Fox Float X2 Factory Rear Shock [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Upgrading your suspension is one of the best upgrades you can make on your MTB, and Fox's Float X2 is one of the best air shocks money can buy. When you see parts like this on World Cup race bikes you know they will work well on your local loop. Our friend Travis recently put one on his rig and digs it. Check it out!

Overview

There is only one word to describe the performance of this shock; incredible. I’d use that same word to describe Worldwide Cyclery’s ease of ordering and great inventory. I decided upon this shock after building an enduro bike from the frame up (a crazy thing to do during the current state of the bike industry). After beginning with a coil shock from a different brand I realized that my new frame was a bit too linear to run a coil shock. After reading all the hype around the Fox X2 over the years I decided to give it a try and I was not disappointed.

The Fox X2 comes with igus bushings installed but it does not come with frame hardware so make sure you do not forget to add the correct size frame hardware to your order. Installation is a breeze and I found that even though this is quite a large shock it fits my frame with zero concern for clearance. Every frame is different but with Fox’s placement of the reservoir, hardware mounting points, and adjustors this shock should fit most enduro and downhill frames.

Fox supplies a chart that will get you to base settings for air pressure, compression, and rebound settings. Fox recommends starting with matching your body weight for air pressure but I found that the shock required 15 psi more air pressure to suit my liking. The recommended settings for high-speed compression, high-speed rebound, and low-speed rebound were all about right based on Fox’s recommendations. The one setting that was incredibly far off on their chart was the low-speed rebound. I’m running the low-speed rebound twice as fast as what Fox recommends. This is not the first time I have seen this complaint be made about a Fox shock.

Even at a bike park where I threw everything I could at the shock, it maintained its incredible performance all day on every trail.

A shock of this caliber is never going to be perfect out of the box. I wish it was as simple as bolting on the shock and heading out for a ride but if you’re buying a shock of this caliber with this level of adjustability you’re going to need to sacrifice a few rides to get it dialed in. Fortunately, since Fox’s setup guide was fairly close to my final settings the time spent fiddling with the shock was limited. The adjustments provide distinct clicks that make it easy to count where you are in the adjustment range and to not get lost. The high-speed rebound adjuster can be a bit awkward to reach but it’s not a major pain and you do not need a tool to adjust it. I found that the adjusters did provide a great deal of change to the performance of the shock. A single click in or out on any of the adjusters can be felt and noticed on the trail. I also found the shock to be fairly linear in the factory configuration of zero volume reducers in the main air chamber. I ended up adding two-volume reducers to get the bottom-out support I needed.

After a few laps at a moderate speed paying attention to how the shock feels I found my final settings and was ready to open it up. All I can say is wow this shock is incredible! Being a coil shock-loving guy I was skeptical about how this shock would perform but my skepticism evaporated after just a few runs with the shock. As cliché as it sounds this shock checks all the boxes of small bump compliance, mid-stroke support, and bottom out resistance. The rear wheel tracks the ground perfectly, small chatter and brake bumps are erased yet the rear end still have the support to snap out of corners and pump rollers and features on the trail, launching you forward with free trail speed rather than robbing you of it. Even at a bike park where I threw everything I could at the shock, it maintained its incredible performance all day on every trail.

Final Thoughts

All in all the Fox X2 is an incredible shock. It’s easy to set up, easy to adjust for a wide variety of riders and bikes and its performance is incredible.