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I have a 2013 Fox Evolution fork on my bike (bought new by me) that is subject to recall due to some forks having defective dampers.

I've been riding with a suspension fork since 1996, and I have never had a fork that tops out like this one. It tops out with a ridiculous clunk when I pop a curb, it tops out the same way when I ride down a bumpy trail. The rebound control knob has never seemed to have any effect on the rate of rebound.

I was hoping that the damper repair would fix the top out. So I took it to my LBS for the recall damper repair.

They called me after 10 days and said, "it's topping out a lot, we think we must have got a defective replacement damper, we'll order another replacement damper."

They called again after another week and said, "Damper is all good, still topping out a lot, we think there is some air that leaked into the negative air chamber, you need to take it to a specialized suspension repair shop for repair."

Is there any reason to think this is a warranty issue, or should I just cough up the dough for someone to bleed the air out of the negative chamber (which is what the guy said I needed to do)?

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    I'd suggest you talk to Fox customer services in the first instance. Any attempt to fix it yourself could jeopardise warranty or recall.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Oct 1, 2015 at 23:18
  • Does not make sense. The LBS can service damper but they don't have the expertise to bleed negative air chamber. Search on sag setting how to tune. Have you done that?
    – paparazzo
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 16:58
  • @Paparazzi The Fox fork in question is a Specialized BRAIN model which requires specific tools to work on the BRAIN portion of the shock. Per a manufacturing agreement between fox and Specialized, Fox does not supply training or tools for the left leg of the fork, unless you are a Specialized dealer. The right leg is the same as all Fox forks, and so any shop with basic suspension knowledge can fix it.
    – zenbike
    Commented Mar 27, 2016 at 15:56
  • Have you been riding the bike since 2013 and has the fork been serviced regularly? Fox have a 1 year warranty and that's conditional on maintenance. Get the fork serviced and seals replaced.
    – DWGKNZ
    Commented Apr 26, 2016 at 22:18

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While it can be related to the damper, if 2 new dampers have not fixed the issue, as you describe, it is likely related to the SPECIALIZED BRAIN mechanism in the fork.

Take it to a Specialized dealer. They will repair or replace it. And should do so at no cost or minimal cost.

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I finally had a chance to let DirtLabs look at this fork. I told them the whole story. They cracked it open and discovered that the travel setting was wrong -- it was set to travel much further than factory spec. Really unusual: I bought the bike brand new from a very reputable shop and have never had any work done to it except the damper recall work.

Sounds like an easy fix. They can adjust the travel to its proper setting. There wasn't any damage. Lucky.

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