FOX Racing Shox

36 Float 26 160 RC2 FIT Fork - 2015

While many are drifting away from 26-inch wheels, FOX still recognizes the advantages of this tried-and-true standard for many applications. So, as the company has completely revamped its heavy-duty 36mm-stanchion lineup for 2015, the 2015 FOX 36 FLOAT 26 160 RC2 FIT Fork stands as a great example of how dedicated it is to 26ers.

The 36's chassis was the first area of scrutiny in the redesign. The crown has been redesigned to be both lighter and lower, resulting in a shorter axle-to-crown measurements across the board, so that installing the fork means minimal — if any — alteration of the bike's front-end geometry, unlike when installing some other forks, including FOX's previous 36 series. The fork's lowers have been re-engineered to be lighter and stiffer, as well, resulting a chassis with greater rigidity, but weight figures that are very close to that of its smaller 34 series of forks. A newly formulated, higher-viscosity proprietary fork oil is now used, too.

Both the adjustable TALAS and the non-adjustable FLOAT air spring systems have also been revised. A reduced number of seals means that both operate more smoothly, but that's not all. TALAS springs have been retuned to ramp-up more toward full compression, making them more stable under big hits and extreme terrain, and thus friendly to more aggressive riders. The FLOAT forks now include volume-reducing spacers so that riders can fine-tune the system's ramp-up rate. The letters FIT designate that the fork is equipped with FOX Isolated Technology damper, which means that the fork's damper sits in an air-tight bladder, as opposed to a more common open bath system, which means that the damper resists debris contamination and thus remains smoother and more consistent between maintenance intervals.

The FLOAT Acronym on the 26-inch 36 fork you see here stands for FOX Load Optimum Air Technology. It's not travel-adjustable on-the-fly like the TALAS version, but as mentioned, the volume of the FLOAT cartridge can be adjusted via internal spacers to more precisely dial in your preferred performance characteristics, in conjunction with the RC2 adjustment system. If you're wondering, the RC2 designation in the fork's title stands for Rebound and with the two different Compression settings (high-speed and low-speed) you can adjust to dial the fork to your tastes.

The 2015 FOX 26 FLOAT 26 160 RC2 FIT Fork is for use with 26-inch wheels only, comes only in the color Black, and has a 1.125-1.5-inch tapered steerer tube. The new front axle system is convertible between both 15mm and 20mm thru-axles with included parts.

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