Quick look: Fox Smart Pump

Fox Racing Shox understands that while many of its customers are tuned in to correct shock setup, an equal number (if not far more) don’t even know where to begin.

Hence the company’s development of the Smart Pump, an electronic pump that talks to a Bluetooth or ANT+ device such as a Garmin computer or cell phone, and walks a rider through the entire setup process. The product is still in the prototype phase, with more platform options and some further refinement to come.

How it works

First, you either scan (with a camera phone) or type in a code that would be on every Fox fork or rear shock, which would give the app all the information it needs to calculate proper setup.

Then attach the pump hose to your fork (starting up front just feels natural). Open up the app, and select the bike you want to set up. The app will save the settings for this bike for future reference. Then chose to either check the current settings or run through the setup wizard.

If you want to set up a new bike, just follow the on-screen instructions. The app will tell you to add or remove air to properly set sag, and then ask you to pump the fork up and down to determine proper rebound settings. Rather than give air pressure figures in PSI, which are meaningless to anyone who doesn’t already know what they prefer, the app uses a simple chart that runs from “too high” to “too low.” Hit the middle and you’re good to go.

Does it work?

During my quick demo, the system set up the Fox 32 on the demo bike nearly identically to my own preferred settings — both for rebound and sag. So in my very short, narrow test, yes it seemed to work fine. It’s extremely easy to use, too. And Fox says they don’t plan to put a big price tag on it; they’d rather have more happy, properly set up customers than make a few bucks. I think we can all get behind that sentiment.