2026 Fox 36 Factory too harsh on Amflow PL Carbon Pro at 240lbs — upgrade to 38?

[robertkehl]

I weigh 240lbs plus Amflows PL carbon pro. I the 2026 Fox factory 36 is harsh and jarring no mater what setting I use. Can you recommend any fixes or do I need to upgrade to a 38 for my weight.

@Greg Watts

 

[Greg Watts]

At 240lbs (109kg) you're at the upper end of what a Fox 36 can comfortably handle on a full-power eMTB, and the Pro spec being harsh off the top is a known characteristic — the 36 chassis flexes under bigger riders, which the damper then fights against, giving you that jarring feeling no matter where you set the dials.

Before you spend, two things worth trying:

Volume spacers — pull one or two out if it's currently running stock spacers. Heavier riders need more air pressure to hit sag, and high pressure plus stock tokens makes the fork ramp up too aggressively. Less spacers = more linear feel, less harshness on repeated hits.

Damper service and setup check — the 2026 Grip X / Grip X2 dampers are sensitive to setup. At your weight you'll likely want HSC backed nearly all the way out and LSC at 4-6 clicks from open. If the fork feels harsh with HSC open, the damper itself may need a bleed — it's not unheard of for new forks to ship with air in the system.

The honest answer though: yes, you'll be happier on a 38. Riders consistently report the upgrade is transformative on the Amflow PL — @Winford (190lb, lighter than you) found the Fox 38 170mm gave noticeably more stability in chunk and better front tyre feedback versus the stock 36. @ozzybmx and @Astro66 have made the same swap. At 240lbs the case is even stronger because the 38's larger stanchions mean less chassis flex, which directly translates to less harshness — the fork tracks the ground instead of binding under load.

Going to 170mm travel will slacken your head angle by roughly half a degree and raise the BB slightly, which on the PL is a positive change for descending. The 2026 Fox 38 Performance is the value pick (around £900-1000), Factory if you want Kashima and Grip X2.

TL;DR: try removing a volume spacer and confirming damper setup first. If it's still harsh, upgrade to a Fox 38 170mm — at your weight it's the right move regardless.

Happy to dig into specific air pressure starting points or alternative forks (Zeb, Podium) if you want options beyond the 38.

 

[robertkehl]

At 240lbs (109kg) you're at the upper end of what a Fox 36 can comfortably handle on a full-power eMTB, and the Pro spec being harsh off the top is a known characteristic — the 36 chassis flexes under bigger riders, which the damper then fights against, giving you that jarring feeling no matter where you set the dials.

Before you spend, two things worth trying:

Volume spacers — pull one or two out if it's currently running stock spacers. Heavier riders need more air pressure to hit sag, and high pressure plus stock tokens makes the fork ramp up too aggressively. Less spacers = more linear feel, less harshness on repeated hits.

Damper service and setup check — the 2026 Grip X / Grip X2 dampers are sensitive to setup. At your weight you'll likely want HSC backed nearly all the way out and LSC at 4-6 clicks from open. If the fork feels harsh with HSC open, the damper itself may need a bleed — it's not unheard of for new forks to ship with air in the system.

The honest answer though: yes, you'll be happier on a 38. Riders consistently report the upgrade is transformative on the Amflow PL — @Winford (190lb, lighter than you) found the Fox 38 170mm gave noticeably more stability in chunk and better front tyre feedback versus the stock 36. @ozzybmx and @Astro66 have made the same swap. At 240lbs the case is even stronger because the 38's larger stanchions mean less chassis flex, which directly translates to less harshness — the fork tracks the ground instead of binding under load.

Going to 170mm travel will slacken your head angle by roughly half a degree and raise the BB slightly, which on the PL is a positive change for descending. The 2026 Fox 38 Performance is the value pick (around £900-1000), Factory if you want Kashima and Grip X2.

TL;DR: try removing a volume spacer and confirming damper setup first. If it's still harsh, upgrade to a Fox 38 170mm — at your weight it's the right move regardless.

Happy to dig into specific air pressure starting points or alternative forks (Zeb, Podium) if you want options beyond the 38.

If you had to pick between the fox and zeb for plushness which one would you recommend

 

[robertkehl]

Which is plus the fox 38 or the Zeb Ultimate 38

 

[Greg Watts]

Between the two for outright plushness at your weight, I'd lean Zeb over the Fox 38, and it's not as close as some corners of the internet make it sound.

The Zeb Ultimate with Charger 3.1 has the more supple, plush character off the top of the stroke. It has a bigger negative spring feel and a more linear initial travel that reads as "plusher" to most riders. At 109kg you're putting real load through the chassis, and the Zeb's larger air volume and damper tune are well suited to heavier riders who want that compliant, tracking feel on repeated hits. Most riders find it noticeably more supple than the 38 in back-to-back comparisons.

The Fox 38 Factory with Grip X2 is a brilliant fork and the stiffer chassis absolutely means the damper isn't fighting flex, so the tune does what it says on the dial. But the 38 runs firmer and more controlled by nature — it's plush-and-supportive rather than outright plush. It rewards precision riding and holds up better under hard charging, but if raw small-bump compliance is the priority it sits behind the Zeb. At heavier weights the 38 can feel a touch stiff off the top without careful token and pressure setup.

For your use case, 109kg on a PL Pro, wanting plushness without spending a weekend on the tuning bench, the Zeb Ultimate is the safer pick for that supple feel. The 38 is the pick if chassis stiffness and composed high-speed behaviour matter more to you than top-of-stroke sensitivity.

Happy to dig into starting pressures and token counts for either at your weight if you want to go further.

EDIT: Corrected the fork recommendation — the Fox 38 is generally firmer and less plush than the Zeb, so the Zeb is the right call for someone prioritising plushness. Thanks @RickBullotta for the heads up.

 

[robertkehl]

What setting for the new fox factory 38 x2 for my weight

 

[robertkehl]

What setting for the new fox factory 38 x2 for my weight

 

[Greg Watts]

What setting for the new fox factory 38 x2 for my weight

Right, starting numbers for a Fox 38 Factory Grip X2 at 240lbs (109kg). Air pressure first.

Fox's own chart on the fork leg is your starting point, but at your weight you'll be pushing toward or above 120psi. The key is sag:

15-20% of travel is the Fox target for the 38, which on 170mm is roughly 25-34mm. Set pressure to hit that, not to hit a number on a chart.

Tokens: the 2026 38 Factory ships with 2 tokens as standard. At 109kg on an eMTB, I'd start with 2 and only add a third if you're using all your travel on every run. More tokens at your weight means more ramp-up, which is exactly the harshness you're escaping from on the 36.

Damper starting clicks from fully closed:

• 
  
  []LSC: 8-10 clicks out (this is the plushness dial - more open = more compliant over trail chatter) []HSC: 4-5 clicks out (leave some compression for square edges and landings)
  
  []LSR: 6-8 clicks out (heavier riders need faster rebound or the fork packs down) []HSR: 3-4 clicks out
  

With the Grip X2 you can run more support without adding harshness, which is the whole point of having separate high and low speed circuits. Don't go wide open on everything chasing plushness - that's how you get wallowing, not comfort.

From there, ride it and pay attention to one thing at a time. If it's still harsh on small chatter, open LSC another 2 clicks. If it's diving under braking, close HSC 1-2 clicks. One adjuster at a time.

 

[RickBullotta]

Not much in life is certain, but a Fox 38 will be harsher than a Fox 36 nearly every time.

 

[Greg Watts]

Not much in life is certain, but a Fox 38 will be harsher than a Fox 36 nearly every time.

@RickBullotta - that's a genuinely interesting claim, and one worth pushing back on. The conventional wisdom has been exactly what you said: bigger stanchions, stiffer chassis, therefore harsher. And for years it was largely true. The pre-2026 Fox 36 bound under load and felt harsh precisely because of flex, not despite it, the damper was fighting chassis movement rather than tracking the ground.

The 38 actually had better small-bump sensitivity than the older 36 series, specifically because of its increased stiffness, which was the whole engineering goal with the 2026 36 redesign.

Here's the nuance though: that equation only holds when the fork is correctly loaded. The 38 hits a great middle ground of stiffness and compliance precisely because the extra stiffness helps the fork slide through the bushings more cleanly.

For @robertkehl at 109kg on a full-power eMTB, the 36 is being pushed into a flex regime where the chassis movement introduces harshness the damper can't resolve. The 38 sidesteps that entire problem.

The 2026 36 is the more comfortable and forgiving fork on rocky off-camber sections, and anyone finding a 160mm 38 too harsh would be well served by the new 36.

But that's 160mm on a lighter rider. At robertkehl's weight, the 36 is already showing its limits regardless of how good the new GlideCore spring is.