Mondraker Foxy XR Carbon | Longterm test

December 12th, 2015

Farewell Foxy!

I’ve been riding the Mondraker Foxy XR Carbon for the last year or so, and I can honestly say it’s been the best mountain bike I’ve had to date. But it’s time for the black beast to step aside as it’s time for something new.

Read on to see what I thought of the lengthy bike so affectionately dubbed ‘the barn door’ by my riding friends…

Towards the end of the year, I’d got the Foxy as fast and well set up as I think is truly possible. This bike covers ground – up, down and along immensely fast and efficiently. As you see it here, it weighed a touch under 28lbs – running Mavic Crossmax XL wheels; a Fox 36 fork and with a Procore set up in the rear wheel. I used the Shimano XT 11 speed transmission; XT brakes (XTR pictured) and found the ideal all round tyres to be a Mavic Charge up front, and either a Maxxis Ardent Race or Minion DHR II out back. Despite loving the Renthal Fatbar Carbon, I moved to an Atherton Pro bar in 800mm as I preferred the extra width and kept the DMR Stage 1 saddle on from a review earlier in the year as it’s super comfortable. Although I’d not needed a chainguide, one use of the MRP AMg guide in rough terrain was all it needed to keep it on – the long wheelbase of the Foxy means grounding out is easy, so the skid plate protecting the chainring is a huge benefit. After this photo was taken I fitted a Fox EVOL air sleeve, and Easton Heist 30mm wheels.

Carbon Fibre weapon

Having ridden both the 27.5in wheeled alloy predecessor and the previous 26in wheeled original, I was stunned with the Foxy XR Carbon when I visited Mondraker in Spain for the launch in April 2014. It managed to take the best elements of both previous models and morph in to a super bike. Whilst I was already sold on the geometry and suspension platform, I’d learnt to love the looks like an ugly child.

But the carbon bike was stunning – and a major turning point for the Spanish company.

Previously Mondraker bikes turned heads because they looked so alien, but once the Foxy Carbon was available people started lusting after them. Although some people were sceptical about the long wheelbase of the Forward Geometry concept, virtually everyone that has tried it have been totally sold. It works so well for me, that it has totally ruined the ride of a lot of my personal bikes. No joke. This image was taken on the media launch in 2014, where I placed an order for a bike on the spot! Photo | Sebas Romero

Although the Forward Geometry concept was talked about previously, it was the Foxy XR Carbon that really made people take note as the futuristic shape and clean, flowing lines really held people’s eyes. Where the previous frames had bulges around the head tubes that some thought ugly, the carbon frame just looks amazing from all angles.

Getting my set up right

I was a little disappointed that Mondraker had copped out of the 10mm and 20mm direct mount stems that were specced on the previous Foxy XR models, instead favouring a 30mm conventional looking stem. No doubt to win fans as the direct stem had a distinct look. The 30mm stem definitely looks a lot nicer, but having found my sweet spot on the alloy model previously, I cast it aside and fitted the 20mm ‘direct’ stem that places the bars on top of the steerer tube. Whilst some people think this puts the front end too high, the head tube on the XL is actually nearer to that on most size large bikes – so with no spacers and the direct stem it’s a comparable height to more traditional size XL’s. The 30mm conventional stem was just far too low for me, and made getting the front wheel off the ground a chore.

With a lot of time spent on set up, I found my ultimate sweet spot in June this year, and with the 20mm direct stem; Atherton 800mm bar; minimal headset spacers and the custom Fox 36 I felt literally unstoppable on the bike. I’ve never felt so confident on a bike in literally any situation, and don’t think I’ve ridden a bike this well or fast ever. Not only do I love the Foxy itself, but I praise it for helping me take my riding to a totally new level. It really has changed everything for me. Photo | Callum Jelley

The Foxy XR Carbon came with a Fox 34 as stock, but following the 36 launch I put that straight on. As I found my feet with the Foxy XR Carbon, I found I was setting the fork up quite firm to avoid mid-stroke wallow so I visited Mojo Suspension to see what could be done.

Chris Porter tried a special tune on the fork for me, raising it up to the height of a 180mm fork but keeping the 160mm travel with a huge negative spring. This made the initial travel feel like butter – I’ve seriously not felt anything like it. After the initial supple response, the tuned 36 had huge mid stroke support. Ride height was actually only slightly higher so I changed my 30mm rise bar for a lower bar and used a thinner headset top spacer.

I’ve worked with Chris Porter a lot on bike set up over the last few years, and he’s helped me the the Foxy Carbon to a point I genuinely think I won’t be able to beat on future bikes. Photo | Joe Hayhow

This fork changed everything for me again, and suddenly I found myself riding the 140mm bike right on the edge of the limit. I was riding into stuff so fast and hard I was sure the front was cashing cheques the rear end couldn’t cash. But really the Zero suspension platform is excellent, and with the EVOL sleeve fitted to the rear shock overall feel of the bike was amazing. And over the summer I’ve found myself going seriously quick on terrain that intimidates 180mm bikes, let alone a 27.5lb 140mm bike.

Previously, if heading to somewhere like Alp D’huez for a week of smashing it down rocky stuff I would have wanted at least a 160mm bike. I never doubted the Foxy once though, and really didn’t find a single place where I felt outgunned. The Foxy Carbon became my best friend in 2015. Photo | Callum Jelley

Why do we love the Foxy so much?

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Mondraker bikes – but it stems back to their jump to Forward Geometry more than the actual look or ride of the bikes. I’m all about position and fit – and the first Foxy XR I had back in 2013 changed everything for me.

Up until I rode the Foxy, every single bike I’d ridden over the years was a compromise – running longer stems than I should be, or grumbling the seat tube angle was to slack for a decent climbing position. Wherever I rode, I would be shifting weight fore and aft a lot more than shorter riders – which is something most tall riders suffer with.

Even riding with a 20lb camera bag on, I don’t feel like my riding is held back much. Note my body position between the wheels – it doesn’t really change too much, and as a result surface conditions don’t affect the way the bike feels half as much as shorter bikes. Less travel and a long wheelbase is a winning recipe for me – the bike remains agile and responsive but feels fine when you point it through the rough and steep. Photo | Callum Jelley

The original Foxy XR didn’t come in a size XL – but the large was still a lot longer than any other XL on the market

What the Foxy did immediately was put my body weight directly between the two wheels – effectively forming an equilateral triangle with my body at the top and wheels for each side at the bottom. In all trail situations by riding position was more neutral – I never had to get right off the back on steep stuff, nor did I have to perch on the saddle tip and get my chin on the stem to climb steep stuff.

Although many people thought the original 2013 Foxy XR had a face for radio, I grew to love it. It totally changed the local trails I ride, and it forced me to rethink the way I set my bikes up. Although this is a size large, the wheelbase, front centre and top tube lengths are longer than virtually all other XL bikes. This particular bike is so important to me that it’s still in my fleet – I think I’ll look back on this bike in years to come and will remember influenced the modern geometry we’re seeing on bikes today.

As a result, I spent nearly 4 months setting my bikes up differently as odd things were happening. For the first time ever I was riding in to stuff on local trails so hard I was getting front pinch punctures and was having to drastically alter my suspension set ups so I could hold on to the thing.

The first Foxy did have issues though – pivot bolts would undo, bearings would prematurely wear and the rear Maxles could snap under really hard riding. But however much I would spend time fixing it, the ride was so good that I tolerated it.

Thankfully most of those issues were sorted on the 2014 alloy model, which came with 27.5in wheels.

When the 2014 model with bigger wheels turned up, I rode them back to back a fair bit to get my head round them. At first I preferred the older 26in, but I soon realised how much stiffer and faster the 27.5in wheeled model was and didn’t look back.

The rocker was a one piece unit, and the new DT rear axle worked better than the previous Maxle unit. They also made a true XL which I settled on – though I did try the size large frame with a 30mm stem – giving the same effective BB to bar distance. Needless to say I preferred the longer XL and stuck with it.

With the 30mm stem, I couldn’t get the bars in a position I liked on the size large, and settled for the longer wheelbase of the size XL.

Back to the Future

In a relatively short time, we’ve seen Mondraker progress the Foxy from a near experimental bike developed by Fabian Barel, the the carbon fibre super bike it is today.

Even box fresh, the Foxy XR Carbon is an excellent bike – and is an ideal bike to develop and tinker with as you find your riding improving. There aren’t many bikes out there that truly flatter your riding – the Foxy XR Carbon is one of them though.

And the shot below was on one of the last – and best sessions of 2015 for me after a week in Alp D’huez shredding trails that should really choke a 140mm bike.

A week in Alp D’huez earlier this year proved to me how bloody capable the Foxy is. 140mm out back, 160mm up front and takes anything you throw at it. It’s only real limitation it the fact you can’t fit a shock with a piggy back – on my previous alloy model I used a Float X, which definitely helped with the damping consistency. But as an all round package, the Foxy XR Carbon is simply phenomenal. Photo | Callum Jelly

What’s next?

Having had such a great experience on the Foxy XR Carbon, I really didn’t see a reason to move on to something else – but the fact I couldn’t fit many different shocks in there for testing, and that I had found the limits of the back end over the year meant there could be only one option.