The new 2002 Foes F1 XL has been extended to 8" travel, and is still under 6.5 pounds! Also new for 2002 are the hard anodized Easton™ lower legs and the precision wound spring by Renton Coil Spring. Under development for four years, the F1 is now available with optional Curnutt XTD external threshold damping.
Submitted by
Drew
a Downhiller
from Thousand Oaks, CA Date Reviewed: August 28, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
www.downcomponents.com
Strengths:
This review is for the Foes F1 crown upgrade from Down Components (www.downcomponents.com). The crowns up MUCH heavier-duty than the Foes parts, and really kick butt. The F1-XL fork becomes a whole new animal, much stiffer laterally and just feels great when the hammer is down. Comes with bigger bolts than the Foes crowns, and much more webbing for greatly increased strength.
Weaknesses:
Toss the bolts that come with the crowns and get ones that are 5mm or 10mm longer, there's extra thread in the crowns so you might as well use it. (You may have to chase the threads with a tap first, I did.) Don't overtighten the bolts, it doesn't take a lot to lock the crowns onto the fork legs.
Similar Products Used:
'03 Super-T (Foes F1-XL with Down crowns is SO much better.)
Bike Setup:
'02.5 Foes Fly with F1-XL, Michi 2.8 front and 2.5 rear
Bottom Line:
Get the crowns from Down or www.go-ride.com, worth every penny.
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Submitted by
John Tanner
a
from Adelaide, Australia Date Reviewed: December 12, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Strengths:
Light, plush, responsive and tunable. Not too tall for a fork with 7.5" of travel, which allows you to keep the weight nicely over the middle of the bike. Integrated fork stop is really tidy (no need for crusty tyres and inner tubes tied on everywhere).
Because the fork's so light, you don't feel it doing much. Having moved from a conventional fork, I've really noticed how the different weight distribution of the fork affects not only its performance but the way the bike handles now. The bulk of the weight becomes centred further back in the bike instead of out the front somewhere. There's less feedback to the rider too, as the springs aren't working to move the sliders around, just the stantions and the wheel.
As for performance and feel, its got it all. Super responsive over all types of terrain and very confidence-inspiring. The machining and workmanship is top notch. You can really tell these puppies have been hand built with lots of care and attention to detail. Oversized hub and axle are really impressive too. Interesting choice of steerer tube sizing (1"). Clamps fit nicely over headset making for a very tidy set-up indeed!
Weaknesses:
Haven't encountered any yet. It's a race fork, so I personally wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for a Huckster. Twists slightly if you push it, but this is a characteristic of the design. Outers can twist a bit in the clamps if you bin it big time.
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