New Fox 38 brings increased stiffness, smoothness and sensitivity to enduro's favourite fork

The 38 has been enduro's default heavy-hitter since 2020, and this is the first time Fox has torn the whole thing up rather than tweaking a damper. The new fork shares its design language with the rest of Fox's gravity line — the 36, the Podium and the freshly-updated 40 — with a revised chassis, the Glidecore air spring, and reworked GRIP X2 and GRIP X dampers.

The headline trick is a generatively designed lower-leg assembly — note the cut-outs in the arch — with 20mm more bushing overlap between the upper and lower tubes. Fox also relocated the bypass channels inside the lowers, updated the air-bleeder valves, and added a new GD3 mudguard mount and a 200mm direct post mount.

The interesting part is that Fox didn't just chase peak rigidity. Fore-aft stiffness climbs ~8.8% so the fork stays planted under hard braking and in G-outs, but torsional stiffness drops ~6.8%. That's a deliberate call: a fork that twists a touch more can follow off-camber chatter and hold its line on rough terrain instead of deflecting off it. The figures vary slightly by outlet (BikeRadar cites roughly 9% / 7%, MBR 'nearly 10%' / 6%), but the direction is consistent.

It's the same philosophy RockShox and others have been chasing on big enduro forks — stiffness isn't a single number you maximise, it's a balance you tune for grip.

The biggest feel change is likely the FLOAT Glidecore air spring, carried over from the 36. Rather than the old Float EVOL's fixed piston, Glidecore lets the air piston and shaft move and self-align a little under load — using compliant interfaces and larger O-rings — so the internals don't bind when the chassis flexes through a rough section. A new MCU bottom-out bumper takes the edge off full-travel hits.

The air shaft now slides fully inside the upper tubes with a taller top cap, increasing air volume; MBR reports that lets riders run roughly 20% lower pressures than before. On the damping side, the GRIP X2 gets an entirely redesigned mid-valve piston and valve stack with cut-design ports to boost oil flow and small-bump sensitivity — while keeping the full four-way adjustment (8 high-/18 low-speed compression clicks, 8 high-/16 low-speed rebound, per Fox).

Shared chassis numbers: 38mm stanchions, 44mm offset (37mm OE only), 15x110mm floating axle, up to 2.6" tyre clearance and a 230mm max rotor. It's on sale now via ridefox.com. Interestingly, several outlets note the new fork is both lighter and cheaper than the outgoing model in some markets.

At a global RRP of US$1,369 (~R22 600) / £1,439 (~R31 300) / €1,499 (~R28 100) for the Factory (roughly R25,000+ once converted from the US figure, before local import costs and duties), it's firmly high-end. South African pricing depends on the importer, so check the live local listings below rather than converting the dollar price yourself.