Available in two types of carbon and offering an enduro-capable 150mm of travel, the new 2018 Mondraker Foxy Carbon is revealed here.

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The all-important rear view

2018 Mondraker Foxy Carbon need to know

• 150mm travel
• Available in two grades of carbon: Stealth Carbon and fancier Stealth Air Carbon
• Revised Zero suspension system
• Adjustable head angle +/- 1°
• Adjustable chainstay length +/-10mm
• 1x specific
• Larger pivots and bearings
• Boost
• Trunnion mount metric shock
• Claimed weights: 12.1kg to 13.6kg (26.7lb to 30lb)
• SRP: £3,799 to £7,699

Ooh, it’s a looker

The Foxy is Mondraker’s trail bike. Despite the travel being bumped up to 150mm the Foxy is still very much intended as a bike for regular trial riders. There’s the longer travel burlier Mondraker Dune for full-on enduro riders and racers.

The Foxy is always kept as Mondraker’s flagship ‘normal’ mountain bike. The Foxy is the model that “represents Mondraker’s personality, values and brand identity” apparently.

But Mondraker’s version of normal isn’t quite like everyone else’s. Mondraker pretty much single handedly pioneered the whole long, longer, longest geometry movement with their Forward Geometry concept, debuted back in 2013.

FG since 2013

Forward Geometry is fundamentally about dramatically increasing the length of the top tube (and thus the reach of front centre) of bike frames.

Why? In a word: stability. But not just downhill. Stability on every sort of terrain and gradient. Paired with really short stems (the original Forward Geometry bikes came with bespoke 10-20mm stems) the idea was radical. But it stuck and arguably everyone else is still catching up to a degree.

A worm’s eye view

What’s new on the 2018 Foxy?

Taking a step back away from the marketing hype, there’s no massive fundamental changes to the Foxy. It’s still a Foxy. Having said that, there are a significant number of tweaks that have occurred.

Despite all the headline grabbers like the two grades of carbon or the adjustable geometry, perhaps the most important change is to the Zero suspension design. It’s still a floating design where the shock is compressed by moving linkages from either end of the shock but it’s rate has been revised.

Revised Zero suspension system

The move to Boost and a 1x-specific design has afforded a bump up in travel. It’s gained 10mm more travel (to 150mm) and has had its leverage curve tweaked. The chainstays have also shrunk to 425mm.

The pivots and bearings have also been beefed up for increased lifespan and consistent suspension performance. The top end Foxy Carbon RR SL features ‘enduro’ labelled bearings.

CSC upper linkage

The upper linkage is now a sandwich of aluminium with carbon filling. The linkage is a bit lighter and is claimed to offer some vibration damping and some deliberate flex.

Geometry wise, the new Foxy is a bit longer and lower. The BB height revised to suit the new 150mm travel better.

New carbons

It has to be said that the 2018 Foxy Carbons look noticeably different in aesthetic and finish compared to previous Foxy Carbons. Smoother looking with more flowing lines.

Flowing lines

Mondraker use solid internal molds (as opposed to inflatable bladders) for their carbon frames. This basically means the layers of carbon can be pressed together under high pressure vacuum, ensuring minimal air bubbles and greater expansion of epoxy into the carbon weave.

Following on from how others brands like Santa Cruz and Intense do things, the new Foxy Carbon will be made in two different qualities of carbon. The usual Stealth Carbon has been joined by the fancier Stealth Air Carbon. Lighter, just-as-stiff, more expensive.

Adjustable chainstay length

Any other notable stuff? Adjustable geometry (+/-1°) and chainstays (+/- 10mm), internal cable and hose routing with external ports that prevent any clicking noise, integrated rear shock mudguard, down tube and chainstays protectors, 73mm threaded BB and ISCG05 tabs.

Availability is stated as “later this year”.