All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

No back up mech. Got pink bike on perma refresh. I rode it yesterday with the clutch off. Just made sure to shift wisely and that seemed to work with no chain drops. If it doesn’t qualify for a warranty I’m gonna try a JB weld repair.


Yes I’ll likely reach out to Push. But will do just as you suggested and drop all compressioning/rebound down and back off some preload. My weight puts me right on the bubble between springs. I opted to go with the heavier one so if all else fails it’s entirely possible I’ll need to order the lighter option.

 

Got the new rim mounted and tru. I picked up a spoke tension gauge so I'm a lot more confident in my build.

Vittoria air-liners are also installed. Hoping to get a lunch ride in today and see how everything feels.

 

Have a Fox 34 130 with too much air in the negative chamber...so only getting about 80mm of travel. Need to release the pressure...been doing some research but thought I'd ask here as well for any tips?

 

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Try putting a rag around the fork axle after removing the wheel, put your foot on it, then slowly pull and hold on the handlebars. It should force the chambers to equalize. You might hear a hiss or a small pop.

 

Like his idea..could never get enough grip with the wheel on.

I do have the tools I need and have already serviced the seals in the lowers, but would love to not have to take the airchamber apart under pressure.

EDIT: I'm not the strongest guy in the world, but I tried this with everything I had and it wouldn't budge. Should I let some of the air out of the positive side?

 

A long time ago I did a gorilla tubeless mod to my laserdisc trail rims and the front stem finally gave out. I’m kinda surprised it lasted this long since the collar pulls the stem seal against the inner rim and eventually pulled the stem out of the seal. The hole in the rim is stepped with the tube side being larger. When replacing the stem I took the old collar and ground it down to fit this larger size. Now the rim is captured between the new and old collars and the remaining rubber around the stem seats and seals the inner, larger diameter hole. There’s one layer of 1/2” tape covering the spoke nipples inside and a second 3/4” layer that also covers the stem seal. Only the second layer needed replacing with the tire and stem. The rear will probably fail too at some point but if not I’ll do this altered stem mod when I replace the aging small block 8 tire. The stem is much more secure than before.

 

yea let all the air our and refill it. youre supposed to pump the fork after like every 10 psi to ensure the same pressure in the positive and negative.

 

The shaft head is above and beyond the transfer port and the amount of pressure in the negative chamber won't let it go below that point to equalize. There are a couple of YT videos related to it.

As I remember, the true fix is to drop the lower and remove the airshaft, clean, re-grease, re-install with the airshaft almost fully extended and then cycle while adding psi.

As suggested, you can let all the air out and try to extend it fully and it might equalize then. If that doesn work, you also might be able to pressurize the fork to at/near maximum and see if that forces it down but it sounds like there is a lot of pressure in there.

 

yeah.... saw some of those recos and is probably my next step. Was worried a bit after reading that the pressure can cause the shaft to smack you when it pops out if you are not careful.... and shoot the spring/clip across the room to never be found again

 

That will only happen if there is residual pressure in the positive chamber, if you have a vacuum in the negative chamber or if your shaft is full compressed and you still have pressure in the negative (unlikely). Any positive pressure in the negative side will just cause the air shaft to recede with the lowers removed and the positive side at zero. Just completely remove the top cap (after releasing pressure) and you will be fine.

Unless your air shaft head is seized or sticking somewhere, then who knows.

Good luck!!!

 

Let me know buddy, I can check to see if I have a spare mech body. I think I might have a bent one...

 

Much appreciate the offer, and I’ll keep that in mind. Gonna run it clutch off for now, and continue to hawk PB listings. I’m not hard set on XT.

 

Got 'er done!

So much grease in there.... works perfectly now. On top of which, i will never pay to have a fork serviced again. Too easy ...

Thanks for the help/advice!!!

This was the money video:
(246) How To Fix Fork Suck Down On Your Mountain Bike Suspension Fork - YouTube

 

Hell yea! Nice work!

 

Found an SLX in stock at REI

 

Finally gonna ride my bike today

 

Awesome! I just ordered one too. No spare mechs makes me nervous.

 

I thought about ordering two. Decided I’ll just keep the buggered XT as my spare.

 

Just got my new toy in - a Garmin edge 530. How/where to you mount the unit on your bikes? My stumpjumper does not have a long neck from the stem - am considering flipping the mounting arm that came with the garmin to sit over the stem, but I've been hearing the single mount with the rubber bands is the way to go?

 

my xt derailleur is a little tweaked but still shifting okay... you guys are pushing me towards getting a spare on hand.