Fox Float 32 ‘Factory’ Fork

The relaunch of the Fox 36 fork may be nabbing all of the headlines but it’s one big unit; offering up to 180mm of travel. While they may be slightly out of the limelight, latest batch of 32 and 34mm legged forks will suit a broader audience of trail/XC riders and they’ve also undergone numerous updates for 2015. Externally these forks look near identical to the 2014 product but there’s quite a bit of change inside.

The more upmarket ‘Factory’ level forks ($1,240) continue to use their self-contained FIT damper, but the seal-head within has been updated with the aim of reducing friction. They still employ the ‘CTD’ system with its three easy to select modes (Climb, Trail and Descend) but extra tuning options have been added. Previously, Factory-level forks offered three manually selectable tune options within the middle ‘Trail’ setting. Now the damper has seven options within the middle CTD setting.

A new process is used when finishing the stanchions that’s said to further lower the friction of their dark gold Kashima coated inner legs. This combines with 20w bath oil that’s now formulated with molybdenum, again with friction reduction in mind. On the left side, Fox is using a redesigned air piston assembly too. Individually there’s nothing that’s radically different but these tweaks can add up in the end.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the weight. Our fork came in at 1,743g or 1,815g if you include the 15mm thruaxle. That’s roughly the same as the 2014 equivalent. The 32 mm forks are geared towards shorter travel applications and riders who are more weight conscious. Bigger riders and anyone who prioritises steering precision in a longer travel format will find the same 2015 design hop-ups in their ‘34’ forks—they’re around 200g heavier but undeniably stiffer.

In years past, I’ve had a number of Fox forks that developed a creaky crown and steerer assembly. It was never a structural concern and not everyone encountered these noises but it was something I was checking for in this fork. After a couple of months with plenty of steep technical terrain and ‘stoppies’, I didn’t hear a single creak. I’m told that Fox has changed the assembly process on their fork crowns and that the creaking issues are no more. Based on my experience with this fork, I’d be inclined to think this is true. In general I’d say that this fork felt a tad more solid than the Float 32 forks that I’d ridden previously— I thought it performed admirably in the 120mm travel format.

TWEAKED TUNE Many people have suggested that the 2013/14 forks lacked damping support, reporting that they tended to ‘dive’ unnecessarily into their travel. I didn’t find this on my 2015 fork and suspect it’s due to the updated spring assembly more than the damper changes. Five or so years ago Fox forks ran a smaller volume air spring which made them very progressive and unwilling to use all of their travel. In 2013 this changed and the forks became far more linear; they used all of the travel and felt ‘plush’ but for some they used the travel too easily. Now it appears that Fox has struck a happy medium; the spring rate still allows full travel use but it’s less inclined to blow through it unnecessarily. Of course there’s still scope to fine tune the spring rate by adding or removing oil from the air chamber, but I feel that Fox has pretty much nailed it for 2015.

With the older 2014 forks, the three CTD damper settings offered a distinctly different feel. Descent was fully open and supple; Trail made the fork firmer for efficient climbing whilst still working actively to absorb the trail, and Climb was nearly locked out.

This has changed for 2015. Descent mode is still open and supple but the Trail mode didn’t make the fork much firmer. Using the seven clicks of ‘trail tune’ adjustment (the darker dial beneath the main CTD lever), I cranked it up to the firmest Trail option. With this setting I could sense the fork had more low speed compression damping but the difference was ever so slight. For 2015 the middle mode is more of a subtle trail bike oriented low speed compression tune rather than an efficiency enhancing pedalling platform. Turn the CTD dial one more click and the Climb mode remains a very solid setting that was best reserved for road riding.

Personally I would have preferred a firmer Trail setting, but that’s the thing with suspension; everyone will have their own preferences. The good thing about Fox is that they offer a myriad of custom tuning options. Firming up the low speed damping in the Trail mode would be a simple task for a Fox service centre.

One thing is for sure, the Float worked very well as a straight-out suspension fork. Set it to Descent or Trail and the Float was supple and sensitive to smaller bumps whilst offering good damping support when things got rugged. The ride was always controlled and smooth, well beyond what you’d typically expect from a typical 32mm XC fork. The 2015 updates have made the 2015 forks more compliant over the small stuff and more capable when really pushed. Overall it’s a clear step in the right direction.

Sola Sport (02) 9550 1655 www.ridefox.com