Fox Racing Shox Float 03 Rear Shock

3.85/5

(13 Reviews)

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Product Description

oem only

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Reviews 1 - 13 (13 Reviews Total)

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Submitted by Bas a Cross Country Rider from The Netherlands

Date Reviewed: March 29, 2008

Strengths:    Never had any problems, just does the job.

Weaknesses:    Makes a loud noise on rebound (oil flow?), no rebound ajustment and lockout

Bottom Line:

Nice but nothing special. Would like to have rebound ajustment and lockout. But then: what's not on it can't fail... Good reliability, just needs regular cleaning.

This shock was OEM, but if you find it second-hand on i-net it's most likely that the previous owner has upgraded for a shock with rebound ajustment and lockout, not because of reliability issues. So when looking for a simple shock this will do just fine.

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Favorite Trail:   Drunen Dunes NL

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   OEM

Bike Setup:   Specialized Stumpjumper FSR '01, mostly XT

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Submitted by Nicholas a Weekend Warrior from Erie, CO

Date Reviewed: April 26, 2006

Strengths:    Needs very little adjustment

Weaknesses:    No lockout

Bottom Line:

After reading reviews I thought I would have to replace it as one of my first upgrades, but it has help up nicely for the first thousand miles of travel.

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Favorite Trail:   Slickrock

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   came with bike

Similar Products Used:   n/a

Bike Setup:   Trek Fuel 80

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Submitted by Chris a Cross Country Rider from Sandy Springs, SC, US

Date Reviewed: September 28, 2005

Strengths:    Good when it works. Air chamber fully user serviceable.

Weaknesses:    There is no effective warranty on this product. The Fox warranty gives them the option of not responding to your claim that the product is defective. Since Fox did not return e-mails or phone messages that I left or that my LBS left with them when my shock failed, I have no idea how one would get support from them.

Bottom Line:

Be forewarned that the air chamber in this shock (and any air shock) requries regular service. Replacing the seals should be thought of in the same way as replacing a tube in a tire. You can't expect your warranty to cover this. When you buy your bike, be sure to buy an extra set of seals, and be prepared to either pay the folks at your LBS to replace them periodically or to replace them yourself.

Unfortunately, the failure on my shock was in the casing, not in the seals. It started leaking around the valve. Fox did not respond to my e-mails or to e-mails or phone calls from my LBS. We were willing to settle for nothing more than technical information about how to repair it. Finally, the folks at the LBS took a guess, and so far, the shock is holding air.

My ratings might seem harsh, but with a product like this, sooner or later you're going to need support from the manufacturer. You can't count on that from Fox. Looking at other Fox reviews, it appears that others have encountered similar problems.

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Duration Product Used:   6 months

Similar Products Used:   Fox Vanilla coil-over shock.

Bike Setup:   Gary Fisher Sugar.

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Submitted by Juan Carlos a Weekend Warrior from Quito - Ecuador

Date Reviewed: August 2, 2005

Strengths:    Great, simple to use, works great

Weaknesses:    No rebound external adjust

Bottom Line:

The shock came on my bike, works just great, you just have to set it up to your weight and riding style, and that is all you need to do.

Worked perfectly for almost one year, one day the bike started to feel way soft in the rear, checked everything and the shock lost about 30 PSI, and the suspension links were loose, I tight them up and do my self the shock service, clean it up, tight it up, lube it and never leak air again, I never changed seals.

I do aggressive cross country, climbing, drops, fast and technical dowhills and the shock is just great, some time I miss an external rebound adjuster but that is not really necessary.

Great shock, but you can’t buy it because is OEM.

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Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   Bike Line Charlotte

Similar Products Used:   Fox Float Talas R, Fox Float R (Propedal)

Bike Setup:   2003 Trek Fuel 80, LX (Shifters, brakes, levers, hubs), XT (Rear derailleur), WTB Velociraptors

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Submitted by Karl from York, England

Date Reviewed: November 21, 2004

Strengths:    Simple, fit and forget, light

Weaknesses:    None given its budget OEM status

Bottom Line:

Its simplicity migh explain for the lack of problmes with this shock. Little can go wrong with it, and whilst I have occasionally been 'ejected' out of the saddle due to the lack of rebound damping (I weigh 150lbs), it has always held its air so little to complain.
Also, it's easy to maintain too- once a year with a clean up and grease replacement.
It now looks dated in the company of SPV and increasing adjustability, but still a good product.

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Duration Product Used: 2 Years

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Submitted by Richard Eddy a Cross Country Rider from Castle Rock, CO

Date Reviewed: July 26, 2004

Strengths:    Idiot proof, just fill it with air and go.

Weaknesses:    No adjustment or lock out

Bottom Line:

Great bank for the buck. I have had this on my bike for a year and half and never touched it. It has never lost air or had any issues at all.
I weight 165 lbs and ride cross country, up and down hills.
I recently replaced it with a new FOX RL and love this shock also, but too soon to review that one.

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Favorite Trail:   Appex

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Purchased At:   came with my Yeti

Similar Products Used:   Fox Float RL

Bike Setup:   Yeti Kokopelli, XT/XTR

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Submitted by Dino Vizzoca a Cross Country Rider from Burlington

Date Reviewed: January 12, 2004

Strengths:    Light weight, rebound adjustment, lockout feature.

Weaknesses:    Shock durability. Poor service from factory, turn over in getting shock part back.

Bottom Line:

Second time I had to send the Fox Float RC back for service within one year. First time shock made a squishy compression sound. Took two weeks turnaround, due to Inventory at the Factory, Oh Well... Second time oil leak around rebound wheel. Shock returned in about a week minus the reducer bushing in the piston for the rear triangle bolt. Called up service guy and am now waiting for mail delivery of bushing. Over two weeks since I Expressed mailed the shock to FOX, still no damn bushing!
The shock not only is costing me a bundle to get repaired but the worst part is not getting the thing back with the parts it was sent out with. Wish cannondale would have spec. out different shock choices.

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Favorite Trail:   Jim Thorpe, PA

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   MTBR.com Classified

Similar Products Used:   Fox Vanilla

Bike Setup:   Jekyll 3000, XTR drive train, Mavic 317, DT Swiss hub, Hayes hydro, Easton low rise bar, Thompson post, Atac pedals.

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Submitted by Mark a Cross Country Rider from Mobile,Al.

Date Reviewed: November 4, 2003

Strengths:    reliable,light, after 21/2 years holds air and is quiet.

Weaknesses:    Needs rebound adjustments?

Bottom Line:

Came w/ bike, but it still holds air. For the first year or
so ,I would check pressure before riding and was shocked that it never needed air. Now it needs air once a month.
I'm 160lb rider and run 125# of pressure in shock, therefore, rebound ajustments not needed. But if running 130# or higher pressure in shock , rebound ajustments needed.

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Favorite Trail:   Oak Mtn.

Duration Product Used:   2 Years

Purchased At:   came w/ 01 Fuel 90

Similar Products Used:   first F/S bike

Bike Setup:   01 fuel 90

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Submitted by tom wilson a Weekend Warrior from pa

Date Reviewed: September 1, 2003

Strengths:    holds air well, pretty lightweight,very adjustable

Weaknesses:    wish it had lockout but not that big of a deal

Bottom Line:

good shock overall

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Favorite Trail:   any new one

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Purchased At:   with bike

Similar Products Used:   sid

Bike Setup:   '03 fuel 80

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Submitted by Ryan from Raleigh, NC

Date Reviewed: May 11, 2003

Strengths:    Simple. Fiddled with the air press until the bottoming out was right 175PSI and has been left alone for months.

Weaknesses:    All the griping from others about lack of bells, whistles.

Bottom Line:

First full suspension Fuel 90- suspension is stock except my installation of the EXTRA FIRM (read "fatass") spring in the Manitou Black. I have had none of the problems you may read about with either the Fox or the Black. I am a rather large gorilla at six two and 240lbs and relish fast bumpy downhills. The shock has held up fine.

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Favorite Trail:   the one with all the girls on it

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Bike Setup:   Do you want to know how much I spend on the bike or how the shock works?

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Submitted by Ellison a Cross Country Rider from Greenville, SC

Date Reviewed: February 1, 2003

Strengths:    Very Smooth, great feel.

Weaknesses:    No adjustability.

Bottom Line:

This is a simple shock with a great feel to it. Only problem is that you cant adjust it at all. It came on my bike frame, so I didn't have any choice on what shock i wanted. Although I cant complain much about it, it's nothing worth upgrading to. If I break this shock, or I decide it's time to upgrade, I'll go to a cloud nine or a float RC.

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Favorite Trail:   Ian's Trail at Isaqueena

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Similar Products Used:   Sid, Float RC

Bike Setup:   Trek Fuel, full XT, raceface prodigy cranks, rolf urraco wheelset, manitou black elite

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Submitted by Chas a Cross Country Rider from Nashville ,TN

Date Reviewed: January 19, 2003

Strengths:    Work fine.Air adjusts easy.No leaks.Light

Weaknesses:    none

Bottom Line:

Works great at 250mi. If it breaks will upgrade to Cane Creek Cloud 9.

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Favorite Trail:   any

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Purchased At:   stock

Similar Products Used:   many demoed

Bike Setup:   Mostly stock fuel 80

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Submitted by Eugene Oxford a Weekend Warrior from k.c. mo usa

Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002

Strengths:    holds air well. i weigh about 175, and i do a lot of urban riding(curbs, ditches, huge pot holes) works soothly.

Weaknesses:    wish the action was a little quicker

Bottom Line:

i like it alot, i set the air about two weeks after i bought the bike, and havent messed with it since. my l.b.s. said i should buy a pump shock, but i dont think i'll need one. two thumbs up, but if you are up-gradeing you should think about one with adjustable rebound.

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Favorite Trail:   landahl park

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Purchased At:   bikes and boards

Similar Products Used:   just old no-name coil over shock

Bike Setup:   trek fule 80

Reviews 1 - 13 (13 Reviews Total)

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Fox Racing Shox Float 03 Rear Shock

Product Description

User Reviews

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