Australian Mountain Bike — December 01, 2017

96 - AMB

TESTED

WORDS AND IMAGES: ROBERT CONROY

FOX FLOAT DPS PERFORMANCE ELITE

HITS

• Suppleness through the roof


• Confidence-inspiring


• Broad range of tuneability

MISSES

• Will take some time to fine-tune

RRP:$695 (factory w/ Kashima)

FROM:SolaSport

The shock we have on test is the Float DPS
Performance Elite, the model you may find bolted
to your brand new rig. Don’t remove it. It’s an
almost identical copy of the Factory shock, save
for the Kashima coat. For those of you who aren’t
regular readers, I picked it up a little over two
months ago at the launch of the Fox ‘My18’ range
(Issue 163) and it has been bolted to my Whyte
T-130 ever since.

The Fox Float DPS system sees some improved
hardware for the new year. Namely the EVOL can

• this is now a one-piece construction. The three
  compression settings remain; Open, Medium
  and Firm. However additional to the standard
  Performance shock is the inclusion of the Open
  mode adjustment tuning knob, mirroring the
  Factory model, which gives you another three
  options of firmness in Open mode.

It was a rocky start after the Fox test event when,
despite having the correct sag and air pressure,
I struggled to get the feeling in the shock I was
seeking. As a by-product of the conversion to a
single piece EVOL can, the negative air chamber
is now larger again - swallowing another

10 -15psi than its predecessor. All set up, on the

trail this should translate to more mid stroke

support, a softer bottom out and a supple chatter

over small bumps.

Instead, I was feeling all that through the medium

setting and completely blowing through travel in

the Open setting - which is where I spend much

of my off road riding time. It was interesting

to note that the bottom out was much softer

despite this imbalance and I was feeling most of

the punishment in the climbs, where even in the

medium setting, bob was prevalent.

I was lucky enough with previous iterations to be

sitting within the goal weights of the factory tune

as the bikes were direct from the factory floor.

That was not the case this time, so I put in a order

for volume spacers. Installing volume spacers is

relatively easy and you can do it at home - just be

careful as the air can is under pressure and can

harm you. The chances are you will have to go

through the same procedure, so if this bothers

you, Sola Sport can assist you with their new

tuning service. The spacers come in a variety

of flavours, 0.3in^3 to 0.95in^3 , which can be used

in combination or singularly. I installed a 0.4in^3

spacer on top of the already installed 0.4in^3 and

headed for the local trails.

A slight drop in pressure, 110 down to 100 and

back into trail carving I went. For me, tuning the

shock is about finding the balance between Open

and Medium modes. Firm, although regularly

used, is mainly to get me home at max pace. With

the inclusion of the volume spacer the ride evened

out. In the Medium setting the ride firmed up a

tad, while in Open mode it was smooth sailing.

Over the time of the test the biggest feeling of

note was the subtle dampening of small chatter,

which makes a notable difference over long rides.

The additional support in the mid stroke made all

the difference in rocky sections, keeping me more

upright in the ride and more in control. The 2018

shock is an amplification of what was most right

with the 2017 shock, it’s just providing that little

extra tune with the larger negative air canister

and improved tune. I could go into much more

detail about shim stacks here, but you’ll just have

to believe me.

Once the shock was set up and tuned to my

taste the rest of the test period was uneventful.

The Fox Float performs, and it performs well -

shifting to the background of a ride and becoming

perfunctory. That’s not to be harsh, just that it

becomes part of your everyday ride experience.

I did re-install my 2017 Fox Factory Float to see if

I could feel the difference over a weekend’s riding.

The newer version has a subtle but a definite

feeling in the mid stroke - within an average

ride you can really feel the benefit. There’s a

finer tune, that floats over the rougher stuff,

and creates less stress at the pressure points. It

gives a more confidence-inspiring ride over small

bumps, so when it comes to the descents you’re

fresh. It allows you to worry less about the chatter

and more about the thrill.