Fox News 2021: Fork complete renovation at Fox

Product news: Today we can present you the Fox News for the product year 2021. Long awaited, the Americans are now presenting the Fox 38, which finally closes the gap between the Fox 36 and 40. If that were worth reporting, the Americans are also supplying complete redesigns for the Fox 36 and Fox 40. We took a closer look at Fox News 2021 and want to give you the most important details in the following article.

Fox News 2021: The hottest news at a glance

The rumor mill has been bubbling enormously in the past few months, and now Fox is coming around the corner for the 2021 model year with a bang. After introducing the Fox Live Valve for the e-bike At Eurobike 2019, the focus is now on the non-electronic area - the presentation of the brand new Fox 38 is definitely the absolute highlight here. In addition to the new Fox 38, the two downhill-oriented forks will also be completely overhauled for the coming season. From the casting to the ventilation ports to the inner workings of the suspension and damping unit, everything has been completely revised.

Fox News 2021

Fox 38 - The latest weapon from Fox

The Fox 38 was first seen during the final round of the EWS in Zermatt in September. A fork with more massive stanchions was spotted on the bikes of Richie Rude and Martin Maes. There it was still all in black with the inscription "RAD", which stands for Racing Applications Development and thus identifies the prototypes at Fox. Since then, a few months have passed and only recently at the enduro race during the Crankworx Rotorua, the Fox riders with new forks, now with a factory look, could also be seen with the "RAD" inscription. As of today it's official - Fox is launching the Fox 38 and thus finally closing the gap between the Fox 36 and the Fox 40. It will be available in various versions from around mid-April. Whether it's the Factory version with Gloss Orange, Gloss Black or Pistachio (Limited Edition) casting and Kashima upper tubes or the Performance/Performance Elite all in black – you're spoiled for choice. Depending on the model, the price will be between €1259 and €1589, with a starting weight of around 2180g.

As the name suggests, Fox's latest fork comes with 38mm stanchions. Suitable for 27,5″ as well as 29″ and optionally with 160mm, 170mm or 180mm spring travel. Fox offers three different offsets for the 38: 37mm, 44m and 51mm. The Fox 38 has some revolutionary innovations up its sleeve and is said to be the stiffest, most stable and most powerful fork for use on long-travel enduro bikes, especially for racing. The all-new casting of the 38 is said to be up to 31% stiffer than that of the Fox 36, according to Fox. The innovative, round fork bridge is particularly eye-catching. This has a completely new design, looks more massive and is pulled significantly further forward than the existing Fox 36 - this is to avoid unsightly contact between the head tube and fork. According to the manufacturers, the new fork bridge has an almost perfect stiffness-to-weight ratio and is optimally adapted to modern bikes, since the head tubes seem to be getting heavier and the fork offsets are getting smaller and smaller. The chassis specialists are also using the new bridge construction on the new Fox 36 and 40 models. In addition to the new fork bridge, the one-sided clamping of the so-called floating axle on the Fox 38 is not known from the (indirect) direct predecessor model of the 36. The size of the thru-axle is 15x110mm and a Kabolt-X axle is used on the Limited Edition. The Fox 38 is reserved for an internally oval steerer tube, which places the material where it is most needed for stiffness and saves where weight can be reduced.

With the Fox 38 you have the choice between Grip2, Fit4 or Grip for the damping unit, depending on the model. The Grip2 damping has been revised for the new model year and has also been equipped with the VVC (Variable Valve Control) high-speed valve for compression and rebound.

Fox 36 – New look and even better performance

Since its birth in 2005, the Fox 36 has gone through countless stages of development and has probably been the fork with the most podium finishes in enduro races from amateur to professional level. Now it will probably be replaced to a certain extent by the Fox 38 in the race area and will primarily be aimed at a slightly different clientele. We are curious how the manufacturers will equip their new model series and which bikes they will be used on Fox 36 will find again. The Fox 38 is by no means intended to replace the 36, rather an even more precise coordination between wheel, area of ​​use and fork can now be made.

Like the newborn big sister, the Fox 36 also comes with the new bridge design and has also changed a lot from her in other respects. The cushioning options are similar to the Fox 38, however the Fox 36 can also be purchased with a live valve. It is also equipped with the revised Evol air spring. In terms of price, it ranges between €1259 and €1589, with an indicated take-off weight of around 1965g. Factory, Performance Elite and e-bike models will be available from around mid-April. The Fox 36 is again available for 27,5″ and 29″, but this year only with 160mm or 150mm travel.

Fox 40 - 15 Years of World Cup Performance Remastered

For 15 years now, the Fox 40 has been the measure of all things in the Downhill World Cup cycle and it has also been seen on a large number of freeride bikes worldwide ever since. For the 2021 model year, it received a makeover after development work in the RAD program and now comes with a completely new casting and revised damping and suspension technology. However, the 1 1/8″ steerer tube and the 20x110mm Boost axle remain the same on the Fox 40 as on the predecessor. The Fox 49 is no longer available this year, because the 40 is now also available for 29″. 203mm spring travel are available for the Fox 40 befitting its status and according to the manufacturer it weighs approx. 2816g. This year it is only available as a factory model with a Kashima coating and will be available from June/July for €2299.

Heritage Collection - Back to the Roots

All three new forks also come in a Limited Edition Heritage version. These are strictly limited and should be reminiscent of the colors of the models from 15 years ago. They come in factory versions, with a Kabolt-X axle and black, rich blue adjusters - they are definitely an eye-catcher. The Fox 2299 “Battleship” costs €40, the Fox 1589 “Pistachio” €38 and the Fox 1459 “Root Beer” €36.

If you still have some time

On Velomotion you will find a series of articles that deal in more detail with the set-up, cleaning and other topics related to the Fox suspension. This is called Fox landing gear Friday and in each of these articles there is a video on ours Youtube channel linked, in which Chris from Fox explains everything you need to know in detail.

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