Stanchion and steerer tube replacement

[madmarc]

So here's a question or 2 for a little survey i'm doing.

 

Is there any company in SA who can replace stanchions and steerer tubes other than buying a complete new CSU from LBS/Importer.

 

I'm talking about a suspension workshop who can take your existing fork and replace the stanchions and/or steerer tube.

 

AFAIK, locally getting forks serviced and perhaps bushings replaced is about as far as they go. When it gets to stanchions then fork is toast or a new CSU is offered which works out more cost effective to replace the entire fork.

 

 

What would you be prepared to pay for fitting new stanchions ?

 

And

 

what would you be prepared to pay to have new steerer tube fitted ?

 

[King_Crispy]

Been there, tried that. It's not the same as motor bike stantions.

It's very similar to teflon, and would prove too difficult to do properly

[Psyrax]

When having to replace an important part like that, the manufacturer is probably the best. I would not get it replaced by someone other than the original manufacturer. I manufacture sometimes my own small parts, but only if its a part thats not crucial to the bike's integrity.

[madmarc]

Been there, tried that. It's not the same as motor bike stantions.

It's very similar to teflon, and would prove too difficult to do properly

 

I'm assuming you referring to re coating existing stanchions - I'm talking about complete replacement - remove the old and fit brand new

[madmarc]

When having to replace an important part like that, the manufacturer is probably the best. I would not get it replaced by someone other than the original manufacturer. I manufacture sometimes my own small parts, but only if its a part thats not crucial to the bike's integrity.

 

Even if the re-fit came with a warranty ?

[CdT85]

Contact Robbies Bicycle Concepts in PE.

They do it

[King_Crispy]

I'm assuming you referring to re coating existing stanchions - I'm talking about complete replacement - remove the old and fit brand new

Ah, ok. I looked into recoating

[Simon Kolin]

So here's a question or 2 for a little survey i'm doing.

 

Is there any company in SA who can replace stanchions and steerer tubes other than buying a complete new CSU from LBS/Importer.

 

I'm talking about a suspension workshop who can take your existing fork and replace the stanchions and/or steerer tube.

 

AFAIK, locally getting forks serviced and perhaps bushings replaced is about as far as they go. When it gets to stanchions then fork is toast or a new CSU is offered which works out more cost effective to replace the entire fork.

 

 

What would you be prepared to pay for fitting new stanchions ?

 

And

 

what would you be prepared to pay to have new steerer tube fitted ?

Hi Marc

 

My 2 cents worth is this;

 

Re-coating the stanchions to factory condition is not a feasible option in SA as far as I know. I contacted TD Coating for a re-coating of my retro forks. The fork had black stanchions that were wearing badly. I think this was a type of teflon coating that had very poor hardness. So I did some Googling and found out that new forks have either a Titanium Nitride Coating or a Diamond-Like Coating.

 

DLC is a low friction, high hardness type of coating. The deep black colour it gives is so wonderful. I was really keen on having this done to the old stachions. Unfortunately they couldn't remove the old coating and apparently the PVD process used to apply a TiN/DLC coating isn't available in South Africa. Whether that's factually correct I can't say, In the end I opted to bead blast the stanchions and apply a Gun-Kote 16/2. Its far from ideal. The colour if a matte dark grey and looks a bit odd, but as the fork will be for display purposes only, Gun-Kote would have to do. It wasn't worth the cost to send the tubes off to the UK for a DLC coating.

 

Anyway, you wanted to know about factory approved replacement parts vs. replacement with aftermarket parts.

 

Robbies Bicycle Concept offers the replacement steerer or stanchion tube. I believe the parts come from a company called ND Tuned who are based in Portugal. I don't know much about the replacement procedure or how it would affect the structural integrity of the fork. Maybe Robbie can send you some test data from ND Tuned that will give some assurance that the process is perfectly safe to use.

 

Otherwise, contact your LBS and ask for a quote for a FOX or Rock Shox steerer tube/fork crown/stanchion tube replacement part.

 

Once you're ready to choose, I suspect it will be the cost of either type of replacement that will swing your vote. I can't say what I would accept as a reasonable cost for the replacements. There are so many factors that would  determine my perceived value of the service and the amount I would be prepared to pay.

 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful and good luck with your project.

[King_Crispy]

Hi Marc

 

My 2 cents worth is this;

 

Re-coating the stanchions to factory condition is not a feasible option in SA as far as I know. I contacted TD Coating for a re-coating of my retro forks. The fork had black stanchions that were wearing badly. I think this was a type of teflon coating that had very poor hardness. So I did some Googling and found out that new forks have either a Titanium Nitride Coating or a Diamond-Like Coating.

 

DLC is a low friction, high hardness type of coating. The deep black colour it gives is so wonderful. I was really keen on having this done to the old stachions. Unfortunately they couldn't remove the old coating and apparently the PVD process used to apply a TiN/DLC coating isn't available in South Africa. Whether that's factually correct I can't say, In the end I opted to bead blast the stanchions and apply a Gun-Kote 16/2. Its far from ideal. The colour if a matte dark grey and looks a bit odd, but as the fork will be for display purposes only, Gun-Kote would have to do. It wasn't worth the cost to send the tubes off to the UK for a DLC coating.

 

Anyway, you wanted to know about factory approved replacement parts vs. replacement with aftermarket parts.

 

Robbies Bicycle Concept offers the replacement steerer or stanchion tube. I believe the parts come from a company called ND Tuned who are based in Portugal. I don't know much about the replacement procedure or how it would affect the structural integrity of the fork. Maybe Robbie can send you some test data from ND Tuned that will give some assurance that the process is perfectly safe to use.

 

Otherwise, contact your LBS and ask for a quote for a FOX or Rock Shox steerer tube/fork crown/stanchion tube replacement part.

 

Once you're ready to choose, I suspect it will be the cost of either type of replacement that will swing your vote. I can't say what I would accept as a reasonable cost for the replacements. There are so many factors that would determine my perceived value of the service and the amount I would be prepared to pay.

 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful and good luck with your project.

Pics of your bike and fork please?

[Simon Kolin]

Okay. Here is the fork as I purchased it. Was in pretty good condition. I knew that there would be wear on the tubes and that the elastomers would have perished.

[Simon Kolin]

Having completely disassembled the fork, this is what the wear on the tubes looked like.

 

Not too bad actually, but I thought it would be fun to try get a DLC coating done to improve performance.

[madmarc]

Hi Marc

 

My 2 cents worth is this;

 

Re-coating the stanchions to factory condition is not a feasible option in SA as far as I know. I contacted TD Coating for a re-coating of my retro forks. The fork had black stanchions that were wearing badly. I think this was a type of teflon coating that had very poor hardness. So I did some Googling and found out that new forks have either a Titanium Nitride Coating or a Diamond-Like Coating.

 

DLC is a low friction, high hardness type of coating. The deep black colour it gives is so wonderful. I was really keen on having this done to the old stachions. Unfortunately they couldn't remove the old coating and apparently the PVD process used to apply a TiN/DLC coating isn't available in South Africa. Whether that's factually correct I can't say, In the end I opted to bead blast the stanchions and apply a Gun-Kote 16/2. Its far from ideal. The colour if a matte dark grey and looks a bit odd, but as the fork will be for display purposes only, Gun-Kote would have to do. It wasn't worth the cost to send the tubes off to the UK for a DLC coating.

 

Anyway, you wanted to know about factory approved replacement parts vs. replacement with aftermarket parts.

 

Robbies Bicycle Concept offers the replacement steerer or stanchion tube. I believe the parts come from a company called ND Tuned who are based in Portugal. I don't know much about the replacement procedure or how it would affect the structural integrity of the fork. Maybe Robbie can send you some test data from ND Tuned that will give some assurance that the process is perfectly safe to use.

 

Otherwise, contact your LBS and ask for a quote for a FOX or Rock Shox steerer tube/fork crown/stanchion tube replacement part.

 

Once you're ready to choose, I suspect it will be the cost of either type of replacement that will swing your vote. I can't say what I would accept as a reasonable cost for the replacements. There are so many factors that would  determine my perceived value of the service and the amount I would be prepared to pay.

 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful and good luck with your project.

 

thanks for your input - I know about ND Tuned, the procedure on the other hand is either simply pressing out the old and pressing in the new or if its more complicated its an industry secret.

 

Overseas, replacing stanchions and steerers seems to be the norm. Here locally a new CSU seems to be the only option offered.

 

Both these components are pressfit and as a Mech Eng i see no reason why the refitting would compromise the integrity of the fork. I have done many machine rebuilds where components were press fit, especially bearings, never did i experience a failure after a rebuild.

[Simon Kolin]

Finally, here is a tube done in Gun-Kote. It's ok, but I'm not thrilled either.

 

Not that DT Coatings did a bad job with the coating. I checked and they sand-blasted the tubes and not bead-blasted. Bead Blasting will have made the tubes much smoother in the end.

[Simon Kolin]

The 3rd party refresh kit. 

[Simon Kolin]

thanks for your input - I know about ND Tuned, the procedure on the other hand is either simply pressing out the old and pressing in the new or if its more complicated its an industry secret.

 

Overseas, replacing stanchions and steerers seems to be the norm. Here locally a new CSU seems to be the only option offered.

 

Both these components are pressfit and as a Mech Eng i see no reason why the refitting would compromise the integrity of the fork. I have done many machine rebuilds where components were press fit, especially bearings, never did i experience a failure after a rebuild.

I'm pretty sure it's as simple as pressing out the old and pressing in the new.

 

If you're confident that the procedure is safe, then it's a matter of cost that will determine the option you go with. Or neither and purchase a good condition 2nd hand fork.