2020 decoy 29 on fox 38 180mm travel

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
anyone here tried a fox 38 180mm travel fork on a decoy 29?

i know geo would change a bit.

but “how sway?”

looking into upgrading forks should i stay the within the 20mm travel range

new here thanks for the input
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
I HAVE DECOY 29 AND TRIED 170MM but was too choppered out for my liking.. personally, I think 160mm is the sweet spot on these.. I also run flip chip in high with 160mm makes it steer a little quicker and a little more BB height.

180 front and 145mm rear are too out of balance IMO.
 

TransAmMan

Active member
Sep 18, 2019
154
142
Canada
It can be done on most analog bikes but you will have challenges with the Decoy

If your going to add that much more travel, the way to properly do this is to decrease the HA by 1 or 1.5 degrees (head angle .. to keep the front end weighted and balanced)

If you install a angleset headset, it would be possible to maintain some geo balance (you would have a slack bike .. in the 63/64 HA range .. which may be OK if that is what your after). The Decoy comes with a knockblock assembly that I am not sure if this can be transferred over (somebody else could comment).

Your reach will also be shortened.

This is now the "trend" in bike design ... 1) longer reach (to offset lower HA), 2) geo numbers in the 64 range, and 3) lower BB. You would be able to achieve #2 with some work, BUT would not be able to compensate on the reach number and perhaps the BB height.

Personally I would not do this on the 29'er version (the mullet would be better suited) as stated above .. 180 front and 145 out back is a bit of an anomaly.

Good luck either way. (y)

PS .. if you asked Bender .. he would OK a 300mm super monster out front :LOL::LOL:... but it depends on what your riding - lol
 
Last edited:

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
thanks for the info i will stick to a 160mm fork i didnt want to experiment too much on this bike. i will keep an eye out on the new decoy if they are ever gonna release
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
40888EE2-D9D3-4A22-99E5-1F36D1917F29.jpeg

fox 38 forks 170mm
fox x2 shocks 230x65
yt decoy base 29
feels very similar to the yt capra 29 very capable uphill much more fun downhill
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
How do you like the Fox 38 170mm? I just put one on a Decoy mullet. I was surprised how good it is, but they are difficult to get hold of at the moment.
being located in southern cali did play a factor in getting fox suspension rather quickly. it took 2 weeks from the day i ordered and signed for the package. the shocks are really good real plush not as plush as the zeb but fox handles much better on g outs and real chunky stuff.
 

Common

Member
Apr 5, 2021
6
0
SVK
being located in southern cali did play a factor in getting fox suspension rather quickly. it took 2 weeks from the day i ordered and signed for the package. the shocks are really good real plush not as plush as the zeb but fox handles much better on g outs and real chunky stuff.

Would you know by any chance how much travel you got changing shock from 230x60 to 230x65? I assume you still have 29 rear wheel...
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
before setting the air pressure up i did a rough measurement its minimum 165mm might be even closer to 170mm i ordered a sturdy stand from feedback so i can get a better measurement
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
Any luck measuring that rear travel? I am so close to pull the trigger on 29er :D
did a more stable measurement. 6.25 in = 158.75mm thats with the 230x65 foxX2 shock. i dont know how much the bump stop/buffer give. its safe to say 160mm rear. not an engineer whatsoever so take it with a grain of salt. good luck
 

Jonzy

Member
Jul 4, 2020
11
13
devon
still didn’t get to measure. but here’s a pic of the rear suspension at full compression. no rubs View attachment 59925
any chance you could take a picture from above showing what clearence you have with the shock fitted and fully defalted, reason I ask is if I remove the shock as per the picture with the bike on the ground the linkage touches the seat tube, thanks in advance.
 

Mike.Gambino

New Member
Apr 27, 2021
5
4
USA
any chance you could take a picture from above showing what clearence you have with the shock fitted and fully defalted, reason I ask is if I remove the shock as per the picture with the bike on the ground the linkage touches the seat tube, thanks in advance.

That's what my concern was. The rocker link must be damn close to hitting the frame if it isn't with that setup? I am interested in the idea though, a 170mm F/160mm R with full 29 wheels is more so what I would want than the mullet version.
 

Jonzy

Member
Jul 4, 2020
11
13
devon
That's what my concern was. The rocker link must be damn close to hitting the frame if it isn't with that setup? I am interested in the idea though, a 170mm F/160mm R with full 29 wheels is more so what I would want than the mullet version.
I've uppped the air spring to 160mm and looking at having the 5mm travel spacer removed from the dpx2 to have 65 stroke so I'm keen to see the clearance
 

Dirtnvert

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Sep 25, 2018
1,463
1,695
BC Canada
8mm should be plenty. Sweet mod. Wish there was a 230 x 70 or 67.5. I would up stroke my mullet decoy. 225 x 70 with offset bushings reversed but 225's are all trunion mounts i think
 

Jonzy

Member
Jul 4, 2020
11
13
devon
Tried a 230x65 dpx2 on my 29pro as per the original post and when it's fully deflated and your sat on the bike you have no more than 1mm clearance between the the seat stay bridge and the seat post now maybe the bridge is thicker on the CF models over the Ali base models, but call me a chicken but that's to close for comfort you could use a 230x62.5 Stoke and you would have around 4-5mm clearance. Looking at the pictures above it looks like even though the shock is deflated it is not under load and I would imagine he doesn't have the clearance he thinks.
 

Camstyn

Well-known member
Jun 19, 2019
121
142
Kamloops BC
Keep in mind the Fox 38 has a longer axle to crown measurement than the 36, 7mm longer than a 2020 and older 36 which you’ve likely got. Now bump your travel up to 180mm and you’ve put a 37mm longer fork on your bike. This will slacken your head angle AND seat tube angle by approx 2 degrees, and raise your bottom bracket height significantly. These bikes already have a slack seat tube angle by today’s standards.

Now add more rear travel and your angles are slackened even further when measured with rider sag. Changing the geometry too much is going to significantly effect the bike’s handling, so you may not want to get too carried away.

A 180mm 38 is a long fork.. like almost as long as bolting up a 203mm dual crown. For a bike designed for a 150mm 36, you may get some negative results.
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
Keep in mind the Fox 38 has a longer axle to crown measurement than the 36, 7mm longer than a 2020 and older 36 which you’ve likely got. Now bump your travel up to 180mm and you’ve put a 37mm longer fork on your bike. This will slacken your head angle AND seat tube angle by approx 2 degrees, and raise your bottom bracket height significantly. These bikes already have a slack seat tube angle by today’s standards.

Now add more rear travel and your angles are slackened even further when measured with rider sag. Changing the geometry too much is going to significantly effect the bike’s handling, so you may not want to get too carried away.

A 180mm 38 is a long fork.. like almost as long as bolting up a 203mm dual crown. For a bike designed for a 150mm 36, you may get some negative results.
you’re right 180 was way too much settled on 170
 

yourgrace

Member
Feb 23, 2021
18
17
california
Tried a 230x65 dpx2 on my 29pro as per the original post and when it's fully deflated and your sat on the bike you have no more than 1mm clearance between the the seat stay bridge and the seat post now maybe the bridge is thicker on the CF models over the Ali base models, but call me a chicken but that's to close for comfort you could use a 230x62.5 Stoke and you would have around 4-5mm clearance. Looking at the pictures above it looks like even though the shock is deflated it is not under load and I would imagine he doesn't have the clearance he thinks.
you’re right the carbon rear or pro model shouldnt try this out that piece is waay thicker on a carbon. for us base model alu rear can benefit on this set up. hucked and dropped on this set up so far no where near from fully compressing internal bump stop. havent felt any bottom outs. again take this info with a couple pinches of salt
 

Mos_ua

New Member
Apr 10, 2022
9
7
NY
anyone here tried a fox 38 180mm travel fork on a decoy 29?

i know geo would change a bit.

but “how sway?”

looking into upgrading forks should i stay the within the 20mm travel range

new here thanks for the input
I’m doing 180mm front Fox 38 and replacing 165mm rear X2 with EXT E-Storia to make it part park part enduro bike
 

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