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2015 Fox 40 vs. the 2015 boxxer wc/team

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Are you saying there are better options?
Better than a fork from a company that has never, previously, in the history of its existence made a viable dh fork? No, no, of course not! Especially not from one of the two to four other companies that have pretty much defined what modern dh bike suspension is and should be. Why would you even think that?
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,683
4,912
North Van
Interesting article...

The other one they put out is too.
http://theteamrobot.blogspot.ca/2014/10/ohlins-making-40-cartridge-for-gas2flat.html?m=1

Which dudebro to believe???

I dunno. I guess the exposure just isn't there for the product to get a fair shake.

I admit, they haven't been "in the bizz " all that long, but seeing how often the other manufacturers put out products thst need to be filled with oil (from the factory) or enhanced with after market products (or home made adapters to frankenfork them), I doubt they could do that much worse. Not to mEntion the big names seem to come out with "the best thing EVAR!" Every year. Or so it seems...

Besides, nobody has outright shat on it yet, so it can't be all that bad.
Unrideable?
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Oh come on. You can't use my example of getting really nitpicky between a recent fox damper and a new RS damper, and wanting to switch them as some indication that they're faulty or insufficient. Because both systems are universes better than anything suntour has ever previously made. There's nothing wrong with either the fox or the (new) boxxer. They both work really well. I own a fox and had access to a damper cartridge which has more to do with it than anything. I'm not kicking either out of bed. It's not like I'm trying to get a functional fork out of the deal, just (maybe) a better one.

It's your money and they're probably fine. But just because some of the better options need 5ml of oil, and idiots like me want to screw around with things when it gets dark at 6pm in autumn, that doesn't mean they are just as questionable as a first year air spring, first year dh fork, first year trying to make something that doesn't genuinely suck kind of attempt.

I know this is ridemonkey where things like jackshaft nerdboxes are legitimate ideas and carbon was 'safe™' 10 years ago, but you do have to ride the thing in real life (the place where jackshaft nerdboxes add 10lbs, and carbon still snaps unexpectedly). And there are two truths in real life:

1. no one owns a suntour right now who wasn't given one for free or for very very cheap. So don't expect any real feedback for a while.
2. Suntour is not new to the game, and they've made some really really shltty forks in the past (buy hey, so has rockshox).

At the very least I'd see what's involved in getting whatever 'updates' or tuning extras that suntour is talking about here.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Forks,33/SR-Suntour/RUX,13589

Just buy it. At this point it's just a matter of stalling on your part. It's obvious you're going to eventually :D
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,683
4,912
North Van
@Nick thanks for the heads up. The one I'm waffling over would be for a similar price. The exchange rate sucks now, so buying 'merican makes less sense these days.

@kidwoo i know I know... You're just fiddling for the sake of fiddling, because, why not? Part of me, if you couldn't tell, just really WANTS Some other company to make a decent product for a relatively good price. The suspension guru in North van supports the fork (whereas they won't touch SRAM stuff anymore), so I'm putting some stock into that as well.

Given that I'll be coming off an older boxxer team, I think I'll be satisfied with anything... Assuming the fork acts as advertised in the cleansed review. I'll make triple sure the upgrades have been included first..:

You'll all have to wait until whistler opens again for a real dudebro review, though. Hope the edge of your seat is comfy.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
You'll all have to wait until whistler opens again for a real dudebro review, though. Hope the edge of your seat is comfy.
Seriously?

Dude if you're not going to be riding whatever you buy for that long just freakin wait. You'll have more info on the things and there will probably more used ones around.

Go buy some skis or some warm clothes if you've just got money burning a hole in your pocket and won't be touching your big bike until next summer.
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
This thread is Winning!

So I bought the boxxer Team/coil/charger. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow and ride it on wednesday.

Im 205 lbs loaded to ride. Im sure I need to put the blue/firm spring in to start? Do you guys think I will need to change the shim stacks to the firm setting too? I will ride it first of course but Im just wondering.

Im going to drop the lowers right out of the box and check the oil level in the lowers, and add if need be. The pike I just bought was really low on oil.

I gotta admit that I did want the fox 40 rc2 a little more. I just couldn't justify it costing 300 dollars more and only 1 year warranty, when I know the boxxer is supposed to be really good, has spare parts available, tuning options easily done with a very nice service manual and has a 2 year warranty.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Shoulda got a RUX...
I don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but Suntour have made most of the recent Marzocchi forks before they switched to Hodaka, and 2010-2013 models have proven quite reliable after they sorted the bugs out in 2008-2009 so I'd say Suntour have an edge over other brands at least when it comes to bushing/stanchion interfaces and general chassis reliability.

I'd definitely buy one over X-Spewsion and if Suntour used their existing R&D with Marzocchi then they potentially could have benefits over Fox/Rockshox as well. I actually think they could be a decent fork.

What's the general consensus on using mobile 1, in fork lowers?
Try it and see, I think it should be OK.
It seems to get a good rap on mtbr, but it's worth noting that engine oil has different compositions depending on the weight (eg. 10w30 vs 0w40) so results can vary. In my experience other oils that work well in RS lowers are Fox Green 10wt and Motul Expert 10 or 15wt.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,615
5,937
in a single wide, cooking meth...
No idea about engine dino syrup in a mountain bike fork, but I do have a new Team Boxxer (charger/coil) and experimented with both the midweight and firm spring. At ~180 lbs, I ended up going with the midweight spring with some comp damping, and I'd guess you'd be in good shape with the firm spring at your weight. I haven't felt the need to change the shim stack, but of course if I did, I would change it to moar.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
What's the general consensus on using mobile 1, in fork lowers?
did it on my 13 coil 40 and was really happy with the performance. sorta nerve racking doing it to a brand new fork, but whatever it was all jazzy in the end.

DO NOT BUY THE HIGH MILEAGE STUFF. ive been told it has 'seal swelling' stuff in it. just get the regular stuffs.

edit:
im pretty sure i made a thread about it a while ago. im not sure if there is any actual valuable info in it tho.
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
ok cool thanks guys. I just went and bought some rockshox 0-30w for the lowers in both the new boxxer and pike.

I did put mobile 1 5-20w in the pike the other day because it came with hardly any oil and I wanted to ride.. It felt great but was just worried about swelling up the bushings.. Im gonna play it safe and just use the RS oil. id hate to have some kind of warranty issue be denied.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,519
846
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
The Pike is supposed to have hardly any oil. Something like 5ml in one side and 15ml in the other. They say not to put any more oil in but I'd love to know if people think there's room for more. I use the thick, tacky Fox stuff because I figure with so little oil I really want something that clings up by the bushings.
 

big-ted

Danced with A, attacked by C, fired by D.
Sep 27, 2005
1,400
47
Vancouver, BC
I've had tons of RS forks that worked better and have been almost as durable as anything from fox.
Meh. I'm of the opinion that if I get lazy and don't service a Boxxer, it rides like ass. If I get lazy and don't service a 40, I do ~$400 worth of damage and have to replace both stanchions...
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
I got the new boxxer installed last night. I did pull the lowers and added the correct amount of oil. The lip on one of the seals was slightly folded in/caught, from factory. I smoothed it out and hopefully it didn't catch again when putting the lowers back on, I'm gonna watch it real close and change it out if needed..

I did feel that overall, the quality wasn't quite up to par with the Fox stuff. Just the machining and coatings ect. Fox is definitely more refined in that area but it also costs more money..

I'm gonna get out in the dirt and give it Hell today..
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Meh. I'm of the opinion that if I get lazy and don't service a Boxxer, it rides like ass. If I get lazy and don't service a 40, I do ~$400 worth of damage and have to replace both stanchions...

There was a point with my last gen WC air boxxer that I was literally tearing it down after every single day of riding it was so spikey by the end of the day. What happens to your stanchions on your 40? Mine are made of KASHIMA so they're flawless, perfect and a sound of angels singing can be heard when seals slide across them. (don't start Udi, I'm kidding).
 
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Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
Oh i pulled the red spring and dropped in the blue spring as well. Looks like I'm getting about 20%sag, Holy shnikes! That red grease they use is sticky..

About 10mm of travel is used instantly, with no force applied.. I can pull down on the fork and move it. Normal? Maybe just a top out spring pulling it in a little?
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
Here's the new fork and new gravity light/black bars installed. Felt real good riding yesterday. Initially i was running the rebound to fast, slowed it way down and felt great. Then i made a few runs messing with the lsc. I am only running 2/3 clicks on rough choppy stuff and about 4/5 on the flowey jump lines. After a few runs i was still not getting full travel. I was only using about 6" but it still felt great. Then i hit that drop in the second photo and used 7.5" of the travel and Damn it was a soft landing..

Maybe i should try the red spring with more compression?
 
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jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,615
5,937
in a single wide, cooking meth...
FWIW, in my fairly limited experience with mine, it would use around 6" of travel unless I did something fabulously bad (both in terms of technique and magnitude of gnar), in which case it was close to full travel. Again, I'm using the red spring with some modicum of compression damping (can't recall how many clicks). The blue spring felt a wee bit harsh IMO, but I'm also ~ 25 lbs less than you (and glacially slow). But just based on your description above, it sounds about right, as that step down look effing big with some potential G-outish compression as you come off the lander.

Super rad bike btw.
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
Ok that's about the same that I'm experiencing then. About 6" of general travel. it would be nice to use more like 7/7.5" of general travel and save the rest for a real big hit.. That blue spring should be perfect for my weight though. Its for 180-200. I just put all three spacers in on top of the spring as well. Yesterdays ride was with only one spacer. So now my sag is right under 20%, maybe 17% or so.
 

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
Ya, I've seen your posts. I think it's bs that rockshox isn't replacing it..

The main lower seal on one of the legs, was folded in on one side. I would imagine that the black annodising on the leg would have started wearing really fast, if i would have not found it and fixed it. I would bet that's what happened to yours..
 
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