[aan]

looking for a new trail fork and settled on the 2022 Fox 34 - now trying to figure out which damper I want to go with, either the FIT4 or GRIP2.

I am leaning towards the GRIP2, it costs just a little bit more and everything I have found so far seems to lean in favor of the GRIP2...more adjustable, less harsh, easier to service, etc. Wondering if anyone has any downsides they have found? Can't seem to find much in terms of downsides, other than it requiring more tinkering to get it set up correctly.

Also, for those more knowledgable than myself: this is going on a hardtail at either 120 or 130mm but most GRIP2 reviews I have found are riding enduro bikes with the 36 or 38. Wondering if you tested both the FIT4 and GRIP2 in a shorter travel 120-130mm 34, would damper choice make less of a difference? TIA!

 

[D(C)]

I have seen some claims that the FIT 4’s sealed bladder allows less dirt ingress than the Grip 2’s semi-open system and therefore requires less frequent service, but I can’t say anything conclusive from firsthand experience. Otherwise, the adjustability of the Grip 2 is nice, provided you don’t care about having a lockout.

 

[evernorth]

I have seen some claims that the FIT 4’s sealed bladder allows less dirt ingress than the Grip 2’s semi-open system and therefore requires less frequent service, but I can’t say anything conclusive from firsthand experience. Otherwise, the adjustability of the Grip 2 is nice, provided you don’t care about having a lockout.

FIT4 is a bladder damper, these don't ingest the same amount of oil as the semi-open grip2. But the dirt ingress is not an issue with the grip2. Actually, since a FIT4 also ingests oil, but can't bleed it out, the bladders blow up due to overpressure.

That said, both issues (dirt ingress into damper as well as blowing up bladders) usually happen long after a due service interval. So if you want to have the most from your highend suspension, get it serviced regularly.

In terms of performance, the grip2 (stock vs stock) takes the cake in comparison to the FIT4. Since you are looking for a trail fork, the only pro for the FIT4 would be the lockout (which is not present on the grip2). But you get more performance and adjustability in the Grip2 package. So would always go for grip2.

 

[jalopyj]

Not to highjack the thread but similar question: fox34sc factory only comes in FIT4 whereas the 34sc performance is GRIP. Which of the two would you take?

 

[aan]

Not to highjack the thread but similar question: fox34sc factory only comes in FIT4 whereas the 34sc performance is GRIP. Which of the two would you take?

For me, would probably depend on the cost difference. I have had the GRIP damper in the past and perfectly happy with it. If you are racing though the lockout/firm setting on the FIT4 might be nice to have.

 

[jalopyj]

For me, would probably depend on the cost difference. I have had the GRIP damper in the past and perfectly happy with it. If you are racing though the lockout/firm setting on the FIT4 might be nice to have.

Gotcha, it'll be on a trail hard tail, so I'm thinking the GRIP damper will be perfectly fine. Are there only 3 compression adjustments (open, medium, firm) or can you dial it in a bit further?

- John

 

[aan]

Gotcha, it'll be on a trail hard tail, so I'm thinking the GRIP damper will be perfectly fine. Are there only 3 compression adjustments (open, medium, firm) or can you dial it in a bit further?

- John

for the FIT4 it only has open/med/firm (but also has an open mode adjust)...the GRIP is more of like a sliding scale. IIRC it doesn't have as firm of a lockout as the FIT4 but I'm not 100% on that.

 

[Cary]

The Fit4 is a terrible damper that should be retired.

 

[Loll]

Are you all aware Cambria bikes is selling those for $590 right now? At times they even have additional 10% off.

130mm model

 

[MSU Alum]

On a Trance 29 I've been using the 34 Grip 2 (140) for a season and really like it. It only took a couple of rides to dial it in.
I had the 34 Performance Grip (130) and liked it as well, but not quite as much.

It seems few people like the Fit4, but I haven't ridden it.

 

[kosmo]

Not to highjack the thread but similar question: fox34sc factory only comes in FIT4 whereas the 34sc performance is GRIP. Which of the two would you take?

I've got more than a few hours on all 3 Fox dampers, and Grip is my favorite for trail use.

I'll admit that I may no longer push hard enough to truly appreciate the Grip2, but for my rugged trail use, it seems slightly more harsh on the square-edged stuff than the simple Grip.

 

[jabrabu]

I don't know about the newer FIT4 damper, but I have a Factory 34 FIT4 from around 2016-2017, and I was never happy with it until I got a lot of custom tuning done. I was never happy with the small bump compliance. It was originally 120mm. I put in a 130mm air spring and had it custom tuned by PUSH. It was better, but still not great. Then I installed a Luftkappe air spring, and I'm pretty happy with it now.

Last year I got a new Factory 34 130mm with the Grip2 damper, and it was good right out of the box, no custom tuning required.

 

[BmanInTheD]

Fit4 damper is harsh vis-a-vis Grip2 but has a lock-out if that matters. I have a Fit4 120mm on my Ibis Exie and along with the 100mm of rear travel, it meshes well for a "crisp" ride. I have Grip2's on a couple other bikes and it is much plusher and works better with the bigger travel bikes.

 

[SlipperyToad]

Here's my experience with the two... first off, the bike is a 2017 Devinci Django (120/140) with a 2017 34 Performance Elite fork. The airspring that I've ridden both dampers with is the 140 EVOL. Last year I was to the point where I needed to service the Fit4 (I'm eventually going to do that and maybe install the vorsprung fractive system), and I didn't want to be out of commission while it was away. I found a Grip2 damper for a bit of a discount and changed it out instead.

After about six months on the Grip2, my impression is that it is a better damper for most purposes, but it's not really all that much different. I'm about 180lbs geared up to ride and I can run more air pressure in it and get the small bump compliance that I want. With the Fit4 I always felt like never got the small bump compliance I wanted when I was running it at the best pressure for mid-stroke support. The result was that I ran lower pressure and used the middle damper setting when I felt like I needed more support from the front end. It mostly worked fine, but the downside is I gave up some initial sensitivity when I ran the damper in the more supportive setting. With the Grip2 I don't have to do that. It feels a little more open initially and then firms up as it should. It's not night and day, but it is better.

The tunability of the Grip2 is a plus or minus depending on how much you want to mess with your setup. The separate rebound settings are nice if you want to mess with them and the LSC setting is more effective at controlling things than the open mode adjust on the Fit4. That said, I never found the Fit4 settings all that bad, other than the overly damped initial stroke. The mostly locked out setting on the Fit4 is a lot stiffer than when you move the Grip2 HSC to its tightest setting. I appreciate that when I'm riding across town to trails, but that's about it.

 

[BmanInTheD]

Here's my experience with the two... first off, the bike is a 2017 Devinci Django (120/140) with a 2017 34 Performance Elite fork. The airspring that I've ridden both dampers with is the 140 EVOL. Last year I was to the point where I needed to service the Fit4 (I'm eventually going to do that and maybe install the vorsprung fractive system), and I didn't want to be out of commission while it was away. I found a Grip2 damper for a bit of a discount and changed it out instead.

After about six months on the Grip2, my impression is that it is a better damper for most purposes, but it's not really all that much different. I'm about 180lbs geared up to ride and I can run more air pressure in it and get the small bump compliance that I want. With the Fit4 I always felt like never got the small bump compliance I wanted when I was running it at the best pressure for mid-stroke support. The result was that I ran lower pressure and used the middle damper setting when I felt like I needed more support from the front end. It mostly worked fine, but the downside is I gave up some initial sensitivity when I ran the damper in the more supportive setting. With the Grip2 I don't have to do that. It feels a little more open initially and then firms up as it should. It's not night and day, but it is better.

The tunability of the Grip2 is a plus or minus depending on how much you want to mess with your setup. The separate rebound settings are nice if you want to mess with them and the LSC setting is more effective at controlling things than the open mode adjust on the Fit4. That said, I never found the Fit4 settings all that bad, other than the overly damped initial stroke. The mostly locked out setting on the Fit4 is a lot stiffer than when you move the Grip2 HSC to its tightest setting. I appreciate that when I'm riding across town to trails, but that's about it.

EXACTLY my experience. As I wrote above, but I'm too lazy to type that much. Great summary.

 

[JPSeuropa]

Happy with Grip2...took a few rides and a couple of air tokens to get it where I wanted it. At first, I thought I wanted a lockout, but once I got the LSC and LSR dialed in no longer think about it.

 

[aan]

Happy with Grip2...took a few rides and a couple of air tokens to get it where I wanted it. At first, I thought I wanted a lockout, but once I got the LSC and LSR dialed in no longer think about it.

getting the low speed dialed in, does that help give you a more stable pedaling platform? with some of my forks in the past I could never get pedal bob to calm down when climbing out of the saddle

 

[SlipperyToad]

getting the low speed dialed in, does that help give you a more stable pedaling platform? with some of my forks in the past I could never get pedal bob to calm down when climbing out of the saddle

You can tune the pedal bob a bit, but you won't eliminate it. If that's a major consideration, the pseudo-lock-out on the Fit4 is better.

 

[Hexsense]

I don't know about the newer FIT4 damper, but I have a Factory 34 FIT4 from around 2016-2017, and I was never happy with it until I got a lot of custom tuning done. I was never happy with the small bump compliance. It was originally 120mm. I put in a 130mm air spring and had it custom tuned by PUSH. It was better, but still not great. Then I installed a Luftkappe air spring, and I'm pretty happy with it now.

Interesting that you fix damper problem mostly from air spring side.
Luftkappe increase negative air chamber by borrowing space from positive air chamber. Fox increase negative air volume in the 2022 model of Fox 34 as well. So, in theory, it's like the effect of Luftkappe is already in the new fork... only if they didn't pack the whole jar of grease in the negative chamber from the factory.

 

[JPSeuropa]

getting the low speed dialed in, does that help give you a more stable pedaling platform? with some of my forks in the past I could never get pedal bob to calm down when climbing out of the saddle

Yes, still moves but MUCH better than when I first tried it. Acceptable bob. ...hmmm should be a nickname for my cousin. Other than that, this thing is so plush over chatter roots which are a steady diet for me. I would totally go for the grip2.