WHAT MAKES THE NEW FOX 38 NEW?
At the time of launch, it had been five years since the Fox 38 was first released. In that time, it solidified its position as one of the most popular enduro suspension forks. Two years ago, it received the updated Grip X2 damper, which nudged its performance a step further, but now Fox Factory has given it an overhaul, in a bid to elevate the performance of every single element further.
New Generatively-Designed Lower Legs
The Fox 38 lower legs have received the generative design treatment, optimizing their structure from a stiffness-to-weight perspective…as well as looking cool.
Increased Bushing Overlap
The new lower legs see the bushing overlap increased from 120mm to 140mm – a 14% increase – to minimize friction, especially deeper in the travel.
Updated bleeders and relocated bypass channels
Fox found there was a more efficient way to implement their bleeders and bypass channels, delivering structural improvements overall.
More Stiff, Less Stiff
Fox took the learnings from their Podium, increasing fore and aft stiffness on the MY27 Fox 38 by 8.8%, while delivering an 6.8% reduction in torsional stiffness.
Updated Grip X2 Damper
The general architecture of the pressure-balanced Grip X2 damper remains largely unchanged, but Fox has produced a new mid-valve piston and valve stack with tuned shapes. The goal was to increase suppleness while retaining support, to reduce harshness and fatigue.
New Glidecore air spring with MCU bottom-out bumper
The new Fox 38 FLOAT Glidecore air spring features elastomers at the mounting points to the fork chassis, allowing for vertical and horizontal compliance to reduce the likelihood of binding under dynamic loads. This should reduce friction on breakaway and when loaded off-axis during compressions.
THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION
I had the opportunity to visit Finale Ligure, Italy, as a guest of the Fox Factory RECON event. It’s an annual press week where the Fox group gathers international media for presentations, education, and of course, a whole lot of riding! This year’s event covered a range of products from Race Face and Fox – many of which you’ve already seen trickle out – but the one I was most excited about was the new Fox 38 fork. I’d say it’s likely one of my most commonly ridden components every year, so an improvement could elevate my overall ride quality notably. Much like on enduro race podiums around the world, Fox 38 forks are highly prevalent and get a ton of spec on our test bikes.
I found that an entirely new setup was required on the MY27 Fox 38 fork, as the updated internal architecture delivered a notably different ride feel. The sum of the internal changes meant the fork felt notably smoother through its travel, especially in the first half of the travel. The reduced stiction and more linear, coil-like feel off the top resulted in me adding compression damping, and encouraged to run a relatively fast rebound setting.
Initial testing and impressions came while riding down the world-renowned track in Finale Ligure called Little Champery. The trail has some steeper sections, with 3-5 foot drops and plenty of braking. I also encountered some lower gradient trails, with supportive berms ridden at speed, and high g-forces as a result. In these scenarios, the fork felt too soft at times, lacking a little support, yet it never bottomed out. It took a bit to adapt to feeling like the fork was diving, and after some initial runs, I began adding more compression on both circuits.
To my surprise, the ride height of the Fox 38 improved as expected, but the buttery off-the-top feel wasn’t sacrificed with the additional damping control. I did not add any volume reducers, as I liked the buttery feel in the middle of the travel range and didn’t want to hit the ramp-up “wall” earlier than desired. As a 43-year old rider who suffers from hand and finger fatigue, my racing days are long gone, and I want products that help me ride fast without being abusive for long days of downhilling.
Over the three days of riding, I stacked about 24,000 feet of descending, and believe that the new 38 truly did offer a smoother, more comfortable experience. That said, it was equally rewarding when I wanted to push hard. During certain periods of my testing, I would set up segments, adjust tunes, and see how the fork would perform under a more “race pace” effort. As expected, the fork performance was improved in the same way, and according to most other editors I talked to, it even performed better the harder and faster we rode.
Now, there’s a whole lot of reasons documented above which showcase what is new about the Fox 38 internally and externally. Rather than diving into the specifics of how each of the micro-aspects has changed the performance, instead I’m focusing on the big picture. How does the MY27 Fox 38 fork compare to the outgoing model, and can I tell a difference after just a few days of riding? For our long-term review, we will pass the forks around to other testers, and compare it to other forks like the RockShox Zeb, and even Fox’s own flagship – the Podium. For now, consider us impressed. 
Website: RideFox.com
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ABOUT THE WOLF
Drew went from chasing a dream of racing downhill to testing and reviewing bikes. Founded Loam Wolf in 2017 and have been trading the bike saddle for the office chair more and more each year sadly. Once in a while the team lets him out of the cage to throw his old bones on an exciting new bike.
Rank: Slowing Down
Size: 5’11” | 188lbs
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