2014 Fox Talas 34 Fit CTD Factory Series Kashima

Fox 34 Talas Fit CTD Factory Series Kashima 160mm travel. Taper steerer 6.5" long

Super mint condition, stanchions clean no scratches. Ridden less than 10 times since new.

2014 Factory 34 TALAS CTD Adj Fork

• Intended use: trail/all-mountain
• Updated CTD damper with increased compression tune
• Completely redesigned TALAS travel adjust system
• Available travel/wheel size:
- 160mm of travel for 26”
• CTD Trail Adjust damper
- 3 on-the-trail CTD compression settings
- Additional 3 clicks of adjustability in Trail mode (soft, medium, firm)
• Kashima coated upper tubes
• 15QR thru-axle.

Revised CTD Damper

Our biggest question about the 2014 CTD forks boiled down to if FOX rectified their 2013-spec damper, which they have. The revised damper features ''increased compression damping of CTD system across the board'', meaning that riders can expect a more controlled feel to the fork in all three of the CTD settings. This should indicate that aggressive riders will be able to take advantage of the fork's more active 'Descend' mode without it diving too much. In fact, the 2014 CTD damper not only features heavier compression damping than last year's fork, but also more than the much liked 2012 RLC model. The heavier damping also applies to both the 'Trail' and 'Climb' settings, with the latter featuring a stiffer tune that limits movement during long, smooth climbs and hard out of the saddle efforts.

While it might be easy to lay into FOX for not coming out of the gate in 2013 with firmer levels of damping, it is key to remember that they must produce suspension for every type of rider, from those who are just starting to ride, to expert-level media hacks and racer types who hold a professional license. This is far from a simple task, and while we have been critical of FOX over the last year, we're excited to see that they have made changes for 2014. ''Our high performance suspension needs to be ridden on casual weekend rides yet handle the velocities and forces the expert/pro level rider needs. Finding the balance of a comfortable ride and fast riding fork is an ongoing challenge,'' Fitzsimmons says.
bigquotes We received feedback from our racers and enduro riders that although the 2013 fork is comfortable to ride, it was difficult to push hard when raced. Taking that information, we applied it to the 2014 forks and are very satisfied with the results. The production fork is what won the DH race at Sea Otter and is what our 2013 athletes are racing on. - Mark Fitzsimmons, Race Program Manager

New Hydraulic TALAS

While all four of the previous iterations of TALAS utilized an air transfer system to raise and lower the fork in its travel, FOX has moved to a hydraulic system for 2014 that allows the fork's stroke to be tweaked in 5mm increments and 30mm of overall change. There are two reasons for the switch, with one of them being the new layout's use of just one dynamic seal as opposed to the older style's three. This should equate to a smoother stroke that requires less breakaway force. The other advantage is that the TALAS system is now decoupled from the fork's air spring, giving the engineers at FOX more flexibility when it comes to dialling in the exact spring curve that they want. This has also allowed them to have more
control of the fork's spring curve when it is lowered into its travel, with FOX telling us that the new TALAS forks can be ridden far more aggressively when set to shorter travel. ''With larger wheel sizes and higher front ends, the new TALAS can ride in short travel position for most riding conditions and go to long travel for steep descents,'' Fitzsimmons said. ''This is a new way of thinking for travel adjust.'' The new hydraulic TALAS system sits within the top few inches of the fork's spring-side cartridge, and FOX was happy to report that the entire cartridge can be retrofitted into older models for those riders who are looking to upgrade without purchasing an entirely new fork.

The 2014 Talas system works by moving oil from one chamber to another by way of check balls that block the oil's passage. When in long travel mode, the TALAS unit sits fully extended at the top of the cartridge, with the majority of the oil in the TALAS unit itself. Turning the TALAS lever to the left allows the check balls to move, opening up ports that let the oil flow from the larger TALAS chamber to an area between the cartridge wall and the outer wall of the TALAS unit, thereby pulling the TALAS element down into the cartridge and effectively shortening its overall length. The fork's air spring is still adjusted via a schrader valve in the center of the TALAS dial, with a long tube running down through the center of the unit and into the air spring chamber.

The new TALAS system has also allowed FOX to incorporate a simple and quick way to adjust the fork's travel when in its shorter travel setting, with clip-on spacers (shown at right) that fit over the outer tube of the TALAS unit. These 5mm spacers adjust the position of the shorter travel setting by limiting the movement of the hydraulic travel adjuster. If you're looking to tune how much travel the fork has when dropped down, simply unthread the spring-side topcap and clip on one or more of the 5mm spacers that restrict the total movement of the TALAS unit. For example, if you want your 120/150mm fork to offer 130mm in its shorter setting, clip on two spacers and call it done. At the other end of the stroke, a 'shuttle bumper' can be added to the opposite end of the cartridge to tune the fork's total travel. This mod won't alter the adjustment range of the TALAS unit, and it does require more assembly to accomplish.


Revised TALAS Air Spring

While a lot of the criticisms of FOX's 2013 forks centered on the CTD damper, some blame can also be placed on the air spring system that was too linear. Now that the new hydraulic TALAS system has been decoupled from the air spring, FOX has more control over the spring curve in both long and short travel modes - 2014 sees a more aggressive ramp up at the end of the fork's travel, but also a big difference to how the spring acts with the TALAS set to short travel mode. This is in line with FOX's way of thinking that a lot of the latest longer travel 29ers, with their relatively tall bar heights, are being ridden in short travel mode the majority of the time until the rider requires more travel for a demanding downhill, which is the opposite way that many riders think of TALAS. While this won't be the case for everyone, we have to agree that we often find ourselves thinking the same when riding a 140mm travel big-wheeler. To that end, FOX's 2014 TALAS forks ramp up much more aggressively than past offerings when set to short travel.