The Shock Lab

Discontinued Fox Talas seals? Not a problem! 🔍

Remember the Fox Talas? It allowed to change your fork travel during a ride, which could let you optimize the bike geometry for a climb, and then "unleash" it for the descent. Pretty amazing, right? 🤔

Absolutely, but it added a considerable amount of drag and complexity, and it wasn't necessarily reliable. It went through several updates/variants before they completely got rid of the system. 🚮

On top of that, it uses custom seals that were discontinued a long time ago!
For example, the original main piston and outer IFP seal has a 3mm cross section x 22.5mm inner diameter, but it's 3.8mm tall! 💀

Of course, you could stick a 3x22.5mm o-ring in there and it'll probably work, but consider that not only the piston/bore diameters determine the seal squeeze, but the groove width, too! There must be a better way... 🤔

We presented these options to the customer:
1. ($) Install the closest size seal and send it. (Not recommended)
2. ($$$$$$$$) Source or custom make molds to make the custom seals.
3. ($$$$) Buy PTFE sheets of the right thicknesses for custom backup rings and make custom tools on the lathe to cut them to size.
4. ($$) Use Igus Self-lubricating filament to 3D print the custom backup rings as needed.

Easy choice! So I got to work. It took about 10 prototypes (printed in a different material) and a bunch of test fitting to dial the dimensions in ~0.1mm increments, and a couple tests just fine tuning with the tribo filament. The final batch was tempered to further improve their properties 🔥

The result? High precision, low friction Igus backup rings with high wear and temperature resistance that not only brought this fork back to life, but also will make future service straighforward and with common seal sizes! 🤘

Being able to use compounds to machine or 3D print custom solutions is really a game changer, and will allow us to tackle special projects we really couldn't do before. And will open the door for further innovation. Stay tuned!

You can see the Talas system in action in our story, check it out before it's gone!

Custom service, parts and tools. Link in bio 🔗

10 years of the X2, what have we learned? 🤔

The 2026 X2 is not light, but it may be the best one yet! 🔥🤘

Let's take a quick dive into what makes this shock way more reliable and if it was worth the extra weight! ⚖️

The latest X2 is now Monotube (is it even an X2 anymore? 🤔) and features a 12.7mm shaft, this allowed them to increase the lateral stiffness, as the main piston runs directly against the damper body, instead of their flexy inner damper tube 🤘

The damper sealhead now features a wide bushing on each side to further boost lateral stiffness, as well as dual (and thicker) o-rings in the sealhead to prevent premature aeration! 💪

The IFP seal is also much thicker to prevent aeration from the IFP chamber (which wasn't really an issue) and IFP pressure has been increased to reduce the pressure differential between damper and air spring to further improve reliability 🤘

That's all great news, but what's the downside?
Increasing the thickness (and number) of seals increases friction, and it's definitely noticeable! But a slightly "draggier" shock is better than a heavily aerated one, don't you think!? 😅

One thing I can already tell will be an issue is the air can (again!), the wiper seal is very soft (same as Float X) and does not do a great job actually wiping sh*t off (literally), this leads to contamination ingestion, which leads to seal failure and air leaks!

And guess what...you still can't service the air can without having to take apart the whole damn shock. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL F*** 🤬

The damper seems to be their most reliable yet, but that's worthless if the air can starts leaking. You still need to disassemble the whole thing! 🙃

But hey, at least they're finally using a thicker air can quad ring! (Same as Float X) 👀

Can we improve it? Absolutely!
Our FKM seal kits for '26 X2 feature a FKM X-ring for the IFP, 1x stiff sealhead o-ring (damper side) for superior durability, and 1x softer o-ring (air spring side) for improved sealing effectiveness against the smaller air molecules! This results in reduced friction without compromise in reliability 🤘

What are your thoughts on the new design? 🤔

Banana for scale by Printlabs3D! 🍌

One year warranty? 🤔

No, I'm not talking about the manufacturers warranty period, now your shock service is also guaranteed for a year!* 🔥

That's right, we're QUADRUPLING our warranty coverage, when getting a full shock overhaul with our upgraded FKM service kits, your damper is guaranteed to be aeration & leak free for 12 months! 🤘

Your air can is still covered by our 90 day warranty, as well as your fork! 🤙

We've had amazing results with our custom FKM/Viton service kits, and we've further improved them recently to make your shock as reliable as it can be (even more) 🔥

Now featuring a tougher compound for the sealhead, for extreme durability without sacrificing sealing effectiveness! 💪

And, certain applications now feature FKM/Viton X-rings for the IFP, combining the stability and lower friction of x-rings, with the chemical and wear resistance of FKM 🤌

The thing is, these aren't cheap at all 😅 Some of our kits have gotten a slight price adjustment, but consider that a few dollars extra in seals can make a big difference in reliability 🤙

New 1 year warranty also applies to every shock already serviced with FKM this year! (Sorry I meant to post this earlier!)

Service kits also available for DIY and workshops, shipping worldwide 🌏