Suspension school · Brand-Specific Technology

Fox GRIP X2 (2025 Onwards)

Fox's flagship 4-way damper and how it differs from GRIP2

Fox launched GRIP X2 in April 2024 for the 2025 model year, replacing GRIP2 as the flagship gravity damper across the 36, 38 and 40 in Factory and Performance Elite trim, with some original-equipment 34s also getting it. It carried over to the Podium inverted fork in 2025.

What Changed From GRIP2

• Base valve grew from 20mm to 24mm for more oil flow
• The valve count in the compression assembly rose from 7 to 23 for finer control of the damping curve
• VVC (Fox's leaf-spring valve control) was dropped from the compression side but kept on rebound
• Pressure-balanced internals keep the damping force consistent deep in the travel and on long descents

Adjustment Range

• High-speed compression: 8 clicks
• Low-speed compression: 16 clicks
• High-speed rebound: 8 clicks
• Low-speed rebound: 16 clicks
• All counted from fully closed: wind each adjuster gently clockwise to the stop, then count clicks anticlockwise

Fox's own manual gives a neutral compression starting point of 5 clicks out on HSC and 10 out on LSC, with air pressure and rebound taken from the weight-keyed tables in the owner's manual. The calculator uses those same tables as its baseline.

How to Identify It

• GRIP X2 lettering on the compression top cap
• Four adjusters: two concentric compression dials on top of the right leg, two rebound adjusters at the bottom
• Model year 2025 or later on the fork ID
• No firm or lockout mode of any kind, which separates it from GRIP X

The 2027 Revision

In spring 2026 Fox revealed an updated GRIP X2 alongside the new 40: a revised mid-valve piston, reshaped rebound valves, an updated VVC plate and pairing with the GlideCore air spring. It rolls out across GRIP X2 forks for model year 2027, so a 2027 fork behaves slightly differently from a 2025 one even though the dials look the same.

Float X2: The Shock-Side Sibling

The 2025 Float X2 shock is set up differently from the fork: its manual keys the recommended compression and rebound clicks to the shock's air pressure (from 90 to 300psi) rather than directly to rider weight. Set sag first, read your pressure, then look up the clicks for that pressure. The calculator mirrors this logic. For 2026 Fox moved the X2 and DHX2 to a new monotube, pressure-balanced design.

Tuning Tips

• Harsh on fast chatter: open HSC 1 to 2 clicks before touching air pressure
• Diving in turns or under braking: close LSC 2 clicks
• Packing down through repeated hits: open low-speed rebound 1 to 2 clicks
• With only 8 HSC clicks, each one does real work, so change one click at a time and re-ride the same section