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Hi chaps - been away from current forks for a while but in need of a Fox 36mm stanchion 29/27.5+ 150 travel fork.
Not worried if slightly older tech - ie 2018 or whatever.
Quite a few 'take-offs' or maybe OEM types on eBay. I'm looking at around £400 ish - can anyone explain what to look for in terms of RC2, FIT, Grip etc? Unsure what is what - new/old/better etc.
General trail use, 75 kg rider but looking at a Levo EMTB build so need the 36mm really.
In order of 'greatness'
2018
RC2 -> Fit4 -> Grip -> Other stuff.
2019
Grip2 (factory only?) -> Fit4 (factory & performance - only difference is gold or black stanchions) -> Grip
There are quite a few variations in each range as well, think there are E-Bike specifics now (thicker stanchions so heavier).
We had similar conversations when CRC were selling 36's cheap the other month. I imagine plenty on ebay will be ones from the CRC sale that people are trying to make a quick buck from.
From what I understand gold stanchions = Factory and are the best. Performance Elite are the same as Factory but without the fancy gold legs. Next is Elite but they were OEM only and have a different damper. Last up is Rhythm. Think that covers the 2018 ones.
I paid £400 for my 150mm 29er Performance Elite. They're ace, night and day better than the Pike they replaced.
Thanks guys - two slightly different answers but combining both if someone can 🙂 ie does 'Performance' mean you get GRIP or FIT or whatever, is Rhythm cr@p?!
I don't need the Factory for sure and regular 36 will be more than good enough in stifness.
Fox's designations for their forks and the dampers used overlap slightly making it quite confusing.
It goes:
Factory (GRIP 2 or Fit 4) with kashima stanchions
Performance Elite (as above without kashima stanchions)
Performance (GRIP damper or there's also a lower end FIT 4 damper that doesn't have a lsc adjust that is used on some performance forks)
Rhythm (GRIP) with a heavier chassis.
All share the same chassis and air spring other than the Rhythm fork.
In terms of damper the GRIP 2 damper is meant to be brilliant and is hugely adjustable. The original GRIP is also great and while designed to be a budget version, actually rides incredibly well and better than the Fit4 according to some of my mates who have had both.
Thanks for that - much appreciated.
I think in conclusion that the main thing I need to do then is to avoid the basic Rhythm and look for the best deal I can find on a Performance in the correct spec. Is 18/19 model year irrelevant for my (getting older and slower now!) expected trail use use?
I'd say that the "basic" rhythm is exactly what you should be going for in an ebike… but as it was OEM only, on lower end bikes only, you're unlikely to find them dumped on the market.
They use the 'E' bike specific Rhythm on the £6k Levo but the 34mm version. As we all know the spec on the Levos is p*** poor. I'd rather have the regular 36mm non Rhythm I think.
Have a read about what Mojo were saying back when those stiffer e-specific forks were new… they rated them highly for all bikes not just ebikes. I have a 34 Rhythm and a 36 Performance, and the basic "sweep Grip" in the 34 is the better damper… and the chassis feels more like a 36 than a 34.
I have a 2019 36 Rhythm grip and it's a far superior fork over my previous much fettled pike!
“They use the ‘E’ bike specific Rhythm on the £6k Levo but the 34mm version. As we all know the spec on the Levos is p*** poor.”
That’s why I went for the least expensive (I don’t think you can call it cheapest at £4k) Levo and had my LBS upgrade the stock fork to a Lyrik RC2 (which is REALLY nice).
Yup, those are the ones I got but with orange decals.
I originally bought the Grip dampered Performance forks at £430 and heard people say they were better then the Fit4 forks but they had a paint chip and the Elites got discounted to £400 so swapped. The Grip forks would have to be amazing to be better than my Elites as they're ace!
Thanks - I need to look out for some - if anyone bought a pair and wants to sell on let me know. 🙂