By Luke Marshall

Published: Friday, 01 October 2021 at 12:00 am


This week, First Look Friday kicks off with a celebration as Mountain Biking UK magazine just published its 400th issue – massive congratulations to the team at MBUK on this impressive milestone!

Inside this bumper issue, you’ll find an extended feature with the 50 MTB heroes who have thrilled and enthralled us all over the years, a Mint Sauce comic book from creator Jo Burt, and a massive subscriber competition where you can win nearly £900 of Muc-Off goodies. Grab a copy while you can!

Back here on BikeRadar, Tom reviews the Ribble HT AL for all you hardtail fans out there. In addition, Alex has compiled a buyer’s guide to 18 of the best dropper posts in 2021, along with this review of the outlandish and revamped Pole Stamina 160.

The team also discussed carbon wheels and if they have a place in mountain biking on the Bike Radar podcast. Give it a listen to find out our thoughts.

It’s not all MTB news, though, as Warren checks out the latest Cervélo R5 race bike with an incredible claimed frame weight of just 703g. Also, Italian’s Wilier release their latest Garda bike with updates to keep it bang on-trend.

Plus, Wahoo enter the indoor training market with a new online software programme called SYSTM. Buiding on the infamous Sufferfest, this is claimed to be the most comprehensive training app out there.

Furthermore, on the training theme, don’t miss out on Tom Bell’s top five winter training tips, so when spring rolls around, you’ll be in your best shape ever.

Fox 34 Factory GRIP2 forks

"Fox's
Fox’s 34 Factory GRIP2 forks are the brand’s top-spec 140mm travel trail bike fork.
Luke Marshall/Immediate Media

While these have been out for a while now, due to reasons we’re all familiar with now in the bike industry, it’s taken Fox a while to hunt a pair down for us to test. Still, here they are, and they will be joining our trail forks group test in the coming months.

So, here’s a quick refresh about what’s new with the latest Fox 34 forks. With the introduction of the Fox 38, Fox reshuffled the travel options for their fork range, and the 34’s now top out at 140mm travel (shown here).

The 34’s get Fox’s new chassis design, including the re-shaped lower leg arch that claims to shave the grams without affecting strength, stiffness, or on-trail handling. This pair weighs in at 1845g.

"The
The chassis on the new Fox 34 forks has had an overhaul to shave weight and keep strength and stiffness.
Luke Marshall/Immediate Media

The lower legs also include a ‘bypass channel’, which serves two functions. Firstly, to allow air in the lower legs (not the EVOL spring) extra space when the fork compresses to alleviate the additional ramp-up that can happen. Secondly, it gives oil in the lower legs a path to help keep the bushings and foam rings lubricated.

"The
The Fox 34 Factory bypass channel helps prevent unwanted ‘ramp-up’ and keep bushings and foam rings lubricated.
Luke Marshall/Immediate Media

The 34 spans the three model ranges – the Factory, Performance Elite, and Performance. With the Factory version, you get the option of the GRIP2 or FIT4 damper and 130mm or 140mm travel. The Performance Elite uses the FIT4 and is limited to 130mm travel. Lastly, the Performance fork comes uses the simpler GRIP damper with 140mm travel.

"Fox
Fox 34 Factory GRIP2 compression adjuster with low and high-speed adjustment.
Luke Marshall/Immediate Media

Fox’s 34 Factory here, with its GRIP2 damper, has high and low-speed compression and rebound damping featuring their patented VVC (Variable Valve Control) technology. The same damper is found in their 36, 38, and 40 forks. It also uses Fox’s EVOL air spring with a larger negative chamber to help with mid-stroke support.

  • Fox 34 Factory GRIP2 £1099