Mick & Wil ride the 2025 Fox 34 & 36
This year Fox Racing Shox celebrates its 50th anniversary. That’s a big deal, and the suspension brand is set to go all-out with a range of limited edition forks that feature a glossy gold finish to match the iconic Kashima coating. Expect to see a lot of these forks during the upcoming World Cup race season.
It isn’t just about colours though, with the 2025 Fox fork range receiving a significant overhaul that aims to elevate the performance bar once again.
The big story is the arrival of three brand new dampers; GRIP X2, GRIP X and GRIP SL. On top of that Fox is introducing the new generation 32 Step-Cast, which stands as the lightest mountain bike fork it has ever produced. We’ve been riding that fork already, and you can see our separate Fox 32 Step-Cast review for the full story.
Here we’ll be taking a look at the broader 2025 Fox suspension range and those three new dampers. We’ll also be discussing our on-trail experience from testing the latest 34 and 36 over the past few weeks.
See our video review on the 2025 Fox fork lineup:
What’s new with the 2025 Fox suspension range?
Last year saw Fox update its rear suspension lineup with the new Float SL shock and big changes to both the Float and Float X2. For 2025 it’s the forks that’ll be receiving all the attention, though upon first glance things don’t appear all that different.
You’ll still find the usual suspects including the 34 Step-Cast, 34, 36 and 38. Almost every fork carries over the same chassis from last year, and there are no changes to the EVOL Air spring design either. The fork bushings are new, with Fox moving away from the split design of old in favour of a solid bushing that’s claimed to significantly reduce friction.
Where things get particularly exciting is the arrival of three brand new damper options; GRIP X2, GRIP X and GRIP SL. Adopting names from Fox’s shock lineup (the Float X2, Float X and Float SL), the new dampers should make it easier to discern the differences between the various fork options.
While each of the new dampers features a unique design that’s intended for a specific style of riding, unifying them all together is the common GRIP architecture with a coil-backed IFP. This incorporates a self-healing function that helps to purge excess oil that has entered the IFP back into the main reservoir. Fox has also gone to some lengths to pressure-balance the new dampers, which offers several performance benefits that we’ll discuss in more detail shortly.
The GRIP X2 damper
- Designed for: Enduro & DH
- Fork models: 36, 38 & 40
- Travel range: 160-203mm
Replacing the old GRIP2 damper, the new GRIP X2 damper stands as the most gravity-focussed option in the Fox suspension lineup. Designed for the 160-200mm travel range, you’ll find it used in the bigger 36, 38 and 40 forks.
The GRIP X2 damper maintains its predecessor’s four-way adjustability with high and low-speed dials for both compression and rebound damping. However, that’s about where the similarities end.
For a start, Fox has increased the overall size and volume of the GRIP X2 damper. The base valve diameter grows from 20mm to 24mm, creating a lower pressure environment for the damping fluid. This also helps with balancing pressures across the main piston, with the goal of reducing hysteresis and improving the fork’s sensitivity during rapid changes in direction between compression and rebound.
Furthermore, the bigger base valve makes room for a larger shim stack that features 23 individual shims, compared to just seven that were used in the old GRIP2 damper. According to Fox, the bigger valve stack offers a broader and more usable compression tuning range via the high and low-speed adjusters. And since the pressure-balanced damper is more sensitive, it’s claimed that you can run more damping to increase support and ride-height, without fear of adding significant harshness.
Because of the increased tuning range, Fox says it no longer needs the proprietary VVC shim in the compression circuit. It has kept the VVC design for the high-speed rebound circuit however, due to its ability to provide a more nuanced level of tuning in a relatively space-efficient design.
Due to its enlarged proportions, the GRIP X2 damper has gained 20g of weight over the old GRIP2 damper. That isn’t likely to be a concern for downhill-oriented riders, particularly if the claims of improved sensitivity and adjustability play out on the trail.
The GRIP X damper
- Designed for: Trail & All Mountain
- Fork models: 34 & 36
- Travel range: 130-160mm
Next in the range is the GRIP X damper. A brand new option for 2025, this damper is the All Mountain all-rounder that matches up to the Float X shock. As such, it’ll be available across the 34 and 36 fork lineup between 130-160mm of travel.
The GRIP X features similar architecture to the GRIP X2 damper, including the bigger 24mm base valve. It’s also pressure balanced to improve sensitivity and reduce the chance of cavitation.
Fox has stripped things back a bit however, with the lower portion of the GRIP X damper being significantly smaller in size. It also features three-way adjustability, simplified with just a single rebound dial. Up top you still get independently adjustable high and low-speed compression damping, though the high-speed dial takes a slightly different approach with the last few clicks in its range adding a firm mode. This isn’t designed to be a full lockout, but by closing off the low-speed compression circuit it provides a firmer pedalling platform, something the old GRIP2 damper lacked.
Fox has incorporated a small lever into the dial to help you quickly identify where the adjuster is sitting within its tuning range, making it a useful feature for trail riders and enduro racers heading up a long climb.
With its slimmer construction, the GRIP X damper is claimed to be 120g lighter than the GRIP X2 damper. It’s also 100g lighter than the old GRIP2 damper, which means that the 2025 Fox forks that come with the GRIP X damper will be lighter than their 2024 counterparts.
The GRIP SL damper
- Designed for: XC & Gravel
- Fork models: 32 TC, 32 SC & 34 SC
- Travel range: 40-120mm
Finally, there’s the GRIP SL damper. As the lightest option in the range, the GRIP SL damper is primarily targeted at XC riding and racing. It’ll be utilised in short-travel Fox forks for 2025 including the 32 Taper-Cast, the 32 Step-Cast and the 34 Step-Cast.
Featuring an entirely new design, GRIP SL arrives as the long-awaited replacement for the outgoing FIT4 damper. It’s completely different too, having ditched the FIT4’s bladder-based configuration in favour of a coil-backed IFP. While it looks chunkier, the use of thin-walled alloy has helped to shave quite a few grams. Indeed the new GRIP SL damper is claimed to be 65g lighter than its predecessor, leading to a noticeable weight reduction for Fox’s high-end XC forks.
You’ll still find a three-position compression adjuster that provides Open, Medium and Firm modes. The lever offers a much lighter feel with less resistance when switching modes, and it’s available in both crown-mounted and remote-operated versions.
Rebound adjustment is performed via a single red dial on the 32 Taper-Cast and 34 Step-Cast forks. For the new 32 Step-Cast fork however, there is no such dial. In the name of weight savings Fox has removed it entirely in favour of using a long 2.5mm hex key. The idea being that most XC riders won’t really be playing around with that adjuster once they’ve got things dialled in after the first few rides.
What about the GRIP damper?
It’s worth noting that the new GRIP X2, GRIP X and GRIP SL dampers will only be featured in Factory Series and Performance Elite forks. However, Fox will continue to offer its entry-level Performance Series and Rhythm forks with the cheaper and simpler GRIP damper.
The overall construction remains much the same, though the GRIP damper has been updated for 2025 with a new tune and the same pressure balanced approach as the higher-end dampers. We’ve had great experience with the GRIP damper in Fox Performance Series forks over the past few years, so we expect the 2025 models to be just as good, if not better.
Testing the 2025 Fox fork range
To get to grips (ha!) with the 2025 Fox suspension range, we travelled out to Scotts Valley in California to meet the engineering team behind the new dampers. We had the opportunity to pick their enormous brains and dig into the nitty-gritty details of suspension development, while also witnessing the torture that new fork and shock designs need to go through in Fox’ in-house test lab.
As part of the launch we brought along our own bikes and had them decked out with a bunch of new Fox and Race Face components, including the snazzy Era carbon wheels.
Mick brought along his Santa Cruz Tallboy that was fitted with a 130mm travel Fox 34 GRIP X fork, and Wil had his Pivot Switchblade set up with a 160mm travel Fox 36 GRIP X fork. We spent the week riding the new components on the superb trails in the Santa Cruz region, before returning back to Australia for further testing on home trails.
New GRIP X vs old GRIP2
If you follow Flow MTB you’ll know we’ve had a lot of experience with Fox 34 and 36 forks over the past few years, particularly with the excellent GRIP2 damper. In fact, just a few months ago we pitched the 34 against the Pike, and the 36 against the Lyrik. Given both Fox forks came out on top in those head-to-head reviews, our expectations were high coming into the 2025 Fox launch.
Before getting to riding impressions, there are several benefits worth mentioning when comparing the new GRIP X damper to the old GRIP2.
For a start, the new forks are lighter by well over 100g. Here’s how they compare to their predecessors;
- 2025 Fox 34 GRIP X – 1,704g
- 2024 Fox 34 GRIP2 – 1,830g
- 2025 Fox 36 GRIP X – 1,980g
- 2024 Fox 36 GRIP2 – 2,107g
Those numbers won’t be so important for gravity-focussed enduro riders, but anyone that does a lot of pedalling on a trail bike will no doubt appreciate a reduction in weight.
Secondly, the addition of a firm platform via the high-speed compression adjuster is an excellent feature. We’ve gotten used to most high-end trail forks not having a lockout these days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss it. That’s especially the case on longer travel bikes fitted with a Float X shock, which does have a lever for firming up the suspension. With the GRIP X damper, you’re now able to engage a firm platform by rotating the lever clockwise all the way round to its stop. While not a full lockout, the fork sits higher in its travel and is more resistant to pedal bob, which is ideal for extended fireroad climbs and the bitumen commute to and from the trailhead.
Lastly, we like that the single rebound dial helps to simplify setup and tuning. Following the setup chart on the back of the fork lowers, Fox provides a recommended air pressure and rebound setting based on your riding weight. That puts you in a really good starting position, and from there it’s mostly a case of fine-tuning the compression dials to your preference. Combined with a Float or Float X shock out back, it’s easy to get a good setup without a whole lot of knob-twiddling required.
On the trail
No surprises here — both the 2025 Fox 34 and 36 GRIP X forks have felt fantastic right off the bat. Given they share the same chassis and Float EVOL air spring as the previous models, we weren’t really expecting anything less.
Small-bump sensitivity is excellent, with each fork delivering plenty of traction and a comfortable ride quality. That sensitivity extends throughout the travel, with the 34 and 36 GRIP X forks remaining plush and hyperactive even when you’re deep into the stroke.
Initial impressions would suggest that the new forks aren’t necessarily life-changingly better than the GRIP2 versions. They’re certainly more sensitive, and we’ve enjoyed more traction and control on especially rough and rowdy sections of trail, but it’s not a radical difference. However, even if the performance was just on par, that’s still mighty impressive given the GRIP X forks are considerably lighter and simpler, while incorporating that nifty firm mode for climbing.
It’s also clear that the new high-speed compression circuit allows you to run more damping without suffering from a harsh ride. With the old GRIP2 damper, we would never run the high-speed dial any further than halfway through its range as we found the suspension became too firm and unresponsive. With the new GRIP X damper however, it’s possible to use a lot more of the range.
We expect this is likely due to the improved sensitivity of the pressure-balanced damper, though surely the new bushings deserve credit for also reducing overall stiction. Whatever the case, the result is that you can add support to keep the fork riding high in its travel without sacrificing traction.
What’s next?
We’ve got a lot more testing planned over the coming months. Wil is going to be diving into a more detailed review of the new 34 GRIPX fork, looking at how it compares to the RockShox Pike and the previous 34 GRIP2.
We also have a new 34 Step-Cast fork arriving soon. Based on Wil’s experience reviewing the 2025 Fox 32 Step-Cast with its GRIP SL damper, we’re excited to see what the bigger XC fork can offer.
And if you’re reading this and wondering how the new GRIP X2 damper compares to the old GRIP2 forks, we have good news. Fox is sending us out two GRIP X2 dampers that Mick will be retrofitting to the 36 on his Levo SL and the 38 on his Ibis HD6. Is the new damper worth the upgrade? And how does it compare to the well-proven GRIP2 damper? We’ll have more on that coming soon.
Flow’s Early Verdict
With the introduction of three new damper options, the Fox fork range has had a serious shake-up for 2025. The new naming system makes it easier to discern the differences, which will surely help riders pick the right option to match up with the shock on their bike.
As well as being lighter than the old FIT4 damper, the new GRIP SL damper offers improved functionality and better sensitivity that will help Fox’s XC forks raise the performance bar against its competitors.
The arrival of the GRIP X damper plugs an important gap in the lineup, with its simplified adjustments and firm climbing mode providing a suitable match for the latest Float and Float X shocks.
For gravity riders looking for maximum adjustability, the new GRIP X2 damper offers a compelling package that aims to build on the strengths of the old GRIP2 damper while improving reactivity and the overall tuning range.
There’s certainly a lot like, and we look forward to spending more time on the new forks and dampers over the coming months in preparation for some upcoming reviews and videos. In the meantime, read on for an overview of the 2025 Fox fork lineup.
2025 Fox 32 Taper-Cast
- Use | Gravel
- Travel | 40 & 50mm
- Stanchions | 32mm
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP SL (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 1,164g (claimed)
- Price | $999 AUD (Performance Series) – $1,699 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 32 Step-Cast
- Use | XC Racing
- Travel | 100mm
- Stanchions | 32mm
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP SL (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 1,308g (confirmed)
- Price | $999 AUD (Performance Series) – $1,699 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 34 Step-Cast
- Use | XC Racing & Trail Riding
- Travel | 100, 110 & 120mm
- Stanchions | 34mm
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP SL (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 1,434g (claimed)
- Price | $1,099 AUD (Performance Series) – $1,799 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 34
- Use | Trail Riding
- Travel | 120, 130 & 140mm
- Stanchions | 34mm Alloy
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP X (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 1,704g (confirmed, 130mm travel, GRIP X damper)
- Price | $1,099 AUD (Performance Series) – $1,749 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 36
- Use | Trail, All Mountain & Enduro
- Travel | 140, 150 & 160mm
- Stanchions | 36mm Alloy
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP X2 (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP X (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 1,980g (confirmed, 160mm travel, GRIP X damper)
- Price | $1,199 AUD (Performance Series) – $1,999 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 38
- Use | Enduro
- Travel | 160, 170 & 180mm
- Stanchions | 38mm Alloy
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP X2 (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 2,080g (claimed, 160mm travel, GRIP X damper)
- Price | $1,999 AUD (Performance Elite) – $2,199 AUD (Factory Series)
2025 Fox 40
- Use | Downhill
- Travel | 203mm
- Stanchions | 40mm Alloy
- Spring | Float EVOL
- Damper | GRIP X2 (Factory Series & Performance Elite), GRIP (Performance Series)
- Weight | 2,836g (claimed)
- Price | $3,199 AUD (Factory Series)
