Fox 36 Forks: Van or TALAS

My buddy and I ride the same bike, in the same size and for 1 month we had different forks, I had Talas the Fox36 Talas while he had the Fox36 Vanilla. This review is based on our experience of the forks. The main differences on paper are that the Talas and Vanilla are air and coil sprung respectively, the travel of the Talas is adjustable 110-150mm while the Vanilla is fixed at 160mm, the Talas weighs 0.5lb less than the Vanilla, but when the bike is 32-35 lbs the additional fork weight is irrelevant. In reality it is on the trail where there were noticeable differences .

The Vanilla is very ‘smooth’ on the trail it completely levels all bumps, obstacles and drops up to a couple feet in size. The Vanilla provides fantastic ‘comfort’ to the riders arms and wrists. The Talas 36 is a different beast, it is no-where near as active over small bumps or roots; however any obstacle or rider input that makes the fork work opens a lot of smooth travel. The Talas gives a much greater feeling of invincibility, it doesn’t so much go over obstacles as crush them! Both of these forks are capable of very hard-hitting work, I bottomed the Talas twice, both times it was my fault riding over a drop into oblivion and the fork saved me from eating dirt. Wehave yet bottom the Vanilla.

The Vanilla is approximately 3 cm longer (axel to crown) than the Talas and this has a marked effect when riding the bike. With the Vanilla the front of the bike is noticeably lifted and tipped backwards. The consequence is light steering on steep hills and very twisty singletrack, tight corners need careful planning as it is almost impossible to alter the line once you are in the corner. On the other hand the longer rake of the Vanilla makes the bike incredibly stable on any type of downhill. The Talas gives a much more ‘conventional’ trail bike riding position and doesn’t reduce the steering sensitivity. Up-hills are the same as with other trail forks, it doesn’t wander unless the slope is a cliff! The Talas can be adjusted from 110 to 150mm, the lower setting will help on hills but I just left it in the maximum travel setting all the time and had no problems.

So, which is best? That depends on what you want. If you want quick steering and easier climbing (basically a more conventional trail-bike ride) the Talas is by far the better option. If you want fantastic comfort and the ability to hoover up the trail obstacles get the Vanilla, but be prepared to adapt your riding style to accommodate it on hills and in corners. Both forks should last well, the spring of the Vanilla should be more reliable than the air seals of the Talas, although I had a 125mm Talas for 2 years without a blip of a problem.