Reba Floodgate - Flooded?

stumpyjon

I've got a set of 08 Reba Team forks with a PopLoc remote (on/off type) running at 100mm travel. The lockout doesn't seem to be working even with the floodgate threshold set to max (fully clockwise). I have adjusted the Floodgate threshold without the forks in the locked out position, only read in the manual that you should adjust the floodgate with the forks locked after I'd done it :oops: . Could this have upset them. Forks are 3 months old and have done about 130 miles XC. Any ideas or do I need to take em back?

Also any advice on general setup? I'm running the positive chamber at 100 PSI (I'm 83Kg) which is right on the bottom of the recommended pressure range and this gives me about 20% sag. Negative air pressure is down at 80 PSI, if I increase it closer to the positive pressure it just seems to suck the forks down and lose travel.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

nicklouse

thought i had answered this!

Pressures sound about right, but as you add neg air you WILL need to add pos air or you will suck the fork down.

Flood gate might need a look at.

Look at getting the fork set right first for feel and sag. then look at the poplock.

make sure it is being pulled full on.

stumpyjon

Cheers Nick, confirms what I finally worked out for myself that I had too much -ve pressure. Think I'll take the forks back to shop I bought them from so they can look at the FloodGate, the remote is definitely pulling it fully on, had it apart following the links in tech section to check (could it be oil level related? too little oil?).

You may have answered this already, my PC was playing up and it double posted so I deleted one post and they both disappeared? Had to write it all again :evil: (thanks for the answering twice though :oops: ).

clarkson

stumpyjon wrote:

I've got a set of 08 Reba Team forks with a PopLoc remote (on/off type) running at 100mm travel. The lockout doesn't seem to be working even with the floodgate threshold set to max (fully clockwise). I have adjusted the Floodgate threshold without the forks in the locked out position, only read in the manual that you should adjust the floodgate with the forks locked after I'd done it :oops: . Could this have upset them. Forks are 3 months old and have done about 130 miles XC. Any ideas or do I need to take em back?

Also any advice on general setup? I'm running the positive chamber at 100 PSI (I'm 83Kg) which is right on the bottom of the recommended pressure range and this gives me about 20% sag. Negative air pressure is down at 80 PSI, if I increase it closer to the positive pressure it just seems to suck the forks down and lose travel.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

mine are the same year and roughyl same age. i adjust mine with it locked or unlocked. makes no difference. thats about the same set up as mnine too. my negative air is aobut 70psi and the + is about 100.

supersonic

Even when fully locked, the forks still move 20mm or so. Have you tried pushing them all the way down?

stumpyjon

I thought the lockout / Floodgate was there to control when the forks become active rather than the amount of travel? Either way they move as much and as easily with or without the lockout on with the floodgate right up.

LBS time, at least I bought them from a shop, I'll take the bike down and let them scientifically bounce the forks up and down.

Clarkson

thanks that definitely put my mind at rest. I was following the setup instructions (as you're supposed to) and started with both chambers equal. The manual indicated that adding more -ve air would make them more small bump compliant, all it seemed to do was suck the forks down. I'll try riding it with the new settings tonight and compare with last night.

stumpyjon

Decided to check full travel on these tonight, emptied both chambers and then refilled the -ve chamber to suck them down. Could only get them to compress by 70mm, left 35mm of stanchion exposed :shock:. Definitely something not right, tried the same thing with my Fox Talas forks and they compressed completely, no stanchion visible.

Late night openning at the LBS tomorrow night, no wonder I was disappointed with the performance of these forks that everyone else seems to rate, mine don't work .

supersonic

The positive chamber would still have some air in it - and as the negative extends the fork, it compresses the positive and increases its pressure. When inflating the fork form scratch, deflate the neagtive first, then inflate positive, then negative. Though I agree that a look over at the shop is a good idea.

RE the lockout: RS designed the fork to have 20mm or so of free travel even when fully locked! This is to aid traction. You are right about floodgate - it sets the threshold of which the fork 'blows off' - obviously has to pass that 20mm though!

stumpyjon

LBS now has my fork, they confirmed it is one poorly fork and can't work out why it's stuck with a max of 70mm travel and the lock out isn't working. They're going to have a quick look at the damper and oil levels tomorrow and if they can't work out what's wrong it's off to Fisher under warranty.

Moral of the story, get to know your fork from new, don't wait 3 months thinking it's a bit pants before having a proper go at setting it up.

Moral number 2, it can pay off buying from the LBS even if it does sometimes work out a bit more expensive, there was no hassle tonight, I could talk things through with a human being face to face and there was no issue over getting it sorted under warranty.

stumpyjon

For info for anyone else with a similar problem my LBS appear to have come up trumps, got the forks back today.

Apparently an oil seal had failed in the right leg (looked like it was a manufacturing issue on the O ring) result was most of the oil was in the lower leg rather than the damping system. This meant that travel was reduced (oil doesn't compress well) as the bottom of the leg was full of oil and there was no where for the stanchion to go and no oil in the damping cartridge, hence the compression damping was't working.

Shall refit the fork tomorrow and go play but it's obvious from the oil tide mark they now fully compress. Hurrah for LBSs (shameless plug for Ride On in Rawtenstall coming up ).

supersonic

Ah, good stuff!

All my stabs in the dark were wrong then lol