choosing Your gonna need it!

Best forks I've had are my 'top of the range' Suntour Durolux forks. They've been ace for me. They cost me £250 and massively outperformed the pikes I had previously. Fox forks are a rip off! I'd far rather spend the £800 on a weeks mountain bike holiday somewhere hot!

DT Swiss are phenomenally expensive and have no OEM share

Ermm you are quite wrong in both cases. An EXM 150 retails at way less than a talas 150 or even a float

Not too long ago, top of the line Fox forks retailed for no more than £550.

We're looking at double that nowadays, TBH I have massive reservations at paying that much for a set of forks. I feel cheated.

I've three sets of Pikes, a set of Revelations and a set of Wotans on my bikes. I've had an education with getting my Wotans set up properly, but after playing with oil weights I've got them pretty much where I want them. Seal kits aren't massively expensive, so I can service them with off the shelf tools. And they cost me £250 secondhand.

My Revelations were £300ish brand new. They've been truly excellent, as have my 2006 Pikes which still see service on my hardtail today.

I'm sure that a set of Kashima 160 Floats will feel amazing - but not £900 worth of amazing.

The reality is that Fox forks often wear themselves to death if you don't follow the service routine, while Rock Shox just keep on going.

My reality is the exact opposite.

Never serviced my 36 Vans, just spray with Fork Juice regularly, and only had them professionally serviced once in about 3 years - they're absolutely fine and feel great.

My Pike stanchions coating wore down horribly and started leaking oil within a year.

Manitou were never very good

Not quite true... Manitou forks have been good - particularly in the sector we would think of as trail forks. Their Mach 5, original SX & FS fork series and X-Verts all offered great performance, good weight and were reasonably priced for the time - although i did use the top model of each of these though. I had a mate who used to rave about his MARS xc race fork as well. I think they went downhill when they brought out the Minute and Nixon forks. One of those models when originally launched had to have a travel reduction kit fitted to avoid crown/tyre impact!

Really? My Pikes are seven years and counting...no stanchion wear, they feel like new and I have the lowers off once a year if they're lucky. I'd say that's pretty darned reliable.

I do have experience with unreliable forks - I ran a set of RC40s for a year. The damping was lovely, but the travel adjust had a mind of its' own, the seals were leaky, bits fell off and they were not as stiff as claimed.

[img] [/img]

Pikes - less than a year old. Same on both sides. I do wonder if the NeoGuard had something to do with it though.

Lots of others with the same problem on RS forks here:

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/rs-pike-stanchion-wear

IIRC LoCo said the failure rate for Fox forks was no higher than any other make, but it's become one of those INTERNET FACTS that Fox forks are rubbish. They are certainly ****ing expensive now though - but then RS forks aren't exactly cheap either.

I wouldn't say it's an 'internet fact' about Fox. Having spent far too much time over the last few years looking at second hand forks the % amount of duff Fox are far higher then others. I can't present figures but if I could be bothered to to a lengthey survey I'm sure this would be backed up.

PACE RC36's are the most reliable (and best performing) forks I have used. Almost zero maintenance on them.

Last couple of bikes have come with Fox, and they don't ride as well.

geetee1972 - Member

OK so they don't have that lovely looking Kashima coating but interestingly some research was done by RS that says break away force is lower when the surface is slightly pitted (microscopically) as it allows oil to sit in the pits and act as a lubricant.

That's EXACTLY what Kashima is - Fox just happen to do theirs in a shiny gold colour.

Still on a pair of 2001 Marzocchi Z3. I got them 2nd hand in 2004 and they've been awesome. An occasional (2 since I got them!)service and that's it.

I wouldn't say it's an 'internet fact' about Fox. Having spent far too much time over the last few years looking at second hand forks the % amount of duff Fox are far higher then others. I can't present figures but if I could be bothered to to a lengthey survey I'm sure this would be backed up.

Confirmation bias?

Forks are massively overpriced and the markets buyers keep paying, several forks over the years

Rockshox pyslos/pikes/revs........all okay
Maz...several z1s/z2s all great till am1 oh dear....still the best most reliable workable forks are the z1s
Pace..several pairs great when they worked 50% chance
Magura and Rond, original ronds who sold to magura, had thors and durins, thors dived like billy ho.....durins been back undre warrenty.
Manitous some 29er 100mm travel things been very good
Fox several but 36 talas been the best fork i have had,

so out of those
Fox/Maz/probably DT i would buy again.
But yes being brainwashed by newer lighter fancier tricksy forks

For me a oil damped coil fork with 150mm travel and reduction for climbing weighg less than 4.5 lbs would be brilliant

One leg is all the fork you need.

indeed had a lefty.............actually very good

My 36's are going strong...2005 forks in the original stanchions with no sign of wear. Not sure when they were last serviced, but they'll be off to J Tech next month.

I do pop the seals up every now and then and drop some float fluid on the dust seals.

As far as fork feel goes, I'm not totally sold on the new Rock Shox. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they feel artificial somehow. My Fox feel pretty good and are light and stiff, but notnothing beats my old 66's for being smooth and supple. I'd love a pair of 55 rc3's but they're crazy money. My next forks are most likely to be X Fusion I think.

Re: Fox being expensive, they are if you pay report but there are a ton of good deals out there.

Rockshox make some great forks also and I'd like to see something like the Pepsi challenge where various forks are ridden blind (so to speak, not talking literally!) to see if people fan really tell the difference.

Yes, I know there are issues with set ups being equal etc etc - more of a hypothetical point.

The other manufacturers make some great forks as well and X Fusion in particular seem to making some headway. Takes time though to build up some market momentum.

Cheers

Danny B

Interesting thread. As someone that came from road cycling about 8 years ago into MTB, I have been staggered at the number of MTB componenents that are simply not fit for the purpose of getting covered in mud and water. Alloy chain rings that wear like butter, max BB bearings and hubs without seals that seize after their first submersion and freehubs that cannot be dismantled for cleaning. Fox forks are also a bit of a doozy. They do provide a wonderful feel and my first pair of 100RL's went years without a service, but Mojo could not get the lockout to work to spec when I returned them for a full service. They were stolen and I now have a pair of 100RLC's that were spitting oil all over the shop that I've just had Enduro seals fitted. I'll see how they get on, but if they do screw up on me again, I'll be giving X-Fusion Velvet 120's a go next. I think that trading standards possibly might have something to say about a £700 pair of bicyle forks that require that amount of reccomended servicing to stay in warranty, but I can't ask as I've never bought a pair new.