I’ve been running 2003 World Cup Boxxers for a long time now. Their feel has been great with a smooth progression from the supple initial stroke to the end of travel where the forks ramp up nicely to soften any bottom out. The new 8 inch versions for 2005 had caught my interest and I was keen to try a set. Next thing I know I was being asked if I wanted to review a set of 2005 Boxxer Teams. The only difference between these and the World Cups in 2005 is the slippery silver stanchions and ti-springs.

The difference between 7 and 8 inches...

I had many questions about the new forks that needed answers. Was the extra travel worth it? Would it give me a performance advantage? What about those new beefier lowers, would they make the forks stiffer? And finally would they feel as good as my 2003 World Cups?

Pulling the forks out of the box the first thing to compare was the weight, the new lowers do add some extra weight to the fork but nothing that is worth worrying about. They are still one of the lightest downhill forks out there.

Before I took off anywhere I added some slick honey to the seals, something you should all do to any new fork. Then I noticed something, my bars were sitting higher and the head angle of my Orange was noticeably slacker. That extra inch of travel did make a noticeable difference to the bikes geometry.

Out on the trails I noticed the difference in bar height and head angle straight away. The head angle gave me no issues but the bar height did take me a few runs to get used to. While I was whinging to my mates about the additional bar height (I’m fussy about my bike set-up ok) I’d forgotten that I was running a new set of forks. They felt exactly the same as my old ones, in fact they were also only getting 7 inches of travel. After a week of testing on some very rough trails where I’d expect to be getting full travel I was still only using 7 inches. The oil level was checked to be fine so obviously I needed a softer spring. Something I was surprised with seeing as I run the standard medium springs in my 2003 Boxxers.

A super soft spring was sent up and now I was scared that the forks would be too soft. Luckily I had nothing to worry about. I got to do something I was always keen to try with 8 inch forks, run a lot of initial sag. With my weight balanced over the bike I was getting a good two and a half inches to 3 inches of sag. The extra sag had my bars pretty close to their original height and with the forks set up correctly for my weight I was keen to get out there and see the difference.

The result was more than I could have hoped for. I now had the best tracking forks I’ve ever come to use. It was amazing, the front wheel never left the ground, staying planted over all the holes and rocks. All the negative travel I had given the forks was the cause as they allowed the wheel to drop into the holes and breaking bumps. The forks also weren’t that soft that they would bottom out all the time. This was due to Boxxers being progressive through their stroke so that they will only ever bottom out harshly with a very big hit.

What about those new lowers, could I notice the extra stiffness? Well no. The reason for this is that I never noticed any flex in my old Boxxers. The old lowers did have a tendency to twist after a bad crash and I’m not willing to put my body on the line to see if the new ones will do the same. All I can say is that they look like they’re a lot stronger plus they look way cooler.

Cornering isn't much of a problem...

So was the extra travel worth it in the end? I’m still not completely sure. Initially when I wasn’t getting full travel I didn’t like the added ride height. However with the softer set-up I had no issues with the extra travel. So was there a performance advantage? Well they did track better but the overall smoothness wasn’t much different. Put it this way, with my 7 inch forks the only time I had trouble hanging on to the bars was when the holes in the trail were the same size as my wheel. Having 20 inches of travel wont fix this only my riding style will.

Final verdict? I like the initial suppleness the forks have and their ride qualities. They are just an improved version of the 2004 models which I think was a good move. The dampening characteristics are the same but with improved lowers and an extra inch of travel. Two thumbs up.

*Play some music while looking at the animation above. Funky times...