I appreciate that you included the detail about the force required for removal. These are the born of experience details that help me when I am stuck ;)
One tip, I did this and when you have fork suck, the lower legs have some pressure in them when you remove them and can spray the oil everywhere when you first loosen them (guess how I know). When you first tap them with the hammer to break it loose, you should tip it up slightly so the oil is at the bottom when it breaks loose and releases the pressure.
Easy one that always works for my 2012 Rockshox lyrik R. After I remove air pressure the fork sucks down. I remove my wheel, put the axle back in, put the fork on the ground, grab the fork uppers while pushing down on the axle with my foot and pull up fast. After that it goes away.
I did the same thing on my fork, but instead only reduced the PSI to ~30 PSI. Thank you for your comment. For reference, my fork is a 2015 RockShox Pike RCT3.
I had this problem but cured it by dropping my pressure to around 40-50 psi slowly, I then forced my forks open to full extension, there was a little hiss and something changed. After I compressed my fork around 30-50% and held it and heard a hiss again. Pumped them back to normal riding pressure and still had 10-15mm of suck back still, then I did the cable tie trick on both sides, again heard a hiss from both and after this they were fine. Maybe it will work for you too... worth a go. Fork was a Fox 36 factory 160mm
i have reused my crush washers because new ones from fox retail for 2 euros each. Also foam rings seem impossible to buy loose. Fox really wants you to buy a 35 euro seal kit with only the 2 main seals, 2 foam rings and 2 crush washers...
you can find the foam rings on ebay/aliexpress for like 1-2usd if you dont mind waiting a month to get them. also if you clean them well you can reuse them for a while before they need replacement. the only thing that ends up being somewhat expensive for me are the wipers, but they last a while.
Thank you. A friend came yesterday with exactly that problem. After i found your turtorial here, I was able to fix the problem. His was sucked in so hard, that i wasn't able to catch it and to pull. So i put a bit of pressure in the upper chamber. With enough pressure it just plopped out.
fork/shock service is actually the easiest/simplest thing. i find all other kind of service to be much more annoying to do. I do it all myself but if i was made of money i wouldnt mind having the shop doing bearing replacement and what not - but would still do fork/shock because its faster than going to the shop lol
@@kangsterizer but u need the right tools and torque wrench a must for top cap and lower bolts. And a 150mm nylon/plastic rod for RS (easy/cheap on ebay) to grease inside the stanchion to the correct depth (essential but many (shops included) dont do and causes premature wear and poorer performance).
For everyone looking for a quick fix: I had this one year ago on my RockShox Reba RL 2017. After extensive googling I found out that there's a hidden valve for the negative air chamber even on Solo Air forks. Let out air pressure on top of the left leg, then remove the bolt on the bottom of the left leg and press on that valve. Be careful as there might be a bit of oil coming out! Then screw on the bolt again and reinflate at the top. This can get rid of the problem in the short term but you should still consider a service like it's shown in the video.
Its a bit late, but to clear it up there IS a schrader valve core at the bottom of the air piston on some RS forks. pull the 5mm bolt and do not unseat the end of the shaft. just use a 3mm to remove air. OR you can remove ft wheel, reinstall axle, air the pos chamber to the max, then step on the axle and pull up on the bars until the piston seal slides past the divot and the pressure will equalize and blow out any grease. Sometimes it takes 2 people to pull, but it works well. Good Luck.
Thank you so much I was just doing a fork Service and I wasn’t quite sure what exactly to do and then y’all posted this video the next morning as I had left my fork out overnight and then it helped me!
A trick I was taught by a mate at TF Tuned is to always reassemble your fork at full compression. The other trick is one I started to use after a bit of suck, 2.5wt in the air chamber. That super thin oil keeps everything slick yet keeps the transfer port clear. A thicker oil can be used but I've got a shitload of 2.5wt from servicing a Manitou Progressive Suspension 5th Element (it's on my mates 03 VP Free if anyone wants to know).
Did this to my 2018 Fox 34 Rhythm and there was plenty of grease inside. I wonder what they were thinking at Fox... Pro tip to removing stuck air spring: remove the top cap and volume spacers, find a wooden or other non-metallic stick and push the air spring out. Be careful since it will come out suddenly! A large enough container with rags to soften the landing ;). With helping hands it's even more easier since one can pull at the spring end and the other can push with the stick.
If it's a coil fork, and it gets stuck, it's a broken/snapped coil causing it to jam up, but you might notice decrease of travel too, in both cases it's snapped coil.
I had helm coil this year with negative trapped air. When I pushed fork out and it would suck back in 2 inches. Never found out what exact issue was. They swapped it.
RS and I am sure Fox do much more thorough service videos and manuals on their websites...well RS do, EXCELLENT vids and manuals in fact for everything.
9:35 Fox has recently done this mistake, at this spot, so many forks come with way too much grease there. I hope they will fix that. I have con conversion on mine I will build up a new bike soon, already halfway done.
I had the biggest freak accident yesterday with this. Riding a SR Suntour Auron with the old air spring, I know that it's a mechanical negative steel spring. So what happened was: I was overhauling my fork and took it completely apart. In the process I accidently put the seal on the air piston on upside down. Now this seal is designed to expand when meeting pressure and seal up the air chamber in the process. Little did I know that the negative chamber is apparently air tight and was conserving the lost pressure from the positive chamber and didn't let it out again (the seal design working against me here). So little me, wondering what was wrong with the fork, pumped up the postive chamber over and over again to receive no better outcome at all and a suckdown has never crossed my mind because I know about the mechanical properties of my fork. So I stripped the fork apart like shown here and on Suntour the bottom cap is screwed on which exploded from the stanchion in the moment it got unscrewed. Oil. Oil everywhere. I made a Van Gogh on the work shop floor and learned a lot about my fork. Very glad that nothing broke. Keep it up guys and I hope this is a good addition to your knowledge base.
Perhaps if using only forks oil to grease the parts and add a little drop in the air chamber (2ml) to help the scare ring to don't stick and wear It'will good and cancel the grease problems?
I had a fox float 34 on service the other day with an insane amount of pressure locked in the negative chamber. I probably would have to rig a pulling jig to get it out. Instead of pulling, I put some pressure in the positive chamber to reveal some shaft, clamped it and unscrewed the "bolt" on the end of the shaft carefully, psssjjjtt, pressure released controlled. (you need som heat so release that screw, remove the o-ring off course).
Great video, I let out the air, removed the inflation bit on the top, then the lowers, then the retaining clip, reinstalled the inflation bit on the top and then inflated until the plunger (i'm a novice) popped out the other end, made a loud pop, gave me a startle! By the way, I wore safety goggles.
There is a much easier and faster way to fix this..iv done it a few times. Pump up your positive air chamber to it max PSI. Or even a little bit over it. Then catch the crown of the fork and the wheel and pull them apart. You will hear the pressure equalise.. then simply drop the pressure a bit at a time while cycling the fork until it's back at it's original pressure.
@@rupedog that's for a different issue..cable ties work when the lowers build pressure.. the method I mentioned above is for when the negative air chamber builds more pressure then the positive and the air piston can't reach the notch that equalises both chambers.
Hey Doddy, Just a bit of a heads up. If you press down the valve when you are pulling the at the air spring it will open the air tube and allow you to get it out easier!!! Just saying like!!!!! ;-)
On my Fox forks, I let the air out of the main air spring. The pull the wheel off and put the axle in place. Put your foot on the axle and pull up on the handlebars (gripping near the stem) until you get the fork to extend to the transfer port. The negative air will dump into the main air spring. Cycle the fork in and out until you have all the travel back. Takes much less time to do than it does to watch this video.
Happened to me during my last fork service (RS revelation RL 2015). Just after mounting back the air shaft I noticed that it was far too back. So I processed to pull it out. Thanks god I wear classes. I was shooted by a huge amount of lithium grease right in the eyes ! That was probably the reason of the problem. I have the habit to overgrease every piece on my bike :D
What did you use to remove the grease from inside the stantion? Great video. Thanks I’m unable to get any more than 110mm travel on my fox 36 float performance 😔
Dual air forks allowed fine tuning of +ve and -ve and no transfer port...in some ways a much better system, espec tuning small bump sensitivity (and so also ramp up/progression).
Doddy, I recently took the air out of my fork and when I pull the legs to full extension I can feel a little bit of pull back on the last 10-15mm and then it sucks back in a little bit. Is this normal or should it easily fully extend and stay extended?
I think it should stay extended. I just had this problem. The zip tie tip at the front of this video solved the problem. Done on both sides of the fork.
Thanks for the helpful video, my fox forks drop roughly half an inch to an inch when I lift the front wheel off the ground, is this likely to be the problem?
Thank you thank you I'm so pleased I've seen this. I had what I would say was a flat spot where the 50mm of travel had no resistance and rode rough. I did as you said and slipped a cable tie in the seal, heard a hiss and the forks firmed up immediately. My Lyriks now feel like my old Pikes your a legend 💪👍
I just bought an e-bike it does have shock Forks but no locking mechanism and they definitely aren't air shocks when I popped the tops off it's just hollow inside, I've never had shock Forks as a bmxer, do they make Forks like this or is it a manufacturer error? They do have a phillips-head screw at the bottom of each one of them I don't know if that's the way to adjust them? Any suggestions or information would be great, they actually seem to ride very nice I get some good support from them and I only go on flat surfaces
i had a very very small crack around the air valve on top of the alloy fork cap, this resulted in sucking the fork in (after a fork rebuild, it looked fine but after a few hours it started to drop) took me a while to figure this out! air valve was fine, everything seemed fine. use some leak detection spray or soap and spray this on the fork cap and you will see if this is the case. Cheers
Hi everyone (and the world famous Doddy) I have a fork that has this problem and it seems to me that my fork is not very active and I can’t use the whole 100mm of travel. Is there anything that I could do to help? Many thanks
Noah Fence it’s not abnormal... kinda towards top end of normal depending what pressure you run and how much travel but nothing to really worry about. The Deb airspring is “similar” to the luftkappa and there is an explanation why on their website.
5% is high but it is a factor with the (too big) neg chamber. However, mine has got better over time riding...but using the cable ties down seals and pull lowers out manually helps...keep lowers at max while someone else removes cable ties
My ones are oil shocks is the a way to stop them collapsing BCS when I ride they collaps and don't move and and when I ride they scream like they are on a mission of death
My forks don't have a valve or anything like that at the bottom, and the stanchions seem to be at atmospheric pressure - there's a seal but it doesn't seem airtight and removing it does nothing. Do I have sprung one or is it just a really nasty and cheap air suspension that can't be fixed?
There's something loose that sounds like metal in my right side fork (the one with the lock out on top and the rebound setting on the bottom) any ideas what this is???
Any recommendations for a set of "budget" triple trees?? I am building a street bike for work commute no jumps no real dirt riding or anything. So they dont have to be great. Just want the **look** of a tuff downhill MTB
I own 2008 world Cup boxxers. I keep my bike in my apt. So I rode into work today and it was -1 degrees. Stopped at the coffee shop and when I came out and got on the bike the forks were collapsed. After a bit they came back but I nearly crashes as the peddles hit the road. Too close. What happened?
My 2013 Rockshox Revelation has a pressure relieve valve built in to the tip of the plunger, at the bottom. Simply remove the left hex bolt then press the valve with a long thin screwdriver to release the air.
Thats a dual air fork! Not a pressure release! Ur supposed to pump in the neg air in their, and u have no transfer port. Letting that air out will make ur fork harsh as hell.off the top as no neg pressure! Rs recommend u start with the same pressure in both, adjust from there
@@rupedog Nope, it's a Solo Air, with the dimple inside the stanchion. It is just a release valve hiding away up inside the shaft, no fitting for a pump. I was surprised to find it there after reading about it on a forum. After purging it you can hear it fill up again when the seal moves over the dimple. Maybe it's just to release the air so it can be disassembled easily without having to fight against the air in the negative chamber like Doddy did :-)
Hey could this help make my fork more supple? I have a 2017 fox 36 fit4 and I would like to make it more supple off the top. Would doing what was suggested in the video be better? Or would adding volume spacers and dropping air pressure be better?
My 2016/17 FIT 4 36 with the MRP neg air conversion is WAY-more supple than either of my Pikes, one with Luftkappa and the other Debonair. It’s got 10mm more travel at 170 but the difference can’t be 10mm of travel. I’ve got the ramp control in as well but that really just saves messing with spacers which I only really do if I want more mid stroke support. I’m 75kg
Great educational video. Not that it matters at all to the point of the demonstration, but I'm just too curious: Did you happen to have a fork with suck-down on hand, or did you open this one up ahead of time and "prep" it my smearing grease on the port between the air chambers? Just seemed like too perfect of an example having that big dollop of grease right where you predicted it might be before opening it. Also seems reasonable that certain "teachable" example issues might not come up so often among your gear without "creating" them, assuming the GMBN crew might tend to be better at preventative maintenance than an average rider (which may be wrong!).
It went together easily in less than an hour. th-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L Make sure the front fork is forward or the pedals will hit the front tire. Tires are both a little soft so it needs air before I ride it. The rear wheel didn't come with a clamp regular bolts hold it on. The front had the clamp. No scratches out of box. Rims are a little off with a slight wobble. They could have spent more time with the spoke tool fixing the run out. So far out of the box I'm happy with it. I did replace the pedals with a nice aftermarket set. After riding it a bit my A$$ is a bit sore so I ordered another seat. Overall I'm nearly 60 and didn't ride a bike in 30 years. I like my new 29" Schwinn. It will be used for casual rides with my friend.
HEY #GMBN!!!!..... You need to plug #GMBNTech a little more often! Ya can't tell me that only 182k of the total GMBN subs care anything at all about advancements in MTB tech, gear for staying safe and comfy, or especially the many many specific functions and inevitably required maintenance of our one and only true love!..... Err, I mean "Bike". Sure, I understand that at least some percentage of GMBN subs may only have a slight interest in MTB or just like to watch for the riding/skills/entertainment videos but never intend to ride or ever actually own a bike, themselves. Some even have bikes that weigh less than their wallets and will gladly pay a shop for all repairs and upkeep, never picking up a tool. Stupid "Some"... with all their stupid money and stupid expensive gear! Good for them!!!... with their stupid happy lives and stupid... uh... umm.... legs. Ahemmm. As for the majority of us dirtrollers... We're wrenching and lubing almost as often as we ride! So how about let's show some support and gratitude for the provided effortless ability to instantly receive information and instruction whenever we feel like... Essentially the most vital parts of repair just given away to us free of charge! The "Subscribe" button isn't broken. If it were, Doddy would fix it... While showing us how to do it ourselves!... Likely followed up with some different ways to protect it from the elements and preventative maintenance tips for future references! Here, we have a knowledgeable and experienced sexy beast of a Squatch at our disposal who is frequently displaying well-formatted and simplified tutorials, reviews, hacks, and facty facts!... Sharing with us all of these accumulated smarts that we currently lack... Again, free of charge! He's definitely earned it! So, yeah... Click the damn button! The red one. Says "SUBSCRIBE" on it. Found right beside the TH-cam channel name. It's literally the very minimum anyone can do to repay the content creators for the work they put into making these tasks a bit less frustrating and our lives a little easier. ... And Henry. Can't forget Henry! Sending some love his way too! Where is Henry? I knew this video felt a smidgen flat because of something missing but couldn't quite figure out why until now. He needs a cameo in every video! Just a simple walk thru should suffice. Useless? Maybe. Unnecessary? Sure. Inconvenient? Probably. But the real question is... Would it make our viewing experience more Henryish!? Damn right it will! So yeah... Just go ahead and do that from now on. Should be fine. The past is forgiven! No big deal. 😃
#askgmbntech ...What about having circa 5mm of slack at the top of the travel? Is that the same issue as shown here? If i lift the front of the bike off the ground at the front theres vertical play 🤷🏻♂️ they are 170mm yari.
#askgmbntech "Fork Suck Blues": Hi Doddy, I keep getting fork suck on my 2018 Fox Rhythm 34's 150mm. I recently did a lower service, thanks for the video, and also found the big glob of grease on the air side. Once completed I went out for a ride and whilst the forks feel much better, half way through at the bottom of a decent, I found the forks sucked down too 90mm. I'm 95kg and run the forks at 90 to 98psi. Whilst i didn't bottom out i did use most of the travel on some drops. Would volume spacers help in any way to alleviate the fork suck? Or is there something else I should try. Fox won't service the forks due to some minor scratches on one fo the stanchons. Cheers, Adrian.
I just did a lower leg and air spring service. Needless to say...the inside of my fork looked just like this...caked up with grease. Removed the grease, cleaned the tube, and now it’s fixed 🤦♂️
Love these videos,really cool! But taking your fork apart is the fastest way to destroy it. They have alot of little pices with very fine threads that strip out very quickly. Your best bet is just keep them clean and lubricated and they will last a long long time. And don't waste your hard earned money on Suntour Forks those are only for Walmart bikes. Stick to whats tried-and-true. RockShox, Fox, Manitou.
aljowen yes ... you can get them for literally 2-3 £/$/€ from camping shops (for tent pegs) or hardware shops. especially on fox where the damper side is more exposed. For rockshox less so and best investment is a 150 mm (6”) extension for a 5mm hex bit (like you’d use on a drill) it’s much easier to use than a hex/Alan wrench with a curved top. You can buy both for a lot less than the cost of a damaged damper bolt. Mallet is good elsewhere as well (like cranks) and the 150mm extension is great for brake callipers
@@stephenlord599 I have SR Suntour Aion forks. The whole service can be done with an adjustable wrench*, suspension grease, oil for wiper seals, and a hex tool. It might be worth me getting a mallet if I ever spot one, but I guess its not a priority. *Personally I'm not a fan of using them, but it seems SR Suntour do in their instructional videos and a socket won't fit (only two sides are flat, others are round) :/
aljowen it’s just much easier than trying to hold a bit of wood with one hand and they are literally a couple of $/€/£ and a slip won’t damage forks or frames etc... mine was sold as a tent peg mallet (Halfords auto stuff that do some bikes and camping) but it’s no doubt a generic product common to lots of places and less than the price of a hot drink at a service station www.halfords.com/camping-leisure/camping/camping-accessories/olpro-rubber-mallet-with-steel-shaft?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Camping-_-Camping+Accessories-_-983460&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istFeedId=62b447cf-331e-4fec-a47a-9985ff72d404&istItemId=ptmpwpri&istBid=tztx&_$ja=tsid:94971|cid:868555882|agid:49387673492|tid:aud-297219197969:pla-329658300694|crid:203456299386|nw:g|rnd:9756064275015951830|dvc:t|adp:1o3|mt:|loc:1007246&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw4jvBRCJARIsAHYewPO9J7ov_BLPpVjUQsq-wzlOjdzwhjPwWohJGBf_3X8369NYrEztFYQaAmTpEALw_wcB Décathlon do one as do loads of places
Doddy: putting SRAM butter onto the Fox air spring...
Fox marketing department: howling wildly somewhere in Georgia
I appreciate that you included the detail about the force required for removal. These are the born of experience details that help me when I am stuck ;)
One tip, I did this and when you have fork suck, the lower legs have some pressure in them when you remove them and can spray the oil everywhere when you first loosen them (guess how I know). When you first tap them with the hammer to break it loose, you should tip it up slightly so the oil is at the bottom when it breaks loose and releases the pressure.
Easy one that always works for my 2012 Rockshox lyrik R. After I remove air pressure the fork sucks down. I remove my wheel, put the axle back in, put the fork on the ground, grab the fork uppers while pushing down on the axle with my foot and pull up fast. After that it goes away.
I did the same thing on my fork, but instead only reduced the PSI to ~30 PSI. Thank you for your comment. For reference, my fork is a 2015 RockShox Pike RCT3.
I did this and it worked, thx. I have manitou mattocs for anyone wondering
@@CarhunterVST1 glad it helped!!
I had this problem but cured it by dropping my pressure to around 40-50 psi slowly, I then forced my forks open to full extension, there was a little hiss and something changed. After I compressed my fork around 30-50% and held it and heard a hiss again. Pumped them back to normal riding pressure and still had 10-15mm of suck back still, then I did the cable tie trick on both sides, again heard a hiss from both and after this they were fine. Maybe it will work for you too... worth a go. Fork was a Fox 36 factory 160mm
i have reused my crush washers because new ones from fox retail for 2 euros each. Also foam rings seem impossible to buy loose. Fox really wants you to buy a 35 euro seal kit with only the 2 main seals, 2 foam rings and 2 crush washers...
ultiss you only need the 12mm one, you can buy 50 x 8mm for €10
you can find the foam rings on ebay/aliexpress for like 1-2usd if you dont mind waiting a month to get them. also if you clean them well you can reuse them for a while before they need replacement. the only thing that ends up being somewhat expensive for me are the wipers, but they last a while.
U can clean and re-use foam rings on RS if in good condition
You will find what you need here: www.enduroforkseals.com/ (Foam rings, crush washers, excellent prices)
@@steelwing7532 still 28$ for a sealkit. About 2x the price of rockshox
Thank you. A friend came yesterday with exactly that problem. After i found your turtorial here, I was able to fix the problem. His was sucked in so hard, that i wasn't able to catch it and to pull. So i put a bit of pressure in the upper chamber. With enough pressure it just plopped out.
Thanks! But on my 38 entire cartrige came out :O
Shock/fork servicing is one thing im happy to bring into my local bike shop
Basic service was actually very fun little tinkering. Especially rear shock as it doesn't have nearly as much oil and thus isn't such a mess.
If you do the lowers and air can and keep them clean they last longer before needing a full service and longer overall as well.
fork/shock service is actually the easiest/simplest thing. i find all other kind of service to be much more annoying to do. I do it all myself but if i was made of money i wouldnt mind having the shop doing bearing replacement and what not - but would still do fork/shock because its faster than going to the shop lol
@@kangsterizer but u need the right tools and torque wrench a must for top cap and lower bolts. And a 150mm nylon/plastic rod for RS (easy/cheap on ebay) to grease inside the stanchion to the correct depth (essential but many (shops included) dont do and causes premature wear and poorer performance).
For everyone looking for a quick fix: I had this one year ago on my RockShox Reba RL 2017. After extensive googling I found out that there's a hidden valve for the negative air chamber even on Solo Air forks. Let out air pressure on top of the left leg, then remove the bolt on the bottom of the left leg and press on that valve. Be careful as there might be a bit of oil coming out! Then screw on the bolt again and reinflate at the top. This can get rid of the problem in the short term but you should still consider a service like it's shown in the video.
it is no "hidden valve", it is a hole on the bottom of the lower leg, so you can bolt the lower legs to the air shaft.
"there might be a bit of oil coming out" haha that's the oil draining out of your lowers. No hidden valve mate
Its a bit late, but to clear it up there IS a schrader valve core at the bottom of the air piston on some RS forks. pull the 5mm bolt and do not unseat the end of the shaft. just use a 3mm to remove air. OR you can remove ft wheel, reinstall axle, air the pos chamber to the max, then step on the axle and pull up on the bars until the piston seal slides past the divot and the pressure will equalize and blow out any grease. Sometimes it takes 2 people to pull, but it works well. Good Luck.
Thank you so much I was just doing a fork Service and I wasn’t quite sure what exactly to do and then y’all posted this video the next morning as I had left my fork out overnight and then it helped me!
A trick I was taught by a mate at TF Tuned is to always reassemble your fork at full compression. The other trick is one I started to use after a bit of suck, 2.5wt in the air chamber. That super thin oil keeps everything slick yet keeps the transfer port clear. A thicker oil can be used but I've got a shitload of 2.5wt from servicing a Manitou Progressive Suspension 5th Element (it's on my mates 03 VP Free if anyone wants to know).
Did this to my 2018 Fox 34 Rhythm and there was plenty of grease inside. I wonder what they were thinking at Fox... Pro tip to removing stuck air spring: remove the top cap and volume spacers, find a wooden or other non-metallic stick and push the air spring out. Be careful since it will come out suddenly! A large enough container with rags to soften the landing ;). With helping hands it's even more easier since one can pull at the spring end and the other can push with the stick.
If it's a coil fork, and it gets stuck, it's a broken/snapped coil causing it to jam up, but you might notice decrease of travel too, in both cases it's snapped coil.
I had helm coil this year with negative trapped air. When I pushed fork out and it would suck back in 2 inches. Never found out what exact issue was. They swapped it.
Awesome! It was very difficult to find good fork service content! Keep on producing more videos!
RS and I am sure Fox do much more thorough service videos and manuals on their websites...well RS do, EXCELLENT vids and manuals in fact for everything.
9:35 Fox has recently done this mistake, at this spot, so many forks come with way too much grease there. I hope they will fix that. I have con conversion on mine I will build up a new bike soon, already halfway done.
Johannes Nilsen yeah i fini mine is going to get that problem
Last time i did change my tokens i did see a lot of grease down there
My rockshox sid ultimate 120mm from 2024. Have a little suck down issue about 4-5mm! I hope this knowledge from This video resolved my problem
I had the biggest freak accident yesterday with this.
Riding a SR Suntour Auron with the old air spring, I know that it's a mechanical negative steel spring. So what happened was: I was overhauling my fork and took it completely apart. In the process I accidently put the seal on the air piston on upside down. Now this seal is designed to expand when meeting pressure and seal up the air chamber in the process.
Little did I know that the negative chamber is apparently air tight and was conserving the lost pressure from the positive chamber and didn't let it out again (the seal design working against me here).
So little me, wondering what was wrong with the fork, pumped up the postive chamber over and over again to receive no better outcome at all and a suckdown has never crossed my mind because I know about the mechanical properties of my fork.
So I stripped the fork apart like shown here and on Suntour the bottom cap is screwed on which exploded from the stanchion in the moment it got unscrewed.
Oil.
Oil everywhere.
I made a Van Gogh on the work shop floor and learned a lot about my fork. Very glad that nothing broke.
Keep it up guys and I hope this is a good addition to your knowledge base.
Thanks a million just the info I have been looking for.
Perhaps if using only forks oil to grease the parts and add a little drop in the air chamber (2ml) to help the scare ring to don't stick and wear
It'will good and cancel the grease problems?
I had a fox float 34 on service the other day with an insane amount of pressure locked in the negative chamber. I probably would have to rig a pulling jig to get it out. Instead of pulling, I put some pressure in the positive chamber to reveal some shaft, clamped it and unscrewed the "bolt" on the end of the shaft carefully, psssjjjtt, pressure released controlled. (you need som heat so release that screw, remove the o-ring off course).
Excellent video.
Thank you GMBN
I hope I have a bike shop like this in my country. I have a suck down issue, but this is too much for me to be done in household setting
Great video, I let out the air, removed the inflation bit on the top, then the lowers, then the retaining clip, reinstalled the inflation bit on the top and then inflated until the plunger (i'm a novice) popped out the other end, made a loud pop, gave me a startle! By the way, I wore safety goggles.
There is a much easier and faster way to fix this..iv done it a few times. Pump up your positive air chamber to it max PSI. Or even a little bit over it. Then catch the crown of the fork and the wheel and pull them apart. You will hear the pressure equalise.. then simply drop the pressure a bit at a time while cycling the fork until it's back at it's original pressure.
Might work...might. cable ties down seal way way easier
@@rupedog that's for a different issue..cable ties work when the lowers build pressure.. the method I mentioned above is for when the negative air chamber builds more pressure then the positive and the air piston can't reach the notch that equalises both chambers.
Agree, have done this method too
I did the "foot on the wheel and pull fast the handlebar up" with no air inside. did the trick.
Thats ok when your srała are ok… when not it helps about 5km, after this it will suckdown again…
always watching your videos from philippines..keep it up sir..always wanting to have a fox air fork on my cheap built mtb🙈God Bless Us All..
Hey Doddy, Just a bit of a heads up. If you press down the valve when you are pulling the at the air spring it will open the air tube and allow you to get it out easier!!! Just saying like!!!!! ;-)
Not only is it easier to take the forks out but it’s a good chance to check headset bearings, clean and regrease them.
Big help! Thanks guys!
Yes I am the first person here and it’s finally the video I’ve been waiting for 😀😀
On my Fox forks, I let the air out of the main air spring. The pull the wheel off and put the axle in place. Put your foot on the axle and pull up on the handlebars (gripping near the stem) until you get the fork to extend to the transfer port. The negative air will dump into the main air spring. Cycle the fork in and out until you have all the travel back. Takes much less time to do than it does to watch this video.
Happened to me during my last fork service (RS revelation RL 2015). Just after mounting back the air shaft I noticed that it was far too back. So I processed to pull it out. Thanks god I wear classes. I was shooted by a huge amount of lithium grease right in the eyes ! That was probably the reason of the problem. I have the habit to overgrease every piece on my bike :D
Well done Doddy!
Can't give thumbs up fast enough. Thanks!
Now this is good timing I have a set of 34s I need to fix up
Awesome video, thank you.
That was fascinating thanks. Really Useful
What did you use to remove the grease from inside the stantion? Great video. Thanks I’m unable to get any more than 110mm travel on my fox 36 float performance 😔
I've always pumped the positive chamber up too blow the air shaft out....ITS WAY EASIER THAN TRYING TO PULL IT OUT
Love your videos keep it up because it's very entertaining
Dual air forks allowed fine tuning of +ve and -ve and no transfer port...in some ways a much better system, espec tuning small bump sensitivity (and so also ramp up/progression).
Rupert Wenn you can buy the MRP conversion (much cheaper than than full ramp control) transformed small bump on my 36
Doddy, I recently took the air out of my fork and when I pull the legs to full extension I can feel a little bit of pull back on the last 10-15mm and then it sucks back in a little bit. Is this normal or should it easily fully extend and stay extended?
Looking for the same answer
I think it should stay extended. I just had this problem. The zip tie tip at the front of this video solved the problem. Done on both sides of the fork.
Can you do shock in the future
Thanks for the helpful video, my fox forks drop roughly half an inch to an inch when I lift the front wheel off the ground, is this likely to be the problem?
Thank you thank you I'm so pleased I've seen this. I had what I would say was a flat spot where the 50mm of travel had no resistance and rode rough. I did as you said and slipped a cable tie in the seal, heard a hiss and the forks firmed up immediately. My Lyriks now feel like my old Pikes your a legend 💪👍
Manuals for this kind of stuff on the latest fox forks(2020) are hard to find....
so true. i got a 2021 fox performance rythm and cant find shit about it
Ok to replace crush washers if you can get hold of any(Fox 36 big and small ones) only want to sell you a full kit £35!!
I just bought an e-bike it does have shock Forks but no locking mechanism and they definitely aren't air shocks when I popped the tops off it's just hollow inside, I've never had shock Forks as a bmxer, do they make Forks like this or is it a manufacturer error? They do have a phillips-head screw at the bottom of each one of them I don't know if that's the way to adjust them? Any suggestions or information would be great, they actually seem to ride very nice I get some good support from them and I only go on flat surfaces
Quick question, does a blob of grease like that could cause the wiper seal to pop out?
It would be fine to use vaseline on the forks right? Otherwise is there a specific grease i should use?
No, use grease approved to work with the rubber seals and 0-rings
@@eric3969 i mean, vaseline shouldn't damage neither rubber seals or o-rings from what i know, it's literally as neutral as it gets
i had a very very small crack around the air valve on top of the alloy fork cap, this resulted in sucking the fork in (after a fork rebuild, it looked fine but after a few hours it started to drop) took me a while to figure this out! air valve was fine, everything seemed fine. use some leak detection spray or soap and spray this on the fork cap and you will see if this is the case. Cheers
I’m just made because I got a $900 fork for my xc bike and it’s doing this right out of the box
easiest way to get the air shaft out is just remove the air side top valve first - allows you to shove a cloth all the way thru as well
good video. thanks
Hi everyone (and the world famous Doddy)
I have a fork that has this problem and it seems to me that my fork is not very active and I can’t use the whole 100mm of travel.
Is there anything that I could do to help?
Many thanks
Opening the air valve on top as you pull down, makes it much easier
Couldn't you pump air in the positive chamber with the circlip out to help remove the air shaft?
Yes
Should I see about 5% sag (without rider) with an upgraded Debonair spring on a RS Pike ?
Noah Fence it’s not abnormal... kinda towards top end of normal depending what pressure you run and how much travel but nothing to really worry about. The Deb airspring is “similar” to the luftkappa and there is an explanation why on their website.
5% is high but it is a factor with the (too big) neg chamber. However, mine has got better over time riding...but using the cable ties down seals and pull lowers out manually helps...keep lowers at max while someone else removes cable ties
@@rupedog thats the second time you recommend to use cable ties down seal... and again, its NOT for this problem...
How many packages does this come in?
Can you make how to rebuild fox 32 damper
My ones are oil shocks is the a way to stop them collapsing BCS when I ride they collaps and don't move and and when I ride they scream like they are on a mission of death
I know it’s not really related to the video but where can I find where it says that max stated disc size for a fox 34?
I'm pretty sure it's 200/203mm.
Tomi Saaranen alright thanks mate
Should I be storing my bike facing up some time so that the lower fork lube gets circulated to the whole lower leg area?
thanks
My forks don't have a valve or anything like that at the bottom, and the stanchions seem to be at atmospheric pressure - there's a seal but it doesn't seem airtight and removing it does nothing. Do I have sprung one or is it just a really nasty and cheap air suspension that can't be fixed?
Hey doddy!! Is normal to get squishy sound coming out of the fork(36perf., elite) I have my recommended pre setting set.
There's something loose that sounds like metal in my right side fork (the one with the lock out on top and the rebound setting on the bottom) any ideas what this is???
Where do you buy your official tools ? I cannot find these in Belgium
Gracias funcionó en español no encontré ninguna solucion
Any recommendations for a set of "budget" triple trees?? I am building a street bike for work commute no jumps no real dirt riding or anything. So they dont have to be great. Just want the **look** of a tuff downhill MTB
I own 2008 world Cup boxxers. I keep my bike in my apt. So I rode into work today and it was -1 degrees. Stopped at the coffee shop and when I came out and got on the bike the forks were collapsed. After a bit they came back but I nearly crashes as the peddles hit the road. Too close. What happened?
Aren't we suppose to grease the inner upper tubes with the plastic dowel??
My 34 air chamber was "full" of grease. Is this how normal? It looked like they had threw few tablespoon worth it there as chunks.
Fox often puts in way too much at the factory, which leads to issues. It will be smoother now that you cleaned it up and put the right amount on
@@adanielweaver Had to put 2 volume spacers in. But damn, it's so smooth.
@@adanielweaver RS does the same
What should i do if water get in the fork
My 2013 Rockshox Revelation has a pressure relieve valve built in to the tip of the plunger, at the bottom. Simply remove the left hex bolt then press the valve with a long thin screwdriver to release the air.
Thats a dual air fork! Not a pressure release! Ur supposed to pump in the neg air in their, and u have no transfer port. Letting that air out will make ur fork harsh as hell.off the top as no neg pressure! Rs recommend u start with the same pressure in both, adjust from there
@@rupedog Nope, it's a Solo Air, with the dimple inside the stanchion. It is just a release valve hiding away up inside the shaft, no fitting for a pump. I was surprised to find it there after reading about it on a forum. After purging it you can hear it fill up again when the seal moves over the dimple.
Maybe it's just to release the air so it can be disassembled easily without having to fight against the air in the negative chamber like Doddy did :-)
Hey could this help make my fork more supple? I have a 2017 fox 36 fit4 and I would like to make it more supple off the top. Would doing what was suggested in the video be better? Or would adding volume spacers and dropping air pressure be better?
By a pike or lyrik!😜
Soz, yes try add a spacer and drop psi...1 spacer/5psi at a time
Rupert Wenn Thanks a lot!
My 2016/17 FIT 4 36 with the MRP neg air conversion is WAY-more supple than either of my Pikes, one with Luftkappa and the other Debonair. It’s got 10mm more travel at 170 but the difference can’t be 10mm of travel. I’ve got the ramp control in as well but that really just saves messing with spacers which I only really do if I want more mid stroke support. I’m 75kg
Stephen Lord Thanks a lot! Is there any chance you could send me like a video or something on how to do this? And where to get the products?
Great educational video. Not that it matters at all to the point of the demonstration, but I'm just too curious: Did you happen to have a fork with suck-down on hand, or did you open this one up ahead of time and "prep" it my smearing grease on the port between the air chambers? Just seemed like too perfect of an example having that big dollop of grease right where you predicted it might be before opening it. Also seems reasonable that certain "teachable" example issues might not come up so often among your gear without "creating" them, assuming the GMBN crew might tend to be better at preventative maintenance than an average rider (which may be wrong!).
Can someone tell me why I have two Schrader valves on my fork, The obvious one on top and the other on the bottom on the opposite side of the fork?
is about 10 mm of dead zone on rock shox lyrics 2019 okay?
NO! It is common but not normal. The developed the new 2021 debonair spring to fix that 10mm unweighted sag.
Have about a lower arm bush clarence check
It went together easily in less than an hour. th-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L Make sure the front fork is forward or the pedals will hit the front tire. Tires are both a little soft so it needs air before I ride it. The rear wheel didn't come with a clamp regular bolts hold it on. The front had the clamp. No scratches out of box. Rims are a little off with a slight wobble. They could have spent more time with the spoke tool fixing the run out. So far out of the box I'm happy with it. I did replace the pedals with a nice aftermarket set. After riding it a bit my A$$ is a bit sore so I ordered another seat. Overall I'm nearly 60 and didn't ride a bike in 30 years. I like my new 29" Schwinn. It will be used for casual rides with my friend.
The same thing happened to my RockShox FS-RVL-RC-A1, if I have a guarantee I have to pay for the service or do the sellers have to pay?@GMBN Tech
HEY #GMBN!!!!.....
You need to plug #GMBNTech a little more often! Ya can't tell me that only 182k of the total GMBN subs care anything at all about advancements in MTB tech, gear for staying safe and comfy, or especially the many many specific functions and inevitably required maintenance of our one and only true love!..... Err, I mean "Bike".
Sure, I understand that at least some percentage of GMBN subs may only have a slight interest in MTB or just like to watch for the riding/skills/entertainment videos but never intend to ride or ever actually own a bike, themselves. Some even have bikes that weigh less than their wallets and will gladly pay a shop for all repairs and upkeep, never picking up a tool. Stupid "Some"... with all their stupid money and stupid expensive gear! Good for them!!!... with their stupid happy lives and stupid... uh... umm.... legs.
Ahemmm.
As for the majority of us dirtrollers... We're wrenching and lubing almost as often as we ride!
So how about let's show some support and gratitude for the provided effortless ability to instantly receive information and instruction whenever we feel like... Essentially the most vital parts of repair just given away to us free of charge! The "Subscribe" button isn't broken. If it were, Doddy would fix it... While showing us how to do it ourselves!... Likely followed up with some different ways to protect it from the elements and preventative maintenance tips for future references!
Here, we have a knowledgeable and experienced sexy beast of a Squatch at our disposal who is frequently displaying well-formatted and simplified tutorials, reviews, hacks, and facty facts!... Sharing with us all of these accumulated smarts that we currently lack... Again, free of charge! He's definitely earned it!
So, yeah... Click the damn button! The red one. Says "SUBSCRIBE" on it. Found right beside the TH-cam channel name. It's literally the very minimum anyone can do to repay the content creators for the work they put into making these tasks a bit less frustrating and our lives a little easier.
... And Henry. Can't forget Henry! Sending some love his way too! Where is Henry? I knew this video felt a smidgen flat because of something missing but couldn't quite figure out why until now. He needs a cameo in every video! Just a simple walk thru should suffice. Useless? Maybe. Unnecessary? Sure. Inconvenient? Probably. But the real question is... Would it make our viewing experience more Henryish!? Damn right it will! So yeah... Just go ahead and do that from now on. Should be fine. The past is forgiven! No big deal. 😃
BLAKK SHEEP no one is going to read that bud
@@dokalol9694 Knew that before I started. Takes a whole 2 minutes of brain effort, so. My faith in humanity as a whole is very minimal.
@@dokalol9694 LMAO I did! Really well said @BLAKKSHEEP
Yeah. Sorry. I’m not reading that
#askgmbntech ...What about having circa 5mm of slack at the top of the travel? Is that the same issue as shown here? If i lift the front of the bike off the ground at the front theres vertical play 🤷🏻♂️ they are 170mm yari.
What about Marzocchi forks?!
#askgmbntech
"Fork Suck Blues": Hi Doddy, I keep getting fork suck on my 2018 Fox Rhythm 34's 150mm. I recently did a lower service, thanks for the video, and also found the big glob of grease on the air side. Once completed I went out for a ride and whilst the forks feel much better, half way through at the bottom of a decent, I found the forks sucked down too 90mm. I'm 95kg and run the forks at 90 to 98psi. Whilst i didn't bottom out i did use most of the travel on some drops. Would volume spacers help in any way to alleviate the fork suck? Or is there something else I should try. Fox won't service the forks due to some minor scratches on one fo the stanchons.
Cheers, Adrian.
Does anyone know if you can still ride with the fork like that?
I just did a lower leg and air spring service. Needless to say...the inside of my fork looked just like this...caked up with grease. Removed the grease, cleaned the tube, and now it’s fixed 🤦♂️
bro my airfork I think got damage the lockout can it be change the inside? I cant unlock it anymore please help 😭
Love these videos,really cool! But taking your fork apart is the fastest way to destroy it. They have alot of little pices with very fine threads that strip out very quickly. Your best bet is just keep them clean and lubricated and they will last a long long time. And don't waste your hard earned money on Suntour Forks those are only for Walmart bikes. Stick to whats tried-and-true. RockShox, Fox, Manitou.
Marc Serina Suntour makes some decent forks
@@yaishmatheen4274 mine stoppstopper working after a month of getting my bike
I don't even know what that is, but I want to know how to fix it
Soooo, that's something that won't really happen here, my country is pretty flat
Is there any reason to go out and buy a rubber mallet vs finding a soft bit of wood and placing that between the hammer and what you plan to hit?
Accuracy and simplicity..less to hold...mallet cost £2 in cheapo shops
aljowen yes ... you can get them for literally 2-3 £/$/€ from camping shops (for tent pegs) or hardware shops. especially on fox where the damper side is more exposed. For rockshox less so and best investment is a 150 mm (6”) extension for a 5mm hex bit (like you’d use on a drill) it’s much easier to use than a hex/Alan wrench with a curved top. You can buy both for a lot less than the cost of a damaged damper bolt. Mallet is good elsewhere as well (like cranks) and the 150mm extension is great for brake callipers
@@stephenlord599 I have SR Suntour Aion forks. The whole service can be done with an adjustable wrench*, suspension grease, oil for wiper seals, and a hex tool. It might be worth me getting a mallet if I ever spot one, but I guess its not a priority.
*Personally I'm not a fan of using them, but it seems SR Suntour do in their instructional videos and a socket won't fit (only two sides are flat, others are round) :/
aljowen it’s just much easier than trying to hold a bit of wood with one hand and they are literally a couple of $/€/£ and a slip won’t damage forks or frames etc... mine was sold as a tent peg mallet (Halfords auto stuff that do some bikes and camping) but it’s no doubt a generic product common to lots of places and less than the price of a hot drink at a service station www.halfords.com/camping-leisure/camping/camping-accessories/olpro-rubber-mallet-with-steel-shaft?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Camping-_-Camping+Accessories-_-983460&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istFeedId=62b447cf-331e-4fec-a47a-9985ff72d404&istItemId=ptmpwpri&istBid=tztx&_$ja=tsid:94971|cid:868555882|agid:49387673492|tid:aud-297219197969:pla-329658300694|crid:203456299386|nw:g|rnd:9756064275015951830|dvc:t|adp:1o3|mt:|loc:1007246&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw4jvBRCJARIsAHYewPO9J7ov_BLPpVjUQsq-wzlOjdzwhjPwWohJGBf_3X8369NYrEztFYQaAmTpEALw_wcB
Décathlon do one as do loads of places
Light weight easy to remove and dump
Cheers
How about coil?
Or just stick in the MRP negative valve and seal off the valve with provided seal
My friend had his Fox 36 for 3 days than small crash and now there stuck :(
Grip 2 all black
And if the fork gets stuck up???
I don't even have money to have this kind of problem on a fork.
There is a white ring that comes out of the suspension
Grest content, it is too expensive to service a fork in bike shop.
How about when the lowers simply don't come off, even after tapping hard