FoXXer?

FredLikesTrikes
Edited Date/Time 5/5/2015 12:18pm
Looks like Kidwoo managed to retrofit a Charger damper in a Fox 40....

Curious how this thing rides and how it's holding up now that riding season is here.
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Big Bird
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Big Bird 5/1/2015 6:15pm
5/1/2015 6:15pm Edited Date/Time 5/1/2015 6:17pm
Bad assed! Hack that sh?t. Did he have a reducer custom made or does the Fox part have the right thread? I do wonder...
fabricedemaere 5/2/2015 4:37am
5/2/2015 4:37am Edited Date/Time 5/2/2015 4:44am
Restecp.

Yes, that was an Ali G reference, no I'm not proud of it. Moving on.
I've never tried the Fox, but I've always been told they have way better small bump sensitivity. In that case, it wouldn't make much sense to put a Charger in there. Right? (feel free to correct me, I don't know anything about suspension).
And if it's just for the sake of doing it, I say bravo.
kidwoo
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kidwoo 5/3/2015 8:58pm
5/3/2015 8:58pm
I had adapters made my Vorsprung suspension in Whistler. It's two pieces. One is a sleeve reducer for the top part and the other is a spacer for the bottom since a charger damper is shorter than the fox FIT setups.

When you hear people talking about better chatter sensitivity with the Fox stuff, they're probably thinking of the 2008-2012 Boxxers. Those things were garbage and had binding all over the inside, especially the WC air forks. Anything newer that comes with a charger damper is an entirely different beast.

What this achieves is something a little different. There's something about the charger damper that keeps it from packing up at a pretty wide variety of speeds. I've had quite a few fox forks (although most of them not 40s) and even their newer FIT cartridges don't mimic what rockshox has going with the charger forks.

It's nothing earth shattering but it helps the fork stay a little more composed and higher in its travel while still maintaining a lot of responsiveness.

And it's also just funny to watch people do double takes when they see the topcap.
Nicholast
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Nicholast 5/4/2015 8:15am
5/4/2015 8:15am
kidwoo wrote:
I had adapters made my Vorsprung suspension in Whistler. It's two pieces. One is a sleeve reducer for the top part and the other is a...
I had adapters made my Vorsprung suspension in Whistler. It's two pieces. One is a sleeve reducer for the top part and the other is a spacer for the bottom since a charger damper is shorter than the fox FIT setups.

When you hear people talking about better chatter sensitivity with the Fox stuff, they're probably thinking of the 2008-2012 Boxxers. Those things were garbage and had binding all over the inside, especially the WC air forks. Anything newer that comes with a charger damper is an entirely different beast.

What this achieves is something a little different. There's something about the charger damper that keeps it from packing up at a pretty wide variety of speeds. I've had quite a few fox forks (although most of them not 40s) and even their newer FIT cartridges don't mimic what rockshox has going with the charger forks.

It's nothing earth shattering but it helps the fork stay a little more composed and higher in its travel while still maintaining a lot of responsiveness.

And it's also just funny to watch people do double takes when they see the topcap.
There's something about the charger damper that keeps it from packing up at a pretty wide variety of speeds.

You get extra credit points for being able to detect and articulate this. Most people are able to say that they feel something different when they ride a Charger Boxxer/Pike and that feeling is positive, but few are able to identify specifically what it is.
kidwoo
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kidwoo 5/4/2015 8:29am
5/4/2015 8:29am Edited Date/Time 5/4/2015 8:30am
Well, when I can back off compression damping and spring preload, and the fork still stays up to keep taking hits, I have to believe there's something to that rapid recovery sillyness.

I'm actually going to try and figure out how duplicate it in the fox damper.
grinch
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grinch 5/4/2015 6:32pm
5/4/2015 6:32pm
cool. just curious though. why do you prefer fox body over rs? why not just get a rs with charger damper?
connnordoll21
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connnordoll21 5/4/2015 6:33pm
5/4/2015 6:33pm
It would be much stiffer
Scrub
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Scrub 5/4/2015 6:53pm
5/4/2015 6:53pm
grinch wrote:
cool. just curious though. why do you prefer fox body over rs? why not just get a rs with charger damper?
To get moar crossed up since the Fox stancions are wider than the BoxxerTongue Toboggans look cooler with a 40
sideshow
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sideshow 5/4/2015 7:01pm
5/4/2015 7:01pm
This is one of the more interesting bike hacks posted up in a while. It would be cool to see a side-by-side of Charge/FIT (Float)/Ohlins in a 40 chassis. Keep us posted on results/thoughts, this is worth hearing more about.
kidwoo
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kidwoo 5/4/2015 7:38pm
5/4/2015 7:38pm
grinch wrote:
cool. just curious though. why do you prefer fox body over rs? why not just get a rs with charger damper?
I already owned the 40 and a friend was nice enough to loan me a charger damper. That's honestly most of it. Whole forks are expensive. Wink

And the last generation (pre charger) boxxers were so horribly designed I wasn't taking any leaps of faith on the new ones. The 40 chassis is solid as hell.


As far as 'reporting back' I did this in January. I've already ridden it enough to know I like it better than the FIT cartridge that my fork had......a last gen coil RC2, right when the air version was coming out.
fabricedemaere 5/4/2015 7:51pm
5/4/2015 7:51pm
sideshow wrote:
This is one of the more interesting bike hacks posted up in a while. It would be cool to see a side-by-side of Charge/FIT (Float)/Ohlins in...
This is one of the more interesting bike hacks posted up in a while. It would be cool to see a side-by-side of Charge/FIT (Float)/Ohlins in a 40 chassis. Keep us posted on results/thoughts, this is worth hearing more about.
Someone please do this!
grinch
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grinch 5/4/2015 8:35pm
5/4/2015 8:35pm
grinch wrote:
cool. just curious though. why do you prefer fox body over rs? why not just get a rs with charger damper?
kidwoo wrote:
I already owned the 40 and a friend was nice enough to loan me a charger damper. That's honestly most of it. Whole forks are expensive...
I already owned the 40 and a friend was nice enough to loan me a charger damper. That's honestly most of it. Whole forks are expensive. Wink

And the last generation (pre charger) boxxers were so horribly designed I wasn't taking any leaps of faith on the new ones. The 40 chassis is solid as hell.


As far as 'reporting back' I did this in January. I've already ridden it enough to know I like it better than the FIT cartridge that my fork had......a last gen coil RC2, right when the air version was coming out.
k right on. figured you might have some reason that I've missed and wouldn't discount "scrubs" theory Smile
I guess vorsprung may offer the adapter now that they've done it? I'm down with $ savings and the charger damper was impressive on my short ride on a pike. hope it takes off. that's pretty cool. keep tinkering
kidwoo
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kidwoo 5/4/2015 9:25pm
5/4/2015 9:25pm
If you call/email him, I'm sure he'd make some for you. I still had to do a tiny bit of filing on one of the apdapters (so he needs to change one measurement) but I think this was the main reason he wanted to check it out......to maybe sell some kits to people with 40R versions.
grinch
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grinch 5/4/2015 10:26pm
5/4/2015 10:26pm
40r def makes sense. could've started a cool little niche market if they start making these charger adapters for different forks. I don't have a 40 but it could be an affordable option if you have one or your oem spec on your bike that has one. also adapter for x fusions or suntour could be attractive price wise
CallumH
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CallumH 5/5/2015 1:47am
5/5/2015 1:47am
fabricedemaere wrote:
Restecp. Yes, that was an Ali G reference, no I'm not proud of it. Moving on. I've never tried the Fox, but I've always been told...
Restecp.

Yes, that was an Ali G reference, no I'm not proud of it. Moving on.
I've never tried the Fox, but I've always been told they have way better small bump sensitivity. In that case, it wouldn't make much sense to put a Charger in there. Right? (feel free to correct me, I don't know anything about suspension).
And if it's just for the sake of doing it, I say bravo.
The Fox 40 doesn't have better small bump sensitivity, larger stanchions make for more friction (static and dynamic) plus Fox have a bit of a reputation for making sticky forks.
kidwoo
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kidwoo 5/5/2015 12:17pm
5/5/2015 12:17pm
fabricedemaere wrote:
Restecp. Yes, that was an Ali G reference, no I'm not proud of it. Moving on. I've never tried the Fox, but I've always been told...
Restecp.

Yes, that was an Ali G reference, no I'm not proud of it. Moving on.
I've never tried the Fox, but I've always been told they have way better small bump sensitivity. In that case, it wouldn't make much sense to put a Charger in there. Right? (feel free to correct me, I don't know anything about suspension).
And if it's just for the sake of doing it, I say bravo.
CallumH wrote:
The Fox 40 doesn't have better small bump sensitivity, larger stanchions make for more friction (static and dynamic) plus Fox have a bit of a reputation...
The Fox 40 doesn't have better small bump sensitivity, larger stanchions make for more friction (static and dynamic) plus Fox have a bit of a reputation for making sticky forks.
Aside from the larger seal surface area, what in god's name are you talking about?

If a fox fork is 'sticky' it's because the seal are dry, jut like any fork from rockshox or marzocchi or whomever.

Those 2008-2013 boxxers were some of the worst suspension devices ever made because they bound up and became rigid. You could run frictionless seals made of unobtanium and they'd still not compress when you hit something, because everything on the inside was locking against itself.

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