[Closed] Mojo - no longer responsible for Fox

On the topic of Fox being floated on the stock market, it seems like things aren't so great over at Fox https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Fox-Racing-Shox/reviews

The stories coming out of the factory seem to tie in with what I was told by Mojo, that Fox are moving the last of their production and assembly to Asia. Corporate restructuring? Fox in trouble with their shareholders? Anyway, great ****ing move in terms of public confidence in your product Fox (if their marketing team are reading this thread).

I can't boycott trek (and specialized) any more than I already do so I hope it's not down to them (but it wouldn't surprise me).

I've been at this caper too ling. I can remember trek being new in the UK and people buying established brands over this new brand no one had heard of.

On the topic of Fox being floated on the stock market, it seems like things aren't so great over at Fox

Was it Intense that had the Hand made in USA stickers - about the time most of their Alu frames were snapping or out of shape? I'll take the best production for the price thanks.

A lot of stuff has turned from the USA to Asia and lost its mojo.

My Intense Hard Eddie just snapped and that was a fiasco in terms of time and delivery. Back in the Alu days that's wouldn't have been the case.

Turner for instance have never been quite the same since the Taiwan carbon jump.

It's very sad for Fox - as they were made in the US for a long while and such a great product - my current rear can is on 11000 miles with no service.

I think the bike industry is making big changes. I'm seeing lots of issues with warranties these days too.

So even though the move to Asia can be okay , I see things being squeezed to make more profit which given the price of stuff is very worrying.

i heard a rumour today that Trek were pissed at Mojo, threatened to not spec any Fox forks/shocks on bikes next year as a result unless Mojo was binned as the UK distributor and service agent.

So, Mojo did something which pissed Trek off so much, at such a high level, that they made the decision, probably a board level one, at short notice, to blackmail Fox into dropping their UK distributor in the little old UK.

Sounds unlikely when you put it like that, but when Trek decide they want to screw a little guy, they do seem to get behind it.

Funnily enough Manitou swapped to US production, the "budget" brand. I'm going to laugh if Fox have massive QC issues.

Maybe Manitou are going to end up the bling boutique brand.

Anyway these days, if Fox shits the bed we have alternatives like Ohlins and PUSH that I am sure the Santa Cruz and ENVE buying public will be happy to swap to. Manitou are popular these days as well.

They were on the phones at 4.30 this afternoon (I called and grabbed an X2 with a mod from 50 to 57 - it was theoretically the last one). I’ll see what turns up in the post.

I also grabbed one and want it to be changed to 57mm stroke. Did you have to pay any extra? I couldn't get through to them on the phone.

Maybe Manitou are going to end up the bling boutique brand.

They always used to be back in the nineties!

Sad news for the guys that work there - On the times I have dealt with them, it's always been excellent service backed up with knowledgeable people ready and willing to help us people who still don't really know how our suspension works

I also grabbed one and want it to be changed to 57mm stroke. Did you have to pay any extra? I couldn't get through to them on the phone.

They asked for a ‘small labour charge’ to remove the bottom spacer and up the travel from 50mm to 57mm (it is an identical shock). Total cost of £20 for the labour was quoted, which if fair given it’ll take about an hour to hunt it down, strip the bottom can out, rebuild, test and repack.

#Brexit innit

Shame the music never quite took off either 😥

Mojo - Lady

I’ll get my coat 😳

Seems very odd that Fox have no 'backup' plan in place they're prepared to announce.

There's a lot of forks under warranty out there that shops and bike distributors are now responsible for with no mechanism to service or replace them.

The lady on the phone at Mojo has the sexiest voice in the universe.

"I have a theory as to what will happen.

CP liquidates all Fox stock, sells shell of Mojo to Fox to become Fox UK."
[i]This won't happen.[/i]

"CP still retains Mojo name. Carries on selling Geometrons" [i]this will happen[/i]

'and working closely with fox' [i]this won't happen[/i]

" but developing his own line of suspension."[i] this is likely to happen[/i]

either way it seems like a big move with not a lot of backup from Fox.

Worrying!

but developing his own line of suspension." this is likely to happen

Unless Chris has been beavering away in the background for a few years and has a team comparable to PUSH/FAST - then it's going to be a while before they can bring a shock or fork to market.

That is of course, unless they've hired out say, some of the chassis design work to a company like SR Suntour.

rone - Member
My Intense Hard Eddie just snapped and that was a fiasco in terms of time and delivery. Back in the Alu days that's wouldn't have been the case.

Back in the USA made Alu days it would've been welded squint and given never ending issues as a result of that instead.

Onzadog - Member

Sounds unlikely when you put it like that, but when Trek decide they want to screw a little guy, they do seem to get behind it.

I would think its more likely that if Trek* were pissed off it was because they believed it was something that could be damaging to their own brand, not just a personal grudge

*not really believing it's got anything to do with Trek at the moment, because vague.

given that their product is a little on the high maintenance side, Fox will want to sort out a new system quickly.

I would expect they can cover this either short or indeed longterm via Germany. It's not like they would be the only brand with warranty and distribution coming from the continent for the UK.
Kona have or had a European distributor for example

Shop is back online, limited stuff mind.

I haven't had the best experiences with Mojo and found them generally rude and patronising on the phone but if it is really a short notice situation then that does indeed suck for all involved.

Rumours I heard were towards a more direct distribution model but I've no idea of the truth in that.

Well we will see. The last few rides my 36s have developed a creaking CSU so I have fired off an email to the US to see what they suggest. Warranty runs out at the end of this month so I want to get it registered, even if its not sorted straight away, assuming the creaky CSU is a warranty job. The Fox website doesn't have any direct email address for warranty returns and I didn't feel it appropriate to contact Mojo to ask if they had one I could use.

Edit email to the info@ridefox.com has bounced back saying they only accept emails from recognised addresses.

Give them a nudge on Twitter maybe?

Tom in the early/mid 90s when I bought my manitou carbon sx forks they were boutique, I don't think I'd even heard of Fox back then

Yeah they were, then they had huge QC issues didn't they? Or dodgy designs, I can never remember. Either way, if Fox stuff this up - people aren't going to be willing to pay a premium for tat or poorly supported products, even if it is covered in Kashima. BOS utterly lost their reputation in the UK because of service support - they were ditched by all their OEM partners as well, eg YT and Orbea.

I am very, very surprised that Fox's execs thought that it would be a good idea to risk doing a BOS - [i]"Yeah guys, you know what sounds like a good idea - let's stop doing what was working and move to the same centralised servicing model as BOS because that worked out really well for them, and you know what....lets dick all our customers over by doing it overnight"![/i] The geniuses.

I don't know mate mine were spot on then over they years they seemed to drop to crap fitted on cheap bikes.
Makes me glad I'm fully rigid on all my bikes 🙂

Assuming Trek are involved then a joint warranty/support centre would make sense from a business perspective would it not? In the short term users such as myself with warranty issues are a bit in the dark but beyond that, with sympathy to those at Mojo, why could Fox not offer just as efficient a service as Mojo? Couple of Fox techs who look after UK demos, warranty and tech support housed in Trek's UK distribution centre. Use Trek as the demo fleet as well given they have a range to showcase all Fox's products. Roll that out globally and you probably have a fair few cost synergies to strip out.

Tying themselves so closely to one manufacturer might make others less likely to specify a Fox product though?

To be honest, I'd like to see mountain bikers start choosing smaller brands making goods that have longer lifespans. Eg Hope brakes, the 11-6 shock and it's ability to be altered in length for different bikes and be upgraded with new internals, modular forks whereby improvements are backwards compatible - all things that I'd rather pay good money for, rather than changes in hub standards every year.

BOS utterly lost their reputation in the UK because of service support - they were ditched by all their OEM partners as well, eg YT and Orbea.

Stuff like this makes or brakes a manufacturer and screwing it up can cause reputational damage that can last for many years. I really hope that Fox have planned this out because if they haven't, they'll be doing they competitors a huge favour...

The way this has been handled makes me think twice about buying Fox..

a fair few cost synergies to strip out

What?

I'd love to know whether Fox realise just how involved Chris Porter is in the industry, and how well regarded he seems to be by mags such as Dirt. I'd be interested to see whether there will be some blowback by magazine editors/writers that are friendly with him.

Anyway, I'm mildly amused by how such a successful company can balls up their marketing and PR quite so spectacularly in the course of one night.

why could Fox not offer just as efficient a service as Mojo? Couple of Fox techs who look after UK demos, warranty and tech support housed in Trek's UK distribution centre. Use Trek as the demo fleet as well given they have a range to showcase all Fox's products. Roll that out globally and you probably have a fair few cost synergies to strip out.

Sounds great on paper, I bet it did to BOS as well.

He means they’ll really have to square the circle to get all their ducks in a row before picking the low-hanging fruit

HTH

The way this has been handled makes me think twice about buying Fox..

It's their crappy service intervals that's always done it for me.

Tom_W1987 - Member

I'd love to know whether Fox realise just how involved Chris Porter is in the industry, and how well regarded he seems to be by mags such as Dirt. I'd be interested to see whether there will be some blowback by magazine editors/writers that are friendly with him.

Not much to be gained by supporting Porter at the expense of annoying Fox. Doubt Dirt has a huge amount of influence these days either, most of the things I see from their site is pretty poor (and 50% ebike related)

I'd be interested to see whether there will be some blowback by magazine editors/writers that are friendly with him.

I predict you'll see the story covered in a strictly factual way that is highly unlikely to offend major advertisers like Fox (or Trek).

Dirt mag... Still subscribed?
Also apologies tom having read your suspension threads not really bothered about your experience it's all to contradicted.

Fox will do well, most people had no idea who mojo were.

Depends, I guess that would come down to how much Sram are willing to pay people to offend Fox. 😛

Still, on a serious note - the move seems completely daft.

5 pages in, and I've only seen one 'bad' report of mojo's service, I think that says it all

its not as simple as just hiring a couple of fox techs in another factory, fox are huge in the uk, absolutely huge, mojo had the warranty/supply/turnaround down to a tee, but only from years and years and years of experience, it came from a single guy that built it up from scratch, not some fatcat that puts a few tech guys into a factory....

the reason mojo are so well regarded, and why fox is a hugely successful brand in the uk is.........MOJO, simple as that for me

I like the feel of sram forks, I hate the service/warranty procedure, its shit, and every other fork brand seems to be similar, but not mojo/fox, its a warranty job, you have your forks/shocks back in 3 days, even in busier times in summer its still only 5, and they make priority of warranty

regardless of what sort of person CPorter maybe, he ran a bloody good ship at mojo, and that's why its come as such a shock

surprised no ones mentioned brexit mind yet 🙂

Will Fox move it back in-house like they did in Germany?

Tom_W1987 - Member
Still, on a serious note - the move seems completely daft.

and it will continue to do so until we find out what's actually happened (if we ever do), could be a million reasons for the move

Surprised to hear about the end of this tie up - as has already been mentioned, Mojo and Fox are one and the same in the UK.

Mojo have always been good when I've dealt with them in the past - hopefully this won't affect the guys working there too much. If they diversify to take on other brands though they'll be competing against what is now a pretty busy market (TFT, J tech, South Coast etc).

It's a brave move from Fox especially given the amount of OE stuff they supply.

It'll be interesting to hear who initiated the split and why.

a fair few cost synergies to strip out

What?

Wrote one thing, changed to another without deleting. Should have ended with 'fair few cost synergies' but point taken re the efficiency of the Mojo structure.

Whilst it's good to see so much support voiced for mojo I'm not sure i get the "grrr fox" tone to so many posts. Reading milky's post (no more concrete than any other but at least based on "they said this" rather than i think) it sounds like a business in trouble rather than one screwed by suppliers.

Basically it's happened quickly. They feared the end was coming (I think someone mentioned it was in the last week or two) but they had made no announcement as they thought they had time to fulfil current orders and get an alternative business going

(and most of the rest of that paragraph) could be taken straight from the "sorry but our business is going to the wall" handbook. I hope it's not if only for the sake of the staff but pointing the finger at fox doing the dirty seems very unfair at this point.

The geometron project can't have been cheap and it certainly wouldn't be the first time a vanity project has had serious repercussions for a business.

It would also fit with no contingency from fox, poor stock availability over previous period and, if mojo are that sort of (staff focused) business, liquidate stock and pay staff before the bank comes in.

Again all complete conjecture but seems at least as likely as fox screwing them.

I really do hope I'm wrong but taking aim at fox seems unfair at this point.

It was more like they knew the contract was up for renewal and it hadn't been confirmed yet, standard business practice.

Mojo is a solid business with enough cashflow for Chris Porter to fund his other projects like the Geomotron, which is now a separate business along with their mudguard. I would be absolutely flabbergasted if Mojo was in financial trouble. My money is on Fox pulling the plug with very little notice and no handover plan.

I really do hope I'm wrong but taking aim at fox seems unfair at this point.

OOI, has anyone who placed an order yesterday received a dispatch confirmation yet? I appreciate that Mojo probably have a massive backlog to deal with and some probably not-very-motivated staff to deal with it, but I'll be interested to see if all of the orders get fulfilled.

milky1980 - MemberMojo is a solid business with enough cashflow for Chris Porter to fund his other projects like the Geomotron, which is now a separate business along with their mudguard. I would be absolutely flabbergasted if Mojo was in financial trouble. My money is on Fox pulling the plug with very little notice and no handover plan.

You have access to their books? Or is that pure conjecture? Wouldn't be the first time that an apparently successful company has gone down the tubes

Can't see the Geometron project having bankrupted Mojo, assuming they get Fox suspension units at a very good price and Nicolai are handling the framebuilding. Not to mention they cost a lot of money and seem to be selling well.

However... could Trek have been griping about the UK Fox distro effectively setting up a rival bike company?

Interesting rumour point chakaping, a company like Ohlins that works with everyone (in the motor industry) if they are willing to pay them (as opposed to sponsoring teams themselves, Ohlins does not sponsor teams apparently - preferring to let their reputation bring in money) - seems like it would be a better fit for the Geometron.

chakaping - Member
However... could Trek have been griping about the UK Fox distro effectively setting up a rival bike company?

Nope. Geometron is not a rival to the likes of Trek

To be honest, I'd like to see mountain bikers start choosing smaller brands making goods that have longer lifespans. Eg Hope brakes, the 11-6 shock and it's ability to be altered in length for different bikes and be upgraded with new internals, modular forks whereby improvements are backwards compatible - all things that I'd rather pay good money for, rather than changes in hub standards every year.

Whilst it would be a nice idea, the practicalities of it just arn't there. £1150 for a shock? I don't care how good it is (not actually noticeably better than a DHX2 IME), it's £1150 quid. It might be able to be altered in length (as is the DHX2 to a degree) but TF want an extra £300 off for the privilege. It's joke numbers.

Oh, and my Hope brakes were sh*t in comparison to my Guides 😆

OOI, has anyone who placed an order yesterday received a dispatch confirmation yet? I appreciate that Mojo probably have a massive backlog to deal with and some probably not-very-motivated staff to deal with it, but I'll be interested to see if all of the orders get fulfilled.

Nope. Money is showing as a pending transaction on cc though. Had confirmation of order email.

Nope. Geometron is not a rival to the likes of Trek

One of the proud new Geometron owners on the mammoth thread was previously going to buy a Trek, if memory serves.

chakaping - Member
One of the proud new Geometron owners on the mammoth thread was previously going to buy a Trek, if memory serves.

Treks range and throughput is a little larger than a handful of high-end enduro bikes

Whilst it would be a nice idea, the practicalities of it just arn't there. £1150 for a shock? I don't care how good it is (not actually noticeably better than a DHX2 IME), it's £1150 quid. It might be able to be altered in length (as is the DHX2 to a degree) but TF want an extra £300 off for the privilege. It's joke numbers.

DHX2 - 640 quid plus 137 SLS spring - if I wanted to swap from my 200x57 shock I'd have to sell it for around 350 quid. Losing myself roughly 450, the initial outlay is more - but I disagree with the cost of altering the length. Once you hit Fox prices, it's actually cheaper than selling and buying one again in a different length. It makes sense if you time your frame swap with a shock serviced as well - as it gets service in the process.

As for Guides vs Hope, whatevs! 😀 Hope are great!

I'd really in a perfect world... rather pay a bit more, cut down on quickly obsoleted crap and employ more people closer to home in small industries where the workers aren't treated like shit. I've come to the conclusion that I'd even rather cut down to one hobby and cut down on booze etc - to make sure that I can do that.

Nope. Money is showing as a pending transaction on cc though. Had confirmation of order email.

Same on my card, it showing as a pending transaction so all looks like it's going through. I ordered over the phone, and the chap said there will also be a DPD notification once it's shipped. Once the DPD notice come through then I'll be a lot more certain is all OK. (Oddly it's a touch cheaper than expected as I also ordered bushes, hardware and the £20 labour charge to change the travel on an X2 - but then a quick calculation/guestimate could mean that the extras have gone through around cost price too).

DHX2 - 640 quid plus 137 SLS spring - if I wanted to swap from my 200x57 shock I'd have to sell it for around 350 quid. Losing myself roughly 450, the initial outlay is more - but I disagree with the cost of altering the length. Once you hit Fox prices, it's actually cheaper than selling and buying one again in a different length.

It's a fairly moot point - as who buys something like a DHX2 new - as you say, you can pick them up for ~£300 second hand if you're patient. Which just widens the gap even further - the performance is borderline identical, you're just paying nearly 4 times the price for the privilege of it saying PUSH on the side - as the chances of finding a second hand 11-6 are slim.

The cost to covert the size is correct - was quoted by TF. That was to change a 215x63 shock to a metric 210x55.

As for Guides vs Hope, whatevs! Hope are great!

Well my Hopes lasted 3 months in Whistler. At that point it was a full refurb time. My Guides have been ridden over more vertical & distance over the last 18 months & haven't been touched, other than a couple of bleeds & sets of pads. More powerful than the Race E4's, the levers don't rattle & they play better with shifters & droppers.

no handover plan

Pulling the plug with no continuity on Fox's part would be colossally stupid. If fox have continuity you'd have expected an "it's all in hand watch this space" holding statement at least.

Cp pulling the plug on a major part of his business the instant fox talk to someone else would be colossaly stupid. To be far enough down the line to pull the plug a new distributor would be a fait accompli, see above.

For fox to have nothing in place suggests [i]they[/i] didn't see it coming. Fox is now run by investment companies, they may know nothing about suspension or bike components in general but they definitely aren't dumb about how to make money. No ability to distribute is the sort of problem a 5year old selling lemonade wouldn't bring on them selves. Getting a consensus it's a sensible move from an investment group? I don't see it.

For this to be anything other than forced just doesn't stack for me, it requires too many people to have been too stupid.

Re trek, i wonder who owns the tech for building those silly proprietary shocks of theirs? Call Fox's bluff over the UK resale, service and warranty market and risk no stock for x months whilst rs tool up? Not likely, trek would loose more in a week of down time moving the tools even if they do own them than that market is likely to be worth in a year.

Hi,

I ordered my transfer post yesterday 2:30 pm (ish). It was delivered by courier this morning just after 9am. I'm, only 30 mins from Mojo though.

Cheers

There's your problem, the Race levers were great....6 years ago....but the Tech 3 levers are better these days. More power, more oil in the reservoir for dealing with heat... Enduro mags dyno tests put your guides behind the Tech 3's in terms of stopping power btw.

We've got a 13 year old set of Hope minis that still work great, having only ever been bled. They must have got 10s of thousands of miles on them by now.

So Fox and Mojo are both selling trousers now?

Re trek, i wonder who owns the tech for building those silly proprietary shocks of theirs?

Penske. Who I assume, will happily license their designs to all but a direct motorsports competitor such as Ohlins.

I ordered my transfer post yesterday 2:30 pm (ish). It was delivered by courier this morning just after 9am. I'm, only 30 mins from Mojo though.

jwt - Member
So Fox and Mojo are both selling trousers now?

mo(j)le skin ones?

Hmm, a pic of a stack of Fox boxes has just appeared on TF Tuned instagram...

It was on the story thing at the top!

Oooh....the rumour deepens.

RE: Trek

Do these rumours that "Trek done it" any facts on offer, over and above the fact that Fox UK Tech share some workshop space with Trek?

HI,

I got no dispatch note. Just an email from Mojo yesterday saying thanks for your order etc.
It was DPD who delivered it though.

I was surprised by the fast delivery, its just luck I was in. I was expecting thur/Fri delivery if I'm honest.

Cheers

Got links for the TF tuned photos?

Hmm, a pic of a stack of Fox boxes has just appeared on TF Tuned instagram...

Tom_W1987 - Member
Got links for the TF tuned photos?

Just had a look out of curiosity and can't see anything 😕

Do these rumours that "Trek done it" any facts on offer, over and above the fact that Fox UK Tech share some workshop space with Trek?

No.

Hmm, a pic of a stack of Fox boxes has just appeared on TF Tuned instagram...

Not as far as I can see.

I can't see it either, but who could blame them for stocking up at those prices anyway?

Hmm, a pic of a stack of Fox boxes has just appeared on TF Tuned instagram...

Where?

TFT pics just show lots of boxes of the PUSH coil conversion

[url= https://s1.postimg.org/9q1y5yncbz/Fox.jp g" target="_blank">https://s1.postimg.org/9q1y5yncbz/Fox.jp g"/> [/img][/url]