Two letters characterise the lightest cross-country fork currently available from Foxif not the lightest 100 mm MTB suspension fork on the market: SC, which stands for Step Cast, and you can see what it is at first glance. From the dropouts upwards, the new top fork from Fox has a step in the dip tubes. The omission of material naturally saves weight, as do the shorter stanchions, the narrower design, the fork crown and fine-tuning in the damping cartridge. Here, for example, Fox has replaced die-cast parts with forged parts and saved 50 grams. The American suspension specialists promise that none of these measures are at the expense of durability or stiffness.
Fox 32 Float SC: only 1350 grams, but also stiffer?
Thanks to the Boost standard (110 mm front axle, optional) and the narrower crown, the fork is supposed to be even stiffer than its predecessor, the Fox 32, keyword: leverage ratio. And the weight? Less than three pounds was the target for the Fox developers, and they have achieved this with the Fox 32 Float SC 2.98 pounds - i.e. 1350 grams.
Our 29er test fork actually only weighs this much, but with the Kabolt bolt-on axle. A quick release weighs 40 grams more. Compared to last year's model, this is 250 grams less. The new cross country fork from Fox is due to go on sale at the end of May. As a Boost or normal version, with 80 or 100 millimetres of travel and for 27.5 or 29 inches. The forks for the team riders and press test samples come in bright orange. The SC suspension fork is only available in black in the bike shop. And the price? The F32 Float SC costs 1159 euros. If you want to build the lightest hardtail in 2017, there's probably no way around it. We are currently testing how the fork works in detail in the BIKE lab and in practice.
The first test report with measured values and practical impressions of the Fox 32 Float SC will be available in BIKE 6/16.
