Let the slobbering begin. Fox have been dropping news and details of the 2012 Fox Shox range and if looks are anything to go by then these suspension units are solid gold. The highlights for the 2012 range is that the super slippery golden Kashima coating is available on all forks and rear shocks, the introduction of the new 29er only 34 fork, and the Adaptive Logic Pro-Pedal switch and dial on rear shocks which is switched up a bit. That’s not all but you will have to read on to hear about the other changes or just go straight to the Fox Shox website. Now, despite the 2012 title all these new products will be getting shipped into New Zealand any time now through Fox Shox New Zealand distribution heroes, Blue Shark. I was there at the top secret Blue Shark HQ last week trying to eyeball the new stuff and have my bumpy bits serviced (all the boys there really know about how to get the best from any unit). Unfortunately I jumped the gun a little bit and the only special golden egg I spied was on Blue Shark bossman Al Heine’s bike.
Pictured above is the 36 Van and 831.
The Kashima coating is a special coating that is done out of house and actually impregnates the stanctions, shaft, or body to give it a super smooth, buttery feeling because it reduces friction. The Kashima is available on all forks and shocks.
The 29er specific 34 fork is exactly that. A 29er specific suspension fork that is 34mm diameter. This ‘not too big, not too small’ Goldilocks ethos was done so that Fox could offer a slighter longer travel (140mm) fork that would be stiffer than 32 (durr, obviously) so to suit the number of riders wanting to take the 29er craze to the longer travel range.
The DHX Air 5.0 and the RP23
The new Adaptive Logic Pro-Pedal means that basically the function of the Pro-Pedal is reversed from how it functioned on models 2011 and before. Now the switch is used to put shock in a ‘climbing mode’ or a ‘descending mode’, and the three positions of the dial is used to get the preferred level of descending prowess, rather than ‘lock-out’.
Other changes or options include a one piece tapered titanium crown/steerer on the wafer thin XC forks, and three levels of product; Factory forks and shocks (the top notch stuff with Kashima coating and all the bells and whistles), Performance (still the super high quality of Fox Shox but perhaps without the pimping attributes of the top bananas Factory stuff), and Evolution (entry level).
