I think you have to move the shaft of the damper several times after pouring the oil in it before closing the cap to get the trapped air out. And also you can check the damping after closing the cap if the damper shaft moves to the end and comes out by it self. If the shaft doesnt stick inside completly you have put too much oil.And if it retracts not completly there is oil needed.Just want to share my expierience hope it helps.
Perfect tutorial video. I'm going to be doing a lower leg service on my Rockshox Recon RLs tomorrow and this showed everything I need to do in great detail. The only mistake i made was that i bought 5WT and 15WT oil thinking I needed both but it turns out I only need the 5WT because the 15WT is used for an upper leg service, lol. Oh well atleast now i have the 15WT for when I need it. Also for anyone watching this, you can use Slickoleum instead of SRAM butter. It's the same exact thing SRAM just rebranded it SRAM Butter and Slickoleum is ALOT less expensive than SRAM Butter. I paid $10.00 for a 4OZ tube whereas I would have paid $12.00 for a 1oz jar of SRAM butter.
The Recon RL is such a great entry level fork, it may be a little heavy but the functionality is awesome, I always do a full maintenance once a year and it's still working as new after three years!
@@Lezz015 sounds like you're using an entry XC fork to do Enduro or something 😂 I haven't had any issues after three years of continuous usage with regular maintenance, there's also a considerable difference between the TK and the RL damper.
@@Asthbendriel no :) I'm using bicycle just for commuting, to have some fun or as a fast and cheap transport. I have some bicycles with different forks such as magura, manitou, fox and rockshox. So rockshox forks are worsts fork I ever used, except very cheap or chinese forks. For example, manitou much better due great dampers. I also had a recon silver fork. I have a SID RTL with MC DNA damper. It have some oil leaks near compression knob and it failed because plastic sping broke.
@@Lezz015 the way you're using the fork and the results you're getting don't make sense at all to me, are you a heavy rider or don't maintain the fork at all? I use the Recon RL for natural trail riding, average 40-60Km rides every weekend and short rides along the week. For three years the fork have gone through dust, dirt, moss, roots, mud, clay, crossed rivers, basically almost anything but ice and snow because it doesn't snow over here, and the fork works as day one and in all the three years I haven't had a single leaking issue or sensitivity loss because of the damper. I don't get much air time with this fork at all, but hey it's a 100mm fork, it's not meant for gravity lol. On the brands side of things, I haven't used or seen a Magura fork around here, but doing a quick research I couldn't find a brand new $250 29er Magura, same goes for Fox and the only fork Manitou offers at that price range is the Markhor, which haven't used but looks like a very good fork, but nothing earth-shaking. You can't expect a $250 fork to work as good as a $600 - $700 fork, but it's hell of value for the money you're paying compared to other brands like Sr Suntour for the same price range.
@@Asthbendriel I served SID more than riding it. But I think that I'm a heavy rider, I'm over 100kg with backpack. RS SID had this some problems: 1) a broken damper(you can google about this problem). 2) a cracking steerer(this is a common problem). 3) knocking out dust seal due to air leakage from negative air chamber(it happens only in cold weather and in I should change sealing o-ring) 4) I cannot setup spring for my weight, because there is no tokens in positive air chamber So I'm just tired with this fork. It has only one advantage - weight :) Many people says that they can find RS spares easily and can't find anything for the manitou. So okay, but RS forks have toooooo much plastic parts. You can see broken snap ring on this video, one latch is broken. And you can damage damper while riding on RS fork because there is no high speed bypass(shimstack or something like this) and every bump can do it. Just lock or add compression and hit you fork quick and you have a chance to damage damper. In 2018 I bought a brand new manitou marvel on ebay for 90 eur. So i think this is a good price. Also you can find a brand new, new, mint or used fork on the ebay. Also you can try to buy on on crc or bike-discount on sales. I do not recommend to buy magura fork. It'a far better than RS but not so good as manitou. Check this video about markhor th-cam.com/video/drvxGGtuTu4/w-d-xo.html
a good tip is when you are pounding on the bottom screws, if no oil comes out when you remove the screws then that means you didn't pound hard enough to break the seal. So if no oil comes out then don't even bother trying to pull the upper and lower apart because it won't come apart. Also don't be worried about a ton of oil. My fork only takes 6ml in each lower leg.
Cheers, great job, used your service to extend the travel from 130 to 140 now more supple on low impacts and increased bb height and the lock out still works 👍
@@Scottydont1978Used same amount of oil as service advises and works fine, but in theory you should add a little more. You will lose the existing oil when doing this, if you remove the spacer and don't replace with it with a smaller spacer on 130mm forks you're get 150 travel this will give you problems, I suggest only going to 140 travel, good luck
@@xyzDJzyx 150mm from 130mm will change the geometry to much for a short travel bike(make climbing hard going) , and apparently the lockout won't work, you could always give it a try and if no good go back to the original setting or 140mm
My wife has those same dish towels you're using on the dust seals! Hope you made out better than me because she was PISSED! I showed her the video and everything! 😂😂😂
You're supposed to remove the rubber o-rings by puncturing the rubber with the pick, and then replacing the o-rings with brand new ones, not getting underneath it. Otherwise you risk scratching the seal contact points, which can ruin the seal on the air spring. This is why when you ask a bike shop to service a fork, they say there will be a charge for the seal kit, because brand new ones will be necessary.
Awesome video bro...I brought my bike to get foxed...they say a full rebuild was done and I don't think the pit the correct oil or not enough oil.....this video shows me exactly how to do it my self.....I'm nervous but now confident after watching this video....thank you so much bro....wish me luck as I am new to all this repair work
these looooong edits are brutal. can you do a 2 part edit, one of the assembly the other of washing. this is a great thorough guild. but by the time it is the next step i lost where we were. thanks great tutorial
Thanks but will let my bike shop do the service! Just ordered recons £240 fitted, as I killed my standard forks on hard trails in Wales ,btw it's a Specialized Pitch . I've learnt that MTBs are constant maintenance unlike my car, but it's all worth it!
just fyi for everyone. The lower leg cleaning is usually going to be done for your 50hr service. The upper legs will be done for your 200hr service and that is going to require a kit from SRAM/RockShox which will include all new rubber o-rings along with new foam wipers and new rubber wipers for the lowers and some other hardware. For the 200hr service you are basically doing both the 50hr and 200hr service at the same time. For oils for this particular fork you will need 5wt (120ml) and 15wt oil (about 8ml) you only need the full 120ml of 5wt oil if you are doing the upper leg service since the upper requires 118ml of oil to be poured into it and then 2ml of 5wt for the lowers. For greasing the parts you don't necessarily need SRAM butter, it's expensive, you can use Slickoleum which is the same exact thing and alot less expensive.
Very easy to follow. Just curious, do you always clean and reinstall the old wiper seals, dust seals and o-rings? When do you need to replace them with brand new ones?
Touch them and you'll notice. Check for elasticity and suppleness. If they lack these, replace. Usually if you maintain your bike, trat it well and re-grease/oil every few months (every 3-6 months depending on how much you use the bike) the rubber lasts a long time.
Congratulations, it is one of the few videos where you can see a complete service for the RECON fork, I was searching many places and your video was really very useful to me. I just have one question; It is true that ROCK SHOX forks come almost without oil, how true is that?
Great video mate, How do you know how much oil you need to put back in the fork, I see you used 5wt, is that what Rockshox recommend or did you have a different preference.
long story short, he is just being cheap. when doing a lower leg service, it is only necessary to replenish the lubricants, however for a more in depth service like this, it is recommended you replace all the seals, however i guess it is not really necessary unless they are damaged. this service is supposed to be done annually, so if the seals start to perish he should still catch it before running into issues. i do still think that he should just replace them all anyway, since the kits are pretty inexpensive nowadays, priced around £15
Hi! Thank for the video. I have a question about soaking foam rings - why are you using 5wt oil instead of 15wt? I found that 15wt should be used to soal foam rings in the documentation
Да, всё правильно пишете, надо замачивать в 15 W. Можно без проблем в хорошем синтетическом, моторном масле и это же масло в штаны вилки налить, по 6 мл.
I finished a full rebuild of a 2011 Recon Silver TK. Each 150 mL bottle of suspension fluid was between $8-12. I needed three. The picks were about $16. Rebuild kit with seals was about $30. A vial of SRAM grease was about $15. Basically, supplies are at least $50. Moreover, the compression damper side of the fork is a pain to remove the lower legs. You can enthusiastically decry better forks, but the time spent maintaining lower-tier forks ends up being just as expensive. They’re harder to maintain, basically.
Thats exactly the fork i bought a Week ago to put onto my Bike. The Pre owner wrote something like good Condition, but i can swear it maybe never had a service so far.. The Money i paid for both, fork and service supplies, would be enough for a brand new 2016 Recon in Sale. I guess at least it will teach me something..
@@jasperhusmann6888 - Honestly, I fretted for over a year on whether to attempt rebuilding my stock fork. The TH-cam videos were intimidating. The service manuals were confusing. But I decided that I needed to try and learn because I would never trust someone to service my equipment properly. It’s hard to verify if a bike mechanic used new seals or o-rings, for example. Verifying the quality of their work would require opening the fork and looking. At that point, I figured that I would just do it myself. I serviced my second fork yesterday and realized that it’s pretty easy once you learn the basics. I regret waiting so long to develop the courage to take my forks apart.
@@savoirfaire8979 I will try my best to learn it for similar reasons. I want to do as much as possible by myself. first because i want to get know my bike and what it needs and second because repaircosts at our local bikeshops are damn expensive . also the workshops are at super high demand right now. I guess it will be expensive to start with, because of all the tools and materials you need, but later it will save me money and prevent getting ripped off by some mechanics, that just do unnecessary repairs and demand an unrealistic price at the end. Im currently studying social work and want to work with kids and young adults. so maybe it will help me later and i can repair their bikes with them. Have a good time and bike on. DIY or Die ;)
@@sdqsdq6274 i bought one from eBay for 120 Euros. When i realized, that it needed a Service i wrote the guy to complain a little bit because he told me it was in perfect condition and he paid me 20 back for the service kit. I also needed 2 kinds of oil so in total it was like 140 euros
Hi there if u don’t mind me asking question the thru axle part where the thread is… is that thread part inbuilt or is it removable cause everyday when I go home I live on the first floor and I gotta remove the wheels cause the stairs are small and I don’t feel safe leaving my bike outside chained but enough of that I wanted to upgrade my suspension and front wheel on my commuter ebike so I don’t want the thread to get destroyed and currently I have a QR setup.. I hope it wasn’t too much of a question to ask.. and thank you
Hello Danny, I have been watching your videos for a long time, you have one of the best tech cycling channel on youtube! So keep up the good work. I also have a question for you, i bought a 4 years old suspension fork (rockshox sektor gold rl, never used) in the last month. What do you think, should i start with full service job on the fork ?
my man, you have a great way of explaining things, precise and fun, please let me humbly recommend you to use a rag when loosing or tighten metallic parts, specially aluminum, many thanks 4 the video, regards from Chile
Closely inspect the damper while it is out they will develop small cracks near the ends of the slots and ovals if you see this its best to not re install as the damper will soon fail.
does any one know if there is much difference between the rock shock recon rl and the rock shock secktor rl ? they seem very similar. great video im going to be doing this very soon
Looks to be the same process according to the service manual. www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/2016-2017-30-recon-sektor-service-manual-english-.pdf
Great video, gives me confidence to have a go.. Can I jus check what you're doing near the end at 30 mins 30 secs to 32 mins? A little explanation there would be really helpful.. 👍👍
*After studying this subject for a few weeks, I conclude that this level of effort would be justified for a better fork. Perhaps at least a Reba, 34 Gold RL, Fox 34, or Bomber Z1.*
@@olneymaryland77 - *I finished a full rebuild of a 2011 Recon Silver TK. Each 150 mL bottle of suspension fluid was between $8-12. I needed three. The picks were about $16. Rebuild kit with seals was about $30. A vial of SRAM grease was about $15. Basically, supplies are at least $50. Moreover, the compression damper side of the fork is a pain to remove the lower legs. You can enthusiastically decry better forks, but the time spent maintaining lower-tier forks ends up being just as expensive. They’re harder to maintain, basically.*
@@savoirfaire8979 That sounds like a lot of fork oil... I have a friend that works at a bike store and can get me the ~200mL I will need for free, I already have picks (of course?), seals - $30, Sram Butter - got it. Yeah a $250 fork is pretty entry level, but, I'm not made out of money. $30 on a $250 investment, done probably annually -- pretty fucking good IMO
@@olneymaryland77 - *Bike stands are at least $60 for a decent one. Also, Time spent on learning is money. The hidden costs add up. It’s OK, tho. I’m glad that people are willing to use inferior forks while they eat my dust after passing them on trails....;-D*
@@savoirfaire8979 OK Mr. dentist. . .Who said you need a bike stand? "Time spent learning is money" Look, good things don't come easy, and you've got to start somewhere. Its called an investment in your tools, and your knowledge & skills. Sure sounds like you would rather pay some $$$ for someone to *hopefully* do it right for you. I prefer a DIY approach.
Ok so the "squish" sound is normal? I'm asking because my 3 day old Polygon T7 does this out on the trail and I was worried it was F'd up. Funny, I bought a Chinese air fork for my other bike and it doesn't make a sound.
Just finished mine, thanks for the assist.... Now the real question is why can my vehicle shocks work for years and my bicycle shocks won't go a season of riding without help....8^)
Надо новую перебрать так как это сделал автор ролика. Во-первых, с завода не доливают масло 5 W ( Лично у меня было залито 110 мл вместо 150 мл). Во-вторых, практически во всех новых вилках, при разборе, внутри присутствует металлическая стружка. Нужно всё вычистить и по-новой собрать.
I have Recon Silver RL B1 (100 mm) that I got with a used MTB from 2017, So far I only dared do a lower leg service last year. I guess it's high time I did a full service. Thanks for the detailed video man. Btw, according to Rockshox service manual, there are so called all travel spacers to reduce or increase fork travel. Since mine is 100 mm 2017 model, it should have two spacers inside. Which means I can take them out and increase the travel to 120 mm. However there is a warning saying: do not exceed the maximum travel for your fork. what does that mean? it is not safe to remove the spacers? :(
@@sijmes COVID happened. I couldn't buy the service kit cause it was out of stock and I know my dust seals are badly in need of replacing if I open the fork. So haven't done it yet! I did see it was back in stock last week. So I guess I'll try to order it soon and then get working on the fork when I get some time again! But I won't do the spacer removal thing unless curiousity gets the best of me when I have the fork disassembled. Reason being is that I'm buying a second hand all mountain MTB tomorrow (possibly) and I wish to keep the XC geometry of this hardtail intact for long distance tours. But I did see videos of people doing this and apparently it works fine.
Hi SickBiker... this video gives me the confidence to try to do a service to my Judy Silver TK Boost 29 ". I think it will be just like that Recon. But there is one thing that left me with some doubts: I saw a RockShox table for this suspension with the type and amount of oil. From what I observed you put the right amount as described in that table for both the upper and lower leg. But according to that Sram chart, the upper leg oil is 5 WT and the lower leg oil is 15 WT. My question is whether you put both legs with 5 WT or if you put 5 WT on the upper legs and 15 WT on the lower legs? Greets from Lisbon, Portugal
10:25 - This liquid that comes out - is that water caused by water ingress? Is it possible that I can simply take off the lower stanchion like this, drain the water and then put it back on for quick drainage?
@@samteks125 I wish they used a regular rebound adjustment knob. I just purchased a recon silver rl and I tried to find a replacemnt/backup key on amazon and ebay but no luck. That things just waiting to fall out and get lost.
I have a Rockshox 30 silver TK and I have an issue regarding this fork. The rebound knob is not making clicking sounds while trying to adjust the rebound damping, it just slides round and round smoothly and also it is harder to push the knob in its position. Can you tell me what is causing the problem? Do I need to replace the rebound damper with new one?
Hey Man!! I am from Bangladesh where a lot of stuff is not available to service. I need to service my Rockshox Recon TK (Coil Shock) with oil inside. I have learnt a lot from you and keep my Cycle alive and running to the fullest. Now SRAM datasheet says for upper leg I need 5W and for lower leg 15w. I can't find anywhere. Can I use Motorbikes' same weight fork oil for this? Or what may be the alternative?? I will be waiting for your response.
Try Rockshox wesite. They will almost certainly have a very comprehensive guide to your fork and instructions on how to service it as well as a huge spares catalogue...
es gibt ja unterschiedliche recons und ich weiß nicht genau welche ich habe sind bei der recon alle dichtungsringe gleich oder hat jedes recon modell andere
Cheers for this video, massive help since I lost oil out of the LHS fork whilst storing the bike on my garage wall. Do you reckon I could use red grease (for use with rubber) instead of the SRAM butter? Thanks again. 👍🏼
you can but depending on the compound of the grease it can absorb dust and create some friction, on the other hand any kind of suspension grease (not just sram butter) can be used.
Nice work. Is the lockout always that soft? Used to have 2008 SID with motion control damper and if the oil level wasn't high enough in the damper you would have a soft lockout.
Great Video but I was wondering if there is any way to make this fork more progressive? Because currently I am changing air pressure almost every week for different terrain...
Can you add extra oil in the spring side to reduce air volume? Anyone tried? Similar in principle to tokens, it works on (old) Marzocchi air sprung Bombers... though they do take alot more oil as they are open bath damped.
Hi, I have problems with te exact same fork, the problem is that when the fork return it make an ugly thunk sound , but I know that is not the rebound in a very fast click also when I put my bike upside down the thunk noise disappear but only for couple of minutes and the ugly sound return.
check out sram.com/service. they have all the oil volumes there. I think he didn't do it for this video because it varies depending on the travel and size of the fork.
That thing is a PITA, I disassembled my judy silver fork and removed that piece on the air spring leg, after trying very very hard to install it again I decided to not remove it from the damper side. Best decision ever, I think that trying to install that thing on the damper side is harder than install it on the spring side (you would have to use something to keep the seal in the leg). Try heating the plastic piece on hot water, it worked for me. NOTE: I'm talking about installing again the black plastic piece shown at 24:41, the ones on my judy are different.
@@totoxahc I can't get the black clip on the damper side on either. Does heating it up actually work or should I try sanding down certain parts of it to make it fit better
@@Wintersoldier-bx2xr heating it allowed me to install that piece again. It is still hard but a little easier. I would not sand it. Just leave it for a moment in hot water and try again
yeah the washing was a bit dragged out. You do want to make sure there's atleast no big clumps but since you are going to be cleaning the insides of the legs anyway, might as well just do the total cleaning when they are apart. I just sprayed my fork down with windex and wiped it off before taking the lowers off, since mine was pretty clean to begin with.
@@alexambro4998 i did, and it worked well. Oils for motorcycle shocks are the same and much cheaper. Buy a quality oil for motorcycle shocks would be my advice, just use the appropriate viscosities per the rockshox manuals
How do I know the correct positioning for re-adding the lockout cap and the rebound control? Should it always be in a certain position after a service, or would it be the same position as I took it out?
I think it doesn't matter, you can test it before adding the screw like he does. If the dial doesn't line up where you want it just rotate the plate and add the dial. Open to closed is only a 3/4 turn.
Thanks for posting this. It’s quite helpful. A question: @31:45 what is the purpose of infilling some fluid? And is the fluid just regular suspension fluid? How much is it?
![[ASMR] BIKE ROCKSHOX REBA SL - Overhaul, Restoration](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D3X2YAf-_DQ/mqdefault.jpg)
SIckBiker, I can't thank you enough for these detailed service videos for the lower end forks. Incredibly helpful!
I think you have to move the shaft of the damper several times after pouring the oil in it before closing the cap to get the trapped air out. And also you can check the damping after closing the cap if the damper shaft moves to the end and comes out by it self. If the shaft doesnt stick inside completly you have put too much oil.And if it retracts not completly there is oil needed.Just want to share my expierience hope it helps.
Perfect tutorial video. I'm going to be doing a lower leg service on my Rockshox Recon RLs tomorrow and this showed everything I need to do in great detail. The only mistake i made was that i bought 5WT and 15WT oil thinking I needed both but it turns out I only need the 5WT because the 15WT is used for an upper leg service, lol. Oh well atleast now i have the 15WT for when I need it. Also for anyone watching this, you can use Slickoleum instead of SRAM butter. It's the same exact thing SRAM just rebranded it SRAM Butter and Slickoleum is ALOT less expensive than SRAM Butter. I paid $10.00 for a 4OZ tube whereas I would have paid $12.00 for a 1oz jar of SRAM butter.
The best tutorial of all TH-cam about this fork, thank you very muck sickbiker
The Recon RL is such a great entry level fork, it may be a little heavy but the functionality is awesome, I always do a full maintenance once a year and it's still working as new after three years!
Recon RL is a worst fork I ever used :D
bad damper, bad sealing, oil leak, etc
@@Lezz015 sounds like you're using an entry XC fork to do Enduro or something 😂 I haven't had any issues after three years of continuous usage with regular maintenance, there's also a considerable difference between the TK and the RL damper.
@@Asthbendriel no :)
I'm using bicycle just for commuting, to have some fun or as a fast and cheap transport.
I have some bicycles with different forks such as magura, manitou, fox and rockshox. So rockshox forks are worsts fork I ever used, except very cheap or chinese forks.
For example, manitou much better due great dampers.
I also had a recon silver fork. I have a SID RTL with MC DNA damper. It have some oil leaks near compression knob and it failed because plastic sping broke.
@@Lezz015 the way you're using the fork and the results you're getting don't make sense at all to me, are you a heavy rider or don't maintain the fork at all? I use the Recon RL for natural trail riding, average 40-60Km rides every weekend and short rides along the week. For three years the fork have gone through dust, dirt, moss, roots, mud, clay, crossed rivers, basically almost anything but ice and snow because it doesn't snow over here, and the fork works as day one and in all the three years I haven't had a single leaking issue or sensitivity loss because of the damper. I don't get much air time with this fork at all, but hey it's a 100mm fork, it's not meant for gravity lol.
On the brands side of things, I haven't used or seen a Magura fork around here, but doing a quick research I couldn't find a brand new $250 29er Magura, same goes for Fox and the only fork Manitou offers at that price range is the Markhor, which haven't used but looks like a very good fork, but nothing earth-shaking. You can't expect a $250 fork to work as good as a $600 - $700 fork, but it's hell of value for the money you're paying compared to other brands like Sr Suntour for the same price range.
@@Asthbendriel
I served SID more than riding it. But I think that I'm a heavy rider, I'm over 100kg with backpack. RS SID had this some problems:
1) a broken damper(you can google about this problem).
2) a cracking steerer(this is a common problem).
3) knocking out dust seal due to air leakage from negative air chamber(it happens only in cold weather and in I should change sealing o-ring)
4) I cannot setup spring for my weight, because there is no tokens in positive air chamber
So I'm just tired with this fork. It has only one advantage - weight :)
Many people says that they can find RS spares easily and can't find anything for the manitou. So okay, but RS forks have toooooo much plastic parts. You can see broken snap ring on this video, one latch is broken. And you can damage damper while riding on RS fork because there is no high speed bypass(shimstack or something like this) and every bump can do it. Just lock or add compression and hit you fork quick and you have a chance to damage damper.
In 2018 I bought a brand new manitou marvel on ebay for 90 eur. So i think this is a good price. Also you can find a brand new, new, mint or used fork on the ebay. Also you can try to buy on on crc or bike-discount on sales.
I do not recommend to buy magura fork. It'a far better than RS but not so good as manitou.
Check this video about markhor th-cam.com/video/drvxGGtuTu4/w-d-xo.html
a good tip is when you are pounding on the bottom screws, if no oil comes out when you remove the screws then that means you didn't pound hard enough to break the seal. So if no oil comes out then don't even bother trying to pull the upper and lower apart because it won't come apart. Also don't be worried about a ton of oil. My fork only takes 6ml in each lower leg.
Wow great video. Now I know why people pay for a service. But good to know you can do it yourself and save. Thx Danny you're the best.
Thanks. Great video. Tip I found elsewhere; if you put those retaining rings in hot water; after they are warmed up, are much easier to reinstall.
Over 8 minutes in and we finally get to the actual service
Cheers, great job, used your service to extend the travel from 130 to 140 now more supple on low impacts and increased bb height and the lock out still works 👍
Did you need to increase the amount of oil in the damper side? Can the spacer be removed/changed without losing any oil?
@@Scottydont1978Used same amount of oil as service advises and works fine, but in theory you should add a little more. You will lose the existing oil when doing this, if you remove the spacer and don't replace with it with a smaller spacer on 130mm forks you're get 150 travel this will give you problems, I suggest only going to 140 travel, good luck
@@norseman3919 why going to150 will cause problem ? It says in the service manual that the spacers are optional.
@@xyzDJzyx 150mm from 130mm will change the geometry to much for a short travel bike(make climbing hard going) , and apparently the lockout won't work, you could always give it a try and if no good go back to the original setting or 140mm
@@norseman3919 Yes but my goal is to increase descent performance. More travel and slacker angle is good for me and I am lightweight.
My wife has those same dish towels you're using on the dust seals! Hope you made out better than me because she was PISSED! I showed her the video and everything! 😂😂😂
Really detailed video, clearly showing the service step by step. Clean and professional, great job!
Hello from Bucharest România 🇧🇪! U are a great bike mechanic! U work with pasion😎
Great vid. Did the service on RockShox Judy and feels like a big improvement after 5 years of no service at all.
Skip to 8:27 before this is cleaning and taking the fork off the bike.
14-52. No, Danny! ) Why the extension wrench? Where`s the hexagon head?
wish you didnt play music and instead gave us play by play instructions :(
Strange how a person thinks lack of explanation is better.
Nice video! You just helped me this much with rebuilding my fork. Now I'm sure it's ok.
Melhor vídeo de revisão de suspensão do TH-cam! Nota 1.000! Muito obrigado!
The recon fork has so much more extra parts to disassemble vs the debonair pike. I thought it would be simpler.
You're supposed to remove the rubber o-rings by puncturing the rubber with the pick, and then replacing the o-rings with brand new ones, not getting underneath it. Otherwise you risk scratching the seal contact points, which can ruin the seal on the air spring. This is why when you ask a bike shop to service a fork, they say there will be a charge for the seal kit, because brand new ones will be necessary.
Hello from Bucharest România 🇧🇪 🤘
Awesome video bro...I brought my bike to get foxed...they say a full rebuild was done and I don't think the pit the correct oil or not enough oil.....this video shows me exactly how to do it my self.....I'm nervous but now confident after watching this video....thank you so much bro....wish me luck as I am new to all this repair work
Did it work? ;)
these looooong edits are brutal. can you do a 2 part edit, one of the assembly the other of washing. this is a great thorough guild. but by the time it is the next step i lost where we were.
thanks great tutorial
Im so happy to ride rigid forks 😉
haha yeah I feel bad just imagining servicing the whole fork as Sickbiker just did
Andrei Dolgushin tbh I would be down, helps with mechanical experience
Thanks but will let my bike shop do the service! Just ordered recons £240 fitted, as I killed my standard forks on hard trails in Wales ,btw it's a Specialized Pitch .
I've learnt that MTBs are constant maintenance unlike my car, but it's all worth it!
I recommend to change these foam seals
thats right, also use grease instead oil for the foam seals, e.g. SRAM Butter it will remain better on the foam seals
Geesus. The attention to detail is mind boggling. How much would a service like that cost? More than the fork?
$85 an hr × 3 hours
this guy don't understand nothing of fork. mistake oil. don't send him the fork, it's the end of fork. see others videos
@@HighVybeTribe From where did you take that price?? WTF
With 250$ i buy a new fork :))))) or a bike
@@syovol But he does it so great that really makes everybody belive he knows like a PRO JAJAJAJA!!!
just fyi for everyone. The lower leg cleaning is usually going to be done for your 50hr service. The upper legs will be done for your 200hr service and that is going to require a kit from SRAM/RockShox which will include all new rubber o-rings along with new foam wipers and new rubber wipers for the lowers and some other hardware. For the 200hr service you are basically doing both the 50hr and 200hr service at the same time. For oils for this particular fork you will need 5wt (120ml) and 15wt oil (about 8ml) you only need the full 120ml of 5wt oil if you are doing the upper leg service since the upper requires 118ml of oil to be poured into it and then 2ml of 5wt for the lowers. For greasing the parts you don't necessarily need SRAM butter, it's expensive, you can use Slickoleum which is the same exact thing and alot less expensive.
T H A N K S !!!! Your video and the RS Service Manual helped me complete the job...!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Do you not have running water a hose brush and soap? Could have washed the whole bike in 5 mins then brushing the dry dirt around the fork
Very easy to follow. Just curious, do you always clean and reinstall the old wiper seals, dust seals and o-rings? When do you need to replace them with brand new ones?
Touch them and you'll notice. Check for elasticity and suppleness. If they lack these, replace. Usually if you maintain your bike, trat it well and re-grease/oil every few months (every 3-6 months depending on how much you use the bike) the rubber lasts a long time.
Congratulations, it is one of the few videos where you can see a complete service for the RECON fork, I was searching many places and your video was really very useful to me. I just have one question; It is true that ROCK SHOX forks come almost without oil, how true is that?
Да, все говорят что не доливают масло. Лично у меня было залито 110 мл, хотя должно быть 150 мл.
that's not true at all
Thank you very much, greetings from Chile 🇨🇱 very good video, really thank you very much.
Great video mate, How do you know how much oil you need to put back in the fork, I see you used 5wt, is that what Rockshox recommend or did you have a different preference.
Very informative, but why would you re-use old seals? If your going through the trouble of taking it apart, put new seals in.
long story short, he is just being cheap. when doing a lower leg service, it is only necessary to replenish the lubricants, however for a more in depth service like this, it is recommended you replace all the seals, however i guess it is not really necessary unless they are damaged. this service is supposed to be done annually, so if the seals start to perish he should still catch it before running into issues. i do still think that he should just replace them all anyway, since the kits are pretty inexpensive nowadays, priced around £15
Hi! Thank for the video. I have a question about soaking foam rings - why are you using 5wt oil instead of 15wt? I found that 15wt should be used to soal foam rings in the documentation
For foam rings, use Rockshox Redrum or Fox Float Fluid
Да, всё правильно пишете, надо замачивать в 15 W.
Можно без проблем в хорошем синтетическом, моторном масле и это же масло в штаны вилки налить, по 6 мл.
Спасибо! Лучшее наглядное пособие по переборке!
И худшее как отмывать байк от грязи - на сухую …
Great video, but if I will take it apart it will be the end for the fork...
I finished a full rebuild of a 2011 Recon Silver TK. Each 150 mL bottle of suspension fluid was between $8-12. I needed three. The picks were about $16. Rebuild kit with seals was about $30. A vial of SRAM grease was about $15. Basically, supplies are at least $50. Moreover, the compression damper side of the fork is a pain to remove the lower legs.
You can enthusiastically decry better forks, but the time spent maintaining lower-tier forks ends up being just as expensive. They’re harder to maintain, basically.
Thats exactly the fork i bought a Week ago to put onto my Bike. The Pre owner wrote something like good Condition, but i can swear it maybe never had a service so far.. The Money i paid for both, fork and service supplies, would be enough for a brand new 2016 Recon in Sale. I guess at least it will teach me something..
@@jasperhusmann6888 - Honestly, I fretted for over a year on whether to attempt rebuilding my stock fork. The TH-cam videos were intimidating. The service manuals were confusing. But I decided that I needed to try and learn because I would never trust someone to service my equipment properly. It’s hard to verify if a bike mechanic used new seals or o-rings, for example. Verifying the quality of their work would require opening the fork and looking. At that point, I figured that I would just do it myself.
I serviced my second fork yesterday and realized that it’s pretty easy once you learn the basics. I regret waiting so long to develop the courage to take my forks apart.
@@savoirfaire8979 I will try my best to learn it for similar reasons. I want to do as much as possible by myself. first because i want to get know my bike and what it needs and second because repaircosts at our local bikeshops are damn expensive . also the workshops are at super high demand right now. I guess it will be expensive to start with, because of all the tools and materials you need, but later it will save me money and prevent getting ripped off by some mechanics, that just do unnecessary repairs and demand an unrealistic price at the end. Im currently studying social work and want to work with kids and young adults. so maybe it will help me later and i can repair their bikes with them. Have a good time and bike on. DIY or Die ;)
@@jasperhusmann6888 how much was the service charge ? btw how much is a new recon ?
@@sdqsdq6274 i bought one from eBay for 120 Euros. When i realized, that it needed a Service i wrote the guy to complain a little bit because he told me it was in perfect condition and he paid me 20 back for the service kit. I also needed 2 kinds of oil so in total it was like 140 euros
Thank you for your help!! Just what I needed!
Hi there if u don’t mind me asking question the thru axle part where the thread is… is that thread part inbuilt or is it removable cause everyday when I go home I live on the first floor and I gotta remove the wheels cause the stairs are small and I don’t feel safe leaving my bike outside chained but enough of that I wanted to upgrade my suspension and front wheel on my commuter ebike so I don’t want the thread to get destroyed and currently I have a QR setup.. I hope it wasn’t too much of a question to ask.. and thank you
nice tutorial, can you also make a tutorial on servicing ROCK SHOX 30 SILVER TK coil spring fork? I would be very helpful.
pretty much the same.
Hello Danny,
I have been watching your videos for a long time, you have one of the best tech cycling channel on youtube! So keep up the good work.
I also have a question for you, i bought a 4 years old suspension fork (rockshox sektor gold rl, never used) in the last month. What do you think, should i start with full service job on the fork ?
ideally yes, but if it's been stored in a cool dry location, should be fine, and do a service after 50 hours
Really helpful video my first time doing it it only took 1 hour
My bike purchase today, the shop owner told to me to dust the fork, shock and gears down. No water I asked. Just a rag. I like the dry/lube brushes.
good to know, that i will bring my bike to the dealer, at least as long as it is new and i still have warranty.... :)
my man, you have a great way of explaining things, precise and fun, please let me humbly recommend you to use a rag when loosing or tighten metallic parts, specially aluminum, many thanks 4 the video, regards from Chile
Closely inspect the damper while it is out they will develop small cracks near the ends of the slots and ovals if you see this its best to not re install as the damper will soon fail.
Thanks @SickBiker for the video.
I have one question thought, did you only use 5WT Rockshox oil or also 15WT?
does any one know if there is much difference between the rock shock recon rl and the rock shock secktor rl ? they seem very similar. great video im going to be doing this very soon
Looks to be the same process according to the service manual. www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/2016-2017-30-recon-sektor-service-manual-english-.pdf
possibly not the same oil levels.
This is awesome, thank you for putting it together.
very helpful!! Thanks for the video:)
Thank you so much this is really helpful!
What is the quantity of oil you inject at the end before installing the screws at the bottom of each stantion?
Thanks you. Im gonna try that on my Fox 34 fork
oh dear
5 solid minutes of you cleaning the forks…. 5 minutes plus of you BRUSHING MUD AWAY? Are you for real?
currently watching and this is absolute torture! STOP FUCKING BRUSHING MAN
You can both skip 10s ahead past those parts ya know. Geez people are so ungrateful these days.
be water my friend……….or be punched………
A lot of people really like the cleaning ASMR, just skip ahead like the rest of us.
Great video, gives me confidence to have a go..
Can I jus check what you're doing near the end at 30 mins 30 secs to 32 mins?
A little explanation there would be really helpful.. 👍👍
That is the expansion speed settings
31:47 How many mililiters are injected here into each leg? Is it 6ml of 15WT, as per manual? Thank you!
it's whatever your manual calls for. It's going to be different for each variant of this fork.
*After studying this subject for a few weeks, I conclude that this level of effort would be justified for a better fork. Perhaps at least a Reba, 34 Gold RL, Fox 34, or Bomber Z1.*
I would not consider this a high level of effort. Want to get as much life as I can out of my $250 fork!
@@olneymaryland77 - *I finished a full rebuild of a 2011 Recon Silver TK. Each 150 mL bottle of suspension fluid was between $8-12. I needed three. The picks were about $16. Rebuild kit with seals was about $30. A vial of SRAM grease was about $15. Basically, supplies are at least $50. Moreover, the compression damper side of the fork is a pain to remove the lower legs.
You can enthusiastically decry better forks, but the time spent maintaining lower-tier forks ends up being just as expensive. They’re harder to maintain, basically.*
@@savoirfaire8979 That sounds like a lot of fork oil... I have a friend that works at a bike store and can get me the ~200mL I will need for free, I already have picks (of course?), seals - $30, Sram Butter - got it. Yeah a $250 fork is pretty entry level, but, I'm not made out of money. $30 on a $250 investment, done probably annually -- pretty fucking good IMO
@@olneymaryland77 - *Bike stands are at least $60 for a decent one. Also, Time spent on learning is money. The hidden costs add up. It’s OK, tho. I’m glad that people are willing to use inferior forks while they eat my dust after passing them on trails....;-D*
@@savoirfaire8979 OK Mr. dentist. . .Who said you need a bike stand? "Time spent learning is money" Look, good things don't come easy, and you've got to start somewhere. Its called an investment in your tools, and your knowledge & skills. Sure sounds like you would rather pay some $$$ for someone to *hopefully* do it right for you. I prefer a DIY approach.
Ok so the "squish" sound is normal? I'm asking because my 3 day old Polygon T7 does this out on the trail and I was worried it was F'd up. Funny, I bought a Chinese air fork for my other bike and it doesn't make a sound.
Don Novicki yeah it’s just the oil. It’s normal on most RockShox
Just finished mine, thanks for the assist.... Now the real question is why can my vehicle shocks work for years and my bicycle shocks won't go a season of riding without help....8^)
You don't bottom out your car suspension on almost every ride.
Can you tell me if the ring that holds the plastic thing in the upper leg compression chamber is facing down or up ? It won’t click on on my fork
when you order new Rockshox recon suspension do they come oiled and greased out of factory or should i take a look?
everything is set up.
Надо новую перебрать так как это сделал автор ролика. Во-первых, с завода не доливают масло 5 W ( Лично у меня было залито 110 мл вместо 150 мл). Во-вторых, практически во всех новых вилках, при разборе, внутри присутствует металлическая стружка. Нужно всё вычистить и по-новой собрать.
15:39 why is there so much debris in the air spring housing?
Video fatto benissimo Complimenti. Solo una cosa non fa vedere quanti ml di olio mette nella forcella
Can you do a tutorial on how to clean a fork
Very well done, thanks for sharing.
Hammer gutes Video. DANKE DAFÜR
ive noticed recon forks make that squish sound when compressing. I guess that's normal
Me too
No worry itd just the toads and the insects in your area
Very good and thorough!
I have Recon Silver RL B1 (100 mm) that I got with a used MTB from 2017, So far I only dared do a lower leg service last year. I guess it's high time I did a full service. Thanks for the detailed video man.
Btw, according to Rockshox service manual, there are so called all travel spacers to reduce or increase fork travel. Since mine is 100 mm 2017 model, it should have two spacers inside. Which means I can take them out and increase the travel to 120 mm. However there is a warning saying: do not exceed the maximum travel for your fork. what does that mean? it is not safe to remove the spacers? :(
What happened ?
@@sijmes COVID happened. I couldn't buy the service kit cause it was out of stock and I know my dust seals are badly in need of replacing if I open the fork. So haven't done it yet! I did see it was back in stock last week. So I guess I'll try to order it soon and then get working on the fork when I get some time again!
But I won't do the spacer removal thing unless curiousity gets the best of me when I have the fork disassembled. Reason being is that I'm buying a second hand all mountain MTB tomorrow (possibly) and I wish to keep the XC geometry of this hardtail intact for long distance tours.
But I did see videos of people doing this and apparently it works fine.
Is it possible to use only a scram butter, although the manual says that PM-600 lubricant is needed?
Both work perfectly !
the manual says either is okay
very good video, but since I did the maintenance, the fork lock no longer works. Do you have any idea what the problem is?
I had same issue - easy fix, check this out
th-cam.com/video/1n4_rp2Aj2o/w-d-xo.html
Hi SickBiker... this video gives me the confidence to try to do a service to my Judy Silver TK Boost 29 ".
I think it will be just like that Recon.
But there is one thing that left me with some doubts: I saw a RockShox table for this suspension with the type and amount of oil.
From what I observed you put the right amount as described in that table for both the upper and lower leg.
But according to that Sram chart, the upper leg oil is 5 WT and the lower leg oil is 15 WT.
My question is whether you put both legs with 5 WT or if you put 5 WT on the upper legs and 15 WT on the lower legs?
Greets from Lisbon, Portugal
Show de bola, super explicativo,o óleo é 5w? Usa 5ml na parte inferior e 150ml na parte superior?
Totally excellent. Can you recommend a bike shop that can do this in NYC?
10:25 - This liquid that comes out - is that water caused by water ingress? Is it possible that I can simply take off the lower stanchion like this, drain the water and then put it back on for quick drainage?
Awesome video - thanks so much!
What the little alan key thing that pulls out the bottom of the fork? What’s it for?
Rebound adjustment
@@samteks125 I wish they used a regular rebound adjustment knob. I just purchased a recon silver rl and I tried to find a replacemnt/backup key on amazon and ebay but no luck. That things just waiting to fall out and get lost.
I have a Rockshox 30 silver TK and I have an issue regarding this fork. The rebound knob is not making clicking sounds while trying to adjust the rebound damping, it just slides round and round smoothly and also it is harder to push the knob in its position. Can you tell me what is causing the problem? Do I need to replace the rebound damper with new one?
I'm facing same issue right now. Please let me know if you happen to know the reason
nice and clean job!
Hey Man!! I am from Bangladesh where a lot of stuff is not available to service. I need to service my Rockshox Recon TK (Coil Shock) with oil inside. I have learnt a lot from you and keep my Cycle alive and running to the fullest. Now SRAM datasheet says for upper leg I need 5W and for lower leg 15w. I can't find anywhere. Can I use Motorbikes' same weight fork oil for this? Or what may be the alternative?? I will be waiting for your response.
I use dirt bike/motorcycle suspension oil of the same weight, works fine for me.
it would be ok for a coil fork, no problem. I did that a few times with Suntour and worked fine.
The top cap is not threaded into the spring assembly on my fork any idea how to remove the spring?
Try Rockshox wesite. They will almost certainly have a very comprehensive guide to your fork and instructions on how to service it as well as a huge spares catalogue...
hello, i made the service today. Now, i can't block the fork, if i move the selector nothing append. Any idea?
Did you figured it out? I have the same problem
es gibt ja unterschiedliche recons und ich weiß nicht genau welche ich habe sind bei der recon alle dichtungsringe gleich oder hat jedes recon modell andere
Cheers for this video, massive help since I lost oil out of the LHS fork whilst storing the bike on my garage wall. Do you reckon I could use red grease (for use with rubber) instead of the SRAM butter? Thanks again. 👍🏼
you can but depending on the compound of the grease it can absorb dust and create some friction, on the other hand any kind of suspension grease (not just sram butter) can be used.
@@here_is_gabe cheers for the reply 👍🏼
Fork movement may get jerky when using the wrong lube, but you may well have found out by now.
Спасибо огромное за столь подробное описание.
А сколько он в штаны масла залил?
@@kyrillbelousov3056 по мануалу положено 6 гр.масла 15 w
If u remove those black rings, does it makes the travel longer?
Recon forks have a 20mm black spacer that can be removed to increase the travel.
Nice work. Is the lockout always that soft? Used to have 2008 SID with motion control damper and if the oil level wasn't high enough in the damper you would have a soft lockout.
Great Video but I was wondering if there is any way to make this fork more progressive? Because currently I am changing air pressure almost every week for different terrain...
Mario Drăgoi yea
@Mario Drăgoi you can't put any into the recon
Pull the 20mm spacer under the top out bumper to make it 150mm and run a little higher pressure.
@@TheFlyingMechanic thanks for the clue!
Can you add extra oil in the spring side to reduce air volume? Anyone tried? Similar in principle to tokens, it works on (old) Marzocchi air sprung Bombers... though they do take alot more oil as they are open bath damped.
muy buen video. me podrías decir cuánto aceite lleva una Recon RL Boost 29,. (sin espaciadores (all-travel)) 150 mm de recorrido. Muchas gracias .
En el manual.de RockShox online sale
Hi, I have problems with te exact same fork, the problem is that when the fork return it make an ugly thunk sound , but I know that is not the rebound in a very fast click also when I put my bike upside down the thunk noise disappear but only for couple of minutes and the ugly sound return.
Hey brother how much oil did you put in the bottom of each fork...it didn't show
check out sram.com/service. they have all the oil volumes there. I think he didn't do it for this video because it varies depending on the travel and size of the fork.
At the start i found another error! The cleaning with brusch is not good idea! This is totaly wrong!
That seal head on the damper leg is giving me trouble, really jammed in there
That thing is a PITA, I disassembled my judy silver fork and removed that piece on the air spring leg, after trying very very hard to install it again I decided to not remove it from the damper side. Best decision ever, I think that trying to install that thing on the damper side is harder than install it on the spring side (you would have to use something to keep the seal in the leg).
Try heating the plastic piece on hot water, it worked for me.
NOTE: I'm talking about installing again the black plastic piece shown at 24:41, the ones on my judy are different.
@@totoxahc looks super easy on the video 😄
@@totoxahc I can't get the black clip on the damper side on either. Does heating it up actually work or should I try sanding down certain parts of it to make it fit better
@@Wintersoldier-bx2xr heating it allowed me to install that piece again. It is still hard but a little easier. I would not sand it. Just leave it for a moment in hot water and try again
@@totoxahc Too late lol, I rounded off the bottom side that sits flush with the tube with a dremel. It went right back on.
Brilliant...thanks dude!!
Six minutes and 29 seconds of bike washing? Please, life is too short for that!
Its all part of the process baby, I appreciated it.
yeah the washing was a bit dragged out. You do want to make sure there's atleast no big clumps but since you are going to be cleaning the insides of the legs anyway, might as well just do the total cleaning when they are apart. I just sprayed my fork down with windex and wiped it off before taking the lowers off, since mine was pretty clean to begin with.
yeah, there's no way to skip ahead!
Could have save a ton of time with a waterhose
NO 6 minutes and 29 seconds of bike SCRATCHING! He had a bucket of water from the beginning, WTF?
is it really necessary to spend extra on rockshox specific oils when you can buy generic options for half the price?
did you try the offbrand oils? i see a lot of people using them
@@alexambro4998 i did, and it worked well. Oils for motorcycle shocks are the same and much cheaper. Buy a quality oil for motorcycle shocks would be my advice, just use the appropriate viscosities per the rockshox manuals
How do I know the correct positioning for re-adding the lockout cap and the rebound control? Should it always be in a certain position after a service, or would it be the same position as I took it out?
I think it doesn't matter, you can test it before adding the screw like he does. If the dial doesn't line up where you want it just rotate the plate and add the dial. Open to closed is only a 3/4 turn.
Thanks for posting this. It’s quite helpful. A question: @31:45 what is the purpose of infilling some fluid? And is the fluid just regular suspension fluid? How much is it?
That's the lower leg oil. IIRC each one needs 6ml of 15wt shock oil