As some of you may recall , some scummy rat-boy recently stole my Titus Loco Moto, which I have been
told has probably been sent to China to be used to deliver chickens or something. While I battled
with the insurance company I looked into a replacement and decided to go with a brand that is
available in Hong Kong ,rather than buy direct from the U.S again. Of the locally available choices
the Foes FXR seemed closest to what I wanted so I took a test ride on one of our favourite trails.
The test bike was built up using the most expensive kit I had ever ridden, and most of it was stuff
I wanted to avoid for as long as possible. So we had A Curnutt Ti shock, the first SPV shock I had
ridden, Dual Control Levers, that were fitted front brake on the left U.S (wrong)style, a reverse
rise rear derailleur,super spendy Maverick upside down Forks, tubeless tires, The new XT discs and
my pet peeve a Crossmax on the back.
now, one at a time. Tubeless tires. I got up in the morning and they needed inflating. I was on the
ferry going over to the trail and they nedded inflating again, on the way home, they needed
inflating. Apparently they weren't punctured they just do that.Oh yeah, and I carried a tube in case
I got a flat. Conclusion, they dont work very well and are therefore pointless.
Maverick fork. An upside down 6 inch travel monocoque air fork that weighs something like 3 1/2
pounds or there abouts. I costs HK$8000 here, thats a little over a thousand U.S.$ complete with a
24mm through axle hub and fitted stem. To be fair , the stem was too short for Xc, so the bike felt
a bit light at the front but it certainly didn't feel like a six inch fork. Unfortunately it didn't
work like a six inch fork either. It worked like a very expensive 3 inch air fork with too much air
in it, i.e harsh spikes. I gradully let air out untill it started to move properly and then all of a
sudden it was blowing all the travel riding over a twig.Reinflate and repeat untill bored. Stiff
though.The 4 inch travel limit didnt seem to work either, as it kept creeping back to six inches.
Conclusion. If you want want a very light six inch fork that thinks it's a three inch fork, and want
to look like a downhiller so much it's worth a grand, these are for you, although, yes, they are
very stiff.
Dual control. putting aside the fact that the brakes were back to front this was my first try of
dual control. They look very bulky and fragile and when you first grab them it feels like they're
broken as they flop all over the place. The reverse rise rear derailleur is totally counter
intuitive as you cant rapidly dump a load of gears to get over an unexpected obstacle or if you run
out of puff on a hill. Also I found you have to move your hand position a lot more to brake and
change gear than with triggers.An unexpexted annoyance was if you turn your bike upside down to work
on the drivetrain it's really hard to change gears.It also means you have to use Shimano disc
brakes. Conclusion. Why?
XT discs. These are the new one piece calipers, and the front brake faded 100% on a fast descent.
Upon getting home I found a strange crispy ,bubbly ,black substance around the edge of the disc. I
suppose it used to be the pad. Conclusion, they are a bunch of [censored].
Crossmax, they're not that light, not that strong, you're in trouble if you break one and they're
very expensive, but it lasted the ride. Still tubeless though.
Foes FXR. When you sit on it for the first time it feels like the shock has packed up, as it sags an
inch or so into its travel very easily. It pedalled very well uphill and as I was looking down while
pedalling it didn't move the slightest bit. Contrary to what I had been told it also pedalled well
out of the saddle. The bike definitely wants to stay on the ground and it's harder to hop if you
like preloading the suspension.The rear end is very stiff, something I liked about my old loco
moto.It also pedalled smoothly up small flights of rocky steps which we have a lot of here.
Conclusion.Its a decent ,flashy looking frame that could use some de-stickering and it rides very
well. Theres no way on gods earth that this frame weighs 6.7 pounds thoughas they claim. It's an
absolute lie. More like 8.7 lbs. I'll buy one though as it should build up into a 30lbish 5" trail
bike that can take a bit of a leathering.
Those dual control levers though, man they really stink.
cheers Gaz