With over four decades of suspension manufacturing experience, FOX continues to lead the mountain bike suspension market offering high-performance racing shocks. Topping the podium in nearly every discipline of the sport, and with multiple World Championship wins under its belt, FOX is trusted by riders when the conditions get rough.
For 2025, Fox introduces new dampers and chassis details to its already hugely successful range of forks, elevating performance no matter how or where you ride. Come with us for a deep dive on what’s new, find the right fork for your ride and treat yourself to one of the best bang-for-buck upgrades you can get. Santa Cruz Syndicate approved!
Watch Jackson Goldstone put the new 36 through its paces on the 5010
Whats
New?
TLDR:
MORE GRIP
MORE CONFIDENCE
MORE SPEED
New Dampers. New Chassis. New Naming Convention
If you'd asked us a couple of weeks ago what the best performing suspension available on the market is, there's a solid chance we'd have said the GRIP2 damper from Fox is as good as it gets.
Originally introduced to Fox's entry level range, The original GRIP damper had something magic about it. Rumors of Pro's sneaking the GRIP damper into their Factory Forks in place of the FIT4, which at the time was the higher end offering came thick and fast. It wasn't long before Fox took note and we saw the fully fledged GRIP2 Damper hit the market and podiums in every discipline the world over.
2025 brings further refinements to the GRIP damping system, as well as a new naming convention...
Building on the podium-proven GRIP2 Damper, Fox have taken pointers from their supercross suspension line and engineered that tech to fit into an MTB Fork chassis - no small challenge. A much larger base valve in the X2 and X dampers allows more oil to flow through the system, thanks to a new lower leg bypass system allowing for grooveless bushings - greatly reducing friction. More shims allows much greater control over exactly how much oil is flowing, offering you greater tunability.
As well as improved end-user tuning, traction and ride-height are greatly improved, with each damper targeting a specific riding style. In previous years, Fox has offered the FIT4 damper for XC and trail users and the GRIP2 for anything rowdier - 2 dampers to cover the whole spectrum of Mountain Biking. Far from 'jack of all trades' - we've always been big fans - but we're stoked to see the 2025 range offer a middle ground in the form of the GRIPX.
With the Grip SL catering to the XC, Gravel & Marathon disciplines and GRIPX2 providing the support for big DH & Enduro hits, the GRIPX slips in between the two to complete the line up and offer the sweet spot of performance for trail and all-mountain riding.
Who better than Jordi Cotes to give you a rundown on the new dampers?
Our Deep Dive
GripX2
At a Glance
- Intended use: all-mountain, enduro, gravity
- High and low-speed compression adjustment
- High and low-speed rebound adjustment
- Larger valve stack than previous Grip 2 (23 shims vs. 7 shims)
- 24mm base valve (vs. 20mm on Grip 2)
- Faster response time due to lower positive pressure
Fox's gravity focused fork sees huge upgrades in both performance and tunability with the new GRIPX2 damper. Not only are both improved, but performance throughout the range of available adjustments remains consistent - meaning the whole range of settings offer maximum performance.
That tunability is achieved by increasing the base valve from 20 to 24mm and upping the valve stack from 7 to 23. This is possible thanks to the move away from Fox's variable valve control (VVC) system in the compression circuit. The larger base valve allows more oil to flow through the system, with the increased valve stack adding greater control of exactly how that oil flows.
This results in quicker response times, keeping your front wheel pinned to the dirt, and keeping the fork's ride height exactly where you want it.
Despite the huge upgrades internally, the new GripX2 forks will feel immediately familiar to anyone familiar with the GRIP2 dampers of the last few years. High & Low speed compression and rebound are exactly where you'd expect them to be and behave the same way. There's more clicks of adjustability and, crucially, increasing damping doesn't affect performance, doing away with the harshness of prior iterations when cranking up the damping.
If big hits and high speeds are your bag, the GRIPX2 is available in the 36, 38 & 40 range, primed for getting between the tape or hitting the biggest freeride lines you can find.
GripX
At a Glance
- Intended use: all-mountain, trail
- High- and low-speed compression adjustment
- Firm mode at the end of high-speed adjustment closes off compression, creating a firm pedaling platform
- Low-speed rebound adjustment
- 120g lighter than the X2 damper
The goal for the GRIPX was to capture the improved performance of the GRIPX2 in a lighter weight package better suited for trail and all-mountain bikes. A smaller main valve piston and shaft save 70 grams, with an additional 50g saved elsewhere. Performance-wise though, this GRIPX isn't a step down from the GRIPX2, it just has different intentions - if you're not racing DH or enduro, then the GRIPX is likely the right choice for you.
Increasing its usability further, the compression damping circuit features a firm setting not found on the GRIPX2 making it perfect for climbing. It's not a full blown XC lock-out, so there's just enough movement to take the sting out of bigger hits, but it's the perfect platform for conserving energy when whiching up long, steady climbs.
Rebound is simplified too, with a sole adjuster on the bottom of the fork for low-speed rebound.
With all the traction and control of the GRIPX2 in a lighter package, the GRIPX is the perfect choice if you're a fan of big days in the saddle, playful trail riding or just want something you can 'set and forget'.
GripSL
At a Glance
- Intended use: XC, short track, marathon
- 3-position compression adjustment: Open, Medium, Firm
- Low-speed rebound adjustment
- Spring back IFP
- 60g lighter than FIT4
Marking the end of the FIT4's decade long tenure as Fox's XC offering, the GRIPSL is a brand new damping offering from Fox, a ground-up rethink of a dedicated short-travel damper that aims to bring the plush feel and ground tracking capabilities of their heavier duty forks to the ever increasing intensity of modern XC racing.
60g lighter than the FIT4 damper, the GRIPSL is the lightest damper Fox have ever made, and the new 32SC fork is the lightest XC fork currently available. The improvements extend beyond weight savings though, The GRIPSL uses a spring-backed IFP, similar to those found in the GRIPX and GRIPX2, giving unparallelled ride feel. As well as increased grip, that will in turn increase confidence and speed, a huge benefit of the increased sensitivity and response times is a less fatiguing ride - a marginal gain that'll eat seconds out of a lap over and over again.
Key on any XC race track, on the fly compression adjustment is super simple with the GRIPSL, achieved either with a handlebar-mounted, cable-actuated lever or via the simple turn dial atop the stanchion. The GRIPSL offers 3 compression damping settings via a floating valve stack. Open, medium and firm. The medium mode is tuned for fast flowing rolling terrain whilst the firm mode is all-but locked out, but includes a blow-off to absorb bigger hits. Low-speed rebound damping is adjusted at the bottom of the fork.
We've super limited stock of 36, 38 & 40 Forks in gold. Get in touch to reserve your pair!
Shop Now
FOX 36 Float factory GRIP X2 Tapered Fork
£1349
FOX 36 Float Factory GRIP X Tapered Fork
£1259
FOX 36 Float Factory GRIP X E-Optimized Tapered Fork
£1349
FOX 38 Float Factory GRIP X2 Tapered Fork
£1439
FOX 40 Float Factory GRIP X2 1.125 Tapered Fork
£2089
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