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. 

The Fox Float X2 can be seen on enduro and downhill bikes across the world. It's performance and adjustability are some of the best on the market and it is easy to see why so many people choose to ride Fox. That is exactly what happened in this review. Our customer Jeff was looking to get a bit more tuneability out of his shock and went with the Float X2. Read on for more!

Overview

As a bigger guy 6’2 230lbs, I have always struggled with standard shocks due to the amount of air pressure I must run in order to get 25% - 30% sag (285PSI for the Float X2). Truth is bikes come set up for 160lb riders so if you are heavier or lighter you need to either send it off for a custom tune or buy a shock that lets you adjust both high speed and low-speed rebound/compression.

Custom tunes are only as good as the shock is capable of and the tuner understands what they are doing for heavier guys. I tried a custom tune and the tuner just maxed out the compression and rebound shims since I was heavier, he figured that would do the trick. This put too much high-speed compression in and caused the shock to only use 85% of the travel no matter what I did and I would then have to wait for him to rebuild the shock multiple times trying to get it right to the point he gave up.

First Impressions

The Float X2 lets me adjust both the high and low-speed rebound and compression settings. I had no idea how much high-speed rebound could help me on big hits until I mounted the Float X2. 

Now, when landing off a big hit, it no longer requires me to settle the bike down from the force of the bike rebounding it just lands and is stable giving me much more confidence in the bike and hitting larger jumps and drops.

Low-speed rebound I found I actually run faster than the recommend base setup for my pressure as the base set was too slow and caused the bike to pack down on chatter and brake bumps. I was surprised at how running it faster gave more traction and control as I would have assumed slower would be better like the high-speed rebound was.

Setup

This being my first Float X2 rear shock I did have to learn to set up the air pressure a little different than in the past. This has a much larger negative chamber than the Float DPS it replaced. When adding air pressure and equalizing the chambers you must do it multiple times, normally I would just do it twice and it would be good but with the Float X2, it takes me at least 4 times equalizing the chambers to get them right.

I have my Float X2 mounted to my Specialized S-Works Levo and I went with the 210x55 size and have no clearance issues and gained an extra 8mm of travel over the stock 210x52.5 size. You will lose the ability to mount a water bottle as the reservoir will be in the way.

Final Thoughts

Overall I am very happy with the upgrade, my bike now feels much more stable at speed, takes big hits as I landed on a pillow, more traction in the corners, and it handles chatter so much better than before. Pair this with a Fox 38 Grip 2 Fork and you will have a bike that feels perfect for you.