The Shock Lab
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04/30/2026
Riding season is here! ☀️💨🚲
The workshop has been busier than ever, your trust and patience while we get through the "spring rush" are deeply appreciated 🙏🤘
Meanwhile, here's some content from the last few weeks!
1. Another WPS Tuning kit going in a Fox GRIP X2 🔥
2. Quick look at the Fox 36SL internals, featuring GRIP X and partial Glidecore 🤔
3. Quick reminder to service your sh*t 🫡
4. SKF dual compound wipers on Fox 36 🧈
5. Vorsprung Lufkappe for Rockshox Lyrik 🔥
6. Öhlins TTX22m vacuum bleeding with our integrated bladder holder 🔧
7. Angled shaft clamps for Fox 40, these grip much better than I expected, these and more shaft clamp sizes coming soon, starting at $10! 🤘
8. Our FKM/Viton upgrade kits (hottest item right now), perfect to use along OE service kits (full damper seal kits also available) 🤙
9. Stanchion slowly pulling away from the crown (while creaking like hell) 📣
10. Same CSU, taken apart. The Kashima was literally chipping away with the vibration/creaking 💀
11. Charger 3, next to a Charger 3.1/3.2, next to a WPS piston/spring, there's a lot to talk about here 👀
12. DIY lower service kits, making that 50h service as straightforward as possible 🔥
Current estimated turnaround time for service is 8-10 days 🤘
Tools/service kits usually ship the same day 🛫
Professional service, premium seal kits, and affordable tools, all in one place. Link in bio 🔗
Shipping worldwide! 🌏
2026 X2; is it finally reliable? 🔍
The latest generation of the X2 has been officially out in the wild for a year, and we can already tell you: this is the most reliable X2 Fox has ever done (although that doesn't mean much 😅)
As you may already know, the X2 has been one of the least reliable shocks in modern MTB history, often aerated out of the box due to pressure creeping from the air spring into the damper, even when not in use! 🔍
This was mainly due to the Polyurethane o-rings they used to use at the sealhead, it really doesn't take a NASA engineer to put 2+2 together. Aeration issues drastically dropped when they switched from PU to NBR on the DPX2, and for some reason the Float X had PU again, which they changed to NBR for 2024 to fix their issues, again! 💀
Then, why was the 2024 X2 also unreliable if it had 2x NBR seals? 🤔
1.78mm cross section dynamic o-rings against the shaft, that's why. These are incredibly thin for the application 🤏
The 2026 X2 features 2x 2.62mmCS NBR90 (stiff) o-rings against the shaft, and a massive 3.53mmCS o-ring (same size as a Fox 36 air piston seal) for the IFP, these are a bit overkill but if that means you won't get aeration, I'm all here for it 🤘
The change to Monotube was also a big boost in reliability (in this case), the inner damper tube was VERY flexy, so having the piston run directly against the thick damper body was a great way to reduce lateral flex 💪
No aeration, but at what cost? ⚖️
This thing is BEEFY, every single part feels stronger but consequently heavier, increasing the weight up ~80-100g from the previous generation, bringing it to 779g, only 34g from a coil shock I had on hand...what was the main advantage of air shocks again? 😅
The new X2 may not be the lightest (it may be the heaviest actually), but it's certainly a great choice for those bikes famous for destroying shocks. I'll just tag here which is totally unrelated 🫡
I definitely think this is a big step in the right direction (although maybe too big), a slightly less sensitive shock is better than a heavily aerated one, right? 🤔
What are your thoughts on the new X2?
Full internal deep dive/tech talk soon!
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