You need to push the sealhead all the way up when installing the airspring, otherwise you'll have too much pressure in the negative spring and have fork suckdown.
Thanks Antti - I had a ride already with the fork and performance seemed just like before (didn’t notice any suck down) , but for sure will keep this pinned so others that may do it can see. Thanks for your help, Rob
Hi Rob that video just displayed 1: precisely how to complete the task at hand and without complifications 2 : why you are not just the leader in ebike TH-cam videos but a clear example too all but the very best on how to present a TH-cam channel in the most professional format. I notice that every single movement and position and word is taken into serious consideration that will this give the viewer,subscribers and potential subscribers the most satisfying understanding of the content displayed and all with lighting and viewing crystal clear. That was next level pro . Even parktool would be impressed and they are pros at it
You need 3ml of 0w-20 on top of the air spring. Have noticed that people are buying any size zeb ultimate due to stock issues and just changing the airshaft. I was lucky and managed to get a 160 29 zeb ultimate and a fender in the uk as nothing arriving till April now this year. This vid is to the point, very clear and should help allot of people :)
When you record psi by attaching a shock pump the psi is going to drop due to the additional volume in the system (the shock pump hose) so it should read a few psi less than what was in the fork.
Thumbs up Rob. Your bike stand seemed fairly stable especially when you were removing the lowers. It beats my method as I usually remove the fork completely from the frame. Keep up the vids mate.
Hi Rob. Loving the new workshop. How about doing a video on upgrading the Bosch Purion display to a Kiox or Nyon? I to have ordered a Trek Rail 5 but still waiting for delivery. Keep up the good work.
Hi, Nice video. I ´m interesting in the opposite, I want to go from 160 to 170 in my Lyrik. Do I have to change the damper and the airshaft or just the airshaft? Thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻
50hrs usage service interval for these fork is a bit too aggressive and costly even though it is the manufacturer's recommendation. Just give it a proper clean or wash after a dusty or muddy ride especially on the seals then a drop of silicon oil maybe once a month on the stanchions to keep everything smooth and also maintains the rubber seals/gasket soft and fresh.
thanks for easy to follow instructions, can i go from a 160 to 180mm travel?? (new frame states 170/180mm forks, my zeb ultimates are 160 for the old frame)
For my next bike i was looking for combination of a delux coil and a ZEB aswell. I am really interested in a Propain Ekano but i cant find any good in depth reviews. is there any chance you are reviewing one this year?
Check you out getting all technical mechanic on us Rob! Workshop looks good. I like the way you are now showing people that they can learn how to do work on their own bike like you have. It's cool man!
Rob, my stock 2022 Rail 5 came with a Gold RL - fairly sub par for the Rail. I just upgraded to the Zeb 170 and I’m loving it. It really made my Rail rock. Why are you moving back down to 160 from 170.
@@TheSuperpod you will love the Zeb. It turned my Rail into a much improved bike. I had a hard time with the Gold RL when it got rough and hard. I was thinking just how a much heavier bike performed but not the case anymore.
Great vid Rob and new studio much brighter and looking good. I would have washed the bike firstly though or at least the forks to avoid some grit getting in 😉
Hello, I have a rail also but I am wondering why you are going back to 6" travel. I was just getting ready to bump mine to 7" but then I watched this video and you going back. Thanks
That was going to be my question too. Rob: why are you going from 170 to 160? I have a Levo with a 150mm Lyrik and I’m thinking about getting a new air shock and bumping up to 160mm. I know the 160 will slacken the front a bit. Did you have a problem with 170 vs 160?
I have a 2019 Fox performance fork with a fit grip damper. Do I need to replace this damper or just the air shaft? I couldn’t find any info, related to this damper, and travel adjust. Thanks.
How much travel can you add to a fork? For instance I have a 29 Yari 130, I just changed bike and wondering if I can modify the Yari to a 160 travel? Or do I have to buy another fork?
You can take that Yari to any size between 120 and 180. Rockshox and others say not to go more than 20mm either way. It changes the geometry of the bike so be careful.
So just to be clear, the air shaft and air spring have to be swapped? Forgive me for my stupidity, first time doing this. Going from 140 to 160mm on my pike ultimate.
Why are you refusing the travel back to 160? I have a 160 and was thinking about increasing it if I go to Wales or something a bit more demanding. What shock have you got? Mine came with no comp adjustment and I was thinking about upgrading?
Hi Nick. I think the Zeb at 170mm raises the front too much on the Rail. It feels more balanced with 160. I found at 170mm it understeered a bit and I’d have to really weight the front to get it to handle as well as the 160. For sure 170mm would be epic for somewhere more DH focussed though
Nice vid to commission the new studio. I was going to suggest this but you beat me to it. This is one of the first jobs on my list if I keep my 160 Yari instead of upgrading to the Zeb. Trouble is every time I think I am ok with upgrading the Yari, I see another vid with the Zeb and I just want that fork. Do you have the new EMTB-lite mode on the Rail? I am wondering whether to go and get this flashed in on my Rail 7. I almost never use E-mtb as it gives me too much but I love the variable assist that it gives and I am always manually changing between eco and tour. Comparison vid?
Hey, I am trying to find out if you can travel the ZEB Ultimate down to 150mm? Documents state the 150mm airshaft works in every ZEB up to the Ultimate except for the Dual Position ones. So there is a 150mm airspring shaft but the ZEB is only being sold with 160-190mm option. Before I buy a random travel one and a 150mm spring I am keen on finding out, if I am right :P Sure I could go with a Lyrik, but the ZEB looks so freaking good and I am around 230 pounds.
although it seems easy for someone who is a newbie when it comes to technical part of mtb and doesnt have all these tools...i recommend rather paying a specialist to do this in order to avoid damaging your suspension...just not worth messing around if you aint handy
Love your videos but this video is so mis titled as you didn’t address the point of change the travel, how to chose the air spring based on the desired travel and any changes in geometry depending on the travel change. Also, there’s many videos on this process so is another needed???
Hey mate, good points - was my first vid of the kind of style (workshop stuff) so was focussed on getting it done rather than the why - but you make an excellent point that I’ll definitely included in future vids (the ‘why’ behind the mods) Cheers, Rob
I’m getting a zeb charger r 29er and currently I have a zeb ultimate 27.5 both 170mm I am wondering if I change the damper and stuff from the ultimate to the charger r will it still work since it’s from a 27.5 to. 29?
Rob, would you say the ZEB is well worth it's price for an upgrade over the Yari? Or perhaps modify the Yari with more travel and tune to my liking and no need to upgrade? Just wonder if it's that much of a difference really?
Depends. Will it feel different - yes totally. Steering stiffness is noticeably different. It’s damping character is also very good. Off the top feels ‘soft’ / aka plush but good ramp up into mid stroke and with one token I can’t bottom it out. But you could upgrade the Yari to a Lyrik ultimate spec with the damper too and then you’ve got a brilliant fork for a bit less cash.
@@RobRidesEMTB Thank you for your reply and info. I have a Trek rail 9.7 and have been upgrading after a few months owning it. Just wondered if the shock would be noticeably different. Went from NX brakes to Saints, best brakes ever. Pretty much an XT/XTR Shimano guy in my past. I think my next bike will be, fully loaded with the things that matter and make the experience, the best possible. Appreciate it very much!
If it was built to be longer as a set of travels in that range with a spacer limiting the travel, Then simply yes.. Otherwise no. Only ways to find out is take it apart or do research. You won't be able to change stanchion diameter though from 34 to any number without changing the whole fork lol
Can THIS be done to rockshox debon air E-mtb model RL? they are 150 stock (atleast on my LEVO)but I want to try 160, anyways it has some sag meters on them and they only goes from 120 to 150 ,,(probably not so important) anyways Will The fork be just as strong And rigid it's just anyways is it possible to do only 5 or let's say 15mm difference or is it only possible to do whole centimeters?
You need to push the sealhead all the way up when installing the airspring, otherwise you'll have too much pressure in the negative spring and have fork suckdown.
Thanks Antti - I had a ride already with the fork and performance seemed just like before (didn’t notice any suck down) , but for sure will keep this pinned so others that may do it can see. Thanks for your help, Rob
Hi Antti, Aren't there those air equalizer ports just for that so how there can get too much pressure in negative spring?
I spoke with RockShox about this and they confirmed it should be fine.
Once you pump the fork and the seal go past the equalization hole, the chambers will equalize again.
This was true of old Recon forks.
Hi Rob that video just displayed
1: precisely how to complete the task at hand and without complifications
2 : why you are not just the leader in ebike TH-cam videos but a clear example too all but the very best on how to present a TH-cam channel in the most professional format. I notice that every single movement and position and word is taken into serious consideration that will this give the viewer,subscribers and potential subscribers the most satisfying understanding of the content displayed and all with lighting and viewing crystal clear. That was next level pro . Even parktool would be impressed and they are pros at it
You need 3ml of 0w-20 on top of the air spring. Have noticed that people are buying any size zeb ultimate due to stock issues and just changing the airshaft. I was lucky and managed to get a 160 29 zeb ultimate and a fender in the uk as nothing arriving till April now this year. This vid is to the point, very clear and should help allot of people :)
You need to put 3ml of oil in the air spring side before fitting the top cap.
Perfect 1st vid to show off your sweet new shop! 🤙🏻
Cheers Sean 👊
Useful video. Never heard about or noticed the sided circlip before. Now I have to take my forks apart to check!
Great video Rob, love the pacing showing the steps, easy to follow. Workshops looking sweet!
Yessss!! I did this. Wish u made this video when I did it. I went from 150 to 160. Soo much better !! Don’t peddle strike anymore.
YT decoy 29er.
When you record psi by attaching a shock pump the psi is going to drop due to the additional volume in the system (the shock pump hose) so it should read a few psi less than what was in the fork.
Great video! Was planning to do the exact same job going from 100mm to 120mm on my Yari!
Good stuff 👍
Thumbs up Rob. Your bike stand seemed fairly stable especially when you were removing the lowers. It beats my method as I usually remove the fork completely from the frame.
Keep up the vids mate.
Hi Rob. Loving the new workshop. How about doing a video on upgrading the Bosch Purion display to a Kiox or Nyon? I to have ordered a Trek Rail 5 but still waiting for delivery. Keep up the good work.
Throughly enjoyed this Rob and that workshop 🔥
Hi, Nice video. I ´m interesting in the opposite, I want to go from 160 to 170 in my Lyrik. Do I have to change the damper and the airshaft or just the airshaft? Thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Just the airshaft
50hrs usage service interval for these fork is a bit too aggressive and costly even though it is the manufacturer's recommendation. Just give it a proper clean or wash after a dusty or muddy ride especially on the seals then a drop of silicon oil maybe once a month on the stanchions to keep everything smooth and also maintains the rubber seals/gasket soft and fresh.
Love the new Laboratory Dr Rob. 🔥👨⚕️🚵♂️
Loving the workshop/studio!!!!!!! 🤙🏻🤘🏻😍
thanks for easy to follow instructions, can i go from a 160 to 180mm travel?? (new frame states 170/180mm forks, my zeb ultimates are 160 for the old frame)
Nice video Rob, more of these please
Nice vid Rob, I didn't know about the orientation of the circlip, going to have to check mine now🥵
For my next bike i was looking for combination of a delux coil and a ZEB aswell. I am really interested in a Propain Ekano but i cant find any good in depth reviews. is there any chance you are reviewing one this year?
Yep!
Check you out getting all technical mechanic on us Rob!
Workshop looks good. I like the way you are now showing people that they can learn how to do work on their own bike like you have. It's cool man!
Rob, my stock 2022 Rail 5 came with a Gold RL - fairly sub par for the Rail. I just upgraded to the Zeb 170 and I’m loving it. It really made my Rail rock. Why are you moving back down to 160 from 170.
I just broke something inside my 35 Gold RL on 2023 Fuel EX-e after just 150 miles. Purchased Zeb 160 to hopefully improve the front end.
@@TheSuperpod you will love the Zeb. It turned my Rail into a much improved bike. I had a hard time with the Gold RL when it got rough and hard. I was thinking just how a much heavier bike performed but not the case anymore.
Great vid Rob and new studio much brighter and looking good. I would have washed the bike firstly though or at least the forks to avoid some grit getting in 😉
Wow thank you so much for this Rob👋🙏. It looks doable 🤷♂️🤣
Nice job Rob
Beautifully done sir 🙌
Hello, I have a rail also but I am wondering why you are going back to 6" travel. I was just getting ready to bump mine to 7" but then I watched this video and you going back. Thanks
Nice one Rob, another great video 👍🏻
Excellent tutorial, Thank you
Hey Rob. Just wondering why you're going back to 160mm? I have a rail and was contemplating going to 170mm. Maybe you could do a comparison video. 🤙
Great video mate.
Great video 👍 Why not keep the 170? I was thinking about changing my Zeb from 160 to 170 on my levo. You have me wondering if that’s a bad idea.
That was going to be my question too. Rob: why are you going from 170 to 160?
I have a Levo with a 150mm Lyrik and I’m thinking about getting a new air shock and bumping up to 160mm.
I know the 160 will slacken the front a bit. Did you have a problem with 170 vs 160?
I have a 2019 Fox performance fork with a fit grip damper.
Do I need to replace this damper or just the air shaft?
I couldn’t find any info, related to this damper, and travel adjust.
Thanks.
What´s the difference on length between those shafts?
Echo other comments very good, reminds me I need to do my 50 hour service 😀
Can you do the same on a rockshox Judy gold?
I took my lyric from 160 down to 150. Is the air chart on the side of the forks still a good reference?
Did this last year aswell. Easy job. But do you trust yourself doing the 200h service on fork and damper DIY?
Hello can this be done on all rockshox forks looking at going from 130 to 160mm on my sons bike thanks
Well done Rob great video.
Do you know if this can be done on the RockShox SID 120mm / 35mm stanchions? Can it be bumped to 130mm?
How much travel can you add to a fork? For instance I have a 29 Yari 130, I just changed bike and wondering if I can modify the Yari to a 160 travel? Or do I have to buy another fork?
You can take that Yari to any size between 120 and 180. Rockshox and others say not to go more than 20mm either way. It changes the geometry of the bike so be careful.
So just to be clear, the air shaft and air spring have to be swapped? Forgive me for my stupidity, first time doing this. Going from 140 to 160mm on my pike ultimate.
Why did you switch back from 170 to 160 airshaft on your fork? I'm about to buy a 170 right now for my Yari on my Rail.
Did you not like the 170? What was the main reason for switching back?
Why are you refusing the travel back to 160? I have a 160 and was thinking about increasing it if I go to Wales or something a bit more demanding.
What shock have you got? Mine came with no comp adjustment and I was thinking about upgrading?
Hi Nick. I think the Zeb at 170mm raises the front too much on the Rail. It feels more balanced with 160. I found at 170mm it understeered a bit and I’d have to really weight the front to get it to handle as well as the 160. For sure 170mm would be epic for somewhere more DH focussed though
Also running the DPX2 from the 2021 Slash on it. It’s 62.5mm shaft length so gives a bit more travel on the rear.
I have a Jam2 which has a 150mm travel and rack of 51mm if I install a zeb on it with 160mm travel which has a 44mm rack will it be ok
Nice vid to commission the new studio. I was going to suggest this but you beat me to it. This is one of the first jobs on my list if I keep my 160 Yari instead of upgrading to the Zeb. Trouble is every time I think I am ok with upgrading the Yari, I see another vid with the Zeb and I just want that fork. Do you have the new EMTB-lite mode on the Rail? I am wondering whether to go and get this flashed in on my Rail 7. I almost never use E-mtb as it gives me too much but I love the variable assist that it gives and I am always manually changing between eco and tour. Comparison vid?
So Rob I'm I right in thinking if I buy a 180mm fork I can change the air shaft to 160mm if I needed too? Thanks again for the content!!
Yes 👍
@@RobRidesEMTB do you know if the Frame warranty will be affected if I put 170 mm on a levo ? ( I know your not specialized) but you might know 🤣🤣
I believe they only warranty to 160mm
Good one Rob
Thanks for this great video, really good for us amateur bike "mechanics". Very nice bike "clinic" too. Great work mate👍😊
Cheers Romy 👊
Hey, I am trying to find out if you can travel the ZEB Ultimate down to 150mm? Documents state the 150mm airshaft works in every ZEB up to the Ultimate except for the Dual Position ones. So there is a 150mm airspring shaft but the ZEB is only being sold with 160-190mm option. Before I buy a random travel one and a 150mm spring I am keen on finding out, if I am right :P Sure I could go with a Lyrik, but the ZEB looks so freaking good and I am around 230 pounds.
hello, i can change travel from 150/160 to 180/190mm?
although it seems easy for someone who is a newbie when it comes to technical part of mtb and doesnt have all these tools...i recommend rather paying a specialist to do this in order to avoid damaging your suspension...just not worth messing around if you aint handy
170/150 trek rail then ? Not sure weather to do it to mine
180/150
Why back to 160mm?
Love your videos but this video is so mis titled as you didn’t address the point of change the travel, how to chose the air spring based on the desired travel and any changes in geometry depending on the travel change. Also, there’s many videos on this process so is another needed???
Hey mate, good points - was my first vid of the kind of style (workshop stuff) so was focussed on getting it done rather than the why - but you make an excellent point that I’ll definitely included in future vids (the ‘why’ behind the mods) Cheers, Rob
I’m getting a zeb charger r 29er and currently I have a zeb ultimate 27.5 both 170mm I am wondering if I change the damper and stuff from the ultimate to the charger r will it still work since it’s from a 27.5 to. 29?
Personally I take off the fork to do any work on it, that way I can also clean and regrease the headset too. British weather wreaks havoc on the bike
Rob, would you say the ZEB is well worth it's price for an upgrade over the Yari? Or perhaps modify the Yari with more travel and tune to my liking and no need to upgrade? Just wonder if it's that much of a difference really?
Depends. Will it feel different - yes totally. Steering stiffness is noticeably different. It’s damping character is also very good. Off the top feels ‘soft’ / aka plush but good ramp up into mid stroke and with one token I can’t bottom it out. But you could upgrade the Yari to a Lyrik ultimate spec with the damper too and then you’ve got a brilliant fork for a bit less cash.
@@RobRidesEMTB Thank you for your reply and info. I have a Trek rail 9.7 and have been upgrading after a few months owning it. Just wondered if the shock would be noticeably different. Went from NX brakes to Saints, best brakes ever. Pretty much an XT/XTR Shimano guy in my past. I think my next bike will be, fully loaded with the things that matter and make the experience, the best possible. Appreciate it very much!
Great video, I had no idea you could change this. Does this mean I can change my Fox 34s to Fox 36s and go from 150 to 160mm?
You can't change a 34 into a 36 since the number means the stanchion diameter in mm, about changing travel I'm not sure.
If it was built to be longer as a set of travels in that range with a spacer limiting the travel, Then simply yes.. Otherwise no. Only ways to find out is take it apart or do research. You won't be able to change stanchion diameter though from 34 to any number without changing the whole fork lol
Can THIS be done to rockshox debon air E-mtb model RL? they are 150 stock (atleast on my LEVO)but I want to try 160, anyways it has some sag meters on them and they only goes from 120 to 150 ,,(probably not so important) anyways Will The fork be just as strong And rigid it's just anyways is it possible to do only 5 or let's say 15mm difference or is it only possible to do whole centimeters?
Hey Rob, what pedals are on your bike?
Hey - Hope flat pedals. They’re great!
Good vid
70k subs 👌
Better to remove the fork to do the job, especially as you can clean and service the headset at the same time.
Great!!!
Both rods should be at maximum extension but since you didn't push the seal head up when installing the airspring, the airspring is sucked in.
There is a chance that the ZEB can be reduced to 100mm ? I know it’s weird, but is it possible ? 😊
I never saw anyone putting grease inside. I mean there will be fluid. Are you sure about that?