Product news / Eurobike 2017: Fox, the suspension fork and chassis giant, had an extremely exciting innovation with them at Eurobike 2017 with the Fox AX: The 40mm fork is primarily aimed at gravel fans who want a little more comfort.
In order to understand the new Fox AX fork, you have to go back a little and tell the story of how it came about. That gravel bikes are one of the trends of recent years? It's probably going to be everywhere by now. Even at Fox itself, some employees have been keen on the powerful off-road vehicles. No wonder: It's simply appealing to blur the boundaries between cyclocross and cross-country, but every now and then after longer rides off-road you might wish for a little more comfort. Just when the wrists begin to groan under the meanwhile 136th blow, one wishes for a suspension fork here and there.
This is what happened to some Fox employees at the company headquarters in the Californian sports paradise of Santa Cruz. And of course, what could be more obvious than looking around in your own portfolio? But even the shortest and lightest fork - the FOX 32 with 80mm travel and the light Step Cast chassis for 27,5″ wheels should turn the geometry of almost every gravel bike upside down due to its installation length. The solution? Some modifications to the air cartridge, the spring deflection reduced to 40mm and the installation length adjusted to that of an ordinary rigid fork (approx. 520mm).
In the end, it worked so well that Fox seriously considered including a corresponding fork in their portfolio. The problem: It's not that easy, a special casting would actually have to be used and the axis dimension is also designed more for MTB. In the end, they decided on a middle ground and launched the Open Project: The fork will be available as the Fox AX in the version discussed as a "slimmed down" Fox 32 Step Cast in the coming season. If the idea is well received and the response is correspondingly positive, development and construction will be intensified and a special model will be produced in the near future that is 100% adapted to the area of application.
But let's get back to the product, the Fox AX: It has the mentioned 40mm travel and should weigh between 1.300 and 1.400g. Yes, this is significantly more than a light rigid fork and everyone has to decide for themselves what comfort is worth to them, but for a suspension fork it is still extremely light. It comes with the new Fit4 damping cartridge and offers the usual many adjustment options for the compression level. But watch out: One disadvantage of the MTB-derived casting is the 15x100mm thru-axle and the PM brake mount. Disadvantage because 12mm axles and flat mount brakes seem to prevail in the gravel area as well as on the road. There are no problems with the tire clearance, where with 40mm thick Gravel tires can easily be accommodated.
The fork will cost €1.089 - an ambitious price, but one that seems justified in view of the high-tech inner workings and the extremely light construction. In any case, we are curious to see how the Fox AX will be received on the market. We will secure a test copy in the next few weeks and submit a detailed driving report later.