Fox Float 130 RLC Suspension Fork
By Jon Sharp

I have ridden many different forks from many manufacturers. For me, one of the performance features that stands out most in a good fork is its rigidity. There is hardly anything that shatters my confidence on a fast descent more than a flexy fork wandering all over the trail. I have seen forks flex so much that the front rim brake rubs and locks up the wheel when going slowly over large bumps. Ever feel like instead of steering your bike, you're just giving your fork the general idea of where you want to go and letting it pick its lines? Although forks (and suspension in general) have improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, there have still been some forks on the market that lack in stiffness. Fox is one of the fork manufacturers that seems to have the stiffness issue worked out. Reviewed here is the Float 130 RLC (rebound, lock-out, compression), Fox's newest long-travel all-mountain suspension fork.

The Float isn't really new to the Fox fork lineup. There are many things about it that are very new, however. The travel is now a long 130 mm (5.1 inches). The Float now has the new Slim Damper Cartridge for reduced weight and better damping. They have increased the low-speed compression range. There are new aluminum dampers and spring shafts to save more weight. There is a new Seal Head Bushing to reduce friction and increase durability as well as new oil and dust wiper seals for better performance.. The Float also has a modified air spring curve to resist bottoming better. And, finally, Fox has declared their forks, including this one, compatible with 8" rotors. As before, the stanchions are 32 mm. Though it looks beefy and solid, the Float 130 weighs in at a paltry 3.62 (claimed) lbs. As with all Fox products, construction is top notch. All the knobs and dials are machined aluminum--meaning there are no plastic parts to break in a crash.

The Float has external rebound, lockout, low-speed compression and blow-off threshold (for the lockout). The first three of these are available through a triple knob adjuster on the top of the right fork leg. At first, this might seem to make adjustments handy, by placing all three knobs in one location. In practice, however, flipping the lockout lever without turning the compression dial, and vice-versa, proved difficult--especially with full-finger gloves. Blow-off threshold is adjustable via a knob at the bottom of the same fork leg. Preload is handled via a schraeder valve under a cap at the top of the left fork leg. (Make sure you have a shock-pump, as you might want to play with the pre-load, or sag, a bit.) This many adjustments might seem a bit daunting at first to the average user, but thankfully, the user manual provides some good guidelines for getting set up.

After some practice--and lots of trial and error on some well-known trails--I got the fork set up exactly how I like it. Because the fork has this much travel, I set up the preload soft (with lots of sag). I also set up low-speed compression a little to the soft side of the middle click on the dial. The key to this fork is taking the time to try tweaking with the different settings. Overall, I found the Float 130 to be very plush and smooth. With the compression and rebound damping set up properly, the fork not only soaks up both the small and large hits, but reacts quickly enough not to miss any of the bumps in between.

For the purpose of experimentation, I decided to play with the settings a bit to the extreme. Knowing that this fork is not an innertial valve fork (Fox does that quite well with the F80X and F100X.), I decided to play with the lockout blow-off threshold a bit. I thought: "If I set up the blow-off to be very light, or sensitive to small bumps, then the fork should be mostly locked out--except for when the trail gets bumpy." Interestingly enough, this is not the case. At a light threshold, standing up and pedaling could actually blow-off the lockout. More unfortunate than that, however, was the ensuing travel. You see, it is nothing like the Terralogic (Fox's inertial valve technology): Locked out, but switching to fully active when a bump is hit. No, this fork was still locked out, but was allowed to move because of the light blow-off threshold. How did it feel? Not very good. In fact, I didn't like the ride at all. The travel wasn't smooth or supple, and in the end there was no advantage gained from its psuedo locked-out state. Lesson learned: Terralogic is fantastic technology, and this is not it.

The next phase in my experiment involved the low-speed compression dial. Before I go on, let me explain what exactly is meant by "low-speed" compression. What we are talking about, here, is the speed at which the fork lowers are moving past the uppers. This has nothing to do with the speed you are traveling down the trail. Armed with this knowledge, I wondered how close I could get the fork to a stable platform by increasing the low-speed compression damping. After all, my body movements (like standing up and pedaling) are v-e-r-y slow compared to the forks reaction to bumps in the trail. If I turned this up, could I isolate some of the bob without compromising too much of my ride? The first thing I did, after turning the dial all the way up (for more compression damping), was to shift to a harder gear, stand up, and pedal uphill on the trail. Did the fork bob? Yes it did. However, it didn't move nearly as much as with the low-speed compression damping turned down. For climbing, I liked the stiffer front end, yet it reacted well to the mid to large sized bumps. While descending, I found that the low-speed compression damping reduced brake-dive--a very nice feature if you've ever been caught grabbing a fist full of brake on a tight corner. Though I sometimes preferred this setup, I wouldn't always want to give up the plushness that is felt with a lighter low-speed compression setting.

The rest of the time, I set it up with a more "normal" level of damping and enjoyed 130mm of buttery smooth travel. Of course, besides having gobs of smooth, adjustable travel, the Fox Float is stiff. I love carving through high speed turns with this fork. And when, as is inevitable, I encounter unexpected obstacles in the middle of my path, the Float 130 just soaks them up and keeps going where I point it. Last minute maneuvers are also a cinch, thanks to the rigidity of this fork.

Summary: Did I like this fork? Yes. Very much so. It has plenty of wonderfully smooth (and very tunable) travel. There are enough options to delight the gear-head, yet it comes set up great for the average user. Be sure to play with the low-speed compression damping to find the feel that's right for your style of riding. The Float 130 tracks very well, and is stiff and solid under extreme circumstances and emergency maneuvers. During our test period, we had no problems with the seals, and overall, it performs as well today as the day we got it. Though the retail price, at around $600, may seem a bit daunting, you are getting a very high quality fork that will last for some time.

Jon Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking.

For more information, contact:
Fox Racing Shox
www.foxracingshox.com
800-FOX-SHOX