Fox 40 - Worth it? Or Poo?

dhbuilder · Jul 16, 2006

up until about 5 weeks ago.
all i'd ever ridden were boxxer world cups for six yrs.
i got to where i knew just how to tune them to just how i liked em.

then i switched over to a 40 with a dhx rear shock on a DH9.

"poo" is what you'll do when you realize the tuning potential and increased speed and stability of the 40 mated with a fox rear.
i weigh almost 200lbs.
and it took less than a day to balance the front and rear to each other.

it's like a ferrari frame with cadillac suspension.
$$$ well spent.

Red Bull · Jul 16, 2006

personally, i didn't like mine at all. it was wayyyy too linear for my riding style, which is generally fast, hard, and I tend to pump alot...which definitely didnt work out with the 40 since it blew through its travel when it was supposedly set up too stiff for me at 160. I switched to an 05 boxxer wc and I could not be happier. While the 07 40 supposedly is more progressive, I will stick to boxxers for quite a while.

Guard · Jul 16, 2006

I ran the 40 last year and then switched to the WC for this season. The WC took a couple of races to break in, its extremely smooth & lite however its not as stiff as the 40. Personnally I don't think the extra .7 pounds makes a big enough difference to over shadow the 40's ability to stay true through rough rock gardens. I'll probably switch back to the 40 next year...well at least right now that's the way I'm leaning. It's also my understanding that that the WC will have bigger stanctions next year and if so then that should bring it online with the 40...its always something, what to do what to do... Really you can't go wrong with either one. The realibility that I've had (and the wife had a 40 and has the WC as well) has been good, no real problems with either.

Later

Jeremy R · Jul 16, 2006

The 07 40 is one of the best products I have ever used period.
Totally adjustable, feels great off the top but is progressive at the end
stroke. Not much else to say. Its just good.

atrokz · Jul 16, 2006

dhbuilder said:
it's like a ferrari frame with cadillac suspension.

thats a scary thought.

julian_dh · Jul 16, 2006

i think the difference between the fox and boxxer is purely based on the exterior, they are both good forks that will take a pounding but fox has obviously spent more money with their casting and over size stantions.

be warned though the boxxer air sring can feel like **** if you dont take care of it.

it would be sick to see what rock shocks cooking up for 07, after a look at their single crown forks. the boxxer would look amazing with some beefy 40mm.

jonnynails · Jul 16, 2006

Funny your going to ride the Morewood with a Double Barrel, because I ride that exact set-up with a fox 40 up front. The fox is super tunable between pre-load, rebound, and compression, and so stiff that you pretty much hold whatever line you pick thru nastiness. Yes, it can blow thru the travel quick if you don't have it set-up right, but if you take the time to correctly tune the fork to your weight and riding style I don't think there is a better race fork out there. The Morewood with the double barrel in back and 40 up front is hands down the best DH bike I have ever ridden.

If you are dead set on the World Cup, before you buy it talk to Richard at Morewood about one of his team riders out West who had one literally come apart off a jump and ended up in the hospital. Yes, a rare incident and could happen to any fork but it made me glad on my decision with the Fox. Decisions, decisions.....good luck with it, I don't think you will go wrong with either but I highly recommend the 40 especially if your racing on the east coast knar.

V-Dub GTI · Jul 16, 2006

In8Racing said:
It also seems that fox has a reputation for durability too, at least when I think about the RC's and fork that I've had.

with my experence the rear shocks from them are lacking durabilty, i had 3 of them "stuckdown" within 2 mounth. durability my ass.......

Transcend · Jul 16, 2006

specializedride said:
with my experence the rear shocks from them are lacking durabilty, i had 3 of them "stuckdown" within 2 mounth. durability my ass.......

So stop riding air shocks for downhill? Fox does NOT RECOMMEND air shocks for anything more than light freeride. This includes the DHX air.

Bicyclist · Jul 17, 2006

And on top of that, it was just a faulty batch of air seals.

ragin-sagin · Jul 17, 2006

I like mine alot. I had a 888 before it that I had spent a little time tuning, and other than weight it was hard to tell the two apart. I hear lots of people complaining about bottoming their 40's out and it blowing through the travel. I wonder if they have their compression set right...I am not light (around 220) and have never been a smooth operator and after some minor tweaks on the 40 I have no bottoming trouble at all. Joe-bob gives 4 stars. Check it out.

Kevin · Jul 17, 2006

Im on a 40 since the start of the season and I couldnt be happier.
Its super plush, very easy to set up and very low maintanance.
i think its light enough and definitly not to linear at all which I was a little worried about in the beginning.
No difficulties pumping it through stuff as well and it hasnt bottomed out on me on big stuff either (not like it would be anything to worry about anyways), Im not talking drops to flat, just big gaps in DH races.

I had a try on a BoXXer air a couple weeks ago and I was definitly impressed. It was light and damping was way better then other (earlier) BoXXers Ive tried before.
But I dont think you can compare it to the "ride" the 40 gives you.
It just makes you more confident on your bike because it will save your ass out of trouble when you mess up.
If you can afford it then the 40 is the better fork imo.

Udi · Jul 17, 2006

Transcend said:
So stop riding air shocks for downhill? Fox does NOT RECOMMEND air shocks for anything more than light freeride. This includes the DHX air.

On the fox site, the recommended usage of the DHX air is DH (along with FR, AM, XC). So no, you are wrong. They were intended to be used for DH, they just didn't handle the task. So the fault lies with fox, not the end user.

To further quote:
"...and big hit ready - the DHX Air is both gravity ready and defying"

dhbuilder · Jul 17, 2006

In8Racing said:
Thank you all for your input.

DH Builder - I was very much in the same boat as you. I knew a boxxer inside and out, and had rebuilt them probably 20 times. I was very comfortable with them.

I'm basically interested in the Fox because of the experience I had with my Vanilla RLC. I always said that if they put triple clamps and 2 more inches of travel in that fork, it would have smoked anything during the early 2000's. It also seems that fox has a reputation for durability too, at least when I think about the RC's and fork that I've had.

Funny that you mentioned the DHX too. The Morewood I'll be getting has the CC DB available as an option, but I could buy 2 Ti sprung DHXs for the same price. I rode a DHX at Windrock last spring (during my first attempt to come out of retirement) and locally in MI and found it really nice and tuneable as well.

At this point, I think I'm going to go with a Ti DHX and a 40 with the go-ride crown and Ti x-firm spring kit. But you never know...

get that thing set up and bring it back to the rock.
especially on that moorewood.

you'll be amazed at the skill level increase that bike and fork will allow to to obtain after a few sessions here.

dhbuilder · Jul 17, 2006

atrokz said:
thats a scary thought.

but a great feeling !

jonnynails · Jul 17, 2006

dhbuilder said:
get that thing set up and bring it back to the rock.
especially on that moorewood.

you'll be amazed at the skill level increase that bike and fork will allow to to obtain after a few sessions here.

No doubt about that. I'm looking forward to a trip there soon on my new Morewood.

profro · Jul 17, 2006

Honestly, all top of the line forks are fairly equal. WCs, 40s, Travis's. I would ride any of them if they were setup properly.

However, rear shocks are different. Nothing out there right now can compare to the Cane Creek DB. Is it worth the coin? If you got the coin, then yes. But if you're saving to hit more races then get the DHX and enjoy.

I can say from experience though that the Morewood with a Travis Ti up front and a CCDB in the rear is a very smooth, fast bike.

Transcend · Jul 17, 2006

Udi said:
On the fox site, the recommended usage of the DHX air is DH (along with FR, AM, XC). So no, you are wrong. They were intended to be used for DH, they just didn't handle the task. So the fault lies with fox, not the end user.

To further quote:
"...and big hit ready - the DHX Air is both gravity ready and defying"

"the dhx air 5.0 is designed specifically for the rigors of heavy duty trail riding."

This is directly from the fox site btw. Trail riding is not DH...nice try though!

atrokz · Jul 17, 2006

dhbuilder said:
but a great feeling !

untill turn one :hot:

Sandwich · Jul 17, 2006

whatever you do, don't buy the low end non-adjustable 40. I had one on the front of the turner and it was poo. Packed up over repeated bumps going into the woods, shook the snip outta my hands. I was supremely disappointed. I assume that with adjustable compression the fork would have worked much better.

Transcend · Jul 17, 2006

Sandwich said:
whatever you do, don't buy the low end non-adjustable 40. I had one on the front of the turner and it was poo. Packed up over repeated bumps going into the woods, shook the snip outta my hands. I was supremely disappointed. I assume that with adjustable compression the fork would have worked much better.

Not being able to adjust compression damping on any fork or shock is a deal killer. I am not sure how people are supposed to get the proper ride when they can adjust spring rate alone??

Sandwich · Jul 17, 2006

I agree, the whole concept is a bit silly, unless you can upgrade later. Regardless, I was pretty disappointed by the fork but I knew it would improve if it was set up for me specifically.

Can't complain too much as it was a rental bike and I have no experience on the adjustable model to say for sure.

Transcend · Jul 17, 2006

Sandwich said:
I agree, the whole concept is a bit silly, unless you can upgrade later. Regardless, I was pretty disappointed by the fork but I knew it would improve if it was set up for me specifically.

Can't complain too much as it was a rental bike and I have no experience on the adjustable model to say for sure.

The 3 RC2s I have had have all been amazing. My current one has 07 internals and an extra lightweight spring. I have 3 clicks of both compression settings and it feels absolutely amazing. Arm pump has virtually gone away.

Best fork I have ever ridden, but I wouldn't touch it if i couldn't adjust the compression settings.

Sandwich · Jul 17, 2006

Transcend said:
Best fork I have ever ridden, but I wouldn't touch it if i couldn't adjust the compression settings.

Interesting...I'd love to ride one with full adjustability. Have you spent much time on an Avalanche? How does it compare (outside of weight)? I just picked one up and will be riding it for the first time this weekend.

CBJ · Jul 17, 2006

At the bike shop a 40 with few rides had a lot of wear on the damper rod that compresses into the rest of the damper unit. The cause is the natural movement in the bushings that then translate into slight bending of the damper so the inner rod rubs when compressing. Has anybody seen that on other 40s?

dhbuilder · Jul 17, 2006

i'll have to keep a close eye on that.

funny you should talk about that.
in the manual, it talks about built in freespace in the bushings that in theory the lubricating oil is supposed to fill in.
supposedly reducing stiction and still maintaining the tight fit of the bushing surfaces.

Racerx7734 · Jul 17, 2006

In short....................POO.

Transcend · Jul 17, 2006

Racerx7734 said:
In short....................POO.

Way to qualify that fantastic answer. I think he is looking for a tad bit more than that in the way of a response, either way.

Bicyclist · Jul 17, 2006

Basically, what I feel is that the 40 is extremely stable and planted feeling as to where the Boxxers are more lively feeling.

Udi · Jul 17, 2006

Transcend said:
This is directly from the fox site btw. Trail riding is not DH...nice try though!

So is what I quoted. So by listing DH (ie DOWNHILL) as an intended use, they are lying, or you are wrong.

Udi · Jul 17, 2006

Having ridden both the 40 and 06 worldcup, i'd say it's a close call and i'd put it down to what you require from a fork.

The worldcup is obviously lighter (~350g), lower (3mm), and the damper has some very useful adjustments - notably the floodgate which allows complete control of what speed the low-speed compression will blowoff at. The air spring setup may require more maintenance, however both damper and spring are user serviceable (including re-shim friendly high speed compression damping) and obviously the air spring eliminates any coil rub noise also.

The fox is likely stiffer thanks to the far greater stanchion diameter, and the damper may be more consistent over speed/temperature ranges thanks to the sealed cartridge keeping oil and air seperated. In practice the damper also tends to be a touch smoother/quieter if that matters. I think it loses out for the tinker-types though, as the cartridge is not user serviceable to my knowledge, only the oil bath oil can be changed. And finally, it costs a little more too

That's my objective take on the two forks, hopefully it helps any prospective buyers make a decision.

CBJ said:
At the bike shop a 40 with few rides had a lot of wear on the damper rod that compresses into the rest of the damper unit. The cause is the natural movement in the bushings that then translate into slight bending of the damper so the inner rod rubs when compressing.

That's interesting.
Although I would imagine the wear on the damper rod would possibly be due to an improper bushing setup inside the cartridge (that the damper rod runs on). The amount of lateral movement the lowers experience due to the microscopic amounts of play in the bushing should be minimal, and once the fork is in action the system is designed so that there is a constant film of oil seperating the bushing and stanchion - ie there should be no lateral movement once the fork is in action.

V-Dub GTI · Jul 18, 2006

Transcend said:
So stop riding air shocks for downhill? Fox does NOT RECOMMEND air shocks for anything more than light freeride. This includes the DHX air.

i wasn't thats why it pissed me off, i was xcing, i was using a stock triad on my specalized stumpjumper fsr with my air pressure up to my weight and it kept getting stuck down. but fox warented it witch was cool, nice cs too!

360 · Jul 18, 2006

seals are lasting me 2 weeks at the moment, if fox dont sort it at crankworks then its 888 time.

The reliability is just not there for me.

ragin-sagin · Jul 18, 2006

360 said:
seals are lasting me 2 weeks at the moment...

2 weeks!?!? Have you tried using something other than ground up glass shavings for stanchion lube?

profro · Jul 18, 2006

In8Racing said:
Now I'll be picking up the Go-Ride X-firm Ti spring kit,

For the love of God, please ride the fork and see if the damping adjustments and spring rate are correct before you go buying X-firm springs. Current damping allows you to run soft forks, yet control bottom out.

vitox · Jul 18, 2006

360 said:
seals are lasting me 2 weeks at the moment, if fox dont sort it at crankworks then its 888 time.

The reliability is just not there for me.

a bit muddy over there perhaps?

Fox 40 - Worth it? Or Poo?

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