For Fox's 50th anniversary release, they dropped on us a very limited number of their 2025 forks sporting the new flashy Podium Gold colorway. The Fox 40 Float 29in Factory Grip X2 Fork is one of our go-to forks for heavy-duty downhill performance and has burly 40mm stanchions, a dual crown, and a 20mm axle for downhill-ready strength and stiffness. This year, Fox revised its top-tier Grip2 damper and returned with the Grip X2. All of the compression and rebound adjustments mostly stay the same, but the Grip X2 now has a slightly wider compression range and features a larger diameter base valve with a higher count valve stack for better sensitivity and tuning range. This all helps to keep us planted through high-speed berms while riding higher in our travel for unprecedented downhill-focused performance. Various features returning from the last model year include the floating axle for a smoother ride, the revised arch for stiffness and weight savings, and the bleeders for balanced positive and negative air chambers.
