The gold Kashima Coat was first introduced on Fox Racing Shox forks in 2011 and has been extended to the company's top-end shocks for 2012. Now you can upgrade your current Fox fork or shock with this slippery surface treatment, too.
Developed by the Japanese Miyaki Company and used exclusively in the bike industry by Fox, Kashima Coat is an anodised layer of molybdenum disulphide imbedded into the surface of an alloy. This provides enhanced lubrication and a harder wearing surface, increasing shock smoothness and sensitivity. So far it seems to be making forks and shocks wear better in high use situations too.
If you want to upgrade your current suspension you'll need to head to your local Fox service centre. In the UK that's Mojo, who'll service your fork or shock, fit new seals and replace the stanchions or shock body/shaft with new Kashima Coat versions. That means that rather than just restoring it to 'as new' condition, your suspension will actually come back better than it was when new in terms of sensitivity.
The damping circuit won't be changed to the latest Adapative Logic standard but you might want to go up a notch with your low-speed compression damping as part of the service. We've had to do this after switching to Kashima versions, simply because they move much more easily.
Costs start from £136 for a DHX RC4 coil shock – not bad, considering a standard service is £112. Other Fox suspension parts are more expensive to Kashima up, though. The long-legged 36 fork, for example, costs £311, compared to £109 for a standard service. You can view a full price list here.
A version of this article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.
