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2012 Fox RP23 - Sea Otter Tech 2011

by Richard Cunningham
Apr 23, 2011 at 16:32

The most notable upgrade to the Fox RP23 shock range is the Adaptive Logic external compression-adjustment feature. The shock's ProPedal, anti-bob damping function is preset at a high level at the factory. Now, the ProPedal lever simply switches from no platform to the preset level. The external Adaptive Logic dial gives RP23 owners adjustable low-speed compression damping - an important function that has been missing since the original RP3's debut. This tuning option should be a plus for every rider, especially jumpers, who often crank up the shock's compression damping to mute bad landings. Watch the video for the whole story:

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We think Fox's new RP23 with Adaptive Logic could give aggressive riders a lighter-weight alternative to a DH-type piggyback damper or a simple coil-over shock. Any thoughts?
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73 Comments

  • + 116
flag browner (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:08)
 He could have just pointed at it, bounced it a bit and said "look at the SHINY SHINY". I want it.
  • + 10
flag Daire (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:30)
 thanks, i needed a good laugh man! :cheers:
  • + 9
flag philipstonier (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:49)
 whats with this dudes safety spectacles? haha
  • + 11
flag theskidkid (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:23)
 spectacles
  • + 2
flag Axemen30 (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:33)
 maybe he was just working on something Razz
  • + 3
flag mountguitars (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:21)
 LOL at the "spectacles", hehehe. haven't heard that for a long time. like whoopsy daisies, LOL!
  • + 7
flag corsair711 (Apr 24, 2011 at 19:23)
 They might be prescription, and he just brought his riding glasses in case he went on a ride or something. I don't know, I'm just defending him cause I like that Kashima.
  • + 1
flag rydindirty (Apr 24, 2011 at 20:38)
 Captain Repetitive-Redundant strikes again lol.... j/k looks cool and it's about effin time!
  • + 3
flag aoneal (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:00)
 A beautiful "shiny" shock, on an ugly Ellsworth bike. I feel sorry for that shock.
  • + 3
flag panzer103 (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:23)
 I think the Ellsworth looks pretty cool. I like the paint job its badass
  • + 1
flag marssizedobject (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:49)
 I thought that was the yet-to-date ugliest Ellsworth paint job. And the shock looks like someone cleaned it with a corrosive cleanser (ever see that happen in your shop?)
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag tonyp86 (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:25)
 They have always had a compression adjust... this has just swapped it about so rather than adjusting the "Pro Pedal" option on the 2010/11 shock, now you cannot adjust that, you adjust the "full bounce" option instead... lol.
  • + 2
flag marssizedobject (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:54)
 I was thinking the same thing. Why didn't they just make the dial on the switch have a greater effect? I run it open unless I'm 1.) on a road or 2.) am enduring a really long dirt climb. On the rp23's I've had, the "3" position is not stiff enough--so I know why they firmed it up, but now, for me anyways, the dial will be useless.
  • + 1
flag rwstyle (Apr 25, 2011 at 3:30)
 Yes I agree! Thats not new! I have the fox rp23 from last year and you can set it up exactly like the guy in the vid!
  • + 1
flag Sharonb (Apr 26, 2011 at 19:02)
 phew, that's what I was thinking...
[Reply]
  • + 5
flag deeeight Plus (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:18)
 Ok... some of you don't seem to grasp the obvious... ProPedal IS low-speed compression damping, pedal inputs are low-speed, spikes from landing jumps would be high-speed. This adaptive circuit doesn't do anything for jumpers. All they changed from the previous RP23 is the pro-pedal adjustment feature. He even explains it in the video. Previous RP23s the 2 part meant the On/Off setting of the low-speed circuit and the three was the LS damping setting options. All they've done is reversed the control mechanism and what the extreme end defaults are. Think of it this way, the firmest ProPedal setting is 3 the softest is 0. Before the 0 was reached by flipping the pro-pedal to the Off mode. Now you reach it by flipping the dial lever to the Adaptive circuit with the dial turned to 0. To get to the firmest setting you used to flip the lever TO the pro-pedal adjustment circuit with the 3 option on the dial. Now you flip the lever away from the Adaptive adjustment mode.
  • + 2
flag seraph (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:16)
 Actually the softest ProPedal setting is 1. The secret is in the name: "RP23", where the 2 means the two positions of the lever itself (open and ProPedal), and the 3 means the number of ProPedal settings while ProPedal is engaged.
  • + 2
flag marssizedobject (Apr 24, 2011 at 22:02)
 The problem here lies in a typo in the into paragraph of this article: "This tuning option should be a plus for every rider, especially jumpers, who often crank up the shock's compression damping to mute bad landings." Jumpers don't use shock compression damping to "mute bad landings", we use it to improve take off strength and the following pumpings upon landings. We are taking low-speed damping here. de eight, you have it right except se raph caught your typo. The dial says 1 and not 0. Whatever...
  • + 1
flag iamamodel (Apr 25, 2011 at 17:53)
 Deeeight was talking about four levels of Pro-Pedal - 0 to 3, not the numbers on the dial.

Deeeight - I couldn't have said it better myself.
  • + 0
flag seraph (Apr 25, 2011 at 19:28)
 He's still incorrect, since the shock does not have ProPedal activated when it is in the "open" position. Therefore there are only levels 1, 2, and 3 of ProPedal.
  • + 1
flag deeeight Plus (Apr 28, 2011 at 13:46)
 Except I am still correct.... the topic of discussion is the TWENTY TWELVE RP23, not the 2011 or earlier versions.

On the 2012 shock they're introducing at SeaOtter, the 2 part of the name, the blue lever on the shock, one position is the firmest pro-pedal setting and the 3 part is the blue dial which controls the so-called Adaptive Logic adjustment range setting. And the three options on its dial, which are labeled 0, 1 and 2 with 0 being open and the 1 and 2 are levels of LS damping adjustment below the 3 and above the 0 setting.

Or did everyone just skip reading the original heading where it says...

"2012 Fox RP23 - Sea Otter Tech 2011 "

Really the problem can be traced to the author, this is R.C. afterall, former editor of Mountain Bike Fiction... who for a former bike designer apparently is really out of date in shock technology, because the past years RP23s DID in fact have LS damping adjustment options contrary to what he chooses to write above. ProPedal is just fox's tradedmarked name for the seperate LowSpeed damping circuit they build into their shocks.
  • + 1
flag seraph (Apr 28, 2011 at 14:30)
 I was referring to the part of your original post where you were talking about the older RP23: "Before the 0 was reached by flipping the pro-pedal to the Off mode." In which case you'd be technically incorrect, since 0 is not a level of ProPedal. There is only open ("off") and ProPedal levels 1-3.
  • + 1
flag iamamodel (Apr 29, 2011 at 2:22)
 Seraph, may I present deeeight's model/analogy (his increments are shown first):

0: 2011 propedal switch off = 2012 Adaptive on, position 0
1: 2011 propedal on, position 1 = 2012 Adaptive on, position 1
2: 2011 propedal on, position 2 = 2012 Adaptive on, position 2
3: 2011 propedal on, position 3 = 2012 Adaptive off.

deeeights point is that there are four positions of compression damping on both, so no real change.

The Fox guy says that "when you flip the switch, you can change the level of low speed compression damping", which means that even in the lowest setting in Adaptive mode, there is still low speed compression damping. I recently deformed a shim on my 2011 RP23, and there was no compression damping at all. Once Fox repaired it, with Propedal off, there was a noticeable increase in compression damping. I think deeeight is correct, since ProPedal is merely a name for low speed compression damping, and low speed compression damping still exists in the 2011 'Off' position, and in deeeights model, '0' simply represented the lowest LSC setting. Deeeight was simply using 0-3 to illustrate that there is no real change, only in what is accessed quickly by flipping the switch.
  • + 1
flag seraph (Apr 29, 2011 at 10:43)
 That's nice, I was merely contesting the fact that "off" was a level of ProPedal, which it is not because 0 is not a value. As I have stated before, there are only 3 levels of ProPedal on the 2011 and older RP23 shocks.
  • + 1
flag deeeight Plus (Apr 29, 2011 at 18:25)
 Yes except that the "Off" position as imamodel just explained doesn't actually completely eliminate the LS compression damping on the fox shocks. For that matter, by the time I mentioned the zero, I was quoting what the guy said in the video, and talking about the new 2012 shocks, and on them, the dial is labeled 0, 1 and 2.
  • + 1
flag seraph (Apr 29, 2011 at 19:04)
 If that were true, then why did you say "Think of it this way, the firmest ProPedal setting is 3 the softest is 0"? Only the 2011 and older RP23 shocks had a "3" marking, the new 2012 RP23 does not (as you so stated).
[Reply]
  • + 8
flag specializedriderfsr (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:57)
 If 2012 is gonna be like that, imagine 2013.. Oh wait...
  • + 16
flag Kawasaki80 (Apr 24, 2011 at 17:21)
 ............we dead
  • + 2
flag ryanreishripper (Apr 24, 2011 at 20:42)
 HAHAHAHA.
  • + 4
flag xpirimint (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:16)
 Last year on Earth. I guess I should buy all this expensive shit then
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag Eclipsed (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:25)
 It's golden I tell you, it's golden!

Immediate want.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag T-woot (Apr 28, 2011 at 19:51)
 on the contrary, progression of the market has allowed for progression of riding. People will keep inventing, people will keep riding. your abilities hopefully will not remain the same. Time is at a constant. Don't let a product release or consumerism irritate you too much, just ride and have fun, and if you blow up your rear shock for some odd reason, be thankful somebody out there is working hard to make a new design for you. Just my 2 Cents
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Walter95 (Sep 20, 2011 at 3:39)
 Looks like most dont see the benefit of the rearrangement of the propedal switch. Most riders leave their 2011 and older rp23's in propedal all the time. The new (2012) config allows the rider to switch between two LS comp settings by flipping the lever, instead of simply turning it off (2011). On the 2011 model the PP dial would have to be rotated to adjust LS comp settings, which is why riders simply left PP on all the time.

2011: PP on = 1,2,3
PP off = 0

2012: PP on = 3
PP off = 0,1,2
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag BikeNerd150 (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:04)
 Wow, its nice to have a air shock with LS compression, especially from Fox. And its Kashima coated! 2012 is gonna be an awesome year for bikes!
  • + 1
flag dexterq20 (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:08)
 Agreed! I'm most excited about new Fox forks and shocks, plus the new Shimano XT (especially the brakes).
  • + 1
flag RampageRules (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:31)
 thats pimpin!
  • + 3
flag bradwalton Plus (Apr 24, 2011 at 17:54)
 LS compression is key on the new style of air-suspended long-travel bikes. Glad to see this.
  • + 1
flag theriotact (Apr 24, 2011 at 20:46)
 of course, just as I buy the 2011 rp23, I see this..
  • + 3
flag marssizedobject (Apr 24, 2011 at 22:04)
 Too bad its effing ugly... The kashima body with a black air can and white lettering would have looked dope--and would have been the logical next step from the old/standard look.
  • + 2
flag Worm-Burner (Apr 24, 2011 at 23:54)
 The new shock's gonna match my 'Rootbeer" paintjob...Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!...
  • + 1
flag deeeight Plus (Apr 28, 2011 at 13:56)
 Fox shocks have all had LS compression since 2004-05... that's what ProPedal is. Its just a fancy trademark name for Fox's built-in LS damping circuit. On the current RP23 you have 3 positions of increasing LS damping and an open setting without it. Next year's RP23 doesn't change the total number of settings, it just re-orders them (the open setting will be one of the dial adjustments and the firmest propedal setting is now replacing the open position on the lever). The RP2 has pro-pedal on / off as its lever modes, the RL has Pro-Pedal On / Lockout, and the basic Float R has ProPedal full time with the only adjustment being the rebound damping.
[Reply]
  • + 3
flag Northwest-Freerider (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:45)
 I wanna see the 2012 Fox 40.....
  • + 2
flag Enzonerator (Apr 25, 2011 at 21:42)
 It's hella sick I saw it at sea otter and it blew me away...can't wait....
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag c25porter (Apr 24, 2011 at 17:51)
 I think gold equals Kashima, which should equall less sticking. I might be picking one of these up once available for my '08 remedy!
  • + 1
flag jeffsworks (Apr 25, 2011 at 15:43)
 Have you tried a 7.875" on your remedy?
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag poundsand (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:25)
 why is he wearing clear glasses?? unless hes biking or using them as safety glasses i dont see why he is wearing them
  • - 4
flag Daire (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:31) (Below Threshold) show comment
 was just about to write this, most pointless thing ever
  • + 9
flag joedaho (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:35)
 Its not a bad idea when working with pressurized mechanisms to stop things being fired into your eyes by compressed air. It'll say it in your shock / fork manual!
  • + 11
flag jonnydh (Apr 24, 2011 at 17:40)
 Maybe he just wears glasses 'cause he likes being able to see things in focus
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag mountguitars (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:45)
 ugly paint job on that ellsworth by the way.
  • + 1
flag PearlJamSoCal Plus (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:09)
 It's not paint, that is actually a two tone anno process that is hand made...and I guarantee that shot peened & anno finish is so tough it will look new for years.
  • + 5
flag seraph (Apr 24, 2011 at 22:05)
 It's still ugly, regardless of the process used to create it.
  • + 2
flag marssizedobject (Apr 24, 2011 at 22:08)
 soooo ugly...who cares how it is made--even the link clashes. I can make a green, butt-made turd when I eat snowcones, does that qualify me for acknowledgment?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag carterwills (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:06)
 i like the new rear shocks but i hate the new forks with the white lowers and grey top piece
  • + 2
flag immacaroni (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:51)
 that upper grey piece is cast titanium crown.....they said it takes like 300g off of the fork
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag manchicken (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:06)
 ell id love to know more about the fact that its bronze now (i think its bronze, im tired) but clearly thats not important, we only need to know that all theyve done is taken away that one extra click of adjustment.
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag T-woot (Apr 24, 2011 at 22:02)
 Seems you could get the same performance from this as the 2011, this is just shinier.
[Reply]
  • - 2
flag norcaltw24 (Apr 24, 2011 at 21:50)
 I have no need for this shock. I dont have a bike that it would work on. Yet I wish to purchase it to put it on my wall and frame it in a box that just says "LOOK AT TEH SHINYS. LET IT BLIND YOU"
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag david-hill (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:31)
 SHINY
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag bikejunkie88 (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:42)
 sparkle sparkle! shiny!!!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag guari (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:26)
 Nice Micro TST there built in By Fox.
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag samnation (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:57)
 If you polish a turd or wrap said turd in gold.... Its still a turd
Let the negatives rain down
  • + 2
flag Smells (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:24)
 you dont like the RP23?
  • + 1
flag samnation (Apr 24, 2011 at 16:33)
 I have historically found fox to be somewhat dead in the middle of the stroke as far as air shocks go not that the rockshox i have now is any better but i would choose monarch plus over the RP23 and a vivid air over a DHX
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag history (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:10)
 :O
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag wagenwheel (Apr 24, 2011 at 23:38)
 They forgot to mention anything about the compression damping
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag liveless (Apr 25, 2011 at 7:32)
 Good job pinkbike. deleting comments and all!
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag chris44 (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:43)
 What bike is that! :O
  • + 2
flag chugachjed (Apr 24, 2011 at 15:48)
 Kidding? Don't know how to read? Looks like it says Ellsworth on the downtube and Truth on the toptube.
  • + 0
flag jyan (Apr 24, 2011 at 17:36)
 hahahaha
  • + 2
flag sngltrkmnd (Apr 24, 2011 at 18:58)
 looks like a 90s Karakoram Wink
  • + 1
flag tricon (Apr 25, 2011 at 8:07)
 does the fork on the ellsworth have that titanium crown and steerer combo? So bling!!!
  • + 1
flag davidenrico (Apr 25, 2011 at 12:44)
 I've always felt that progression is held back by marketing and sales people in the industry so they can con riders/buyers into buying 'the latest and greatest' every year.
[Reply]

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