Im having a hard time getting the fox 36 rc2 to feel right. Im running about 50 psi, 2 clicks of hsc, 4 clicks of lsc and im about 150 with full gear. Its harsh and not nearly as plush as i wouldve expected. Some have said early 2015 needed the damper upgraded. Others have said from the factory the damper is overfilled. Thoughts?
2015+ fox 36 harsh
- Thread starter 92SE-R
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yeah, double check on your build. I'm pretty deep in the range for both HSC and LSC and my fork is smooth as fuck and well controlled. Just started messing with progression because it's otherwise been perfect.
Mine has been fantastic too. I'd check your bath oil and seals (the 36 likes to have its bath oil changed fairly often). Otherwise, talk to Fox and see what you can sort out - I too have heard about a few of the early dampers being overfilled, but I'd hardly say it's common
I was sold on the thick gold chassis oil when it came out but since switched to Mobil 1 5w and it breaks away easier on chatter.
So there is a damper revision, and they want to charge me for it. Geez. Anyone got a contact at Fox? I swore off Fox for years, and read such glowing reviews of their 2015+ 36, I gave it a shot. I'm an idiot.
Damper revision may be an improvement but it doesnt sound like your current damper is functioning correctly. Call Fox again and keep doing so until you speak with someone who will let you send your unit in for warranty inspection.
I had sent in two Fox forks for service in my life. Both received upgrades to the latest/greatest stuff and many of those improvements were included in the service cost.
I'd think any problem with a '15 product would be upgraded to the new schtuff.
I'd think any problem with a '15 product would be upgraded to the new schtuff.
The guy made it sound like my fork was operating properly. I told him it's basically only holding up the front end of my bike right now. I'm pretty disappointed.
I'm in the same boat. Brand new '16 Fox 36 Float RC2, feels like gritty ass. Had no oil in the lowers. I greased the air spring, damper feels constipated or something.
I'm all for tearing into stuff but don't feel like spending the time fixing someone else's problem if I don't have to.
I've called a few times now and Fox seems to be NO help. I got the same response: "sounds normal, just keep riding brah". A side-by-side test of other Fox 36's yields very different results.
I'm all for tearing into stuff but don't feel like spending the time fixing someone else's problem if I don't have to.
I've called a few times now and Fox seems to be NO help. I got the same response: "sounds normal, just keep riding brah". A side-by-side test of other Fox 36's yields very different results.
I bought a 2016 talas last year that's been pretty amazing out of the box, performance-wise. Air spring, damper, chassis stiffness, pretty much the best fork I've owned. I did breach the damper bladder (overfilled?).
I'm borrowing a 2015 float I've been riding that the owner just had rebuilt at sea otter complaining of the same thing. He's also about the 10th person I've heard moaning about it riding harsh. I don't know what they did to his fork at sea otter but this thing felt like ass as first. Really sticky and riding pretty harsh with zero compression damping added at the knobs. I've got probably 6 decent rides on it, the last 3 with a little less than recommended air pressure and it's loosened up a lot. I can actually use the compression damper adjustments now. But it feels just like every other 36 I've owned (like 5 of them) a long time ago. They need to be broken in before you can tell how they actually work. My 2016 talas was nothing like that. Smooth as butter and fully operational right out of the box.
A buddy of mine who's super trained fox suspension guy said fox was telling him the harshness was due to elevation changes.....absurd but may point to something screwed up with the damper fills/charges.
9S: how long have you been riding your fork?
I'm borrowing a 2015 float I've been riding that the owner just had rebuilt at sea otter complaining of the same thing. He's also about the 10th person I've heard moaning about it riding harsh. I don't know what they did to his fork at sea otter but this thing felt like ass as first. Really sticky and riding pretty harsh with zero compression damping added at the knobs. I've got probably 6 decent rides on it, the last 3 with a little less than recommended air pressure and it's loosened up a lot. I can actually use the compression damper adjustments now. But it feels just like every other 36 I've owned (like 5 of them) a long time ago. They need to be broken in before you can tell how they actually work. My 2016 talas was nothing like that. Smooth as butter and fully operational right out of the box.
A buddy of mine who's super trained fox suspension guy said fox was telling him the harshness was due to elevation changes.....absurd but may point to something screwed up with the damper fills/charges.
9S: how long have you been riding your fork?
That's where I've arrived with mine. Running like 60psi which is REALLY low for my size, and completely backed out comp settings. Still feels like a supercross fork.
A few months.
That's at least 20 rides I'd guess?
No change at all?
Maybe take it to an SX track and really you know.....get it into its element.
That's fucked. I had to put a couple volume spacers in the one I'm running at 160mm travel too.
The short travel one on my hardtail is weird setup wise, I'm running something close to 80psi in that one, with no volume spacers. I get full travel out of both fine.
Will the bladder expand and touch the inside of the stanchion? Thinking an overfilled bladder could be locking things up if it just stops up against the inside of the stanchion. Could explain a lot.
about 80-85psi here with one orange and one blue spacer.
Edit: 210lb fatty
Edit: 210lb fatty
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Aren't the 2015 and 2016 float air chambers different? There's no shaft running up the middle of the chamber in the 2016s correct?
I have two '15 36 Floats. The second one I bought had a gritty stroke when side loaded at times. I called Fox and sent it in for service; they swapped out the damper to the latest version free of charge and had the fork back to me in less than a week. When you call them, try just opening with "I need an RA number". Tell them you've felt other forks and yours obviously doesn't feel right; insist they look at it.
Fit4 thing or newer RC2?
RC2
About the same here, on both counts. I might even be up to the 90psi range... I love the fork though, it feels great and doesn't dive and wallow like my old 36 Van.
It only feels harsh on the fastest of trails that are littered with roots, but I am assuming that is due to my settings. No complaints otherwise.
No change. I keep waiting on it. At this point, i feel like it should've been broken in by now.
My 2015 36 was just plain nasty.
Thankfully the cartridge exploded in spectacular fashion (rod snapped & mad a mess internally) so Fox gave me a 2016 fork instead.
That also felt like ass. Rebuilt by Fox twice to try & make it better, I battled that thing for 3 months in Whistler. It was so harsh it aggravated old hand injuries. I literally tried everything to make that fork work.
The best thing I did though? Sold it & bought a Lyrik. No more issues.
Thankfully the cartridge exploded in spectacular fashion (rod snapped & mad a mess internally) so Fox gave me a 2016 fork instead.
That also felt like ass. Rebuilt by Fox twice to try & make it better, I battled that thing for 3 months in Whistler. It was so harsh it aggravated old hand injuries. I literally tried everything to make that fork work.
The best thing I did though? Sold it & bought a Lyrik. No more issues.
I had a 16 rc2 and it was horrible. So harsh. I tried for months changing settings around but no luck. This was my 4th 36 and the worst one ever. No matter what settings or pressure It felt really spikey on fast compression and like absolute garbage on chatter. I let others try it and they all agreed it felt like crap. I sold it and bought a lyric. Way better fork. I've spoken to others who love the 36 and maybe I got one with an issue but there has to be something to the problem with multi page threads on multiple sites on this issue.
2008 Fox 36 Float RC2: Guide shaft free air chamber. 20mm bolt. Stiction free, flip lever free, CTD free. It's been my dirtjump fork for the last 4 years shortened to 100mm travel. Remove spacers and it's 160mm.
$900. Get it while it's hot.
$900. Get it while it's hot.
I got one of the Float RC2 that were on close-out last fall at Competitive Cyclist. With both compression damping all the way out, the thing was still a fucking jackhammer (for my 138lbs self). I sent it to Dunbar over the winter for a damper tune-up. The guy there, Aziz, apparently worked for Fox previously. When I got the fork back he included all the shims that he had taken out. No jokes, there was about 6 of them. Its feeling pretty good and controlled now. And, I have a useful range of adjustment.
that may actually be the problem.
This is starting to almost sound like the RSC Guides thread - some people's stuff works great and others have terrible experiences. At the risk of pissing off the karma lizard, I will say that my 15' Float 36 (RC2) has been nothing short of brilliant. Adjustments work well, it seems to have super-duper broken in now, pretty light, stiff, etc...May switch out the volume spacer for a slightly larger one, but even that isn't a 'must do' for me.
Fwiw, I'm 185 lbs and I'm running 75-80 psi, and I can't honestly remember what compression settings I settled on, although I do usually crank down on the LSC when I'm on a jump line.
Fwiw, I'm 185 lbs and I'm running 75-80 psi, and I can't honestly remember what compression settings I settled on, although I do usually crank down on the LSC when I'm on a jump line.
I'd encourage playing with the spacers.
Take 2 minutes and made my awesome feeling fork even better (once I redid all the settings to compensate for the change).
Fair enough, but for the record, "moar spacers" just doesn't have quite the same ring.
What about "MOAR TOKENZ"?Fair enough, but for the record, "moar spacers" just doesn't have quite the same ring.
Just think of them as air shimz.Fair enough, but for the record, "moar spacers" just doesn't have quite the same ring.