Should FOX make some budget forks and shox?

RealMan

This thread seems stupid.


If fox make some budget forks, they may taint their reputation and lower their standard. Also, they would have to put a certain amount of time into actually making those budget forks, rather then into developing even better forks.


However, these budget forks may mean people start off with a fox fork, therefore inducing brand loyalty. I started off with rockshox, and I'm probably going to stick with them, because they made the budget recon I started mountain biking on.



But none of this matters unless you work high up in fox and make these decisions, so whats the point in discussing it.

The Northern Monkey

Because this is a forum.... its what we do on here

Joe_Pineapples

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Because this is a forum.... its what we do on here

Is that what this is? I thought we just came on here when we were bored.

supersonic

jay12 wrote:

Joe_Pineapples wrote:

Yeah, but it would break down a lot and you wouldn't get a bike on the roof.

with ferrari quality thay wouldn't. it's the same thing i'm trying to say with fox. make some forks that are made of cheaper and heavier materials but still have the FOX quality. i would buy them even if they were more than the equvilant RS but you know you get quality, looks and for example damping and seals would be better than other forks

They would sure fit cheaper seals and damper too.

Joe_Pineapples

And it wouldn't work in the rain.

fourcrossjohn

the100odd quid would be worthit just to go, ' yeah i own a fox fork'

jay12

supersonic wrote:

jay12 wrote:

Joe_Pineapples wrote:

Yeah, but it would break down a lot and you wouldn't get a bike on the roof.

with ferrari quality thay wouldn't. it's the same thing i'm trying to say with fox. make some forks that are made of cheaper and heavier materials but still have the FOX quality. i would buy them even if they were more than the equvilant RS but you know you get quality, looks and for example damping and seals would be better than other forks

They would sure fit cheaper seals and damper too.

true but we never know what they'r going to make for 2011 or 2012(long time away) and also thay wouldn't know what we discuss on here so they will never know

supersonic

It has been known in the past for manufacturers to release a budget model with their name on it, then people buy loads because of the name (people used to think Marazocchi MZ were the real deal...).

jay12

supersonic wrote:

It has been known in the past for manufacturers to release a budget model with their name on it, then people buy loads because of the name (people used to think Marazocchi MZ were the real deal...).

we'll just have to wait and see but tbh i doubt they will do it but then on the other hand if the economic downturn still presists in a few years time then i think they might make some budget forks and shocks

supersonic

They will reduce prices, not make inferior stuff.

Anonymous

fourcrossjohn wrote:

the100odd quid would be worthit just to go, ' yeah i own a fox fork'

why would you care? a good fork is a good fork regardless of the name written on it. if cheap fox forks were available they would be the same as cheap forks from any manufacturer, thats why they are cheap

you would be cutting around like charly big potatoes on a fox fork, but it would be a sh1t one.

this thread is off its tits

supersonic

Charly big potatoes, not heard that for a while lol

pte1643

Fox products sell for a "Squillion" pounds because there are people that can, and/or are willing to, pay the cost.

Same as people are willing to pay the extra required for a Ferrari, Aston, Lambo' (add high end supercar of your choice).

Would you buy Goodmans if you could afford B+O?
Rump when you can afford Fillet?

Etc, Etc...

Simple as that.

supersonic

Some people are saying though that the other stuff is just as good... To me they are good, but you pay for the name, and that is the market position.

When you have got 1000s of pounds, paying an extra £150 for a Float is nowt. When you are just scraping £300 for a Reba, it does make a difference.

pte1643

Which is pretty much what I was trying to say.

There will always be "Premium" priced brands, in anything, not just MTB forks.

If you have the money, and (more importantly) if you can afford them, then you'll pay the asking.

There is a ceratin amount of "Paying for the Name", but that applies to anything too.

You can get to work just as easy in a Fiesta as you can in a Jag, but you'll still get people buy the Jag.

xtreem

bigbenj_08, totaly agree with you.

A few words:
Fox make some of the lightest forks in their category. Making budget forks and the weight won't be the same.
And people buy Fox just to stand out from the crowd.

So Fox, DT Swiss are too pricey, Marzocchi's are not reliable, Suntour, RST's are not
available to buy them and people will laugh at you that you spend 300 on it, so I don't give
a f**k that RS make so much variety of their forks, at least you can always find a fork
that fits your liking, budget, and riding style.

Long live RockShox
Long live Rock Shox

CycloRos

Why would Fox want to bring out a budget line of forks? you have to remember Fox haven't always been around making mountain bike forks/shox so why would they risk the excellent recently built reputation on a range of inferior products.

Someone made a good point about Rock Shox doing the job just as well as Fox, well nearly but not quite. Given the choice (and money no object) I'd choose a Fox fork every time although I do think the gap between RS and Fox is closing year on year.

Surf-Matt

My bike came with Fox forks as standard - TBH it was one of the biggest reasons I got it. And and love them!

supersonic

I think RS probably have the advantage with the Black Box damping now, and mission control - very tunable.

pte1643

CycloRos wrote:

I do think the gap between RS and Fox is closing year on year.

Hence the fact the "High End" RS gear is within a similar price range to that of Fox.

Anonymous

fox forks are very good, no doubt.

thing is, the rs kit i have used has been equally good in performance, i have an old reba fitted to my oldest stumpy, it is absolutely feature packed (dual air, uturn, adjustable compression, remote lockout, floodgate) and in my opinion better than the f-series 120 i am running on my newest stumpy. the prices would be comparable though.

when i was looking for a new fork for the enduro i was very tempted by a fox 36rc2 but loking at the spec sheets, the lyrik was the business: high and low speed compresion, rebound adjust, really really good travel adjust, adjustable air spring, maxle, lockout with external floodgate and all for a couple of hundred quid less than the fox. there is about 200g weight difference but the 200 quid went towards some shiny new wheels.

ignore the name on the fork leg and you will find out there is plenty of performance to be had for a whole lot less money.

supersonic

Get hefty reductions on RS stuff too - I don't think Fox allow that much with registered dealers.

pte1643

supersonic wrote:

Get hefty reductions on RS stuff too

That may be just "Foot-in-the-Door" marketing though...

Undercut the others and try and build up a bit of the aforementioned brand loyalty.

ride_whenever

also if you look at examples from other industries, premium brands who have tried to appeal to other market segments (ie go budget as well) tend to lose out. They lose their deciated supporters because the quality and uniqueness aren't there, it takes a long time to bring that back and re-build a reputation.

supersonic

pte1643 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Get hefty reductions on RS stuff too

That may be just "Foot-in-the-Door" marketing though...

Undercut the others and try and build up a bit of the aforementioned brand loyalty.

I think also the flood of OE forks that find their way onto the market.

pte1643

supersonic wrote:

pte1643 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Get hefty reductions on RS stuff too

That may be just "Foot-in-the-Door" marketing though...

Undercut the others and try and build up a bit of the aforementioned brand loyalty.

I think also the flood of OE forks that find their way onto the market.

May not be a bad thing that RS allow this.

At least they are providing a bit of "Middle Ground" for Mr. Average (and Mrs. Average, of course).
Otherwise we'd all have no choice but to shell out for expensive Fox products, or put up with Lesser/Crap forks and/or shocks.

Hercule Q

you might as well put fox stickers on some suntours!

i'd rather buy a semi decent RS or the like over a cheap fox just cos it says fox on it when it would probaly of been made on a mass production line in korea

if you really want fox then save your pennies for one or you could get something from RS for a lot less with just as much tunability may be a few grams heavier

P-Jay

I'm getting into this thread far too late, but still.

Are Fox that expensive? I think like-for-like they're not a million pounds off, especially given Marz's big price rises.

I haven't read through ther whole thing, but does the OP want them to make basic stuff like Dart's? If all you want is a Fox sticker on a basic fork, do just that? If you want an top quality item for less money, look for a previous years model or hit the bay... But if you just want a badge/sticker to show off, but can't quite afford it, I think it's time you really had a think about why you like MTB'ing, it's a terrible hobby for show-offs, you do it mostly in the middle of nowhere when no one can see you and if they do you're generally covered in muck.

I don't really go in for all this showing off/badge culture thing, I have some Fox Forx, and a couple of shocks and they all came as OE, don't get me wrong I love them, they work really well and have been totally reliable. I also like them because Mojo is close enough to pop in to get them serviced.

But when it came to buying forks for my DH bike I decided I wanted something different, so I bought some 888's, they actually cost more than any fork Fox were making at the time. In my very limited test (IE seeing how my mates and I's fork work out) they're more realiable than 40's and need servicing far, far less.

supersonic

I think Fox's current cheapest fork is the 32 Van R - typically £300.

MacAndCheese

There are tons of other companies that specialise in mid-high or high end only stuff, and like most other posts have said, this means that as consumers we can be fairly sure (in most cases) that we are always going to get a high quality product from that brand, it would be a high risk for these companies to compromise their quality reputation.

For me its the same as saying:

"why doesn't Chris King make a budget headset?"

or

"why don't Hope make some budget cable disc brakes?"

I'm sure all these companies would do a great job on lower end stuff, but it just wouldn't fit with the brand.

People will always aspire to certain brands or items and the appeal for most people of Chris King Nothreadset, for example, would be greatly reduced if started producing a £20 lower end version. I know it sounds a bit snobby, but it's true.

It may also be noted that RockShox has been in the market of lower end forks for many years and have a lot of experience in the how to produce a fork to a tight budget, so for fox to come in a meet a price point would take a lot of R&D into cheaper production methods and materials as well as sourcing cheaper components.

Thats my 2 cents anyway.