2009 Fox Talas 36

2009 Fox Talas 36.

Fox Racing Shox has a long and storied history building some of the best suspension in the world. Starting way back in ’74 and up to the launch of Fox Forx in 2001 they have put tremendous amounts of time working towards building some of the best suspension in the world.

I got a chance to ride the 2008 Talas 36 on the Diamond Back Scapegoat a couple of months ago and I was very surprised at how well it worked. So I was a very happy camper to be mounting up a 2009 TALAS RC2 onto my trusty Tomac Snyper (all mountain) bike.

The changes from last to this year are minimal, and are more like revisions than actual changes. First off the damper system was reworked, then lighter crowns & steer tube where put in place. The steer tubes will be available in 1 1/8", 1.5" and 1.5" taper, but if you are buying this fork aftermarket you won't be able to get anything other than the 1 1/8". I don't have any idea why, other than they don't want too many sku’s in the catalogue, but expect that to change as the 1.5” taper starts to take off.

2009 Fox Talas 36.

The first thing that I noticed was that the TALUS lever had been changed in favour of a more ergonomic design. Part of the design was protection from external forces and now it has less of a chance of sustaining damage from a crash. The TALUS are adjustable in three increments of 30mm from 100-160mm. More often than not I found myself dialing down to 130mm on longer climbs and releasing the full travel for the down bits on a trail. I barely rode it in the 100mm setting, mainly only on pumptrack sessions.

Bluntly put, the Fox 20QR thru axle system is the easiest and most reassuring that I have ever used. Undo the quick release and unscrew the axle and the wheel is released. Maxle might be faster, but it can come undone easier. So without having to worry as much about Maxle staying tight and I can keep my my piece of mind that I;'m not going to have a wheel take off on me. Bottom line, the Fox system worked flawlessly for me.

Fox Talas 36 QR 20 system.

The TALAS 36 has, wait for it, 36mm stanchions making for a very rigid and precise ride, while keeping the weight at a hair over a very svelte 5 lbs. Out on the trail the TALAS worked very well with no issues. The RC2 model that we tested has high and low speed compression/rebound adjustments for fine tuning your ride. I prefer to ride the bike stiff with slightly retarded rebound, so setup only took a couple twists of the adjusters.

Fox Talas 36 travel adjustment.

Fox Talas 36 rebound adjustment, low & high speed compression are on the bottom of the fork leg.

Opinion: The '09 Fox Talas 36 forks are the best that money will buy. Get a set.

Plus: Light, easy to setup, great axle system.
Minus: Expensive, but worth every pretty penny.

MSRP:$1000 ish.
Website: http://www.foxracingshox.com

Rating: 5/5