Description:How much travel do you need? Six inches? Five? Four? 4X? Big Air? Switchbacks? Regardless of where or how you are riding, the 35 TALAS is ready to go. Enormous 36 mm stanchions and a stepped 20 mm thru-axle offer unprecedented rigidity and steering precision. A linear air spring and fully adjustable compression and rebound damping devour whatever terrain is thrown their way. A light flick of the lever switches between three travel options; 160-130-and 100 mm. The 36 TALAS is ready, are you?
Weight: 5.23 lbs/ 2.37 kg
Travel: 6.3 inches/160 mm
TALAS travel adjust: 160+130+100 mm
External Adjustments:
-Air spring pressure
-Rebound damping
-Low speed compression damping
-High speed compression damping
-Travel Internal Adjustments: Bottom-out resistance
Submitted by
danlorek
a Downhiller
from poway, ca Date Reviewed: October 7, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
super stiff, feels like a mini-40.
Weaknesses:
just sent the thing into fox for the "travel-creep" issue. the fork only had about 135mm of travel and was super harsh on the compression stroke from oil getting sucked into the talas cartrige. the same thing happened to my buddy's 36 and my 04 32RLC....lame.
Bottom Line:
when this thing is working right, it's awesome. for the pricetag i just can't understand how the so many talas forks have this travel loss issue... c'mon fox??! it's not just the travel loss either, the thing gets so harsh when it starts to go south.
i have two talas forks (2006 36 and 2005 32) both of which have this problem and the only other person i know with a 36 (07) has this issue too and he went to a vanilla 36 instead.
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Submitted by
Terri.
a
from Leduc, Alberta, Canada Date Reviewed: November 1, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Smooth, beefy fork, travel adjustment is great.
Weaknesses:
where did the travel go?
Bike Setup:
on my Rocky Mountain Flow 3.0
Bottom Line:
I like it alot, and for the price I paid it was basically a steal. But really, where did the travel go? It is supposed to have 150mm, and I have about 138mm with a total stanchion length of 142mm, I tried contacting Fox and they wouldn't answer any questions on the matter. :(
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Submitted by
lucass
a Downhiller
from Canada Date Reviewed: June 13, 2007
Favorite Trail:
bench in canmore
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At:
united cycles
Strengths:
plush, very adjustable, strong, stiff
Weaknesses:
so far so good I break every thing eventually, watch for an update
Similar Products Used:
fox vanilla 130, marz. Z150 FR, 888rc2, shiver sc,
Bike Setup:
on a heckler
Bottom Line:
wicked trail fork, good for DJ, have hucked some pretty good drops and no probs, waiting to see how it will handle multiple DH/freeride runs over the summer months, great price at united its actually an OEM fork from trek, exact same but darker color lowers
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Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Slovenia Date Reviewed: April 16, 2007
Favorite Trail:
juiceofsomeyoungguy
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Strengths:
TALAS, stiff lowers, versatile, plush, light,
Weaknesses:
Lower leg pinch bolts (crack-edy-pop), Travel creap...
Similar Products Used:
FOX VAN, FOX Vanilla 125,...
Bike Setup:
Who cares ? Its a AM SC Heckler!
Bottom Line:
Have been riding the product for over a year. Very happy with it. In general this fork is IT, it works as advertised...but...here comes the dredded BUT!!!!
Lower legs crack around the pinch bolts..That kind of sucks!!! I tightened the pinch bolts a million time and NO problems whatsoever, but now I found a hairline on my right lowers around the pinchbolts...damn.... I followed the instructions NOT to tighten the bolts too much, so Iam not realy shure how this could happen? Well if FOX fixes it I dont mind.
Travel creap (140mm instead of 150mm)... Was fixed by FOX rep. without charge..so not realy an issue.
I would buy the fork again, but I think that FOX should loose the pinch-bolts altogether and go for some simpler and safer mode of pinching the QR20 axle in its place!!!
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Submitted by
Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins, CO Date Reviewed: November 25, 2006
Favorite Trail:
the one I'm on
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Stock on my Nomad
Strengths:
Stiffness - lots of travel - unbelievably light for what it is - the first of what is sure to be copied by all of the other suspension companies.
Weaknesses:
Small bump sensitivity - hard to attain a good slow speed compression feel without running really low air pressure - Fox - please pay RockShox a license for their Maxle design and use it.
Similar Products Used:
This one is kind of in a class of it's own... for now.
Bike Setup:
Nomad
Bottom Line:
I really like this fork. I'm not sure if I'm getting 145mm or 160mm - or whatever - as many have complained - I am sure that if I'm going fast and pushing the edge of my abilities this fork works better than any other fork I have used - and there have been many. Yes, it is not the most supple at slow speeds, so I try to go faster... trust me, that's where this thing shines- fast and plush.
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Submitted by
Dan The Greatest
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide, Australia Date Reviewed: October 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
The Winter/Chambers/WineShanty/Horsenell Loop
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$700.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Stiff, light
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
Rock Shox < BEWARE: DANGEROUS JUNK, White Bros DH90, Zocchi Z1, AM2
Bike Setup:
04 SC Heckler with 07 Fox DHX5.0 (coil), 06 Fox 36Talas RC2, XTR cranks, X.0 drivetrain(gripshift), Hope hubs + EX5.1D rims, Chris King headset, Juicy 7 7" discs, Thomson seat post & stem
Bottom Line:
Nice forks. Definately the stiffest I've had, more so than my oldschool White Bros triples (which were crap, really). Surprisingly harsh initially (my first air forks), with the dampening properties of a brick. However, they're sweet after a few break-in rides, moving smoothly through their travel as requried. Haven't noticed any real lack of small bump sensitivity over 05 Zocchi AM2's. Without a 20mm thru-axle the Zocchi's flex their guts out, these don't. Still, not quite the point-an-shoot i was looking for. Travel adjust is handy, but much less user freindly than Zocchi's ETA. Lots of other adjustments, but I ain't yet felt the need to play with 'em. Can't comment on durability, will follow-up in a year.
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Submitted by
Vince
a Weekend Warrior
from Greenfield, WI Date Reviewed: September 25, 2006
Favorite Trail:
John Muir
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
EXTREMELY stiff. Extremely light when compared to how stiff and beefy the 36mm fork is. I've never ridden a fork that had this much adjustment, definitaly a plus if you've got a few hours to go out and ride, and really take your time and figure everything out. The low-speed compression setting is awesome, it hols up the forks travel when you're climbing, and kills most of the usual brake diving but you can tune it perfectly with patience to still remain responsive. Travel adjustment is awesome. i dont know what everyone else is talking about, not being able to adjust it on the fly, it even says in the manual, it takes a few compressions for the travel to sink in. Great stuff!
Weaknesses:
Expensive? Some people might be overwhelmed with all the adjustments.
Similar Products Used:
Pike SL, Pike 454
Bike Setup:
Spooky pitboss
Bottom Line:
This fork is NOT for someone who wants to get their suspension dialed for EVERY riding condition one might encounter, as it does take time to figure it all out, but it opens up a whole new world of riding, becuase you can adjust it so well. The fork is super expensive, but i see no faults at all in the fork. A superb fork for a sweet light-ish weight trail bike.
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Submitted by
Dennis
a Cross Country Rider
from Southern California Date Reviewed: September 2, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Stiff, adjustable, stiff, long travel, and did I mention stiff? (as in not flexy).
Weaknesses:
Bad reputation - maybe improved for '07? And the price - whoa, I am glad it came on my bike!
Similar Products Used:
Talas 32 130, Reba 100, Lefty 140 SPV
Bike Setup:
Chumba EVO with all the good stuff
Bottom Line:
This is a review of the '07. Maybe things are improved for '07, I would love to have someone with an '06 compare with an '07, I can't do that. The '07 has 160 mm travel with a lever to change the travel from 160-130-100 much easier than previous years.
The chasis is super stiff. The fork steers with far better precision than any other fork I have tried, especially in rough, rocky sections where I am used to being thrown around. I just set it up per the manual - fastest compression settings, mid damping, 25% preload, and it ate up everything well. I was amazed at how stutter sections, drops, etc. just did not have the drama they used to. Maybe the '07 has improved small bump compliance? I have ridden forks with better small bump compliance, but I would not say the Talas 36 has poor small bump compliance.
The travel adjust is a great feature, I use it all the time. I drop the fork for climbs, rake it out for descents. Especially on a long travel, relaxed angle frames it is great thing - dropping the front really helps you climb much better and keeps the front from wandering around so much. The three position dial is a nice improvement. Not only is it faster, but it is easier to know what setting you are in. I now sort of size up a trail for the travel/geometry needed, thinking "this is a 130 section", or "that was a 100 climb", or "those drops were definitely 160s". I do use 160 mm most of the time.
As for travel, I measure mine at 156 mm or 6.14 inches when deflated and pushed down all the way. That is within 2.5% of the stated travel, seems acceptable to me. The stanchions measure 167 long, so you should not expect the lowers to run all the way up the stanchion at full travel on the '07, it seems. Will it keep the travel? Based on these review I will check it periodically - I always ride with a zip tie on one stanchion. But all looks good for now.
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Submitted by
John Keelan
a Cross Country Rider
from Golden,CO,USA Date Reviewed: August 17, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
The 36mm diameter tubes are beefy.
Weaknesses:
There are way too many adjustments on this thing. I am certain all this gimickry will not stand the test of time. I have not found an ideal setup yet. The ride is pretty harsh on small, high frequency washboards unless you let all the air out of it. The travel adjustment is not practical--it takes about 3 full revolutions (15 clicks) to go from minimum to maximum travel--not something you can do on the fly.
Similar Products Used:
Marzochi, rock shox
Bike Setup:
Yeti 575 Enduro Pro
Bottom Line:
This thing came on my bike--I will ride it until it implodes then I will have to replace it with a lighter, more plush fork.
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Submitted by
Sinner
a Cross Country Rider
from The north Date Reviewed: August 15, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$999.00
Strengths:
Looks cool out of the box and on the bike and thats where it stops.
Weaknesses:
Lack of travel, damping cartridge that's not up to the job, weak lower leg clamping area. Avoid this over priced piece of junk.
Similar Products Used:
Pike's, shermen's, bomber's
Bike Setup:
S/c Nomad dhx coil, full xt, Hope brakes and hubs, thomson stem, King headset, Easton bar and post, Conti tyres.
Bottom Line:
In six months of ownership, i've had the cartridge blow 3 times, the 3rd time less than a week after being serviced by fox under warranty, and after one days riding!!! I know of lots of other riders having the same problem with their forks losing the damping too. On a recent mountain bike holiday i couldn't stop laughing when i saw a guy who's had tied an inner tube between his fork brace and crown to stop the fork topping out as his 36's had blown. Lower legs crack around the pinch bolts if you even think of trying to tighten them, fox say you should always use a torque wrench, but who carries a torque wrench with them on the trail! Fox know that they have messed up in this area as they replace the lowers free of charge. Out of the box, my fork only has 140mm of travel, not bad for a 150mm fork, where is the other 10mm fox? This is with the talas fully wound out and measuring from the top of the oil seal to the crown, only 140mm of travel is possible. Wouldn't recommend them to anyone, avoid.
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Submitted by
Paul Andrews
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA Date Reviewed: August 1, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Tahoe Rim Trail
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At:
Downhill Zone, Seattle
Strengths:
Stiffness, carry, balance, stability, goes where you point it, sucks up big hits, good compression (adjustable for slow and fast), drops down to 4 inches for climbing, light weight
Weaknesses:
None so far. Fox even has solved travel creep this time around. If you back off compression and air it up correctly you get full 160mm.
Similar Products Used:
Zoke AM1, Manitou Nixon Platinum (a terrible fork)
The boys at Downhill Zone worked Fox over for 8 mos. to get me this fork. I thought they were blowing smoke when they said it was one of the first in the country to go out. Then I got to Crankworx and stopped by the Fox booth. They didn't have one and said there just weren't any to be had. They were pretty cranked to see my setup and spent half an hour playing with it, getting it dialed. Spent 3 days slamming the trails at Whistler, almost backed out both bolts on lower 6.6 pivot (hey guys, watch out for this on VPP setups), the fork just railed. I was doing stuff I never tried with my noodle 6er forks, stuff I didn't think I could do. Went off some ramps I was scared of before and rode down slickrock I walked around before. Granted I've only ridden the fork a coupla weeks now but it's the most solid Fox fork of half a dozen I've owned out of the box. Will keep y'all posted!
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Submitted by
Ted
a
from Birmingham, AL Date Reviewed: July 27, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Weaknesses:
Loss of Travel!!!
Bottom Line:
THIS FORK IS RIDICOULOUS! FOX IS BASICALLY GUILTY OF FALSE ADVERTISING BECAUSE MY TALAS 36 RC2 HAS ONLY HAD 5.9 INCHES OF TRAVEL FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 2 MONTHS OUT OF THE 9 THAT I’VE OWNED IT. I JUST SENT IT BACK TO FOX FOR THEM TO FIX IT FOR THE SECOND TIME. NOW, THEY WILL FIX IT, AND IT WILL WORK GREAT FOR ABOUT A MONTH , THEN IT WILL START LOOSING ITS TRAVEL AGAIN AND I’LL EITHER HAVE TO RIDE IT THAT WAY FOR A WHILE OR I’LL HAVE TO BE WITHOUT MY MAIN SQUEEZE FOR 2-3 WEEKS. THAT MY FRIENDS IS A SHI**Y DILEMMA! I WISH FOX WOULD GIVE ME A VAN 36 RC2 OR MY $1000 BACK! BOTTOM LINE: DON’T BUY A FOX FORK
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Submitted by
rudy selman
a Weekend Warrior
from san diego cali Date Reviewed: June 25, 2006
Favorite Trail:
fast ones
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$293847.00
Purchased At:
rei
Strengths:
looks, adjustability
Weaknesses:
well mine bottoms out at 140mm like the other guy's.... oh well what are you gonna do
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
c'dale 1mx. everything stock now, getting some formula k24s though
Bottom Line:
this came stock on my bike and i was planning on selling it when i got it and buying a zocchi eta light because of these reviews but the only bad thing about it is the loss of 10mm. other than that its a super nice fork with a really good feel to it. just take the time to set it up
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Submitted by
Cowan
a Downhiller
from Washington Date Reviewed: June 5, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$900.00
Strengths:
looks great, seems to have good adjustments, big big stantions
Weaknesses:
Ill explain in the bottom line
Similar Products Used:
66, manitou travis/sherman, rock shox pike, fox vanilla and talas (the regular ones)
Bike Setup:
Nicolai UFO st, now i have a manitou travis, full saint, mavic 729's, fsa carbon bar, thomson stem and post.
Bottom Line:
thought i was getting a great fork, rode well for the first 3 months then the talas system blew in it, sent it in for warrenty got it back almost 2 months later, rode it for a week and took a spill, not even hard just washed out on a burmed turn, i get up and theres a massive hole in the stantion and the arch is cracked! the fork may have massivly wide stantions but they are paper thin and thats how they get it to be so light, well i know forsure that as soon as the new fork comes in im selling it, the fork has given me way too much hassel.
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Submitted by
Rui Abreu
a Cross Country Rider
from Braga, Portugal Date Reviewed: June 5, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Germany
Strengths:
All! Light weight, stiffness, etc...great fork!
Weaknesses:
Still search....
Similar Products Used:
Marz 66RC
Bike Setup:
Kona CoilAir with this changes: Mavic CrossMax XL, RaceFace Diabolus Stem, CrankBrothers Mallet C, Sram X.0 shifters and rear derailleur.
Bottom Line:
Execelent fork...works great! My fork do 145mm of travel and I don't think that 5mm of travel should be a problem. Very stiff and very light fork.
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Submitted by
DAVIDE VALENTINI
a Weekend Warrior
from ITALY Date Reviewed: April 7, 2006
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$900.00
Strengths:
So stiff, much stiffer than comparable weight forks
Weaknesses:
amount of travel, quality of travel
Similar Products Used:
Pace rc 40 (not nearly so stiff but with quality travel, Rock shox Pike (great damping caracteristics)
Bike Setup:
Heckler, Dhx5 coil, full Xtr with dual control (the best)
Bottom Line:
Very stiff, with acceptable weight, but so disappointing for damping qualities. Max travel is 135 when you paid for 150 and have the crown to axle weight of a 150 (why you shoud buy a 150 with talas to reduce travel to use only 130 ?) To have some comfort you have to use low pressure but the fork tends to blow into the travel when pointing downhill, in this way the amount of travel you really use is of 60mm. Now I'm experimenting with 5wt oil (let you know wery soon). I lack my Pace Rc 40 (great coli spring damping)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John Young
a Downhiller
from UK Date Reviewed: February 16, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Anywhere fun
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Stiff, Stiff, Stiff, TALAS, oh Stiff. Stiffer than my shivers were. plush, wide, so goodseering, great damping, great for railing berms, great strength to weight ratio.
Weaknesses:
Not reading instructions and overtightening axel pinch bolts breaking lowers, my fault, but sticker would be nice.
RM Switch, Fox DHx 5.0 Air or Coil, CK headset, Full XTR, MAXM carbon bars Hope hubs 729 rims, Hope Mono M4 brakes...... bling
Bottom Line:
I don't know why people complain, everyone knows that TALAS forks have allways suffered from travel creep, but when climbing I would rather have 100mm travel than point to the sky with a pair of VANs, then be to knack'd by the top to enjoy the down. I have abused my 36's riding everyting from XC to DH (Fort Bill in the uk etc.) and they have taken it all with easy, being light they are great for gap jumps and 10ft+ drops, being easy to control. Only thing that went wrong was not reading the instructions and overtightening the pinch bolts for the 20mm axel, breaking the magnesium, to be fair to fox, there is a big note in the instructions to tell you not to overtighten, but who reads the instructions.... a note on the lowers would be good.
Great fork, strong, stiff, great for all riding, gets my vote. If you want one fork for everything and money is no object then 36 is the one. On a budget, get a set of Marz Z1's with eta.
Fox make the best rear shocks, and the best forks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
adam
a Cross Country Rider
from tucson, az Date Reviewed: February 14, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Capital Bicycles, MD
Strengths:
Stiffness: point and shoot.
Weaknesses:
Travel loss: top and bottom of the stroke.
Similar Products Used:
Bombers.
Bike Setup:
06 Enduro from Aaron at Capital Bicycles ;)
Bottom Line:
I wouldn't write if I didn't care. That's what I always think when my friends bag on all the weenies writing here. Ultimately, the fork loses travel with the adjuster knob thingy. (The blue one: I never used it, just lost potential travel from it.) Also the fork won't approach the crown in it's stroke. Fox said it was natural, the fork doesn't like to bottom out. I say the fork likes to bottom out about an inch and a quarter from the crown. Yes, yes, I changed the bejeesus out of the air pressure. Nothing changed on the travel. Two things: I'm glad the thing came on the bike, cause I would be really chapped if I had paid $850 for a four inch fork. On the down side, now I dod have to drop cheddar to get back on a bomber.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul Andrews
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle WA Date Reviewed: December 7, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Gargamel
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
Light weight, stiffness
Weaknesses:
Price; otherwise they're fixing the travel & knob issues (see below)
Similar Products Used:
Zoke AM1, Nixon Platinum, Talas 125mm
Bike Setup:
Seven bikes, which one?
Bottom Line:
The following was posted on Galbraith Mt. Web site's Buzz:
Mongo and I have been jabbering about the Fox 36 Talas forx and how my past experience dictates that Fox revs its previous-year forks in March or so. As you may know, Fox has come under fire on the 36 for travel shrinkage (a really terrible condition in forks as in life!). The 2005 36RC2 and 36R are rated at 150mm fully extended. But if you check the forums at MTBR and various reviews, including the latest in Dirt Rag, you know that complaints are rife of 135-145mm travel after the stanchions seat. Another longstanding complaint from all Talas owners involves the travel adjustment mech. You have to wind and wind and wind that blasted little knob in 3mm increments to get the travel down for a long fire road climb.
Wanting the real dirt, I called Andrew at Fox. Here's our exchange.
I asked Andrew when (as Michael Browne's Dirt Rag review, Issue 118, p. 68, states) the 36 Talas with 30mm increments, rather than 3mm, will be available. This is a big deal. Just two clicks will take you from full travel down to 130mm and then 100mm travel.
Andrew could only say "late spring, early summer." I asked if the timing would be the same for retail as OEM. He said yes. This hasn't always been the case, of course. But since the fork has been out starting this past summer, there's no big advantage for OEMing it first.
I also asked Andrew about travel creep. He said Fox hadn't received complaints on this. I referred him to MTBR forums and Browne's review: "The other complaint is that my fork measured 145mm, not 150mm... I think if the $850 fork says 150mm, it should offer just that."
I was reminded here of a great story involving Mongo. We were at Sea Otter a few years ago and hit the Cannondale booth, where Mongo asked about problems involving Jekyll frame failure. The rep said there hadn't been any reports of failure with the Jekyll. He was talking to a guy who had broken 2 frames! Mongo set the guy straight, but you have to wonder what bubble these reps live in most of the time.
Finally, I asked Andrew about overall travel. I had heard from the bros at Downhill Zone that the 36 Talas would be upped from 150mm to 160mm to match the (coil) Van.
"The Talas has always been 160mm," Andrew told me. "There's no change."
I was looking right at the Fox Web site at the time, which listed the Talas at 150mm. I mentioned this little factoid to Andrew, who put me on hold. In a few moments of rather pleasant hold music he was back, and informed me that I was correct.
"The travel is being increased to 160mm to match the Van," he said.
Glad we got all this cleared up. But it makes me wonder who's really the reliable source here -- the corporate reps or your humble MTB board!
Ride fast/Live slow, Paul
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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