Followed a few others' tips from the comments and it helped so much: 1. Do not remove seat before breaking loose the actuator, it allows you to grip only something rather than the round stanchion. 2. Do NOT cut the cable at the remote to perform this service, try pushing/pulling/sliding the whole cable/conduit through the frame first for slack. 3. USE CAUTION with those brass keys, they can and will fall out when wiping down. I'm surprised it wasn't more of a bullet point in this video. I removed all the brass keys (5 of them on my rainier gen3) to clean/lube them and their slots, and then also removed the white plastic ring at the end of the stanchion for cleaning/lubing (it already has a precut slot to easily remove). 4. Remove the actual dust wiper to clean/lube it after removing the brass keys and white plastic ring. This was not mentioned in the video, but I did it anyway... makes it much easier to wipe it down and relube. It was nasty in there. This service is so easy it should be performed maybe 3 or 4 times a year if you ride consistently. my rainier gen3 is just so friggin good and it always worked...I friggin' love it, just a reliable workhorse over the years i can't imagine anything else.
One tip to make it easier- don't remove the seat until after you loosen the actuator a quarter turn. If the threads are a little bit frozen, the seat gives you leverage to turn against, where the seat post itself will just twist in your hand.
Just did this on my Coast dropper. Easy peasy. Now it actually moves at it should and have the suspension back as well. There sure was some binding on mine. I blame all the dust on my trails for sure.
Note for anyone - I was surprised when the brass keys you see at @ or so fell out and tried to hide on my garage floor. Took a while to find them - so be careful and clean over the middle of a table and be prepared for the brass keys to fall out of the the machined slots that they fit into on the cartridge. That said - seat post works much better now - amazing what a service and some new grease can accomplish.
I just did the service on a Bachelor post for the first time. I watched the video and made the mistake of cutting the end of the cable off at the remote. Don't be like me and do this, with internal cable routing. In fact, unless you just need to replace the cable anyway it isn't even necessary to cut off the cable end cap even though the video shows this cut off when removing from the remote. Also, as another commenter has mentioned, the video gives you no notice that there are tiny brass keys on the post that fall out. I didn't realize this until the video describes lubing them, and I found one was missing from the post. Luckily, I found it on my garage floor. I can't imagine what a pain it might be to replace those little items, especially with the current supply chain constraints. It would be nice if when they remake this video, that they provide some warning to us about these things. Ease of service and the ability to it myself was a big factor in my choosing PNW over Thomson or Fox. I replaced my RockShox Reverb with the PNW Bachelor because I was tired of spending $100 a year on maintenance.
I’m by pretty sure the only reason my new Loam returns slowly is because there is dirt trapped in the mid cap seal. Might also be a good idea to remove the mid cap and clean the seal…no?
mine is a suspension type but is not blocking or holding up, with not too much pressure over the seat it goes down though is indicating 300 psi. What it could be? It could be that the pressure indicator is not reliable? Or an internal airc chamber valve not blocking? With 300 psis should stay up and sustain the weight of the body? (177 lbs)
I bought a ridge dropper post for my wife's bike not too long ago(a few months back) and she hasn't really used it much, but one day it started making a grinding noise/feeling when sliding up or down. Took it apart and found a lot of metallic particles in the factory grease, so I cleaned everything, including the inside of the tube with alcohol and microfiber rags and greased everything back up, but it still has a slight gritty/grinding sensation here and there. Not sure if the issue is internal to the actual air cartridge and not sure if there is a known issue and/or if you can help. Anything will help. Thanks.
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! Can you send an email to our Customer Support crew with your order information and explain the problem to them? They should be able to help you out. Cheers!
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! If this is happening quickly (within a couple of rides) we would recommend reaching out to our Customer Service team via email at info@pnwcomponents.com. If it's not happening often/quickly, it's possible that the threads were not entirely clean/aligned when the mid cap was replaced after maintenance or using the travel adjust, or that the mid cap wasn't on tight enough to withstand the normal vibrations of riding. We would recommend giving the threads on the lower tube and mid cap a good cleaning before reinstalling it. While doing this, make sure the bushing within the post is fully seated within the lower tube. If that is not seated, it can stop the mid cap from threading fully onto the lower tube and while it may feel hand tight, it's possible that it is a bit loose. You could also wrap teflon tape over the threads on the lower tube to add some grip. We hope this helps! If the issue persists we would love to hear from you via email so we can get down to the bottom of it.
@@PNWComponents I've found a solution to fix the loose midcap. I wrap a layer of thick 3M rubber tape around the midcap so that I can tighten it better using my hand. Without the 3M rubber tape there is not much friction between the bare metal and my hand. The midcap cannot be tightened easily because of that. After each ride I simply tighten it a bit more until the midcap no longer becomes loose.
Hi! If you can reach out to our Customer Service team via email at info@pnwcomponents.com they'll work with you to make sure your Rainier is functioning like new. Thanks!
Followed a few others' tips from the comments and it helped so much:
1. Do not remove seat before breaking loose the actuator, it allows you to grip only something rather than the round stanchion.
2. Do NOT cut the cable at the remote to perform this service, try pushing/pulling/sliding the whole cable/conduit through the frame first for slack.
3. USE CAUTION with those brass keys, they can and will fall out when wiping down. I'm surprised it wasn't more of a bullet point in this video. I removed all the brass keys (5 of them on my rainier gen3) to clean/lube them and their slots, and then also removed the white plastic ring at the end of the stanchion for cleaning/lubing (it already has a precut slot to easily remove).
4. Remove the actual dust wiper to clean/lube it after removing the brass keys and white plastic ring. This was not mentioned in the video, but I did it anyway... makes it much easier to wipe it down and relube. It was nasty in there.
This service is so easy it should be performed maybe 3 or 4 times a year if you ride consistently. my rainier gen3 is just so friggin good and it always worked...I friggin' love it, just a reliable workhorse over the years i can't imagine anything else.
One tip to make it easier- don't remove the seat until after you loosen the actuator a quarter turn. If the threads are a little bit frozen, the seat gives you leverage to turn against, where the seat post itself will just twist in your hand.
I love that you got Gabe from the office to do the voice over.
Just did this on my Coast dropper. Easy peasy. Now it actually moves at it should and have the suspension back as well. There sure was some binding on mine. I blame all the dust on my trails for sure.
Note for anyone - I was surprised when the brass keys you see at @ or so fell out and tried to hide on my garage floor. Took a while to find them - so be careful and clean over the middle of a table and be prepared for the brass keys to fall out of the the machined slots that they fit into on the cartridge. That said - seat post works much better now - amazing what a service and some new grease can accomplish.
First time doing this, and it was definitely easier than I expected. Thanks for the video.
I just did the service on a Bachelor post for the first time. I watched the video and made the mistake of cutting the end of the cable off at the remote. Don't be like me and do this, with internal cable routing. In fact, unless you just need to replace the cable anyway it isn't even necessary to cut off the cable end cap even though the video shows this cut off when removing from the remote. Also, as another commenter has mentioned, the video gives you no notice that there are tiny brass keys on the post that fall out. I didn't realize this until the video describes lubing them, and I found one was missing from the post. Luckily, I found it on my garage floor. I can't imagine what a pain it might be to replace those little items, especially with the current supply chain constraints. It would be nice if when they remake this video, that they provide some warning to us about these things. Ease of service and the ability to it myself was a big factor in my choosing PNW over Thomson or Fox. I replaced my RockShox Reverb with the PNW Bachelor because I was tired of spending $100 a year on maintenance.
I’m by pretty sure the only reason my new Loam returns slowly is because there is dirt trapped in the mid cap seal. Might also be a good idea to remove the mid cap and clean the seal…no?
When I tightened the actuator, it is not parallel to the post. Is it ok? Or should I center it again? Thanks!
I’d love to do this service, but my mid cap is ridiculously tight.
Any videos on replacing the seal on the midcap? Mine has come out half way around
mine is a suspension type but is not blocking or holding up, with not too much pressure over the seat it goes down though is indicating 300 psi. What it could be? It could be that the pressure indicator is not reliable? Or an internal airc chamber valve not blocking? With 300 psis should stay up and sustain the weight of the body? (177 lbs)
How to add air where the pump input is located
Would I be able to use lithium grease as a lubricant?
is this for a LOAM??? is the featured dropper the LOAM??? thanks in advance….
How are the PNW posts holding up for everyone? I love they are easily serviced. #OverFoxTransfer
Can be the actuator lil bit loose? Cause my dropper cannot adjust more lower cause actuator hit rivnut the bottle cage.
I bought a ridge dropper post for my wife's bike not too long ago(a few months back) and she hasn't really used it much, but one day it started making a grinding noise/feeling when sliding up or down. Took it apart and found a lot of metallic particles in the factory grease, so I cleaned everything, including the inside of the tube with alcohol and microfiber rags and greased everything back up, but it still has a slight gritty/grinding sensation here and there. Not sure if the issue is internal to the actual air cartridge and not sure if there is a known issue and/or if you can help. Anything will help. Thanks.
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! Can you send an email to our Customer Support crew with your order information and explain the problem to them? They should be able to help you out. Cheers!
@E Rod what did you find out? I am having this too and the post still looks new.
Are these the same keys that are used on a Reverb?
What is the reason that the midcap becomes loose over time
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! If this is happening quickly (within a couple of rides) we would recommend reaching out to our Customer Service team via email at info@pnwcomponents.com. If it's not happening often/quickly, it's possible that the threads were not entirely clean/aligned when the mid cap was replaced after maintenance or using the travel adjust, or that the mid cap wasn't on tight enough to withstand the normal vibrations of riding.
We would recommend giving the threads on the lower tube and mid cap a good cleaning before reinstalling it. While doing this, make sure the bushing within the post is fully seated within the lower tube. If that is not seated, it can stop the mid cap from threading fully onto the lower tube and while it may feel hand tight, it's possible that it is a bit loose. You could also wrap teflon tape over the threads on the lower tube to add some grip. We hope this helps! If the issue persists we would love to hear from you via email so we can get down to the bottom of it.
@@PNWComponents I've found a solution to fix the loose midcap. I wrap a layer of thick 3M rubber tape around the midcap so that I can tighten it better using my hand. Without the 3M rubber tape there is not much friction between the bare metal and my hand. The midcap cannot be tightened easily because of that. After each ride I simply tighten it a bit more until the midcap no longer becomes loose.
@@NomadFM We're happy to hear that you've found a way to get your mid cap tightened down! Hopefully that keeps everything running smoothly for you.
My Reinier has some sag. I adjusted the barrel adjuster but no dice. It still sags. Any advice?
Hi! If you can reach out to our Customer Service team via email at info@pnwcomponents.com they'll work with you to make sure your Rainier is functioning like new. Thanks!
Can I use maxxima grease??