Rockshox Pike RCT3 service

[Parker66]

Hey peeps. Very new to all of this. I'm looking to service my fork on my GT. I'm new to DIY and can't for the life of me submit to a LBS for a fork service.

 

I bought the bike for a steal a while back and haven't really had the cash to throw at it yet (student life). I have some money now and want to do the service myself.

 

Some information:

Stanchions are mint.

Still get a bit of rebound when the charger is all the way open (3 clicks) and the travel guage is about half way. But any other setting leads to a negative pressure lock? Idk, I'm noob.

 

Could you guys maybe shed some light on what could be the issue or what needs to be replaced etc? Will a regular service do the trick of restoring this to its glory?

 

I'm just going out on a limb here. Not really clued up on all the right gear terms. Help a brother out ????????

[BaGearA]

Likely needs a damper service and don't even try if you don't have access to proper tooling

 

You'll very likely cause more damage

 

People love to say how easy it is but often forget to mention how marked up the damper is after using builders warehouse tools and a vice from 1920 to clamp alloy parts

[milansosic88]

 definately agree, rather send the fork to a proper shop that deals with suspension. It will save you time, money and a few headaches in the long run. Im not sure where you are based but give Stoke suspension a call in Woodstock if you stay in CT, they will sort you out and for a good price aswell.

[PhilipV]

If you don't have the tools or the knowledge, please don't do it yourself. Send it to a place with a good track record.

A mate sent his very nice fork for a service at a local mechanic. 20riding hours later and weird things started happening with his fork. He sent it to Stoke to have a look, and it turns out the air shaft has a scratch in it. Air shafts can't get scratched inside the fork if they were assembled correctly. So something was done wrong, or it happened on the bench. My mate now has to buy a new air shaft, because the first guy is coming with lots of stories. Expensive lesson learned

 

A Pike is a very nice fork. Don't learn expensive lessons with it.

[droo]

Thanks for the kind words gents.

 

Mr Parker - if you're serious and have a decent (read: clean. Like kitchen clean.)  home workshop, go for it. You'll find the manuals on SRAM's website, and there's a tool list at the top. Download and read them first, and if you're not intimidated by the process give us a shout with the list of tools you still need.

 

A few things to be aware of:

 

It's not going to save you money in the short term. The first service including tools, oils and consumables will set you back around 3x the cost of a full rebuild.

 

Don't try it without the right tools. As others have said, you'll do more harm than good. A new damper, if you crush the damper tube, will set you back R 4k. A bike stand is essential, as are a seal press and bleed fitting.

 

Don't reuse seals. After a service interval (and a bargain fork has definitely seen more than that) those seals are done. You'll give yourself the warm and fuzzies having rebuilt it, and wear it out in pretty short order afterwards.

 

As for diagnosing what's wrong - start by stripping the fork and seeing how it all works. Diagnostics is something you learn from experience, not a manual. My guess would be that the damper has been ignored for several lowers oil changes and has ingested enough oil to not allow the bladder to expand inside the stanchion, limiting travel. One big hit and it'll pop, leaving you with a pogo stick. (This is just a guess though, based on what I can read into your description).

 

For the average home mechanic, stick to lowers and spring services and leave dampers to someone with a properly set up workshop who does them all day.

[Parker66]

@Droo

 

Seen your name all around this site and it seems you are the man to speak to about suspensipn thingies. Gonna give you a call some time today! ????

[Rock Guy]

@Droo

 

Seen your name all around this site and it seems you are the man to speak to about suspensipn thingies. Gonna give you a call some time today!

Droo has looked after many a Pike for me. You won't believe what a big difference a proper service makes to a fork's performance. 

[mtbride]

Thanks for the kind words gents.

 

Mr Parker - if you're serious and have a decent (read: clean. Like kitchen clean.)  home workshop, go for it. You'll find the manuals on SRAM's website, and there's a tool list at the top. Download and read them first, and if you're not intimidated by the process give us a shout with the list of tools you still need.

 

A few things to be aware of:

 

It's not going to save you money in the short term. The first service including tools, oils and consumables will set you back around 3x the cost of a full rebuild.

 

Don't try it without the right tools. As others have said, you'll do more harm than good. A new damper, if you crush the damper tube, will set you back R 4k. A bike stand is essential, as are a seal press and bleed fitting.

 

Don't reuse seals. After a service interval (and a bargain fork has definitely seen more than that) those seals are done. You'll give yourself the warm and fuzzies having rebuilt it, and wear it out in pretty short order afterwards.

 

As for diagnosing what's wrong - start by stripping the fork and seeing how it all works. Diagnostics is something you learn from experience, not a manual. My guess would be that the damper has been ignored for several lowers oil changes and has ingested enough oil to not allow the bladder to expand inside the stanchion, limiting travel. One big hit and it'll pop, leaving you with a pogo stick. (This is just a guess though, based on what I can read into your description).

 

For the average home mechanic, stick to lowers and spring services and leave dampers to someone with a properly set up workshop who does them all day.

 

As an average home mechanic I agree 100%. I did a lowers service for the 1st time couple of weeks ago on my Revelation 130 (and also replaced the airspring with a 140mm), the lowers service and spring replacement/re-grease I will do, but damper opening no thanks ... Just looking at the schematic of an open damper puts me off trying it.

Edited June 25, 2020 by mtbride