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Fox 40 float or coil

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
The guy at Fox was like WHAT? Also he didn't seem to know the 40 was Air now....that sort of worried me a bit.
lol, i called them a year or two ago when i first took apart my 32 fit fork and i had asked them if the rebound/compression settings need to be open or closed when i bleed the damper (remember, FIRST TIME)... the guy originally told me open all the way, then proceeded to change his answer to closed.. later on, someone explained it to me (not @ fox), and not only did i feel kinda dumb (its kinda sorta common sense), but i doubt ill ever call them again.. better off on my own.
thanks for the input!
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
Hack is being a bit dramatic. IF it came tuned properly it wouldn't be a problem. But I know both mine and hack's were underdamped, despite telling him VERY specifically that I wanted slow slow rebound and lots of compression damping. All in on both wasn't enough.
good to know.. im just worried about the tolerance issue that huck brought up with the bottom out system.. but i think he was talking about for a boxxer, and ive got a 40, so i should go check that stuffs out.

the no knobs things is kinda lame (although, i will admit, i like the cleaner look). but i can deal with that.. i always have tools on me.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Boxxer is 6.7 lbs
Fox 40 Air is 6.1 lbs

This thing feels good so far. Resort riding on Sun.

Does anyone have tuning tips?
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
there's an ''air40 tuning'' thread somewhere on here. maybe a page or two back. didnt start off so hot, but i think as it got into pg 2-3 people actually started talking about tuning the fork.. lol
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,001
704
SLO
I had to move the air sleve up 1 level to make it more linear. I still dont think it is linear enough for my liking. I am running 85 PSI 2 LSC and 1 HSC on it. I may move it up 1 more and add a few HSC to prevent bottoming of the fork. I weigh 210.....
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,514
827
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
My advice is to start in the most linear setting, find compression settings that feel good for the first 9/10ths of travel, then if you're bottoming start moving the piston down to more progressive settings.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
My advice is to start in the most linear setting, find compression settings that feel good for the first 9/10ths of travel, then if you're bottoming start moving the piston down to more progressive settings.
Is there a video or manual on how to do this? I cant find it on the Fox website.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
from PB:

To cause the fork spring to be more progressive, unscrew the retaining bolt
at the end of the shaft (lower right) and lower the piston by rearranging some
of the eight spacers on the shaft.


looks easy :D
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
All I can say is, wow. The Fox 40 air is impressive. It does not feel like an air fork. I got about 10 runs in today at Fernie and I am sold. Love it.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,609
5,924
in a single wide, cooking meth...
By most accounts, everyone seems really pleased with the new air 40s, and most of the other air forks as well. However, it would be swell if someone would make a "budget oriented", simple open bath coil fork that anyone can service in a matter of minutes. Yeah, it'd definitely be heavier, but if you're just recreationally bumping down the hill, I don't think the additional weight would be that big of a deal - especially if you can easily service the fork without special tools. Although I'm not familiar with the Dorado, so perhaps that's a quick & easy service procedure.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
By most accounts, everyone seems really pleased with the new air 40s, and most of the other air forks as well. However, it would be swell if someone would make a "budget oriented", simple open bath coil fork that anyone can service in a matter of minutes. Yeah, it'd definitely be heavier, but if you're just recreationally bumping down the hill, I don't think the additional weight would be that big of a deal - especially if you can easily service the fork without special tools. Although I'm not familiar with the Dorado, so perhaps that's a quick & easy service procedure.



uh...? Half the cost of the 40, about 1.5lb more. Uses a similar damping system to their new fangled dynamic bleed valve. Apparently the top cap can be removed to access the compression shim stack, which I haven't bothered to do, but is designed to be pretty easy. Plus, you get large oil volumes, good seals, and a stiff chassis. I bet they'll be $650 in another month, too.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,609
5,924
in a single wide, cooking meth...
I'm not sure if the 888 CR damper is the same as the one in my 55 CR, but it was no easy thing to service that system. I was thinking of open beer, drink half of beer, open top caps, dump oil out, cycle fork a couple times, refill with oil, replace top caps, drink remaining half of still cold beer, go ride (assuming seals and bushings are good of course).
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
I'm not sure if the 888 CR damper is the same as the one in my 55 CR, but it was no easy thing to service that system. I was thinking of open beer, drink half of beer, open top caps, dump oil out, cycle fork a couple times, refill with oil, replace top caps, drink remaining half of still cold beer, go ride (assuming seals and bushings are good of course).
i guess you're right. The only video I can find shows it with the cartridge disassembled, and while it doesn't look challenging, it's not as simple as a monster T. It also works better than a monster T though, and most mountain bikers these days do the maintenance associated with higher products, so I'm not sure anybody's asking for more than a year long service life...
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
I'm not sure if the 888 CR damper is the same as the one in my 55 CR, but it was no easy thing to service that system. I was thinking of open beer, drink half of beer, open top caps, dump oil out, cycle fork a couple times, refill with oil, replace top caps, drink remaining half of still cold beer, go ride (assuming seals and bushings are good of course).
That thing was miserable to service.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,609
5,924
in a single wide, cooking meth...
^^
That's what the mechanic I took it too said as well (but with moar colorful descriptives). And now that you've chimed in, I was wondering about the MX fork world (which I know absolutely nothing about), and your thoughts on their damping systems. To Sandwich's point about the Monster T, I was wondering if you could just take a 888 chassis (which is a helluva lot lighter than a Monster T/Shiver chassis) and use a open bath system combined with a modern damping cart? So are MX forks basically modernized versions on a Monster T with decently tunable damping systems, or have they also gone the way of air or air/coil hybrids?
 
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Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
^^
That's what the mechanic I took it too said as well (but with moar colorful descriptives). And now that you've chimed in, I was wondering about the MX fork world (which I know absolutely nothing about), and your thoughts on their damping systems. To Sandwich's point about the Monster T, I was wondering if you could just take a 888 chassis (which is a helluva lot lighter than a Monster T/Shiver chassis) and use a open bath system combined with a modern damping cart? So are MX forks basically modernized versions on a Monster T with decently tunable damping systems, or have they also gone the way of air or air/coil hybrids?
All modern MX forks are twin chamber (closed cartridge base valve with spring-backed compensator piston up at the top, rebound rod at the bottom). No more modern open-bath forks as far as I know.

In 2013, Honda/Kawi put "PSF" suspension on their bikes - Pneumatic Spring Forks.

Short version is: Take any old coil fork, remove the coil, put a bigass negative spring in the damper behind the piston, and put a Shrader valve on top of the leg. So the air charge is riding on the outer stanchion seal and the lubricating oil bath. No cartridge, no using the inside of the stanchion with an air piston or anything.

TERRIBLE design. Dirt in the mail seal means you lose your air spring. If you think about the consequences of that in a MX/SX race or a high-speed desert race, it's really bad. I can't believe that layout ever passed an FMEA evaluation.

Then there's the heat aspect. These things are known to jump the equivalent of at least a couple springrates throughout a ride, so they need constant checking and adjusting. On top of that, the valve at the top caps pretty much needs to have the handlebars removed in order to access.

Basically it's just meant to save money and market as "weight savings". Japan engineering/manufacturing got real lean a few years ago for economic reasons and the quake/tsunami over there, and this is the result. I don't think it's a trend that will stick around long, at least not in its current form.


Other companies have either spring/closed cartridge damper in each leg, or have gone the route of a large single spring in one leg, and a larger damper in the other leg. Both work well.


As far as the 888, it still is open bath? At least the 2013's are I think and the most recent Evo cartridges have been. I don't think the old Shiver/Monster cartridges were even shimmed pistons, just check plates or something. Worked decently well though. So, I'm not really sure what you're asking.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
^^

I guess I thought the VAR made it a little different from a pure open bath design, but sh!t, if I can replace the oil in the damper side as easy as the sping side, I will STFU now.

Moar dino-lube FTW.
Basically. Just make sure all the oil is cycled out of the damper first, or make sure your oil height after matches your oil height before (once the damper is primed).
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,514
827
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I thought the VAR made it a little different from a pure open bath design.
What VAR does is make the ceiling of the oil chamber an o-ring sealed disc 7" below the top cap instead of the top cap itself. This lets it use less oil for less weight. The 0-ring sealed disc moves up and down when you turn the knob which simulates changing the oil height. So it's just like the previous designs but uses less oil and can change the air volume with the turn of a knob instead of pouring oil in or out.
 

Mo(n)arch

Turbo Monkey
Dec 27, 2010
4,441
1,422
Italy/south Tyrol
All modern MX forks are twin chamber (closed cartridge base valve with spring-backed compensator piston up at the top, rebound rod at the bottom). No more modern open-bath forks as far as I know.

Is this the technology Marzocchi will be using in their new fork?
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
KTM's XC-W series is aimed at trail riding and still uses an open bath damper. The reasoning is it has less stiction (plusher for slow riding over rough terrain) and it's easier to work on.
Then I sit corrected. Been a while since I've done any KTM stuff. Into YZ/CR/RM 2-strokes these days.
 

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
I didnt wanna start another thread, but I think my question would still be relevant here...

I just got a bnew takeoff 2013 40 RC2 off a Gambler. The HSC knob can go all the way closed, but keeps going 'out', going minus/fully open. Is anything wrong? I still have to install the fork in my V10c, need to cut the steerer and install the crown race. I can fully test the hsc once I can get a ride in, see if it feels different fully closed vs. 24 clicks out. LSC knob has distinct stops at both fully open and close. I counted around 24 clicks for the LSC.

Any info/feedback/help would be awesome, on why my HSC goes on to infinity when turning it fully open :|
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I just got a bnew takeoff 2013 40 RC2 off a Gambler. The HSC knob can go all the way closed, but keeps going 'out', going minus/fully open. Is anything wrong?
You seem to fall victim to this regularly (first CCDB, now this?). For future reference, anything that is not a digital electronic adjustment dial (eg. most car stereo volume controls) will generally have a defined start and stop point. If it doesn't stop at each end of adjustment something is almost certainly wrong/broken/missing. I wouldn't even consider "is it meant to be like this" on any bike stuff that doesn't have a digital readout/display.

Anyway, since it stops when closed but not when open, I'd suspect you're just missing the circlip that stops it when fully open. As long as someone hasn't cranked the adjuster and stripped threads or something, my first guess would be a missing circlip. An authorised Fox service centre should be able to sort it out without much hassle.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
I ran 2 from full linear position for a while, now I'm 2 from full progressive. I prefer it more progressive now, running 80psi. Couldn't be happier. As long as you keep up with maintenance, she will treat you right.
Wow, I ran full linear and 65 psi this last weekend and it felt pretty good. I thought it needed less air though. I'm 190lbs.

What maintenance needs to be done regularly?
 
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ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
Yeah, I've noticed airpressure is so sensitive, it's really all over the place for different people. I've run anywhere from 68-88 depending on where my air chamber is set at.

I raced in Europe for a month, spend three weeks in Canada, and all over the mountain states region. I've now completely rebuilt my fork 4 times including a rebuild I did when I received the fork. I worked for a suspension lab for a few years, so I've become pretty anal about my suspension and my setup.

Normal maintenance though, periodically drop the lowers and replace the oil and new seals should be good. I would re bleed the FIT cartridge just because.

I also maybe "overly greased" the negative spring and plunger. I kept getting a weird knock, now it's gone.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,514
827
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
What maintenance needs to be done regularly?
I've been using a 36 TALAS 180 on my Enduro bike for 3 years now and the regular maintenance I've done is removing the foot nuts, pulling the lowers down an inch, draining the oil out, and using a syringe to squirt fresh oil in. This is so easy and quick that you can do it every few weeks and it keeps the inners clean and lubed. Once a year the seals start weeping so I replace them which involves a full lower removal, cleaning, greasing.