Fox 36 Upgrade - 2019 Turbo Levo Carbon Comp

muzzman1

Active member
Feb 11, 2019
150
136
Los Angeles CA
I'm confused...won't the geometry and BB height stay the same since only the stroke is changing and not eye to eye on the different shock mounting?
Yeah, I agree. (im no expert) but from what I gathered is the extra 2.5mm of stroke would potentially cause binding in the suspension at the lowest portion of the stroke. The suspension could bottom out, essentially. Although I don't know if that is actually the case with the 52.5 vs. 55mm shock. I personally avoided the 55mm just in case.
 

Kiwi in Wales

Short cranks rule!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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Jan 24, 2018
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Should fit fine - a few people have done it. But it will raise your BB height a bit.
Hi Rob, It will not raise the BB as the eye to eye length is the same as the standard rear shock which is 210mm. The only change is the stroke length which is 2.5mm longer, 55mm v 52.5mm so you will get roughly another 7mm of rear travel, so 157mm ish v 150mm ;)
I have carried this out on my 2019 Levo and no issues at all. Loads of clearance, no binding (y)
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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Hi Rob, It will not raise the BB as the eye to eye length is the same as the standard rear shock which is 210mm. The only change is the stroke length which is 2.5mm longer, 55mm v 52.5mm so you will get roughly another 7mm of rear travel, so 157mm ish v 150mm ;)
I have carried this out on my 2019 Levo and no issues at all. Loads of clearance, no binding (y)
Ahh makes sense now, thanks for that! I (wrongly) thought the eye to eye was longer.
 

skypickle

New Member
Jul 18, 2019
69
21
MA
Rob, you mentioned a while back that you switched to a fox from a dtswiss . Did you ever write up the comparison? I’m still on the stock fork and would appreciate some nice descriptions of how the differences feel.

Also a lot of people talk about switching to the dpx2 or the coil- again, could talk about where the differences are noticeable. I am not a racer and my speed is usu under 15 mph- ride mostly single track - roots and rocks- and a few fire roads - no jumps but I do some descents. Weight 90 kg.

I don’t want to hijack this thread nor be repetitive so if it’s stickied somewhere , link me.
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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Rob, you mentioned a while back that you switched to a fox from a dtswiss . Did you ever write up the comparison? I’m still on the stock fork and would appreciate some nice descriptions of how the differences feel.
A very quick summary:

- DT Swiss, super plush on single track and small bumps. As it uses a coil for the initial stroke its able to soak up the everything on the low speed compression. The most comfortable fork I've ever tested. Good mid stroke support. Starts to lose composure on bigger, longer, continuous hits. Only time I noticed this was at Bike Part Wales, doing full 10 minute runs from the top on black tracks. I also liked the set and forget characteristics of the fork.

- FOX 36 Factory, early days, but I'm liking the extra travel at 160. Although much firmer, not as comfortable, will be more suited to a bit more of a bashing.. 'enduro' if you want to call it that. Loads of adjustment and each click makes a difference. Probably will take me longer to get it dialled.

If you ride more trail style than anything else = DT Swiss
If you push it on most rides, bigger drops, bike park = Fox Factory (or Lyrik)
 

Rob Rides EMTB

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I also have one of these to test:

p5pb16086896.jpg
 

MuddyFunster

Member
Jul 7, 2019
33
66
Uk
ooo.. Leading link forks... nice.. Should stop the dive/compression under braking. I look forward to the review... (y)

Hate to think how much a set costs though, they look expensive!
 

R120

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Apr 13, 2018
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A very quick summary:

- DT Swiss, super plush on single track and small bumps. As it uses a coil for the initial stroke its able to soak up the everything on the low speed compression. The most comfortable fork I've ever tested. Good mid stroke support. Starts to lose composure on bigger, longer, continuous hits. Only time I noticed this was at Bike Part Wales, doing full 10 minute runs from the top on black tracks. I also liked the set and forget characteristics of the fork.

- FOX 36 Factory, early days, but I'm liking the extra travel at 160. Although much firmer, not as comfortable, will be more suited to a bit more of a bashing.. 'enduro' if you want to call it that. Loads of adjustment and each click makes a difference. Probably will take me longer to get it dialled.

If you ride more trail style than anything else = DT Swiss
If you push it on most rides, bigger drops, bike park = Fox Factory (or Lyrik)

You need to test a Lyric Ultimate
 

skypickle

New Member
Jul 18, 2019
69
21
MA
Thank you rob.
ooo.. Leading link forks... nice.. Should stop the dive/compression under braking. I look forward to the review... (y)

Hate to think how much a set costs though, they look expensive!

I dont see how adding a bunch of extra levers will change the physics of de-acceleration. When your body moves forward, the amount of the vertical down component is determined only by the angle the fork makes with the horizontal. Consider if the fork were totally vertical- hitting the brakes would create horizontal negative acceleration. Through the magic of trigonometry sin 0 = 0 so no force would be transmitted vertically. (Please dont make me draw the vector decomposition diagram). When the fork is at a 45 degree angle, half the acceleration is vertical (your front end drops) and half is horizontal. Having more linkages only adds friction (increased damping)
 

MuddyFunster

Member
Jul 7, 2019
33
66
Uk
Thank you rob.

I dont see how adding a bunch of extra levers will change the physics of de-acceleration. When your body moves forward, the amount of the vertical down component is determined only by the angle the fork makes with the horizontal. Consider if the fork were totally vertical- hitting the brakes would create horizontal negative acceleration. Through the magic of trigonometry sin 0 = 0 so no force would be transmitted vertically. (Please dont make me draw the vector decomposition diagram). When the fork is at a 45 degree angle, half the acceleration is vertical (your front end drops) and half is horizontal. Having more linkages only adds friction (increased damping)

Wow, OMG, I'm obviously in the presence of a greater mind so, I'll go punish myself by drinking more beer...

However...

Go here: Motion Ride's 170mm Linkage Fork - Eurobike 2018 - Pinkbike

I'll quote for you:
"The big promise with linkage forks is the anti-dive characteristics that, in brief, keep the fork from blowing through its travel due to weight transfer when you grab the front brake.............. "

This type of fork has been tried (and is in use) for around 20-30 years by the motorcycle industry. I've used them on both Road Race and MX sidecars and they do make a difference.

Please don't take offence and send Mr.Trump after me, I'm enjoying my Friday night with a few beers...:)

/MuddyFunster
 

Rich-Baillon

New Member
Jul 19, 2019
70
77
UK
I went for the ebike specific 160mm. The bike is completely transformed in a good way.
Also got the dpx2 specifically the 210x52.5 to even out the bike as the fork became so good that the rear was much more noticeable without the upgrade.
View attachment 15583
I run that combo on my Yeti and was wondering what difference it would make to the Levo. I guess I will just have to sell the Yeti and upgrade the forks and shock then :)
 

skypickle

New Member
Jul 18, 2019
69
21
MA
So the x2 only is avail in 210x50 or 55. I am think of going w the 55 . Does anyone actually use this one?

Has anyone tried the manitou products-either the Mara rear shock or the messer pro fork?
 

GrandesRoues

Member
Jul 26, 2019
176
89
Alpes Françaises
Looks like a Lauf fork I’m thinking of putting on my next gravel bike. I bumped into a guy in the lakes who was test riding a lauf he wasn’t impressed though.

It's not a Lauf.
It's a motion, a French brand. The spring is a pulled bent strut, very interesting with it s low histeresis and progressive nature.
There is also an hydraulic damper.
 

Rusty

E*POWAH BOSS
Jul 17, 2019
1,513
1,673
New Zealand
ooo.. Leading link forks... nice.. Should stop the dive/compression under braking. I look forward to the review... (y)
Did a lot of testing on linkage type forks when I was doing motocross and have a yes/no opinion. While I found them good in many circumstances where I had real issues with them was that I could not hit a berm, preloading with my front brake and then use the released energy to allow me to cut back from the berm instead of railing it.
Not quite the same on a MTB, but I did ride a few new tracks locally last weekend that the ability to do this was helpful as the turns were so tight even a conventional 29er would struggle to get around at any pace.
 

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