Used forks tips.

Lewis A

Hi all,

I'm looking at picking up a set of used forks, and was wondering, is there a point where they're just too old to even consider? For example, a 2008-ish pair of floats? Or are they more likely to cause me loads of hassle? I know crucial things to look for, stanchions, asking sellers detailed questions regarding servicing, etc.

Thanks Lewis.

The Rookie

All our bikes bar one are on used forks.

We have 2 pairs of manitous, mine are still flawless*, my sons (on my younger daughters bike on loan) have a small amount of play in the bushings, both are 2006, My son has had his for 3 years, so for less than £20/year they were a good buy.

My Elder daughter has some 2009 RS Recon XC (short travel revelations we've taken back from 100mm to 130mm) that are also flawless.

My Son now has some Magura Durins, which at the RRP are somewhat overpriced, but for £100 at circa 3 years old were a good buy and again they work flawlessly although it took some tweaking of the remote for the travel adjust to work as it should.

All that said, Fox are known to be a lot less tolerant of abuse (or a lack of TLC), so personally I would get RS which seem to suffer far less instead of Fox.

*Flawless in this context means working as they would have when brand new

Cqc

I have a pair of 2007 floats which I only started servicing this year, and they still work fine. It's the current fox forks that need the constant maintenance, the old ones were quite hardy

paul.skibum

I had some 2003 Bombers that had never been serviced in any way and they still worked fine, held air, ETA lockout worked. For 120 quid new I think 10 years use is good value.

sofaboy73

as above, don't be put off by 2nd hand fox fork. i've had a number of pairs of floats over the years in different gusies and dampers etc that i've given very little to no tlc and they've been fine.

current 2012 float 36's have had the foam O rings re-soaked in float fluid once and that the sum total of maintence 2.5 years and they work great

Myster101

I bought a pair of 2009 RS Revs off eBay and they were great forks. Suppose there's always the chance of getting faulty ones so just ask as many questions as possible and go see them if you can.

Lewis A

Thanks for the input all, obviously fox vs rs is quite a personal thing. Would you rather go for a recently service 2008 32 rl, or a 2012 evo rl. As far as I can tell they have the same damper and adjustments, and the newer one is a little heavier, but is it still as durable as the 08 fork. I'm still waiting to hear back about servicing...

Thanks,

Lewis

rockmonkeysc

I know someone who bought a set of used Fox Floats. Then six months later, herpes.
You can't be too careful.

Lewis A

I was worried about that, is it linked to leaking seals?

Lewis A

Lewis A wrote:

Thanks for the input all, obviously fox vs rs is quite a personal thing. Would you rather go for a recently service 2008 32 rl, or a 2012 evo rl. As far as I can tell they have the same damper and adjustments, and the newer one is a little heavier, but is it still as durable as the 08 fork. I'm still waiting to hear back about servicing...

Seriously though, has anyone got an answer for this?

The Rookie

Not ridden any modern Fox, but by all accounts they have lost their Mojo and RS are cheaper, better and more reliable, there is a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence for this so I'd probably take the older over the newer and RS over either.

sofaboy73

Lewis A wrote:

Lewis A wrote:

Thanks for the input all, obviously fox vs rs is quite a personal thing. Would you rather go for a recently service 2008 32 rl, or a 2012 evo rl. As far as I can tell they have the same damper and adjustments, and the newer one is a little heavier, but is it still as durable as the 08 fork. I'm still waiting to hear back about servicing...

Seriously though, has anyone got an answer for this?

both are open bath dampers, so all other things being equal, i'd go for the newar model as 4 year less wear. personally i'd stay away form the open bath dampers if budget allows and look for something with the FIT cartridge damping sytems. far more controlled and a better ride than the open bath float R forks

peter413

Lewis A wrote:

Thanks for the input all, obviously fox vs rs is quite a personal thing. Would you rather go for a recently service 2008 32 rl, or a 2012 evo rl. As far as I can tell they have the same damper and adjustments, and the newer one is a little heavier, but is it still as durable as the 08 fork. I'm still waiting to hear back about servicing...

Thanks,

Lewis

I wouldn't go for either. I had a 2009 RL and it was awful. Revelation would have been a much, much better idea and cheaper too.

Seriously Fox have had reliability problems for years and every year that people are saying they haven't had problems, Fox have had problems. People usually just get lucky not having to service their forks. I've got some 2004 Float's that have the problems of bushing and stanchion wear even with a semi decent service life. Obviously not quite up to scratch but better than most claim to do it.

I'd be staying well clear of Fox second hand except maybe the newest forks but the price of them second hand can be the price of a new Rockshox so again, I'd stay clear.

Lewis A

Thanks for all the advice people, I ended up buying some new DT Swiss XMM's for £220...