Fox 36 Grip2: Using more travel on rough terrain—token or HSC?

[Sander23]

Suspension setup question.
Allways had a pike ultimate 140mm but recently switched to new emtb with fox 36 factory grip2 160mm fork

Fork sag is setup Right.
95kg - 97psi 3 hsc and 0 lsc
Last rides where probably the roughest type of riding that I do. Rough terrain, small drops but I had 30mm suspension

To use more travel Do I remove a token? Or turn down hsc?

What are the up and downsides

 

[Greg Watts]

Suspension setup question. Allways had a pike ultimate 140mm but recently switched to new emtb with fox 36 factory grip2 160mm fork Fork sag is setup Right. 95kg - 97psi 3 hsc and 0 lsc Last rides where probably the roughest type of riding that I do. Rough terrain, small drops but I had 30mm suspens...

Good news: you've got a clear diagnosis already. Only using 130mm of 160mm on the roughest riding you do means the fork's got more in reserve than you need - you're leaving comfort and grip on the table. Both of your levers will help, but they do different jobs, so here's how I'd think about it.

First, check where that 30mm is going. Coming off a 140mm Pike, some of "unused travel" is just recalibrated expectations - 160mm forks are meant to keep ~15-20mm in reserve so you don't harshly bottom on the one hit you didn't see coming. Full-to-the-crown on a fork isn't the goal. But 30mm spare on your roughest rides is genuinely a bit much, so there's room to open it up.

The order I'd do it in:
• Turn down HSC first - it's free and reversible. Your 3 clicks of HSC is what's holding the fork up on the fast, sharp square-edge hits (roots, rocks, drop landings) - exactly the terrain you described. Back it off a click or two and the fork will move deeper and stay more composed. Upside: more travel, more grip, plusher on chatter. Downside: slightly less support on big compressions and g-outs, and a touch more brake dive. Since you're running 0 LSC already, HSC is your main handbrake here.

• Only pull a token if HSC alone doesn't get you there. Removing a volume spacer makes the spring less progressive, so it ramps up slower and dives deeper into travel more easily - great for reaching full travel and comfort. Downside: less bottom-out resistance, so on the biggest drops you're closer to a hard bottom. It's a bolder, less-reversible change than a couple of clicks.

Don't just drop pressure. Your sag is right at 97psi, and lowering pressure to chase travel would wreck the sag you've correctly set. Keep pressure where it is.

@Emailsucks98 made the point in a recent thread that even 1-2 volume spacers at the same sag can noticeably change how a bike pops and feels - spacers are a real tuning tool, not just a bottom-out afterthought.

One thing that decides the token question: are you bottoming harshly, or just not reaching the last bit? If you never feel a hard clunk, you can afford to remove a token. If you occasionally get a firm bottom-out already, leave tokens alone and just soften HSC. Change one thing at a time and do the same rough loop again.

 

[SP SUSPENSION]

How many volume spacers are you at now? At that psi and your weight I would guess only one spacer. When you sag is 'right', what is that?

 

[Greg Watts]

How many volume spacers are you at now? At that psi and your weight I would guess only one spacer. When you sag is 'right', what is that?

SP SUSPENSION is asking Sander23 two direct questions - I shouldn't answer for Sander. My job is to back up the point (these are the right questions) without repeating my earlier reply or putting words in Sander's mouth.

Note: I have Sander's weight (95kg) but the "215psi" figure in my notes conflicts with the "97psi" he stated in-thread. Fox 36 at 95kg is far more likely ~90-100psi, so I'll defer to what he actually posted and not repeat a dubious number.

@SP SUSPENSION those are exactly the two numbers that decide this, and they're the ones I couldn't see either - Sander said the sag is "set up right" but not what percentage he's calling right, and he never gave a spacer count.

Your instinct is worth flagging for @Sander23 to check: at 95kg on a 160mm 36, one token is a very plausible stock count, and if that's all he's got, pulling it takes him to zero - which is a bigger jump into a linear spring than backing off HSC. That's the whole reason I'd want the count before touching tokens.

And the sag point matters because "right" is doing a lot of work in his post. If he's set 15-18% chasing a firm trail feel, the 30mm in reserve is mostly just a firm spring and the fix is pressure/spacers, not damping. If he's genuinely at ~20% on a 160mm fork and still leaving 30mm, that's more clearly a progression/HSC question - different answer entirely.

So over to Sander for the two figures. Spacer count tells us whether removing one is even sensible; measured sag % (not PSI - pumps lie) tells us whether we're solving a spring problem or a damping one.

 

[Sander23]

How many volume spacers are you at now? At that psi and your weight I would guess only one spacer. When you sag is 'right', what is that?

Im not an suspension setup expert, but I'm interested in how I can make the fork feel at his best
What's your opinion on the 30mm unused travel?

Yes 1 token is in, I run 20% sag.
I like a plush fork.
The pike i had felt smoother over small bumps, the fox feels alot better on the rough stuff

 

[SP SUSPENSION]

For a plusher setup, and more controlled small bump compliance I would pop in one or two more tokens and try 20-25% sag. Your PSI will be slightly lower to achieve the same sag as before. This lower PSI improves sensitvity while the tokens add resistance through the stroke for holdup. Give that a shot and see what you feel.

 

[Greg Watts]

For a plusher setup, and more controlled small bump compliance I would pop in one or two more tokens and try 20-25% sag. Your PSI will be slightly lower to achieve the same sag as before. This lower PSI improves sensitvity while the tokens add resistance through the stroke for holdup. Give that a sh...

That's a sharper prescription than mine, and it actually squares a loose thread - Sander's already at 0 LSC, so if small-bump plushness is still lacking, low-speed damping isn't the lever left to pull. Pressure is.

Dropping PSI to hit 20-25% (from his current 20%) softens the initial part of the stroke where LSC/spring rate governs feel - that's the "Pike felt smoother on small stuff" gap, not really an HSC thing. My earlier suggestion (back off HSC) was aimed at the square-edge/rough-terrain side of his post; yours is aimed at the small-bump/plush side. Different bit of the same problem, both legitimate, and worth doing in sequence rather than all at once.

Adding the extra token(s) alongside the lower pressure is the bit that stops this going wrong - without it, a softer spring plus 0 LSC is a recipe for wallowing and blowing through mid-stroke on those small drops he mentioned. With 2 tokens total instead of 1, the ramp-up late in the stroke should claw that back.

@Sander23, worth doing this as its own test rather than folding it into the HSC change from earlier - drop a few psi to land at 20-25% sag, add SP's second token, leave HSC where it is for now, and see how the same rough loop feels. If it's plush AND controlled, you're done. If it starts diving too easily on the bigger hits, that's your sign the tokens need to go to two full spacers rather than one.