B1105

Hye does anyone have a fox forx? Something like the vanilla 125 or so? Im curious as to how they ride. I wondered how they compare to the SID series. The fox's are substantially heavier but if they ride well I belive its worth it. Any input would be helpful. Thanks
Byron

B1105

Does any one also know if it is hard to change the travel knob on the fox vanillas?

Maelstrom 

I have never ridden one but I would never buy one. The companies reputation for customer service is one of the worst in the industry. Go to any major mtb site and ask "How is thie fox fork and the service" and you will find many people who find

a) fork cost to much to service as fox's warranty blow
b) fork takes to long to service because fox is severly overworked due to a sever spike in people purchasing these forks and fox not being prepared for that said work
c) YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO DO ANY SERVICING. YOUR SHOP CAN'T SERVICE ANYTHING. If you touch the inside of the fork the warranty is 100% void. The fork must be sent back to fox for repairs which they almost always charge for and it takes too long in comparison to other companies.

There is also a natural slop to the fork which most people don't like once they get on. You can get used to it but due to some strange tech (such as the fork not actually riding on the bushings but on a thin layer of oil on the bushings) it almost always feels a little sloppy.

Never ridden one so I personally can't say how they ride but in the past year I have read more than 100 posts easily from people complaining in some way or another in this way about those forks. Do some searches on ridemonkey, nsmb, pinkbike, dropmachine anywhere before considering these forks.

PeterG1185

Hey,

I've had my float RL for about a year now and it's a sweet fork. It's the smoothest fork i've ever felt and it's never given me any problems. I've never had to try and send it in so i dont know how well that works(good thing). I'm a XC rider and Mael is a North Shore hucker kinda guy so it's a differance in how we look at forks

BTW i have never felt this slop that he is talking about

Maelstrom 

True...and I have never felt to slop either...I was just pointing out the complaints I here...but then again you have a point...for the most part everyone that complains hucks a bit...so you may have a point there...

The best customer service is the kind you never have to use. Glad you haven't had any problems.

WorldIRC

I have had my eye on the Stumpjumper disc for a while now and it has a Fox fork on it. I forgot which model it is but the colour of the Stanchions is gray. I test rode the bike in the trails many times and seems like a great XC fork. We have also never received any complaints about customers who have bought any bikes with a Fox fork on it.

KleinMp99

Lowers are gray.....and theres like 20 models that are gray lol.

WorldIRC

Thanks for the help Klein!

nathank

i bought a 2002 Specialized Stumpjumper XC Comp in March 2002 with the Fox RL fork.

as the other poster with the same fork, i'm an XC rider, so my basis is different.

i have had 0 problems with the fork and i love it. it is only a few grams heavier than the SID but it is MUCH stiffer and i like the setup and adjustment better (i had a '98 SID before)

the Lockout on the RL is awesome. i can flip it with one hand in a half-second while cranknig up a hill and then can undo it at the top before the descent. i rarely se the rear lockout, but the front a lot, especially on non-technical ascents.

i have had no problems so i can't say too much about the service... well, actually i can. the rear shock - the Fox Float L i think - had bad seals when i bought it. unfortunately i and my bike shop both made a mistake so on my first big tour after i bought the bike i lowered my saddle for a big descent and the bike shop had not cut the post (they should have) and i did not check the clearance (i should have) and so i dinged the housing, so when we shipped it to Fox they said that the damage from misuse (ding) had caused the seals to go out... and i can't blame them --- i blame my LBS more, so now i go to 2 other shops instead (there were other problems and the LBS gave me this story about havig to ship my whole bike in for 2 months or whatever so i went to another shop and they gave me a loaner shock for my TransAlp tour (8 days of riding 430km and 15,000meteres vertical) and shipped the shock in. Fox did a "shock therapy" for likw $130 which consisted on new housing and bushings...

i would choose the FOX again. if i bought any air-fork i would buy Fox. for the long travel and non-air shocks, i don't have any experience. i personally would buy the Fox over the SID any day (i forgot the price difference, but the Fox is a little more i think).

B1105

Thanks for the feedback, I was still wondering though if it is easy to change the travle like 80-100-125. That function is somewhat important to me. Also, anyone with an RL or RLC, would u say the extra 50 dollars or so for lockout is worth it? I do mainly XC riding and trail riding. Thanks

nathank

$50 for the lockout... for me i'd say it's worth it, but i LOVE climbing and rode 65,000 meters vertical last year. if you don't expect to be doing lots of steep asphalt and fireroad climbs, then it's not worth it. i don'T use the lockout on single trail or rocky climbs or on flat road sections.

PeterG1185

i'd say it's worth it. More or less for insurance incase you actually want to use it's there. I use mine mainly on long slow climbs and roads

Maelstrom 

I just installed a fork with a lockout (to 2 inches) its pretty decent. No long climbs yet but I already know some of the climbs I will be using it on. (I hate tipping backwards on really steep climbs)

nathank

Maelstrom,

i think you are referring to the lockouts on forks with lots of travel (120 or so) where the fork locks-down - a friend of mine has one - so that you have less of an angle for climbing.

the Fox that i have does not do this and the lockout is only in the uncompressed full length so it doesn't improve your climbing angle, but then for most bikes the 80mm isn't too steep anyway.

Maelstrom 

Yeah I realize that. The ECC on the Z1......But i still think even a regular lockout might help on steeper hills.

Waldo

Not a fan of the Fox forx. Their customer service is horrendous. We've had a couple guys with problems with their forks and they've had entirely too much trouble getting satisfaction. That, and a fork that's barely been ridden just came in to our shop in need of bushings. Not for me, thanks.