FOX Racing Shox

40 RC2 FIT Fork - 2012

The Fox 40 FIT RC2 Fork is the lone offering from Fox for those of you in search of a race-worthy double crown fork for your downhill sled. However, there's something to be said for their solitary focus. What you'll get for your money is the culmination of their attention, applied to a World Cup winning chassis and damper design.

It has all of the same noteworthy features as the previous version -- the uber-plush FIT damper, a lightweight titanium coil spring, and internally adjustable travel from the full 8" (203mm) down to 6.5" (165mm). On top of all of that, the Fox 40 now has decreased unsprung weight, thanks to their engineers inverting the FIT damper in the right leg. It also employs Kashima Coat on the upper tubes to reduce stiction, making a buttery smooth coil fork feel even more buttery. Maybe at the movies, you can get too much…but not on racing forks.

The Kashima Coat starts with raw aluminum and adds molybdenum disulfide via an induction process that deposits the material into pores in the surface to the effect of 70 billion pores per cm squared. The MoS2 adds lubricity, extending the life of the tubes as well as greatly reducing friction. This makes the fork more responsive than ever to keep you grounded and in control. Just ask Aaron Gwin, who opened his 2011 account with a first round World Cup win in South Africa (the ...the 40 FIT RC2 is the culmination of Fox's solitary focus on creating the world's finest downhill racing fork... first for an American male since 1999). The reduced unsprung weight allows the 40 to track even the slightest ripples or rattly cobbles in the trail, and when things get hectic, less weight means more rebound control. You'll also be able to tune it to avoid packing in heavy braking bumps and repetitive rocky drops.

As always, the 40mm upper tubes on the Fox 40 keep it stiff and predictable, even in the gnarliest of situations. Stiff can still be light, though. The titanium coil springs help keep the weight to a minimum compared to the steel coils of old. It has a preload adjustment dial on top of the left fork leg, so that you can dial in your sag and your breakaway force.

On the other side of the fork, the right leg contains the FIT damper. It's a self contained cartridge that separates the oil, rendering it unable to mix with any gases that could affect the damping properties. An integral bladder creates some room for the fluid to expand as the fork heats up over the length of your downhill runs. Both aspects make the fork's performance more consistent, from the top of the mountain to the bottom, as you push the fork as hard as you can. The FIT cartridge is lighter than an open bath design and also makes the fluid less susceptible to contamination from outside sources. Internally, you can adjust the hydraulic bottom-out resistance to tailor the feel of the fork over big obstacles.

With the inversion of the FIT cartridge, the damping controls flip-flop as well. The high and low speed compression adjusters are now on the right side of the crown and the rebound dial is on the bottom of the right leg. With all these easily accessible external controls, you'll be able to tune the Fox 40 FIT RC2 to suit any course.

The Fox 40 FIT RC2 Fork is available in White or Black. It comes with a straight 1-1/8" steerer tube, and the upper crown is compatible with direct mount stems. The left leg has ISO brake tabs and will directly accommodate an 8" (203mm) brake rotor. It has two pinch bolts on the bottom of each leg to secure the included 20mm thru-axle, and as usual, an integral hose guide routes the brake hose along the leg and arch for a clean look.

US Fox dealers are prohibited from shipping Fox Forks outside the US.