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2016 fox 36 - harsh!

164K views 974 replies 175 participants last post by  jack_steel 
#1 · (Edited)
Hoping I can get some pointers here for some issues with my fork.

I had an early 2015 36, than Fox actually ended up replacing under warranty for a 2016 model for me (stanchion wear and cartridge issue).

I've been riding it for about 3 months now & it's always been on the harsher side of damping for me. So much so I got the Fox guys to look at it (and subsequently do a full service) at the Whistler EWS. Initially it felt a little more supple on the top stroke, but by no means could it have been called buttery.

A few weeks ago I had a bit of a crash, and aggravated an old hand injury, and have since got back out onto the bike, and am suffering with the fork.

Short point is, I'm a reasonably fast rider, won and podiumed a few DH and enduro races over the years and when I'm charging, the fork feels 'OK' at best - problem is when I'm not, it feels brutally harsh. I've gone so far as to wind off all the compression, and drop air, yet this thing is killing me.

By chance, I hopped on my buddies Nomad with a BOS Deville on the front, he's a good 30lbs heavier than me, and his bike is set up for him, yet his fork literally felt like butter compared to mine, almost instant relief when riding. Amusingly, first thing he says about mine? Man, that fork is hard!

So, anything I can do? Part of me thinks suck it up and get a Deville, I've ridden one before and know they do have that amazingly supple initial stroke feel, or send the 36 off again? I'm going to be rehabbing my hand for at least 6 months, and am not sure I can literally take the pain for that long.

Could I have damaged the cartridge? The LSC has a small effect from open to closed, the HSC not so much at all. The range of adjustment does seem tight on this fork.

Any ideas?
 
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#286 ·
Hi guys. When you measure your sag do you do it seated or in the attack position? I see that Fox suggests 15-20% sag and I find it too low for my liking since I usually run 25-30% with some spacers in it.

Do you know if there is a rule about how many psi should we remove per spacer? For example in Pike it is 5 psi per token.
 
#292 ·
Also check out pinkbike's fox 40 race prep vid. The section on tightening the axle changed my ride quality a bunch because apparently it can be tightened slightly askew causing stiction.

So you tighten the axle first, then slightly compress the fork, tighten the left (disc) side pinch bolts, then compress the fork and tighten the right pinch bolts (im keeping it weighted while tightening). Doing this significantly increased my small bump compliance. Results may vary - but it works for me.


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#295 ·
I'd love an avy damper but need to sell a kidney first.
I'm the first person to tell you to buy an Avy damper from Craig cause that is the best your fork will ever feel. Fork is unbelievable when you're pushing it hard, but you can't tune out the harshness at low speeds. I have one and it's awesome but it can't make up for a bad air spring design which is what the F36 is currently. There seem to be just too many places the seals get caught up. Fox knows the hangy rod is a bad design and am willing to bet the new 36 air spring will get rid of this and move towards how the 34 and RS line equalizes Neg spring.

On the same note, try the oil above the neg spring plate trick. Seemed to make it move a little more smoothly on the initial ride.
 
#297 ·
I got my Fox 36 back from Fox. They inspected the fork but didn't find any obvious faults.They sized the bushings and rebuilt it using minimal grease. They recommend 80psi, two blue and one orange token, HSC 11clicks from fully closed, LSC 22 clicks from closed and 9 clicks rebound. (I'm around 90kg with gear on.)
The fork felt fantastic for about 3 hours but gradually became harsh again.

This could mean that a correctly placed drop of oil such as epicxcrider123 suggested is all the fork needs to make it great.
I really hope that it doesn't mean that the fork is simply harsh.
 
#300 ·
I wonder if there is a link between spacers and psi. For example Rockshox suggests removing 5 psi for each token installed so if the same thing applied to Fox also then you should have 79 (based on Fox tuning guide) -15 psi.

For me usually the combination of tokens - lower psi - faster rebound seems to work quite well but sometimes if I am in bad shape everything is wrong.
 
#303 ·
I haven't ridden it yet but he seems to be quite happy with it. On the other side he is not that sophisticated when it comes to suspensions so it is difficult to get a solid feedback form him. Most probably when we meet again I will take his bike for a quick ride and I will compare it to my 2017 Performance.

What I know though is that despite the fact that he is around 98 kg without any gear he runs his 36 quite soft with 70 psi and 1 orange and I blue spacer and despite riding quite aggressively (without any jumps) he still doesn't bottom it.

The same thing also applies for me because in order to have good small sensitivity I have to run much lower psi than recommended (plus 2 spacers) and still don't bottom the fork. On the other hand I believe that the 36 really icomes alive when pushed hard so usually my impressions depend on my form rather than the actual fork performance. If I ride it like a log then it may feel harsh but if I keep my body active then it feels so much better.

Still I am not 100% happy so I will keep experimenting.
 
#311 ·
Today I tested a slightly different setup and I have to admit that it worked quite well.

89kg without gear
Fox 36 Performance
70 psi
25 sag in attack position
12/22 rebound clicks from full closed

The ride wasn't buttery smooth but the fork performed really well with good support and control in a rather rocky terrain. Potentially I could lower the psi a little bit more to make it more supple but then together with my Float X I am afraid that the ride will be too mushy.
 
#344 ·
I have heard of casting issues on the lowers for 2015 &2016 issues. Has anybody else seen this issue? View attachment 1125740
Can't quite see what's happening with your lowers but yes, I had an issue with my 2015 lowers when I had my fork Push upgraded. The guys at the shop tested the lowers for 'porosity' and found they were able to poke holes in them! They spoke to Fox who warranteed it (I was well past 1 year warranty) and they gave me new 2017 lowers.
 
#315 ·
Warning for those considering adding oil to the negative or positive air chambers to improve you initial stiction. Any oil added to the positive air chamber is likely to migrate into the
neg chamber as you ride. The result is a reduction of the neg air chamber volume which in theory increases initial stiction and if you add too much fluid or oil it will cause suck down on your fork. I did a test, added oil to the Pos chamber when for a few rides, then took the air spring apart and all the oil migrated to the neg chamber. Left some oil in neg chamber and added less than 5cc to the pos chamber. 15 min into ride my fork was down to 80mm of travel, on strip down all the oil was in the neg chamber.
I'm back to Slick Honey as my air spring lube, it doesn't migrate. Fork rides great.
 
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