Nuffy

Why do you need to replace the hose? If you get the proper replacement hose it should come with the banjo already installed. You shouldn’t be taking that off and then trying to refit it. I think it’s crimped on and I very much doubt that you’d be able to get a secure fitting yourself with a reused banjo. Shimano would tell you you should replace the olive and barb too. I have successfully reused olives in the past, but getting the barb out of the old hose undamaged can be a mission. And they’re super cheap anyway, so you might as well get a new one and do it properly. Just be sure you’re getting the right olive and barb set for your brake – Shimano has two variations. If you go to si.shimano.com and search for your brake you should get all the part numbers and service instructions that you need.

I assume he’s talking about a road wheel. They have different freehub and cassette widths for 10- and 11-speed, and he wouldn’t be going that big on the cassette. As others have mentioned, you may be lucky with your hub. Push the unmodified cassette on as far as it will go and check the clearance between the big ring and the spokes, hub flange, etc. If it looks like there's more than enough space to lose 1.6 mm, and the cassette has enough meat to maintain structural integrity, then it might be worth doing. You could always install a 1.6 mm spacer with that cassette to use it on an 11-speed freehub later if necessary.

Jared and Mel at BMC in Cape Town have done some amazing work and seem to be highly regarded: http://www.bicyclerepairs.co.za/

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll follow up on some of these contacts.

Thanks. I did find their site when I tried some searching. It looks like it’s all freestyle / park / street stuff, but there’s certainly no harm in contacting them.

Are there any distributors of BMX racing bikes and parts in South Africa? I know Omnico sometimes has some bits, but does anyone else sell a complete range of bikes and spares? Rims, brakes, bars, forks, tyres, tubes, helmets, etc. Or is the market too small and everyone buys directly from overseas?

Buffalo Bikes? They’re pretty sturdy and widely available north of the Limpopo – not sure about in RSA.

It looks like Cool Heat (the South African distributor for Shimano) doesn’t stock these parts. I think your best bet might be to post the model number of the pedal (eg PD-M8000) and see if someone happens to have one that is damaged somewhere else and is willing to give you this part for a good price. As well as the model number you will need to specify if it is the left or right pedal. If you want to get the part number for that part specifically, go to si.shimano.com and enter the pedal model number. Then open the exploded view and see the parts codes. With that you might be able to do a search and find it through online retailers overseas.

This is a four-digit alpha-numeric code that all Fox forks and shocks after a certain year (I’m not sure what year) have on them. On forks this is usually on the back of the left leg just under the dust wipers. It might just say “ID ####”. It’s possible that sticker has been removed, or if it’s a really old model it might not have it. You can enter that code on this page https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike and get all the specs for that fork or shock. Usually for forks there are only two things you need to know to get the right axle: The brand of the fork (different brands use different thread pitches, and the thread length might also vary) Whether the hub spacing is boost (110 mm) or not (100 mm) With that information you should be able to choose the right part from Fox, KCNC, or any other brand that makes them. Most will offer quick release options and hex bolt options (sometimes called “Stealth”). There are other axle styles (like the 20 mm ones used mostly on downhill bikes), but it’s clear that yours is the common 15 mm standard. Comparing your measurements to one that I have here I can see that it’s a non-boost width. So, you need an axle for a Fox 15 × 100 mm dropout. Quick release or not is your choice. With rear axles it gets a lot more complicated, as you have variations in frame thicknesses to account for as well as the boost/non-boost issue. And it’s not as simple as using the brand to determine the thread pitch.

Please do!

Yep, that’s a good idea. Some people do like stickers. Even if it goes on the tool box or bike rack that’s still good. And presumably people who take them voluntarily are more likely to use them and not bin them, so minimal wastage from the shop’s point of view.

Thanks for all the responses. I run a shop myself. I’ve never done this, as I would feel the same way as most of you – if I want a sticker on my bike I’ll put it there myself, thank you very much. But a couple of other shops in my area do it, and I feel violated on my customers’ behalf when I see the stickers on their bikes. Then I started wondering if maybe I was in the minority and my emotional reaction was unjustified. But the poll results and comments speak pretty clearly. I do think, however, that if we polled all the customers from these shops the results would be a bit different. The fact that I see these stickers means the owners of the bikes didn’t notice them or mind enough to remove them. On average, Hubbers are probably more particular about their bikes and in tune with the details, and do more of their own work than the average shop customer.

I can remember that it was nice to see community members backing up sellers offering something for a good price, or something that was particularly niche or hard to find. It’s all very well for a seller to say things like “one-of-a-kind”, “great price”, “super rare item that you need for X, Y, or Z situation”, but having community members comment with feedback like “I’ve had mine for five years and love it”, “I spent three months looking for one”, “good value – if it was my size I would buy it now”, really adds value to the ad, supports the seller, and gives potential buyers more confidence too. Perhaps this is open to abuse by sellers posting under multiple accounts, but those who frequent the forums will get to know who is trustworthy and who has certain specialist knowledge. There are a few Hubbers whose feedback on items I would take very seriously. Also, while there might be a few selfless members sending feedback or suggestions directly to the sellers (thank you!), it adds a barrier that I think would deter most members who would otherwise quite readily post a quick clarification or question in the comments.

If you take your bike or suspension product for a service, how do you feel about the shop putting their sticker on it when they’re done?

Of course the travel change also works the other way: you could get the Revelation and reduce that to 120 mm. But if it’s the older version with 32 mm stanchions as @Chadvdw67 points out it would probably be a downgrade from your Fox.

Are you certain that the travel on your current fork can’t be extended to 120 mm? As far as I know 120 mm is longest any of the 29er Fox Float 32s get to. In some cases the shorter versions (80 mm, 100 mm) might be exactly the same as the 120 mm but with some travel reducing spacers installed. If you remove those you can get up to the 120 mm maximum. See https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike&id=572 for the procedure. A lot of the older entry- and mid-level RockShox forks also worked this way. It’s not a big job to open it up to check. Otherwise you might be able to replace the air spring with a longer one, though I’m not sure how easy it would be to find. If you can’t verify this all for yourself then any of the suspension service centres should be able to, or try speaking to Omnico directly or through your local bike shop. However, something like a newer Fox Float 34 would be a nicer option than the above, but obviously there’s a big price difference, and finding one could be a challenge. If you do get a new fork I would suggest going bigger than 32 mm stanchions.

Not yet. It’s on my list to watch later when I can make some more YouTube time.

Nice to see Macky on a singlespeed again. I met him at the 2012 Singlespeed World Champs in Winterton. We were staying with the same family, and did a couple of practice laps together. I had no idea what a hotshot he was, then he went on to nearly win in a photo finish with Burry.

After further reading, it looks like the C1 foot nut can’t be used with the B1/B2 seal head because under full compression the foot nut will hit the seal head. The C1 seal head has a cavity into which the foot nut can move.

But what makes the fork go back to its resting position, if the resting position is not with the piston at the dimple? Perhaps it’s a matter of semantics, as I agree with most of what you’ve said. Let me try to explain it a different way. According to my understanding: B1 Starting with the assembly of the fork (let us say a 150 mm Lyrik), the air shaft is inserted into the bottom of the stanchion and the retaining ring is installed. Assuming the seal head is pushed all the way up against the topout bumper which in turn is pushed all the way up against the air piston, the air piston will not reach the equalisation dimple on installation. The positive and negative chambers both have 0 psi. Let us call this the starting position. The lower legs are installed. A pump is attached to the positive chamber and it is inflated to 100 psi, let us say. Nothing moves, and the negative chamber is still at 0 psi and the lower legs sitting at the 150 mm stanchion marking. The fork is compressed slightly. The pressure in the positive chamber increases and the pressure in the negative chamber decreases, making the pressure differential between the two even greater. The fork is compressed further, to the point that the air piston reaches the equalisation dimple. Let us say this is a distance of 5 mm from the starting position. The positive and negative chambers equalise, both settling at 90 psi, let us say. More air is added and the equalisation procedure repeated until both chambers are at 100 psi. Now the air piston is sitting at the dimple and stays there because nothing is pushing it away in either direction. It is 5 mm higher up the stanchion than when it was installed, meaning the lower legs now sit at the 145 mm stanchion marking. Let us call this the resting position. RockShox gets complaints because in the resting position the “150 mm” Lyrik shows only 145 mm of available travel on the stanchion. C1 RockShox releases the C1 air shaft. It is the same as the B1, except that the foot nut is 5 mm longer and the seal head sits 5 mm higher above the retaining ring (I don’t know what the actual measurements are – I’m just continuing with my example from above). Again we start with the installation of the air shaft, except this time in the starting position the main piston does reach the dimple. Because the seal head sits 5 mm higher, the main piston is also pushed up 5 mm, and it meets the dimple. This would mean the lower legs are also 5 mm higher up the stanchions at the 145 mm mark, except we now have a 5 mm longer foot nut, which lowers them by 5 mm so they’re back at the 150 mm mark. The positive chamber is inflated, and because the piston is already at the dimple the negative chamber inflates at the same rate – no extra equalisation procedure is necessary. Both chambers reach 100 psi together, and the fork hasn’t moved from its starting position, but it’s now also at its resting position. Is this an accurate interpretation of how they work? Perhaps I’ll try to create a diagram to illustrate it all.

Thanks @thebob. I’ll peruse the MTBR forum for further reading. There is a basic fundamental concept I’m struggling to get my head around: What is it that causes the B1/B2 air piston to not sit at the equalisation dimple? Surely if the positive and negative chambers have equal pressure then there is nothing to pull it in either direction away from the dimple? That is, until you have the weight of the lower legs and wheel extending the fork or bike and rider and trail inputs compressing it, but that would apply in just the same way to the C1 system.

The last update to RockShox’s Pike, Revelation, Lyrik, and Yari forks was just a change to the C1 air spring with a new foot nut and seal head. I believe this was done as a response to complaints from users that their forks were sagging into the travel and so had less travel than advertised. A 160 mm fork might have been sitting at about 155 mm at rest, for example. RockShox has touted the revision as providing a higher ride height and no wasted travel or dead space. However, suspension specialists (such as Chris Porter and Vorsprung) have pointed out that the C1 seal head creates a smaller negative air chamber, resulting in a less supple start to the travel and less small-bump sensitivity. Their recommendation seems to be to stick to the B1/B2 seal head and enjoy the better grip and sensitivity at the top of the stroke, and stop obsessing over the travel markings on the stanchions. Based on my understanding of how the system works, it’s the longer foot nut of the C1 version that extends the fork out so it has more travel and is riding higher. It is equivalent to fitting a slightly longer air shaft. I can only hypothesise that the seal head was revised in order to reduce the negative air volume so that the fork cannot be extended deep into the negative travel to the extent that insufficient stanchion and bushing overlap become an issue. Is anyone able to confirm this, or correct me, please? If I am right, does that mean that one could use the longer C1 foot nut to get the higher ride height, but combine it with the B1/B2 seal head for the large negative chamber, provided that the fork is not already at the maximum travel for that model? So with a 160 mm air shaft in a Lyrik and a 140 mm air shaft in a Pike this should be fine, and would give the advertised travel but also the superior performance of the larger negative air chamber? Any clarifications, corrections, or references to further reading or explanations are appreciated!

I got mugged on that bridge too, but it must have been about 10 years ago now. There were two guys. They asked for my phone and the money in my wallet, but when I took my phone out they agreed with my description of it as “a piece of ****” and declined to take it. Thankfully they didn’t ask for my bike. They didn’t produce a firearm, but said they had one. They said they were just out of prison and needing money to get started with a new life.

I agree with most of what’s been said, but will add that there are some distributors that are a lot more understanding and helpful to the small players and newcomers. Start with them and build from there. Some of them offer more obscure brands and niche products that might help you distinguish yourself in a very competitive market. Keep working on building those relationships, and eventually you’ll either realise it’s not going anywhere or hopefully have something that you can show to the other distributors and get noticed. Network within the industry as much as you can through whatever means you can, even if it’s not directly related to the retail side. Emails will get ignored, so you’ve got to have another reason for a brand or distributor to pay attention to you. Because there is such demand at the moment it might seem like a great business opportunity, but you’ve got no chance of competing against the established players for product, so you’ve got to be in it because you love the sport and industry and can offer something that your target market appreciates and will pay for. Good luck!

I would love to hear feedback from anyone who has tried one, and see some photos of it installed on a bike.