Fork fun

[SeaBee]

Okay, time for another dom-vraag session...

 

I am in an interesting situation with my fork - a RS REBA RL, solo air - according to specs. Over the weekend we rode some Welvanpas and it felt very light in front and some of the short steep stuff was simply not rideable, as if the front just floated (and I love those kind of stuff of late). Came back home, then saw afterwards that after everything we've thrown at it, the fork only travelled... hmmm, about 2/3.

 

Now, my rear wheel was a bit low on pressure so that may have contributed, so last night I pumped all wheels, shock and fork. Slide onto the bike standing still to do a sag test. Rear needs a bit more air... Front...? Holy cow, it's barely moved! Check... it's not locked. If it went to 10% sag it was much. Pump shock a bit more, went for a ride and... it's almost as if the lockout has been turned on. I've turned that all the way to and fro just for the heck of it - it is and was unlocked. I also did the same with the rebound dial, went all the way both ways and reset it to what it was.

 

But the symptoms - it has almost no movement until I hit something significant - and then it just GOES! It's as if there's a magic point over which it must come at impact before it moves. But I've taken it down to below 90 just to try (made no diffs) and get some sag - which is why it simply travels way further than anything in Welvanpas forced it when simply riding up and down a pavement.

 

I'm at the point where I'm starting to believe my friends that say it must be a dual air! Will triple-check tonight... but specs say solo. My plan for tonight is (after confirming it is solo ) to simply take out ALL the air and then re-inflating and hope this magically "resets" something.

 

So in short - it works as expected once you hit something of significance. But before a certain "impact measure", it feels almost locked out. So, rideable, but... interesting.

 

Any other ideas will be appreciated - rather lost at the moment. (Guess you may have deducted I'm not the greatest expert on suspension...)

[Pants Boy]

Sounds dirty or pitted or worn out stanchions ... How old is it?

[SeaBee]

About 18 months.

 

The situation may have crept in gradually and I may have just been slow to notice it.

[covie]

Might also be that one of the chambers inside has a leak, probably the + take it to Jaco at the bike shed, its about R350 for a service.

[ALLMTB]

What bike and year model is it?

If it is the dual air model then I can relate.

I had the same issue when my - negative air chamber leaked, which meant that the fork had no assistance to compress the initial beginning stroke making the fork feel like is was locked out.

Check if you have two valves, one on top and one at the bottom of the same leg.

[LazyTrailRider]

I had the same issue when my - negative air chamber leaked, which meant that the fork had no assistance to compress the initial beginning stroke making the fork feel like is was locked out.

 

Yep, I had something similar on a Revelation.

[SeaBee]

ALLMTB - the fork came (but is no longer on that bike) with a 2013 Stumpy HT. The specs on Spez site said "Reba RL 29 Solo air".

 

But according to what you say, plus some friends of mine, the symptoms sound like a dual air with either an issue or a "balance" problem between positive and negative. The first thing I'll do (as said above) is to triple-check whether it's not somehow MAYBE a dual air. In which case, in my ignorance I've only altered the top chamber.

[droo]

Look for a valve on the bottom. If it's 18 months old it's most likely dual air.

[SeaBee]

Okay, it's a confirmed solo air. Not just the specs and sticker that says so... The only thing at the bottom of the fork legs, is the rebound dial. Took out all the air and pushed all the way down. Re-inflated... feels a biiit better.

 

Maybe I should just get it serviced once the silly season is over.

 

Edit: did not have time for decent ride last night, will go for one tonight and feel how it actually is before Sunday turns completely belly-up with me having fiddled with the suspension!

Edited February 27, 2014 by SeaBee