Fox Racing Shox 32 Float Ti Fork - One Piece Titanium Steerer and Crown

Jun 22, 2011 at 20:32

Fox Racing Shox brought a prototype cross-country fork with an investment-cast, integrated 6/4 alloy titanium steerer tube and fork crown to the Lapierre bike launch in the French Alpine town of Les Gets. The prototype fork, called the Float Ti will be seen as soon as September 2011 in production and on the World Cup racing circuit this season, but that is about all the information Fox officials were willing to commit to. Well, almost all. Pinkbike asked a lot of questions about the technology surrounding the fork - some of which were answered. The weight of the new fork is stated to be 1300 grams (2.866 pounds) with an uncut steerer tube in the RLC configuration. (update) Prices will range from $1240 to $1310 depending upon features options.


Of course, Float Ti forks will sport super-slippery Kashima-coated tapered aluminum stanchion tubes and their new SKF seals. Fox says that only a tapered, 1.125 x 1.5-inch steerer will be offered, as the integrated crown design depends upon the larger base diameter to provide strength and stiffness at the fork's reduced weight. The steerer/crown is a thin investment casting compared with the standard forged-aluminum items. That and the gray matte finish of the bare titanium uppers are a sure giveaway that this is no regular Fox XC slider.


Fox states that the 6/4 alloy titanium casting is no off-the-shelf product and that the maker is in the USA, perhaps in Oregon. Those who know the gray metal intimately will tell you that making a strong, repeatable part from titanium is as much a function of controlling the alloy as it is manipulating the material through the manufacturing process. Fox gave no direct answer regarding the use of carbon fiber for the crown/steerer assembly as compared to titanium, but we can speculate that metal parts can be manufactured and tested in a repeatable, more controllable manner. We shall get the whole story soon enough.


Will the Float Ti fork create any new problems for dealers, OEM bike makers or riders? Fox says that you'll need something better than a cheesy pipe cutter or a rusty hack saw to cut the steerer to length. Abrasive-appliqued hack saw blades are sold at industrial hardware stores that will make short work of titanium tubes, but unprepared bike mechanics will certainly get a thrill the first time they give it a go. Abrasive cut-off blades will do the task also, but that''s a lot of noise and hazard for a bike shop.

Pinkbike's Take on the Fox Float Ti fork
Fox is known for thinking its new developments through, so we can be sure that the new one-piece titanium steerer and crown have been in the works for a long time. As XC racing is on the far horizon for Pinkbike readers, the new Float Ti fork is not going to move the needle too much for us, but the reality that the titanium brings to the AM, park and trail segment of the suspension market is that a development like this could bring the weight of the Fox 36 160 or 180 fork down - and that is a development that would interest a whole lot of us.



Contact Fox Racing Shox to watch the development of the Float Ti fork series as it goes through racing trials and initial production. If you have any thoughts on the benefits of an integrated titanium steerer and crown, don't be afraid to lay down some opinion.