School me, Fox 34 related

[bagtagley]

http://www.steepandcheap.com/gear-ca...ore/FRS003B-BK

Why is this so much cheaper than the other 34s? According to BC, it's a 2015. Being FIT, it's not an Evo, right?

Can I reduce it to 140mm?

Should I get it?

Do these pants make my butt look big?

[ACH]

Edited to add:

Where do you see that it is a 2015 model?
The 15 dampers are supposed to be an improvement over the earlier models - which seems to be confirmed by comments elsewhere on the webz.

----

13 model year 34's might have been one of the worst forks that Fox has ever made (short of the 32 from that same period).
There are a lot of threads out there on the subject.

My take from personal experience is that the compression adjustment was replaced with the CTD function which I believe they finally killed off for 16. CTD removed the ability for the rider to independently set fast and slow compression speeds. Also, the way they set the CTD up was inverse of what a lot of riders wanted, more compression for descents that basically would keep the fork from instantly diving and blowing all the way through it's travel. The only workaround (which was a compromise) was to run more air. With CTD compression was dialed up for climb mode, and dialed back for decent.

I fixed mine by putting on a new 36 Float - problem solved.

[toast2266]

The picture they're showing is not the fork they're describing, so it's a bit unclear what you're actually buying.

Depending on the year, 34's come in 3 flavors: factory, performance, and evolution. Factory series are the nice ones with kashima legs, FIT cartridge, and the most external adjustments. The description on S&C is for a factory series, but the picture looks to be an evolution series fork.

Aside from that, the 34's got re-worked for 2016. Fox releases their next model years crazy early - the 2016's came out back in the spring. So really this 2015 model is really last year's fork - they were first available in the spring of 2014.

Assuming it's a factory series, that's a good deal. Yes, you should get it. Not sure on the travel reduction.

[toast2266]

Also, a note on ACH's post: I owned a 2013 34 and a 2015 34. Agreed that the 2013 was just about the worst thing ever made. The 2015 34 in the factory series was actually pretty good. Definitely had room for improvement, but I thought the damper was actually better than the one in the Pike.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Also, a note on ACH's post: I owned a 2013 34 and a 2015 34. Agreed that the 2013 was just about the worst thing ever made. The 2015 34 in the factory series was actually pretty good. Definitely had room for improvement, but I thought the damper was actually better than the one in the Pike.

Riding a 2014 34 right now, pretty happy with it once I finally smartened up about the compression damping. Going to add the $200-ish FIT4 damper to it in the fall though which as toast alighted to, should make a big difference.

[bagtagley]

Thanks for the clarification.

Two live chat peeps indicated that it's a 2015. One said it could be an OEM take-off, hence the weird design. Really want a Pike, but that price is hard to pass up. Just need to know if I can lower it to 140mm.

[Anospa]

Quick google said you can only get away with lowering them 10mm:

http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspen...-a-819665.html

[ticketchecker]

Riding a 2014 34 right now, pretty happy with it once I finally smartened up about the compression damping. Going to add the $200-ish FIT4 damper to it in the fall though which as toast alighted to, should make a big difference.

Fox was recently running a $100 deal on FIT dampers for owners of older 34 forks. I have a Talas EVO and scored the damper, new seals and gold oil for around $150. Give them a call in case they haven't run out of cartridges yet

[Eluder]

It is possible to lower them, just call fox and you will get what you need.

If it is a 2015

Should be part# 234-04-700

http://www.ridefox.com/help.php?m=bike&id=459#part5296

[jm2e]

Get a Pike.

[Eluder]

Get a Pike.

The pike is a good fork. I currently think Fox's offerings are better again though. Either way you end up with a fine fork that is hard to complain about.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

You cannot lower the 27.5 150mm. You can bump it up to 160mm (and obviously lower the 160 to 150).

If it is an OEM take off make sure it's not an Evolution (as has been eluded to above). Also, if OEM take off it is very likely a Performance model. The Performance is same as Factory but no Kashima and it does not have the extra 7 or whatever settings in trail mode that nobody really cares about.

I've spent a ton of time on the '14 34, the Pike (and the X-Fusion Sweep for what it's worth). The 34 is a great fork. All of them are really close in my opinion and if one is ahlf the price of another then I'd go with the cheaper.

Apparently the '15 is even better than the '14. I've not had a chance to ride the '15 but I'd be surprised if the difference was much over the '14.

edit: sure you can lower it at the expense of a new air shaft

[bagtagley]

^^That was my concern. If it's already got the shorter shuttle to take it down to 150mm, then I can't get it any lower without a larger expense.

Fox tech says it's a "Performance" model, but the description and spec on BC.com say it has the Kashima coating. Think I'll just get the 140mm version for a little more.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

Woah, hold up.

I've have worked on the '14 34 but according to my buddy the guts on the '15 are quite different.

different shuttle bumpers and a neg spring plate that can be installed.

Interesting. Seems like a lot of unknowns on that fork and, of course, figuring out what you are getting from a dealer would be difficult since it's as difficult from Fox themselves.

[Eluder]

Woah, hold up.

I've have worked on the '14 34 but according to my buddy the guts on the '15 are quite different.

different shuttle bumpers and a neg spring plate that can be installed.

Interesting. Seems like a lot of unknowns on that fork and, of course, figuring out what you are getting from a dealer would be difficult since it's as difficult from Fox themselves.

i linked drawings with part number. Either way its possible with changing out air shafts but 2015 forks 150-140 used the same shaft.

[McCorduroy]

Bumping an old thread and hoping for some advice.

Is this the fork being discussed in this thread? Should I buy it to replace the Sektor on my Norco Sight, or does it suck?

[jm2e]

Just my opinion:
In 2013, Fox forks sucked massive balls. They'd been heading that way for years, but the 2013 Evolution series was their crowning achievement in shittyness. The only thing that saved them was the new Float 36 last year which was fan-fucking-tastic enough to convince me that they still gave a crap about making good shit. The Fox 40 DH shock might have continued to kick ass, but it's so fucking expensive it served more to tell the world that with enough money they could make great shit, but they still can't figure out how to make good affordable shit.

So now, they're still suffering through that low confidence. 1000s of bikes came out with OEM Pikes and they were all awesome. Meanwhile, people buying bikes with OEM Fox forks still don't know if they're getting one of the good ones or one of the bad ones. Their so fucking stupid and married to the number models (32, 34, 36, 40) and catch phrases like Float and FIT, that they stick that shit on everything and make it impossible to differentiate models.

The Marzocchi purchase was so that they can eliminate all shit versions of the Float series and just make the good ones. They they can throw out an OEM line that is fresh and unassociated and less likely to drag down the nice stuff. And hopefully revive the Fox name.

In short; you're finding cheap Fox forks because:
1) it's winter,
2) it might be shit, but it's really hard to tell,
3) everyone thinks it's shit and buying Pikes instead.

[intheways]

I just picked up a cheap 34 that was a take off. I'm considering putting in an Avalanche cartridge. I figure that I can pick up a few more 34s for backup and just swap the cartridge.