That’s in line with what I was thinking: possibly getting Flight Attendant. The current Fox 34 fork doesn’t have a lockout, but I can’t complain about it too much so far. Code brakes have been pretty nice so far as well, but I guess there’s room there?
I picked up an EVO Expert recently with same intention as you. Changes that are on tap: 120mm Fox 34 SL and reasonably fast tires, going to try Conti Dub/Tri (the stock tires feel like riding through peanut butter, at least for me).
Yeah, I’ve also thought about the 120mm Fox 34 SL. You’re talking about the new one, right? Tires are the other change: I’ve mainly been riding my bike up/down fire roads/trails, and the extra grip isn’t a bad thing.
You can get the Fox 34 SC from Jenson right now for 50% off. I think Fox discontinued this and moving to only Fox 32 SC or Fox 34 SL. I run the 34 SC and have no issues. It’s about two years old and was thinking of unloading it and going with the new SL
I’ve got a 34SL and Float SL on my Epic 8, and they both work with the Fox Twin Stick in 3-Position mode, so I have open, pedal, and firm modes. 
With the outgoing 34SC, it was damper-dependent as to whether you had 2 or 3-position lockouts.
I’m assuming you guys are going to stick with the 130mm 34 SL? Seems like there’s no reason not to on the Epic 8. Damper wise, I guess the option is either Grip SL with the possibility of lockout or GripX without lockout, but more adjustability?
I’ve got a 120mm 34SL.
The Epic 8 Evo comes with a Ride Dynamics-tuned Fox Factory Float, which doesn’t have a lockout, so I swapped it for a Factory Float SL with the lockout.
Fork-wise, I think the SL is the better damper for the Epic. 
It’s got enough adjustability for what I need from the bike.
I just bought a Epic Evo 7 2 months ago. That’s when Epic 8’s were full price, PLUS an extra $500 for tariffs. Wild how much the Epic Evo 8 Pro has dropped in price in this timeframe. My friend bought one at full price and is upset.
Any thoughts on the 120mm 34SL vs the 130? Seems like all of the reviews are of the 130.
They are very much the same as far as I can tell. It just depends on how much travel you need and which gives your bike the geometry that you prefer. Since the 34SC is no longer being made, the 34SL is now your only option as far as a 120mm fork goes from Fox.
My only complaint is that I don’t need a 180mm rotor up front and prefer to run 160/160 on all of my bikes, but the 180 is likely only helping me anyway.. 
It’s a really solid fork. The best I’ve used so far..
Here is one review I found where they tested both travel options:
I don’t think people are buying bikes. The used market has all but dried up (unless you price downwards of 30-40%) as well. People who buy bikes already have them and not enticed to buy another.
Finally got ol’ girl together. A few observations. The transmission setup is a PIA. I never thought I would need to review videos and read an instruction manual just to put a bike together. Just bring back the B screw!! Also, why does my fork light keep blinking? Does it do that until the battery wears out? Can I turn it off?
I haven’t had a chance to test it although it’s only slightly heavier in race trim compared to my EE7.
I have some slight reservations after the install and setup so I hope it will all be worth it!
Transmission isn’t too bad to setup once you wrap your head around the new process. The one concern I have is shift performacne if you aren’t able to torque the rear axle to spec. Is shift performance garbage if you have to change a tire in the field and can’t get the right torque on the axle with a little lever?
If the Flight Attendant fork is flashing, you likely didn’t do the calibration correctly and need to retry it. Also make sure all the components are awake. The powermeter/cadence sensor doesn’t seem to wake up from just moving the bike, you have to spin the cranks. If its not awake the system will flash for Not Ready.
Bikes are on sale. If a bike is 30% off it’s new price with a warranty, the used bike better be at least 60% off to make the hassle worth it.
Shimano took care of this 
Ok, thanks! I didn’t even know I need to do a calibration 
Definitely!
And new bikes with a 30%+ discount (in August) is probably another sign inventory isn’t moving very well.
SRAM has a decent video summarizing the pairing and calibration processes.
In my experience, torquing the RD mount on the drivetrain side is pretty critical but torquing the through-axle isn’t. I still torque it to spec if I have a torque wrench handy, but it seems to shift fine if just tightening by feel.
I find the transmission setup process pretty straight forward, much better than adjusting a B gap via screw (which is essentially what you are doing with the setup position). It just takes some getting used to the change. The only “gotcha” that I’ve run into is sometimes those 2 little marks will get out of alignment when messing with the through-axle and you have to look out for it and it can be tough to get the tab to spin around back in line.
Yep, and even after the calibration, the system needs some ride time to set your zones and configure itself. And I remember there being some weirdness in the app where it took a while for everything to sync and show that it was ready to go.