Hey there.

I went with the short crown on this build, I would've had to stack a million spacers with the tall crown. The handling seems great, but given the 64 degree head angle on the freeride I've noticed I had to go down in springs for the boxxer. For whatever reason the fork seems stiffer on this bike then the boxxers I've ridden previously, I weigh 155 and I changed to the yellow (soft) spring in there, but I'm honestly thinking of going for the silver (extra soft) because my arms are weaksauce and don't take a beating really well.

Overall the handling is great, I actually didn't have the chance to ride this frame with a 180mm single crown fork so I can't comment on any differences there. I use it as a full fledged DH bike and a dedicated get-sideways-on-crabapple-hits bike at Whistler. I was able to keep up (and leave some in the dust) with all my buddies on tech trails and raced it twice.

Still have the bike and I'm going to coast gravity park with it on the 17th, looking forward to another great season with it. Haven't changed anything you see in the pic here, I don't anticipate I'll be leaving the boxxer anytime soon. I did upgrade to a charger damper and the stiction is improved, but I don't think it was worth the money I paid for the damper.

So far my only beef with the Boxxer is that it seems really stiff in the beginning ranges of travel, I don't use as much of the fork as I'd like (hence wanting to try out the silver spring). I actually am ordering the silver spring now and I'll get back to you on that.

And yeah, seeing Howey on a dual-crown equipped supreme had me drooling over this bike since that Rampage. I don't feel like I'm missing out with only 180mm rear travel and 200mm up front, honestly my bike handles just like my buddies bikes and they kind of wished they had something slightly nimbler like my bike. Way more fun in bike parks, and with the dual crown I slay tech trails no problem.

Also, if you do get this fork: Remove the rebound knob on the bottom when you're riding. You will lose it. I keep mine in my pocket so I can reach down, adjust, then put it back in my pocket. Thing sucks.

 @anchoricex: Thanks for your info on this!

Your input on its stiffness is interesting. I also weight around 155 pounds but find the Boxxer RC with medium spring plush enough. But in all fairness, I only tried it a couple of minutes on flat. Didn't have the chance to take it on the trails.
Do you really think the 64 degree could cause this? I'm asking because I never heard before that this reason would affect how plush a fork can be.

Yeah, not being able to up the rear travel more than 180 isn't a deal breaker at all. It's enough. I'd upgrade to air, though.

By the way, how much does your FR weight at the moment? Mine has a whooping 18.6 kg. Thinking of going tubeless just as a ''first'' upgrade in the weight-shaving adventure.
But first, I gotta figure out how to stop that annoying chain slap.

Ah, out of curiosity...why didn't you build this on a DH V3 frame?

Glad to hear you're still shredding with her

Here's my FR at the moment: www.pinkbike.com/photo/13366535

 @redinkmars:

I'm not 100% sure what is causing the fork to be so stiff, realistically it probably *isnt* the head angle, but I've read some things on forums that claim the headangle difference can change geometry enough to where you're not feeling your fork as well. I don't know, I just picked up the silver spring so I'll give it a test. It may also be that I used too heavy of a grease on the spring, but I highly doubt that would be the culprit. I'll be servicing it this weekend and heading up to coast gravity park to give it a shot and I'll likely alternate between both springs to see how it is. I may have even gotten a dud from Rockshox but that is unlikely.

As for bike weight I'll see if I can get it on a scale soon. It's certainly not the lightest bike in the room. I went with the FR because I wanted something close to the Trek Session Park, I love full-DH rigs like the DH V3 but they can often be overly plush for my liking on the back, I like the slightly shorter travel. Getting sideways in the air was more important then fastest guy down the mountain. With that said, I've sat on both bikes and the FR is marginally different feeling then the DH V3, the FR probably more fun for jumping around. I don't think I'll miss that extra travel out back any time soon.

Dandy bike man!

 @anchoricex:

Spot on with the comparison on the FR and DH V3. That's how I think of them too. And since the FR supports dual crown, I'm almost certain I'll never drool over some other bike.
I dreamed for a gravity park rig more than a full-DH one.

I doubt the 1 degree angle would change the way a fork works in such a big manner that it would be noticed, but who knows. I hope you reach the desired stiffness with the silver one.

Let me know if you find out how much it weights, I'm quite curious. I'd like to reach ~17 kg and leave it at that.

I received an email from Commencal today stating that the stock wheelsets from the 2013 FR do not support tubeless, but I've read otherwise on forums.


Happy shredding

 @redinkmars: Will do! I also don't have the stock wheelset, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can find a way to make them tubeless. My bike is running 26" Canfield wheels that I brake-cleaned the logo off of, and they were dandy for running tubeless.