All this time all I was saying was that there's a difference, and it has to do with
total machine capacity. I'm not changing the details to fit a narrative - in other words, I'm not compensating to make a comparison equal (which everyone seems to keep doing). Maybe people just aren't realizing that to make the "it's the same system weight" argument seem valid, they're changing the weight of the rider when that rider gets on a lighter or heavier bike.
So once more, I'll try to explain it with simple addition... no physics laws or engineering laws or riding style or "radness" level required - just simple weight measurements and addition:
SAME RIDER AT 210-lbs.
-
Bike A "Standard" Build (35-lbs. non-E-Bike) +
"Standard" Fork (250-lbs. capacity)
This bike can support
up to 215-lbs. of rider weight
-
Bike B "E-Bike" Build (45-lbs. E-Bike) +
"E-Bike" Fork (290-lbs. capacity)
Bike bike can support
up to 245-lbs. of rider weight
Results:
- Rider
CAN ride Bike A (210 rider + 35 bike = 245 ,
under 250-lbs. fork limit)
- Rider
CAN ride Bike B (210 rider + 45 bike = 255 ,
under 290-lbs. fork limit)
All good, the same rider can ride either bike. Now then - without
compensating by altering rider weight or bike weight, simply swap the forks; Put the E-Specific Fork onto Bike A, and put the Standard Fork on Bike B.
REMEMBER - You're only changing
ONE variable, using the
SAME rider with the
SAME weight and not compensating for bike weight difference!
Now by just swapping the Standard and E-Bike specific forks to the other bike, you get a different (and telling) result:
SAME RIDER AT 210-lbs.
-
Bike A "Standard" Build (35-lbs. non-E-Bike) +
"E-Bike" Fork (290-lbs. capacity)
This bike can now support
up to 255-lbs. of rider weight
-
Bike B "E-Bike" Build (45-lbs. E-Bike) +
"Standard" Fork (250-lbs. capacity)
Bike bike can now
only support up to 205-lbs. of rider weight
- Rider
CAN STILL ride Bike A + E-Bike Fork (210 rider + 35 bike = 245 ,
under 290 fork limit)
- Rider
CANNOT ride Bike B + Standard fork (210 rider + 45 bike = 255,
over 250 fork limit)
Those arguing against will compensate by changing the weight of the rider lower to get them under the weight limit... if I used a 200-lbs (or less) rider as an example, then the rider would be well under the limit for all 4 scenarios, and then people would say "OMG SEE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!" but that's why I used a rider who's weight is near the upper limit, in order to show that there was a difference after all, and again - it's about
total machine capacity.
BUT WAIT Do you need an E-Bike specific fork? Is it necessary? Can you use a non-E-Bike fork on an E-Bike? Do you ride rad enough to push the limits? Dunno, don't care. I was never saying anything of the sort - other people brought these tangents into the original purpose of the thread - the OP's question in post #1:
is there much difference between ebike optimized fox 36 forks and a set that isnt ebike opt?
And my answer was simply "
Yes, there's a difference." See above.
Side note: This is probably the last post I'll make in this thread explaining that
there is a difference between the fork designs. It's been fun, but more recently any response to anything I say has been increasingly hostile, and I don't want to make any enemies on this forum. If after reading this post people still disagree with it, then that's fine. I just thought of a more simple way to try to explain that there was a difference, so I typed it above.
Have a good week, everyone 
