By The Takeaway: The 32TC is a brilliant piece of hardware that offers a transcendent gravel riding experience on rough roads and trails. But it’s not for all gravel riders or all gravel bikes.
- 40 or 50mm travel in 45 or 50mm offset
- Fits up to a 700x50mm tire. Not designed for 650b.
- Longer than most rigid gravel forks—will change the fit and handling of many existing gravel bikes.
- Offered only with 1-1/8-inch to 1-1/2-inch steerer.
- Removable mudguard mounts.
- 180mm rotor compatible for extra braking power.
- Axle-to-crown: 435.5 mm (40 mm travel), or 445.5 mm (50 mm travel)‑— significantly longer than most current rigid gravel forks.
Weight: 1,265g (Factory, 40mm travel)
Price: $769 to $949
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The Fox 32 AX TC (Taper Cast) gravel suspension fork was long delayed and hardly a secret (it’s been all over Instagram for months now ). But as of today, it’s officially official. And with its arrival, joining the already launched RockShox Rudy, gravel is on the cusp of a new era. Rigid gravel bikes aren’t going anywhere, but good suspension forks make the gravel experience faster, more comfortable, and more fun. They’ll forever change how and where we ride our gravel bikes. Below, you’ll find the details of Fox’s newest fork, my ride impressions and contemplations, and predictions on the category.
Curious about what a gravel suspension fork will do to your bike? Read our gravel suspension explainer.
Fox 32 TC—Specifications and Details
The 32TC comes in two travels, 40 or 50mm, each with a dedicated air-spring assembly. Riders can change the forks’ travel, but doing so requires purchasing a new air shaft, which should cost $30 to $40. Fox offers two offsets, 45 or 50mm, but only one steerer option: a 1-1/8-inch to 1-1/2-inch taper. The axle is 12x100mm, so many existing gravel wheels will slot right in. It takes a flat-mount caliper, the same reversible adapter found on many road and gravel bikes. However, this fork fits either 160mm (minimum) or 180mm (maximum) rotor and not 140mm/160mm like many road and gravel forks.
The standout detail of the 32TC is the reverse arch lowers—a feature of Manitou forks for over a decade—with tapered and trussed legs. Fox says placing the arch on the back of the fork lets them reduce its height compared to a front arch, saving weight. The 32TC has shorter stanchions and less upper/lower overlap than a mountain bike, which lets Fox employ the tapered and trussed legs. This is a less-stiff design than a mountain bike fork, but Fox states that since the 32AX runs such short travels, the overlap is not needed, and the tapered legs save weight and reducing their frontal area improves the fork’s aerodynamic profile. The ribs on the back of the legs are bypass channels. They prevent excess air pressure build-up as the fork compresses and help circulate oil to keep the fork moving smoothly. Fox debuted this technology with their 2021 34, 36, and 38 mountain bike forks.
Maximum tire clearance is 700 x 50mm, but the fork is not officially 650b compatible. “The 32 TC is optimized around 700c wheels. The narrowest point on the lower legs of the 32 TC – the reinforced area where the bushings press in – happens to be exactly the same place as the widest point of a 650b tire. This limits 650b tire clearance to approx. 30mm, which defeats the purpose of going down to 650b,” Fox states in its press materials, adding that 700 wheels roll more efficiently than 650 wheels. In the name of science, I did run a 650x50 tire in the 32TC without issue, though there was visibly less mud clearance than with a 700x50 tire.
Foul-weather riders will rejoice at the are hidden/removable mudguard mounts (tire clearance drops to 45mm with mudguards).
Fox offers the 32TC in multiple levels. The top-of-the-line Factory ($949) gets slippery Kashima Coat legs and a FIT4 damper with adjustable low-speed compression and a three-position switch (open, medium, firm). Lower cost Performance Elite and Performance models don’t get the Kashima legs, and Performance ($769) models will run Fox’s simpler and heavier GRIP damper. These specifications apply to aftermarket forks only: OE customers (Trek, Specialized, etc.) often get custom blends of features and technology.
Fox 32 TC—Setup And Installation
I installed the 32 TC on an Otso Waheela C. This is one of the only gravel bikes currently available designed for a suspension fork, so I didn’t experience any of the rider fit or bike handling issues that would arise with sticking this fork in a frame designed around a shorter fork.
Installation of my 40mm travel review fork was straightforward, but I had some issues with the setup. Recommended sag for this fork is 15 to 20 percent of travel. According to the weight chart on the fork leg, Fox recommends around 123psi for my weight—about 180 dressed to ride. But that recommendation was way off. Even with 150 psi in the fork—the maximum pressure—I was at 25-percent sag. I’m not a flyweight, but neither am I a Clydesdale and if production forks are like my fork, riders over 180lb will be out of luck unless they want to risk running above the recommended pressure in the 32TC. I checked in with a different rider who’s on a 32TC, and they said their pressures were in line with Fox’s recommendations. So perhaps there’s something goofy with my fork. I’m working with Fox to find out, but I don’t have any answers yet.
Pressure aside, I added an air volume spacer to my fork for a total of four—the maximum Fox recommends (the fork ships with thee installed). But even with four spacers, I still used the fork’s full travel. This also points to an issue with my fork’s air-spring tune—I have trouble believing this is the tune Fox intended.
Although my setup pressures and spacers seem off—if only because a 180-pound rider should not be at the upper end of the rider weight spectrum for this fork—the fork still performed exceptionally well.
Fox 32 TC—What I Don’t Like
Suspension is always heavier than no suspension, and replacing a rigid fork with a 32TC will add weight to your bike. The 32TC weighs 1,265g (my scale) which is 667g (about a pound and a half) heavier than the 598g rigid fork I took off my Otso Waheela C when I installed the 32TC. And 598g is on the heavy side for a rigid carbon gravel fork. Admittedly I am a bit of a weight weenie, but ultimately, I care more about performance and fun. After living with the 32TC for a while, I’m willing to—for how and where I ride a gravel bike—take the weight hit because it’s worth the additional comfort, traction, and control.
Though I’ve not run it through a wind tunnel, I’m confident that the 32TC, relative to a rigid carbon fork, has an aerodynamic profile of a bar door. Gravel riding is fast enough, and some gravel rides/races have enough wind that aerodynamics play a role. This again asks the rider, “Is it worth the tradeoff?” For racers, I think this might be a race-to-race decision. For everyone else, you’ll want to think about how and where you ride your gravel bike. Speaking only for myself—and I’m not a serious gravel racer—I’ll take an aero hit on the faster and more exposed parts of my gravel ride for a suspension fork’s considerable benefits in other terrains. But if you stick to smoother terrain, you should think about the aerodynamic penalty of the 32TC.
The length of the 32TC, 30 to 40mm longer than many rigid gravel forks, will significantly alter the fit and handling geometry of a bike designed around a shorter fork. Unfortunately, there’s no way around this. I anticipate gravel follows the same path as mountain bikes did three decades ago, and we’ll start seeing a new generation of “suspension corrected” gravel bikes designed around longer forks that aren’t subject to the fit and handling issues that happen when plugging a longer fork into an existing frame.
Fox 32 TC—What I Like
I was predisposed to like the 32 TC. I lived through the mountain bike suspension revolution, and I’ve been riding with suspension on my mountain bikes for about three decades. I’ve cursed the pounding and jostling I’m put through riding a rigid gravel bike on rough sections of gravel and trail because I knew—based on my experience on a mountain bike—how much smoother and faster I could be riding those same sections with properly designed suspension. And now that I’m able to ride those gravel sections and trails with suspension, it’s just as wonderful and transformative as I’d hoped.
Yes, you can ride faster on rough stuff with suspension. But that’s just a bonus in addition to the main benefits: Enhanced comfort and control. I noted my setup issues above, but even so, the fork was close enough in sag and support/progression that, on gravel and trails, it was working as intended. And now that I’ve tasted riding gravel with suspension, I don’t want to go back to rigid. Admittedly, I seek the more extreme end of gravel—singletrack and rougher forest roads—but when in the middle of firm mode, the 32TC disappeared enough that I didn’t rue its presence on smoother roads. Riding with the 32TC was more comfortable and fun, and I finished my rides feeling less punished than I did after those same rides on a rigid gravel bike.
Though my air spring was off, the damper tune felt correct—sensitive where needed, but with plenty of big-hit control. The lockout is super firm, appropriate for this fork’s purpose. There’s little mush or noticeable play in the fork when it’s locked out, so the bike feels like it has a rigid fork even when pushing maximum out of the saddle efforts on the pavement.
Fox 32 TC—Final Thoughts
I do not think suspension will dominate gravel the way it dominates mountain bikes. Gravel is road adjacent, and road has a strong traditionalist streak, plus many riders put a premium on weight and, to a lesser degree, aerodynamics for gravel equipment go all-in on suspension. Plus, plenty of gravel roads are smooth enough that suspension is unnecessary. But I do think suspension has a place in gravel. The 32TC is more proof that the technology is too beneficial and the improvements in comfort and control are too great to write off.
But the 32 TC is a forward-looking product. There aren’t many existing gravel frames that meet all the requirements necessary to plug in a gravel-suspension fork. Those are 1-1/8-inch to 1-1/2-inch tapered-steerer compatible head tube, geometry designed around a suspension length fork, impact tested to sustain the additional forces of a longer fork. With so few frames around that meet the requirements of the 32 TC, I don’t anticipate substantial aftermarket sales for this fork. Instead, I think most of you will get your first gravel suspension fork when they buy a new gravel bike designed around one.
There’s always a chicken or egg problem with new cycling equipment ideas. What comes first: Gravel bikes designed for suspension forks or gravel suspension forks? If there are no forks, what do the frame designers plan around? Meanwhile, the fork makers have no one to sell to if there are no frames. In this case, the fork makers took the calculated plunge and are trying to pull the frame makers along.
Now that the two most prominent and most influential players in suspension, Fox and RockShox, have gravel suspension forks, brands can design their frames around a real thing instead of an idea. And I think that means, in the future, we’ll see a lot of the new gravel frames designed around a suspension length fork. Whether those bikes come with a gravel suspension fork stock or not is another question. However, I think most brands will offer at least some higher-end models with a suspension fork, while less expensive bikes will have rigid forks but be suspension-ready.
Ultimately, I think we’ll see many riders embrace its benefits despite the additional weight. And I think that, like suspension changed the sport of mountain biking, the acceptance and use of suspension will change how and where we ride our gravel bikes.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
