Air sprung • Oil damped • Rebound and Pro Pedal adjustments • Weight: 236g (190mm length including aluminium shock fittings) • Contact: Mojo Suspension 01633 615815

When Fox first introduced Pro Pedal damping it had to make the effect obvious enough to distinguish it from the non-Pro Pedal shocks. So while some riders praised the efficiency of the firm pedal platform that the new technology provided, many complained about the loss of small-bump sensitivity. Settings were predetermined at source and it was very much a case of one man’s drink being another’s poison.
With the introduction of the new Float RP3 shock, all trail riders can now drink from the same suspension cup.
The RP3 shock has rebound adjustment via the traditional red for rebound knob while the blue lever on top of the rebound adjuster delivers three distinct Pro Pedal settings. Sounds familiar? Well, Specialized had a three-way Pro Pedal adjustable shock called the TRI Ad on the Stumpy last year but the settings on the RP3 are different. Positioning the blue lever in line with the shock body on the RP3 gives a fully open setting (no Pro Pedal) i.e. no additional low-speed compression damping. Flicking the lever to the right introduces a small amount of Pro Pedal damping; flicking it to the left offers a lot of Pro Pedal damping. There is no lockout on the RP3.
Additional enhancements include a new air canister with a large air volume for a flatter spring curve, which in real terms means that the shock ramps up less toward the end of the stroke and on some bikes it will feel like you’re getting slightly more travel for the same size shock. Fox also whittled away any excess material to produce one of the lightest shocks on the market.

Verdict
We fitted the RP3 shock to a 2004 S-Works Enduro and in doing so saved the best part of 350g. Set-up is straightforward: adjusting the sag just requires inflating the shock, then cycling it a couple of times to prime the negative spring. With the negative spring charged you then fine-tune the spring rate to dial in the sag.
On the trail the shock had the usual plush feel of a Fox and all of the on-the-fly adjustment could be performed while wearing gloves.
We rode the shock mostly in the fully open position, saving the light Pro Pedal setting for technical climbs and grassy drags and only making use of the full-on setting on bash road climbs and tarmac sections. But the choice is yours and not predetermined by your bike’s manufacturer.
One minor complaint is that the three positions of the Pro Pedal lever do not feel pronounced and while that’s fine for the extreme right or left settings we found that we had to look to check whenever we wanted to guarantee that the Pro Pedal was actually switched off.
Other than that we can’t fault it. It’s easy to set up, it is extremely light, comes with Fox reliability built in and the three Pro Pedal setting are more than enough to satisfy everyone’s take on the ultimate suspension set-up — best of all the Fox Float RP3 lets you change your mind as the trail unfolds.

MBR rating: 9/10