Poploc on new Reba giving hassles

[mongoose_dude]

Sorry - I meant, I don't know whether it is sitting in the right place (2nd sentence)

[Dicky DQ]

upload pictures so we can all see the masters advice and learn.

[Blur]

I received a reba race in April and had the same problem. In my case, the thin metal spring that is wrapped around the poplock shaft had popped out and was also sitting too far up the steel shaft. So I removed the spring, stretched it a little, relocated into the little hole and put the whole lot back together.

Since then I haven't had a problem. If you can get down to Recycles in Bellville and chat to JP, he did most of the work, all I did was the stretching.

[Johan Bornman]

This is a subjective thing. If it snaps nicely without the cable in place and you think there is reasonable force in that spring, then hit has to be the cable. If however you think the spring is at fault, I'll take it to Cape Cycle Systems and ask for a replacement. You say the fork is now.

 

The problem with opening the motion control damper (that's the red thing) is that it snaps together with those please-dont-try-and-open-us Chinese use-once clips so popular on plastic parts nowadays. You require four hands, sixteen screwdrivers and some Elastoplast.

 

If you suspect the cable, and it is worth checking it in anyway, then see of it moves freely. You hold the fork-end of the cable, the outer in one hand, the inner in another hand, and apply some tension to the inner against the outer. Now ask someone to work the Poplock lever for you. It should be smooth and any friction should be small in comparison to the force the MC Damper spring can supply.

 

Have your assistant hold the cable as described and you work the lever. Make a judgement call.

 

Also, post a picture of the spring if possible. It's not easy to photograph it.

 

Good luck.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Mongoose dude

 

 

 

Why are you struggling with this when all you had to do was take it back to the shop you bought it from?

[Johan Bornman]

Mongoose dude

Why are you struggling with this when all you had to do was take it back to the shop you bought it from?

 

Anton you have a point there but there is also a different perspective on these things.

 

1) The topic is interesting and technically-minded people are generally interested in how components work.

 

2) Some bike shops are not confident enough to quickly fix the problem and will remove the fork and send it to the agent. As you know, up here in Jhb with the agents in Cape Town, it is a) expensive b) slow.

 

3) Sometimes we just want to solve a problem over a weekend when no-one's open and we prefer fiddling with bicycles than fixing the broken switch on the stove.

 

 

[Wyatt Earp]

I agree and yes some will find the thread interesting but it's a new fork and if he keeps fiddling they might just show him a big toffee if it's a warranty.

[Blur]

It is even harder to send the fork to the local agent for a warranty claim when you bought it overseas so that you get get it for half the local price (not saying that it is right to

do that kind of thing).

[mongoose_dude]

Indeed that is the case - I did not purchase the shock locally, so I can't do a warranty claim on it. This post is, however, not a discussion about whether that is "the right thing to do" or not. That would open a whole new debate, which is, in this context not relevant. I would kindly ask that such a discussion should not take place here. This is, afterall, Tech Q&A...

 

I agree with Johan: I enjoy trying to fix these kinds of things myself. It is really a simple mechanism, and many bike shops cloud "the art of working on a shock" in so much mystery, that many people think it's rocket science. Clearly it isn't. If one CAN do something yourself, why not?

 

Johan - thanks for all your technical advice. I don't know whether the spring is the issue or not... I will put the whole thing together again and see whether things have changed. (Probably not). Apparently this particular poploc mechanism does open up, though. You just screw the top bit CLOCKWISE, and it comes off (apparently). I am a bit hesitant to do that, because I don't know whether it is easy to put the spring back if one takes it out. Probably not... Somehow that would seem the most logical solution: take the spring out and re-seat it properly, so that it doesn't twist sideways. Probably easier said than done. On that note, I have a question for you: at the bottom end of the spring is a long straight bit that goes through a hole in a plastic "plate" mounted to the metal shaft. Should this straight part of the spring be ENTIRELY through the hole (i.e. should the "base" of the spring sit flush with the plastic plate), or should it be only partially in the hole? Mine only has about 2mm of the straight bit THROUGH the hole, the rest is above the plastic plate. It doesn't look very healthy....

 

Blur: thanks for pointing out Recycles and JP to me. I phoned him this morning and he said that he could take a look at the thing. Perhaps that is the best idea. If I try to do this myself, I will probably end up messing the thing up entirely.

 

Again, thanks to all who have contributed to the post. I am busy learning a lot and am grateful for any new knowledge / advice.

[bak2basiks]

 

It is even harder to send the fork to the local agent for a warranty claim when you bought it overseas so that you get get it for half the local price (not saying that it is right to

do that kind of thing).

So you are saying that the local agent is naar because you were able to buy the shock at half the price somewhere else...? I think that it should not matter....

Why is this different from a Bell helmet replacement. If you have proof of purchase, you can put in a claim anywhere to have it replaced at 30% of cost, right? I bought a Nokia phone in France and it was replaced locally due to a fault on the phone. The phone cost me 150 euros on promotion and locally it was priced over R4k....

 

Then again, this is Tech Q&A....

 

[Blur]

That straight bit of the spring that goes throught the little hole was the part thatgave me problems. Basically the motion of the shock caused it to pop out and then I had not spring action.

I am not sure how long the spring needs to be according to the manufacturer but it made sense to stretch the spring a little and ensure that I had more of the straight bit through the little hole. You do require a special clamp the hold the plastic part when removing the large nut at the top of the poploc and some of the threads are opposite. It might be easier to get JP to take it apart, he knows how to fix the problem if it is the same problem that I had.

[Johan Bornman]

cut cut cut cut

 

 On that note' date=' I have a question for you: at the bottom end of the spring is a long straight bit that goes through a hole in a plastic "plate" mounted to the metal shaft. Should this straight part of the spring be ENTIRELY through the hole (i.e. should the "base" of the spring sit flush with the plastic plate), or should it be only partially in the hole? Mine only has about 2mm of the straight bit THROUGH the hole, the rest is above the plastic plate. It doesn't look very healthy....

 [/quote']

 

I appologise for overlooking that question. I think the Hub stopped sending out e-mail updates for a while and I didn't check.

 

I believe (hope, actually) that is is what you're referring to. This is as healthy as they get. If yours looks like this, it is OK. I think the key to your problem is finding the source of friction. You want a snappy movement in this mechanism.

 

[mongoose_dude]

Hi Johan

I never actually got around to fixing this issue properly... I have taken the poploc unit out again, and the spring does not look as lekker as yours above. The straight bit of the spring that goes to the bottom of the poploc (i.e. to the left on the pic above) is at a funny angle, and does not protrude very far (only about 1 or 2 mm) through the base plate / plastic ring that it's lodged in. How can I open this damn thing up to seat the spring properly once and for all? I'd appreciate your advice...

[Johan Bornman]

I'm back.

I did a whole shoot-cabang on servicing poplocks here on The Hub, with photos and all. Do a bit of searching and it'll Pop up.