11/22/2008

RockShox Boxxer BigFoot An astounding 12" travel single-crown

Usually the evolution of a product happens slowly - as companies each push the limits of what is possible to develop something new.  Occasionally however a new paradigm is reached because of revolutionary new technology. That is the story behind the Boxxer BigFoot edtion.  Jed Douglas, the RockShox North Shore expert, realized that the unique demands of the Shore called for a unique fork. "On several of my trips up there recently we rode some really steep trails that were also very twisty - a traditional dual crown fork limited the bike's turning radius making it less manoeuvrable and, in the end, limiting the rider's riding pleasure" according to Douglas.  "At the same time we had been developing a new 9000 series aluminum that allows us to do things we never thought possible a few years ago.  The molecular blueprint is so intricately woven that we found we could make the stanchions and crown able to withstand the extra leverage of these extra long forks without a significant weight penalty."

The 12" travel RockShox "John Holmes edition" Boxxer for 2005.

Specialized has been particularly interested in the BigFoot program -  shown here mounted to a BigHit DH.

Another advantage of this fork, privately named the "John Holmes " is that you can ride the steepest lines imaginable.  Paired with a bike with eight to ten inches of travel the rider finds him or herself sitting almost upright on the gnarliest steepest trails.  "We wanted to make steeper trails accessible to riders of all skill levels" said RockShox marketing whiz Michael Zellman.  "We didn't feel it was fair that only the best riders were able to tackle the ultra-steep lines on the North Shore so we addressed what we felt was 'consumer discrimination' by launching the Boxxer BigFoot."  He went further to say that "just like the way a comfort bike makes road riding accessible to seniors, we have made the gnarly trails accessible to your average mountain biker by allowing them to sit tall in the saddle on extreme trails - call it extreme comfort."

When asked about the dramatic approach - going from a long travel single crown fork of under 6" of travel to one that is just shy of a foot - Zellman was philosophical.  "Every time fork travel has increased some wamby pamby nay-sayers have come along to say 'that's too much  travel' but every time the new bounce has been accepted and now even the wamby pambys are riding long-travel forks.  This is something we knew would come eventually so we decided to leap forward boldly and let the industry  follow us."

Greg "HB, H-Ball, HB-Ball, HB-H-Ball" Herbold has been the primary tester of the fork and when asked for a comment on the performance he said simply, "dude!"

RockShox team boss John Dawson talked about the need for the right rider to promote the BigFoot concept.  "We tried to get Josh Bender away from Marzocchi - anyone who refers to themself in the third person is a legend - and things were looking good until we found he couldn't turn.  Another idea would be to snag a really versatile rider who could bust a barspin down a really gnarly steep line - something that's only possible with this fork."

The search continues.