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Fox Fork 32 Stiffness Impressions

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
What is your impression of the Fox Float 32's stiffness? Some think it's somewhat noodly compared to other options. I have ridden a 2005 Vanilla RLC 130 which suits me well, have you ridden both? How do they compare? Thanks!
 
I had a 2007 Float 32 on the Heckler. It worked fine.

My old friend Kevin Cameron wrote an interesting article for Cycle World about stiffness - it was a mantra in road racing until it became evident that chassis flex was not a bad thing in all circumstances. Noodly's OK as long as the handling is working out overall.
 
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Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,241
20,024
Sleazattle
I've only ridden 26" versions up to 130mm of travel have been on them since they first came out. I think they are plenty stiff. As JBP pointed out, perfectly rigid is actually less than ideal for things that lean and take side loads, like bikes. In the 90's Honda developed the CBR900RR to be as stiff as possible. People kept crashing them in corners. When leaned over a bike needs to be able to take lateral loads, the CBR900 only absorbed vertical loads. Mid corner bumps upset the chassis causes crashes. For the next version they designed in a calculated amount of flex.

I just replaced a decade old TALUS. The Bushings had become so worn that the fork probably wasn't safe and would flop around. New Fox fork is nice and tight but I honestly had problems holding my line around corners today. I am not claiming the sloppy fork was better, I probably just need to get used to the new ride. I will however claim that the sloppyness never slowed me down.
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
I'm pretty much thinking those who found it noodly are probably more aggressive than I am, the Pike seems to be the favored fork right now and the Fox 32 has limited ebay value... I really have no reference for modern forks.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,628
12,924
Cackalacka du Nord
going from a 32 to a 36 on my heckler back in 2008-ish was very noticable in the steep and rough and i've never looked back. i'd guess that you're probably not seeking either one out, though, so a modern 32 will likely be fine.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I found most of the giving in my 140 mm 2008 Float 32 to be front-to-back. The darn thing liked to dive below the down tube when braking hard, and to creak like a cheap motel bed while doing it. I could even see it wiggle back and forth when hitting consecutive bumps. I replaced it with a Marzocchi 44 (worst fork I ever had) and ended up with a Revelation. All that said, it didn't seem to be much worst than the other ones described above in terms of lateral flex.
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I had a 130mm fox 32 on a trek fuel, quick release, seemed most noodly during brake dive or weighted climbing/tech sections where I had a lot of weight on the front of the bike and was trying to navigate a technical section of trail.

I swapped it for a 150mm revelation with a 20mm thru axle, it was much better.

Then I had a 15mm 150mm travel 32 on my stumpjumper, it was better than the previous fox 32. But felt a bit flexible in the same types of situations.

Currently on a pike (130mm 27.5) and it feels better than the fox in my opinion.

Depending on circumstance/application I wouldn't have any problem running a fox 32 again.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
I have a 100mm 29er 15mm axle, it's an XC fork and that's it. That's a hell of a long fork (axle to crown) to push to longer travel with 32mm stanchions. I had a marzocchi AM1 at 150mm or so and it wasn't super stiff, not like the 66 that replaced it with a little more travel. You don't "need" huge stanchions, as there are a lot of other factors, like crowns, overlap, butting, but they tend to be the most important factor and 29er forks are so massively long. I would have gone 34 or so if the price was right, but I won't go any longer on 32 these days.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
The new 32 is essentially the same chassis as the original fox forx. If the vanilla has been good to you, the 32 will be just fine as well. The major difference is the cartridge and the weight, the cart. Is what I'd worry about in your shoes. The damping of the early forks wasn't the best, but the coil sprung vanillas were so smooth!
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
The damping of the early forks wasn't the best, but the coil sprung vanillas were so smooth!
I've only done the parking lot spin and rolled a few barriers; my 10+ year old coil is smoother, do doubt. Now that have the 32 on hand I think the stiffness will be better as the old one takes QR axle. For me the smoothness was worth the weight.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
If you're going to a 15mm axle, then yeah, it's going to be a very noticeable increase in stiffness.

When people say they're noodly they're comparing them to a 34 or a 36. Yeah, they're noodly as hell compared to my 20x110 36, but I also managed to ride a 32mm stancion fox for a decade and do just fine, it's all relative.

Enjoy the new fork, worry about getting the air pressure and compression adjustment right, because rigidity won't be an issue.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
If you're going to a 15mm axle, then yeah, it's going to be a very noticeable increase in stiffness.

When people say they're noodly they're comparing them to a 34 or a 36. Yeah, they're noodly as hell compared to my 20x110 36, but I also managed to ride a 32mm stancion fox for a decade and do just fine, it's all relative.

Enjoy the new fork, worry about getting the air pressure and compression adjustment right, because rigidity won't be an issue.
Fore-aft stiffness and binding is where you notice a lot of the flex, where the axle helps not-at-all. This is why 20mm vs. 15mm axles aren't all that important. Sure, it might be nice to have 20mm, but there's a lot more to address on a fork before that, like crown volume/thickness, stanchion diameter, steerer tube diameter, brake arch, etc.