Here I am on my 2019 Nomad with a Lyrik on the front. As soon as the 38 and Zeb dropped, my fork's 35mm stanchions turned into wet noodles. Totally unrideable.
At least you can take it to the flowtrail, to the bikepark, take it enduro racing, you do everything with an enduro bike, especially when you dont have the money for a cross country bike, a trail bike, an enduro bike, and a downhill bike.
Absolutely true! I have the commencal meta ht am. Dropper post and fox 36 150mm fit4 with lockout. Saddle up + locked out forks = great XC bike. Saddle dropped and forks completely unlocked = great enduro bike. It's like having two bikes in one.
As an enduro racer thats 5 foot 8 and 140 lbs im finding enduro race bikes to large for enduro races now. I was on a ransom bike i got thru sponsorship but i cpuldnt work my way around 170mm front and back with 29ers. Im now racing a jeffsy 27.5 160 up front 150 in the back and my lap times have improved on every lap that i ride regularly except for one thats just a straight line of steep rooty rocky tech
@@abccanada6248 the fox 49 doesn't exist in the current fox lineup anymore. The 29" dual crown fork now also goals under the 40 series. Makes sense now 😂
I look at it this way..........I've put my Specialized Enduro with a Pike & 160mm of travel through the ringer in Kamloops, Kelowna and here in Bellingham for the past 6 years, it owes me NOTHING! So, my new Ripmo (if it ever shows it's little head............) equipped with a Fox Factory 36 should be PLENTY for this guy..... great comparison Mike, thanks!
I have a SC Megatower. Had the Fox 36 Factory 170m. Just upgraded to the Fox Factory 38 180m. What a difference. So so much better. Plush. The stiffness is unreal. I’m a heavy dude 230lbs plus with gear. Beat upgrade I could have done. I ride it everywhere. Local trails. Bike park. Urban rides. Whatever where ever!!! Yeeewwww!!! 🤘🏻🚵🏽♂️🦍
Was the stiffness of the 36 ever a concern before the 38 came out? I remember Richie Rude winning several EWS races on it. If there were not a 38 option, I believe the 36 would be fine and nobody would say anything. All that being said, this is the best comparison/guide I have seen to date re: the 36 & 38...good job @The Lost Co.
just wait, in 2024 we will hear how the new fox 40 is so much stiffer/better than the 38. Gotta keep the masses feeling like they need to upgrade. And yes, I'm one of the masses that upgrade haha
Jody Wiebe nobody wanted an iPhone before they existed. That’s just how things work. A new better alternative that no one thought of before comes out and people like it better
@@lfsiuvagacwoi This is an incremental increase in size that's not even as large as other options that have existed before. Not exactly comparable to what is possibly the most influential piece of tech released in the last 30 years. lol
Pretty much sold me on a Fox 36 for the Canyon Spectral 29 build I have in mind. I'm a similar size as you and won't be sending train jumps or anything with it, so the 36 in 150 or 160 travel should be plenty for me. Great video!
@@lifeafter4092 I haven't built it yet. Seems Canyon doesn't sell just the frame set by itself anymore, so I may be stuck with buying a whole new bike (which also comes with Fox 36).
The main thing about the 38 for me is that it has a more linear springrate than the 36 because of a clever feature in the air spring assembly that increases lower leg volume, which means its slightly more tunable. And if you reduce the 38 to 160mm, its even more linear and has much more bushing overlap than the 36
Thanks Mike. You're so right. 36 grip2 160 is awesome. But...38 170 is just so much more cradling and stiffer; and cooler looking in Orange. I'm 173 kitted aggressive am rider loving drops and gnarly. Such confidence booming here in loose rocky Arizona. Thank you again for you entertaining and informative reviews.
I've been on the fence between the specialized status 160 with fox 36s, and building out something like a commencal meta sx with fox 38s, and this definitely pushed me over the edge towards the 38s when I saw how smooth that drop was at @4:50 Still a very useful video 2 years later!
Dada Apo I was looking for the comments waiting for someone to comment on the totem, it’s a special fork and feel like most people don’t know how awesome it was. They need to bring back that single crown beast.
Thanks for this video, the chart at the end of this video has been needed since the 38 was announced. I'm a 100 kilo Big Chungus so this really helps steer my decision :)
Wow, so informative! Great job guys. I'm a big fairly aggressive rider riding 180mm on my 2021 Rocky Mountain Slayer and although I don't have any other choice, the added stiffness is so confidence-inspiring. I absolutely love the control it gives you. Again great job guys!!!
I just got the fox 38s on my new 2024 Cube embt waw all i can say just now! Massive difference over my 36s and at 225lbs they work as should for the bigger rider soaking up everything in the rock garden they are alot stiffer really nice and it's that first impressions when you see them just how chunky these bad boys are don't get me wrong not a bad thing to say about fox 36 love them it these 38s are a game changer for me there definitely a bigger heavier aggressive rider should go for!
Thx for an awesome review! I'm so psyched just having swapped out a 140mm Fox 34 Fit4 to the new 2021 160mm Fox 36 Grip2 on my 2018 Jeffsy 29". I'm looking forward to a more stable bike overall, considering it effectively will slacken it ~1° more to 66°. Also excited about the more tunable damper. Only worry is how big the penalty will be pedaling uphill with a 73,5° seattube...🤔
@@growlith6969 A lot of ephasis is put on eMTB ready parts but let's be real, the 20lbs difference between a Kenevo and Status 160 is nothing compared to the difference between two riders. The typical range across riders is somewhere around 100lbs I'd say.
@@bradley3549 To a degree yes, however there is a bit of "float" when it comes to the rider. If you imagine a bike going through whoops, and the bike is seesawing through them with a more or less still rider on top, the bike itself is the hammer on the suspension/tires/wheels because it is fixed stiff and ungiving mass directly attached to those bits. Big jump hits, that's rider weight all the way and those slow-mo bottom outs on youtube show how crazy the stresses are. Very cool.
Well to be honest. I prefer the 36. And the reason is because 36 is more progressive. And foster. And is softer. And I don't have any problems downhill or jumping or going over rocks and roots 36. 170 to me is 100% better. 38. 170. Is more heavy and it feels more stiff. And is super slow. Progressive is not that good. And it feels little bit saggy. Other then that video is great thanks
I'm thinking if you have a decent E-bike, your bike is probably solidly over 50lbs already. If you are a heavier guy, and most of us that ride those things are, you can pretty easily be getting up to 250-280 total weight including bike, which for a fun comparison is exactly as much or more as your average full sized motorcross bike weighs less rider. The 36 (rhythm) on my Levo is really nice, but when I really start whoopin ass down the trail I start to wonder if I should have gotten the crazy downhill fork version of the Kenevo instead. The 38 would be a nice compromise to keep all of that mass stable over the rough stuff. Thanks for the video, I think we all really needed that!
Currently, 230lb riding as aggressively as i can. i notice the difference between my 2019 36 and 2022 38 both in 170mm. I will be reducing the 36 to 140mm and fitting it to an aggressive xc bike.
38,I have the 34 it great on the trails and climbing but I'm 200lb and Curious about The 38. I really think they should start manufacturing bikes that suits Medium to heavier riders, The size thing I think down Pat, But nothing for heavier riders I think that's fork is a good addition A little bit more options to play around with Which is great. Don't call anybody might tip off the kiljoys out there and might make another fork in downgraded.
i run a 36 on my 2014 spec. enduro, i know ikeep things a long time,and im probably to light for it, 60 and a bit kg. but what about my yet to arrive levo with all that wieght. i might be 60+ in age but i still ride as fast as i can downhill. well explained vid cheers
AHRK more like you can’t afford shit. Why do you care what other people do with their money? The video explained who this Fork was for and who it wasn’t. Some people buy new cars every few years because the are able to and they want to. That’s how a capitalist free market society works. Just like new cel phones. Many people also buy them new more than they need. So let’s just put all the bike companies and there employees outta business cause you figure we should all be riding 10 year old rigid bikes and DH tracks. Still waiting for your credentials and experience. Really curious how old you are and what you do for a living ?
I love you guys, but I beg you - don't stoop to the "cut to but don't address camera 2" technique. Your vids are informative enough to hold the viewers attention!
I had a 36 on my Ripmo and decided to upgrade to a 38 and I found the 38 keeps the line better than the 36. While the 36 is no noodle I did found myself having to correct more than with the 38.
I had a 180mm Fox Performance 36 on my Haibike, and it worked ok, but when the trail got really rough it transmitted a lot of bumps and vibration into the bike, which made it difficult to handle a day of riding at Snow Summit because of hand and arm fatigue. The braking bumps going into a turn were almost unbearable after a few hours. I changed to a Fox Factory 38 with 170mm travel, and it felt sooo much more plush in the rough stuff, and the effective travel felt like it increased, even though it actually decreased. I am 275lbs, plus gear, and the bike is 60lbs, so the 38 made a massive improvement for me. I can see how a much lighter rider with lower air pressure and lower dampening settings would probably be fine on a Fox 36. If you are a big dude you gotta get the 38!
If you read this, don’t worry you don’t have to spend 1k for the same thing just 2mm bigger. You’ll be more than fine with a 36 :) But if you don’t know on what to spend your money, sure go on.
@@adrianszabelski8105 it's only natural for the industry to develop new products. But a guy like me can wait a couple of years before buying something that "new"
I think a comparison with the same bike, same travel, same settings and a rider that wasn't told which fork was which would have been way more interesting.
I'm currently building my own frame, and want to make an Enduro hardtail ... I think i'll go with the 36, since anyway it's a hardtail so i'm not going to be anywhere near the fork's limit
Maybe if you're building a mainly downhill bike, have the skills to ride at that speed and such tough terrain and dont feel the 36 is sufficient then think about it but i think a personal comparison is a good idea. I have a 2019 RM Instinct BC with 160 front and 155 rear and to be honest i am sure i could get away with 140 front like the standard Instinct as i ride Blue trails with a few rock gardens here and there and my skills and not wanting to get hurt keep me on the blue trails, having said that it doesnt mean i wont try a Black trail but on average i really dont need 160, i got an AMAZING deal on the bike as a leftover so i bought it and LOVE it with NO regrets so i can deal with a bit of extra weight. Mike gives a good example as why some people have 2 bikes especially depending on your local trails so you dont need to drive 3 + hours for a double black if you're at that skill level?
I Have a 150Pike On my RM ..... The Braking Chatter At 50/60 Kmh Is Unbearable i Have A 160Z1 On My CF Warden and Dont Get Any Of That . Personally I wouldnt Run Anything Smaller Than a 36 😎 I'm a LW Rider Ride Vancouver 😎
I love going downhill und getting gnarly but I have an 160 mm enduro bike with an 2017 rockshox Yari, is that a good fork? Please answer I would love to hear someone else’s opinion
The Yari Is an amazing fork! I LOVE Rockshox! So rockshox top of the line forks are the Pike (A trail/all mtn fork) and the Lyric (an enduro fork) the rockshox Yari is built in the same chassis as the lyric (so just as stiff) but doesn’t have rockshox nice air spring and damper. If you have the money, I would go with a pike ultimate or a fox 36 performance elite/factory. (I personally love my fox 34 performance elite with the fit 4. I’m not a fan of the kashima coating on factory because I think it’s going to be out of style in like 2 years and I want to have my bike for a while so... but anyways the Yari is great, it’s their mid end/entry level enduro fork but if you wanted top of the line I would go with the lyric or 36.
Martin Ďurčanský first, not everyone can afford top of the line forks. Second, the Yari is great. Why do you say it’s horrific. Additionally, it only comes in red and black I don’t know what your talking about orange unless you are talking about a fox fork.
I'm curious why Fox didn't just try to make 40s lighter. Most people will not notice the difference in stiffness, myself included. Wouldn't turn it down, but satisfied w/ my Lyrik for riding in PNW.
Yhigma I have a Scott Ransom 920 with a Lyric and a Pivot Firebird 29 with a Fox 38. I’m 220 with riding gear and ride rough technical terrain. I mix it up with both bikes and the lyric is a adequate fork and I really like the supple feel of RS however the is a noticeable amount of flex when I am hitting rock gardens at speed .
@@deanemberley2333 Hell yeah man, I'm glad you're happy w/ the product. We mostly have rooty tech over here, but the only time I notice flex is for really chundery bike park type riding, the more singletracky steep fall line trails I don't even think about it.
I bought the 38 pistachios before i went to morzine for a season (3 months). I just got home and the forks were sooo good on big mountain trails. But the CSU is fucked. Gotta send them back for warranty for creaking CSU. Other than that there the best forks ive rode on my enduro bike. Santa cruz nomad 4.
Sorry! That’s a *biib chart at the end. 36 is perfectly capable for aggressive riding at 160mm also for heavier riders, exactly like BEFORE the 38 was released and known of. New 2021 36 is even stiffer than the old 36. Where does the limit go from a light to a heaviy rider? This video is just a promotion for the 38. You kind of “Lost” me there.. 😛
No, this video is about when to go for 36 or 38 when you have the choice. Not when you already have a top of the line fork. In this video Mike explains the differences and is right when saying the 38 is a better downhill performed.
