Fox F-29...First Impressions
I'd be a liar if I told you I thought this fork was going to be "the answer". I've managed to survive this 29er world with everything we've had on the market all this time. I liked the Reba. The White came up as a serious contender. In fact, I really wanted to HATE this fork. I was almost desperate for it to fail, it is late to the party, and so expensive. I was hoping it would flop.
The truth, is that it is a really good fork. Really good? Yes. Really.
Stiff, plush and responsive. It's shiny and white. It has cool red and blue anodized bits just like an astronaut does. Astronauts are cool. Lots of folks will make the leap to 29erism just because of this fork.
While it works well, mine only got 85mm of travel. For a "100mm" fork, this is a little dissappointing. Despite the fact that in those 85mm, I did not notice the fork at all.
Am I that concerned? I would be if I had the fork mounted to something I was expecting the full 100 out of. But, performance is performance. I am willing to concede that it may not have been functioning as it should. It was a balmy 37° (that was in the sun). The ground was frozen. I've known Fox forks to not behave their best in the cold.
I figured, if a part were to misbehave, it would do so on a singlespeed, so I opted not to use the lockout, and still found the fork to do an adequate job. Despite my every attempt to stymie the fork, it was there, doing it's job. Went where pointed, sucked up every bump.
Of course this was only the first ride...
Speaking of first rides, Keller got a taste of 29erism, care of the Slingshot. Look for a review from him very soon.
posted by mandy at 8:05 PM
4 Comments:
George: Much the same commentary I have heard about the fork when I was up in Minny-apple-puss last weekend: Not getting all the travel, a bit stiffer than the buttery Reba, stiffer chassis than the Reba.
I think it feels stiffer too, but for a big fella, that can be a good thing! ;)
Spot on with the comment about a lot of folks jumping on the 29"er bandwagon because of this fork.
G-Ted:
I think it is definitely sitffer than the Reba, something us big guys will easily notice on a ride. I'm not sure it is as stiff as the White Bros Fluid 110.
Tis a beaut though. And despite it's lack of full travel, I didnt even notice the fork on the ride, which I think is a good sign.
i am at the start of building up a sixty-niner, and i was going to go with this fork, but in the 80mm. the issue that you had (not getting all the travel out of it) was that just from the cold, should I expect this out of the 80 too? or am i safe going with this?
thanks.
The amount of travel isnt the issue, especially as the quality of travel is very high. I'd make your descicion based on an A to C measurement vs travel.
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