[Energetik]

Hi all. Apologies if this had been asked before but I'm pressed for time.

I bought a used 2016 fox 34 factory 27.5 fit4 and I can't seem to get it set up to my liking.

For reference i ride mainly trails with rocks and many roots on the east coast. I want a good plush beginning stroke that doesn't dive under braking or bottom out easily.

The bike is a Cannondale Prophet that I'm converting to 27.5. I just need tires and that's done.

I'm admittedly a n00b with high end forks so I may be just doing it wrong. Also I have no idea when or even if it was last serviced so that might be it too. I'm 155lbs with gear.

Pressure recommendations, compression and rebound advice? Help a bro out if you all so kindly would! Thanks!

 

[minimusprime]

Get it serviced. I do lower leg services on my fork every 3-4 months and it's the single biggest performance improvement I can make in the fork.

"I want a good plush beginning stroke that doesn't dive under braking or bottom out easily."

That statement is the holy grail, that's what we all want. The fox 34 factory is a good fork, very light for it's capability and provides solid adjustment. What it does not do, is end up plush, without dive (i'm talking perfect here, you can get it pretty damn good for a trail bike). The factory 34 forks are quite damped and (IMO) when setup right, will send maybe 15% more feedback into the bars then ideal. This isn't a bad thing (especially for it's trail bike intended purpose), but it's certainly not going to get that last 15% of plushness that a 36 grip 2 will get for example.

I digress. Get a lower leg service done. At your rider weight, I'd expect to need very little compression damping, if any at all. Start with -8 to -10 out on LSC, leave the fork in the open setting all the time IMO. Regarding pressure, I'm not a huge fan of sag measurements in forks, because they are so hard to repeat. I'd set your pressure based on fox's recommendation to start +5-10 PSI. Again at your weight, rebound is going to be pretty open, my guess is -7 to -9 out.

Focus on air spring first to get the fork riding where you want in the travel, then use bottom out tokens to control the quantity and character of your bottom out events. Keep in mind bottom will place the o-ring 10mm from the top of the stanchion/crown. I like my 34 factory with rebound on the fast side, but that's a subjective thing for sure. Utilize LSC to add some support.

Consider buying a vorsprung luftkappe when you do the lower leg service. It's sorta a while you're in there thing, and has a big impact. If you're doing a damper service, I'd suggest checking out the vorsprung fractive tune for it. Not necessary, but it will make this fork damn near perfect imo and worth keeping long haul.

Do not fall into the trap of lowering air spring pressure, adding tokens and backing all the way off hsc to get the fork to plush. All that's going to do is keep you riding low in the forks travel, and smashing into the progressivity of the tokens (which should be reserved for more rare, larger hits) more often and when you shouldn't be. Don't be scared of tokens, just dont' try and use them to change how the fork feels, use them for bottom out control. (you can certainly use them to change how the fork feels, but only do so when you have a reliable base setting that does not rely on them for a feel you are looking for.)

 

[PhillipJ]

Do a lowers service with Supergliss or Fox Gold.

Use new SKF or Manitou Mattoc dust seals.


Someone on here (Dougle maybe?) mentioned that the LSC adjust doesn't really do anything for the first half so if you want support you have to run it ~10ish or less clicks out from closed.


If it still feels crap you might need to get Vorsprung's damper upgrade applied.

 

[upsha]

Hi all. Apologies if this had been asked before but I'm pressed for time.

I bought a used 2016 fox 34 factory 27.5 fit4 and I can't seem to get it set up to my liking.
For reference i ride mainly trails with rocks and many roots on the east coast. I want a good plush beginning stroke that doesn't dive under braking or bottom out easily.

If you're getting a lower leg service, definitely try putting in a EVOL air shaft. I just put a 140mm one in my 2017 FIT4 130mm Fox 34. I only have one ride in but definitely much better initial plushness and better support. The trick is to use EVOL with less token and higher pressure. EVOL gives the initial plush, and higher pressure gives the support.

I recall someone saying the problem of FIT4 is lack of compression damping, especially high speed. If EVOL cannot get you the happy compromise between plushness and support, Vorsprung Fractive could be your next step. I am personally super happy with EVOL now.

 

[minimusprime]

Do a lowers service with Supergliss or Fox Gold.

Use new SKF or Manitou Mattoc dust seals.

Someone on here (Dougle maybe?) mentioned that the LSC adjust doesn't really do anything for the first half so if you want support you have to run it ~10ish or less clicks out from closed.

If it still feels crap you might need to get Vorsprung's damper upgrade applied.

If you're getting a lower leg service, definitely try putting in a EVOL air shaft. I just put a 140mm one in my 2017 FIT4 130mm Fox 34. I only have one ride in but definitely much better initial plushness and better support. The trick is to use EVOL with less token and higher pressure. EVOL gives the initial plush, and higher pressure gives the support.

I recall someone saying the problem of FIT4 is lack of compression damping, especially high speed. If EVOL cannot get you the happy compromise between plushness and support, Vorsprung Fractive could be your next step. I am personally super happy with EVOL now.

good suggestions from both these guys. I totally forgot that the early models didn't have the evol air spring. That's a pretty big upgrade on this fork for pretty cheap (40 bucks) and is for sure worth doing if you're going to do a lower leg service. Heck, it's really worth it to just get a replacement glide ring on the lower air spring seal head.

Regarding the LSC clicks. You are correct, but I just want to jump in and say you have it backwards (i think, maybe i haven't had enough coffee). You always want to count your clicks from closed as that's the needle down position, meaning the needle is all the way into the orifice. So, it's the first 10 clicks from closed that have an impact, and the ones beyond that don't have much of a difference.

Reference this https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0..._Fit4_Damper_Systems_3.pdf?131374290201626989

Here is the quote from it.
"1. The stock Fox LSC adjuster (not replaced with this system) is quite ineffective beyond approximately 12 clicks out from fully closed/firm. Although it has approx 22 clicks total, the 10 softest of these make little difference, so your realistic range is between 1-12 clicks from fully closed. We don't generally recommend running the adjuster fully closed - if you need to do that, you should either consider using a firmer HSC setting or installing a firmer valving. Likewise, if 12 clicks out is still too firm, use a softer HSC setting or a softer valving."

 

[floatingkiwi]

I weigh 75kg RTR and I could never get my 2017 34Fit4 120mm to stop hammering the doodoo out of my wrists. I upgraded to 2018 evol 130mm air shaft and now have a PC3 fractive tune. Both together are fantastic. I noticed especially the fractive tune on the very first couple of fast corners. I can easily tune it with the shockwiz too.

 

[sine waiver]

I weigh 75kg RTR and I could never get my 2017 34Fit4 120mm to stop hammering the doodoo out of my wrists. I upgraded to 2018 evol 130mm air shaft and now have a PC3 fractive tune. Both together are fantastic. I noticed especially the fractive tune on the very first couple of fast corners. I can easily tune it with the shockwiz too.

100% agree with this, the Vorsprung fractive piston is a great upgrade, I was slightly unsure on whether the online tune selector would get me what I wanted but it was close to spot on with the PC3 shims - me 70kg, 140mm F34.
The stock shim stack seems too stiff so requires running LSC open to try and avoid harshness, this then doesn't give enough low speed damping.