New for 2020 Fox rear shocks is an 8mm x 30mm roller bearing rear shock mounting kit, helping the mounting points move more freely as your bike’s suspension cycles through its travel. Compared to standard bushings, Fox says this may reduce friction and improve performance so much that “more rebound damping and/or low-speed compression damping may be needed in order to compensate for the decrease in friction.”
The roller bearing shock mounting kit is compatible all current FOX rear shock models, but you may need to check frame compatibility. They say it’ll work with Santa Cruz, Transition, “and many others”, but best to check with your bike manufacturer, bike shop, or call Fox customer service first.
They also offer a Shock—Mounting Hardware Bearing Assemblyy Install and Removal tool to assist. Check out the installation instructions here.
2020 Fox FIT4 damper updates
Fox let loose on the FIT4 improvements when they updated the 32 Step Cast fork, but now they’re getting a little more into the details. From Fox:
“On the compression side, all 2020 FIT4-equipped forks now feature an 8mm damper shaft, new bladder construction, and a reconfigured shim stack. The 8mm damper shaft has a smaller cross-sectional area, therefore it pushes less oil through the base valve, allowing for less damping. The updated FIT4 damper provides more sensitivity while also maintaining low-speed compression support during aggressive riding, giving riders the ability to tune their fork to feel playful, aggressive — or both.”
“The rebound side implements FOX’s latest tuning improvements through a wider opening check valve and a reconfigured shim stack. The new FIT4 damper assembly construction is lighter as well, with an average weight savings of 35 grams.”
The Step Cast forks already had the new FIT4 damper, and now all 2020 FOX 32, 34, and 36 forks with the FIT4 dampers will ship with the upgraded version.
The three external compression damping positions (Open, Medium, and Firm) and external low-speed rebound all carry over. Factory Series forks keep their additional 22 clicks of low-speed compression adjust in the Open mode, too.
