Over the years, many people have described the Fox RC2 spring
suspension forks to be more of a high maintenance race fork rather than a north
shore freeride fork. For this reason I’ve largely avoided them
until now. Time to see how this fork performs in both high speed race
style conditions, and of course on the obligatory North Shore.
Rebound damping in
red and preload in blue.
Here are the basic 08 Van RC2 specs:
• 160mm/6.3” of steel coil sprung travel -
single crown
• 1 1/8” steer tube
• 5.2 pounds/ 2380 grams
• 160mm to 205mm disc rotors with appropriate adapter
• 20mm QR
• externally adjustable preload, rebound and high/low speed compression damping
• no travel adjustment or lockout
• 545.5mm axle to crown length
• uses standard 20mm ID x 110mm wide hub
• max tire width of 2.8”
• downhill/all-mountain/free
ride rating
I like it when small details have been paid attention to in a new, high
end product. What do you normally need with a new spring fork? Proper
springs for your weight, and a star nut. Fair enough, this fork ships
with a star nut and springs for 3 different rider weight ranges: 115-155,
150-180, 175-210 lbs. The packaging is also well designed resulting
in a damage free fork. You can be sure there will be plenty of scratches
quickly enough from riding, but hey, bike parts aren’t cheap, and the
high end gear should arrive in the best shape. It did.
The compression damping
settings live under a cover at the bottom of the right fork leg.
There are a few new features to note: The weight has been scraped about
a 1/4 pound via a lighter crown, lower leg sliders, and 20mm axle. Fox
quotes a painful amount of measurements that describe how these weight reductions
in the right places have resulted in a stronger overall design. I’m
cool with the lighter weight, but I’ll be more comfortable with their
strength claims if this Van is still completely intact after a few months of
BC fun.
I ride the Shore lots and might have rarely, maybe possibly, or even occasionally,
and of course, definitely taken the parts beyond the limits they were advertised
for. So, local maintenance centres are key concerns for my bike part
choices to reduce down time. A recent development is that Fox distribution
and service is now done locally at OGC (Outdoor Gear Canada) and I’ve
heard loads of good things about their maintenance quality. I’m
interested to see if they rival the local Marzocchi service that I’ve
become accustomed to in terms of speed and precision.
I’m interested to see if this coil fork will pull me back from my last
year of air sprung fork satisfaction. Sure, most will say a spring can’t
be beat for overall performance, but I sure have found some lighter air forks
out there do a fantastic job on the shore. Maybe this RC2 will point out
that a half pound is worth the weight gain due to superior overall performance. Let’s
see.
Derek has slapped the
36 RC2 onto his Knolly Delirium-T.
Adjustable travel and lockout are friendly to climbing, since I don’t
have to lean as far forward or work as hard. Many coil spring designs
out there don’t have these options so I was prepared when this Van RC2
didn’t either. Still, every year bike parts are often lighter and
better overall, so maybe adjustable travel and lockout will appear one day
for this model. For now, I work a bit harder on the climbs.
This year has a new 20mm QR design. There are 2 flip levers at the bottom
of each slider in exchange for pinch bolts. The axle slides through one
slider’s axle hole, through the hub, to thread into the other slider. The
axle has a flip out lever to aid in tightening/loosening the axle. My
first thought when I saw it was, “will it crack or get damaged with a
good rock hit?” Not that I or you have ever fallen or tagged rocks
or trees with bike or body when riding, but if it ever WERE to happen in those
most remote of possibilities, it would be good to know if we’d be hooped. I’ll
likely find out somehow over the next few months.
Fox's new tool free
QR with the lever opened so the axle can be removed. The clamps perform
the same function as regular 20mm axle pinch bolts rather than by pushing
the axle from the outside.
These stanchions don’t have a nickel plated option and I’m wondering
if I’ll notice the difference. Nickel plating is said to reduce
stiction over time on average. Will the design of the Van RC2 perform
well enough that stiction won’t be an issue?
I’ve found lots of people generally say the action of Fox spring forks
are more linear while Marzocchi are more progressive. Ever wondered
what this means? I’m going to investigate this claim and explain
my findings in 4 straightforward ways in the final review: initial,
mid, and end stroke action, and bottom out characteristics. Of course
these specific traits will be examined at high, medium and low speed, over
various sized jumps and drops, and serious technical.
Derek doing his homework
on the 36 Van RC2.
The disc brake caliper
post mounts are advertised as stronger and lighter, and there’s also
a bolt on plastic cable guide instead of new zip ties after each overhaul. Small
details, but hey, I want to know since plenty of frog skins are involved
at this end of the bike part spectrum.
And how much are we talking about anyway? MSRP is $1410 for this year’s
Van RC2 in Canada, and of course you’d find it for less in your shop
of choice.
Stay tuned for Derek's full review on this fork coming up after the snow
melts.
Any personal experience on this product? Fork it over here.
For more info check out foxracingshox.com
