Rockshox Tora 302 not locking out. Help?

Gwaredd

Hi all.

Have some Tora 302 coil sprung forks fitted to my bike & they have started to play up by not locking out properly.

By this, I mean that when I pull the lever to the lockout position, they still retain about 30mm of bounce before going solid, whereas before they would lock solid right at the top of the travel. I have serviced them & replaced the oil, re-greased the fork etc, but they are no different. I didn't see anything obvious when I had them apart.

They work fine when not locked out. Any ideas what it could be?

stumpyjon

Is there enough oil in the damping circuit? It's not unsual to have a bit of movement in some forks even when locked out. My REBAs move about 20mm when locked out.

Gwaredd

Well that was my thinking, that some oil had escaped somehow, but none had unless it was overfilled in the first place. I replace the oil with 7.5wt instead of 5wt & added an extra slug for good measure, but no change.

Tim.s

The lockout cartridge packed up on some Tora's I had a few years back, I had forgotten to unlock them before a bumpy decent and because they dont have a gate it knackers the cartridge. I blagged mine on warranty.

A damaged cartridge gives similar symtoms to what you describe.

supersonic

They should move a little when locked - I would say they were not working properly to start with, and now have bedded in are working as intended!

Turnkey lockout does have a blowoff valve.

Gwaredd

By a 'little' I would assume 2-4mm, not 30mm+ though!

Went out last night & everyone elses shocks (various Fox, SID's etc) all lock out solid whereas mine bounce. Like I said, it used to lock out fine.

I will take them apart again, but I'm suspecting the lockout cartridge as mentioned above is faulty, as I am guilty of forgetting to un-lock them from time to time on the rough stuff.

Anyone know where & how much a new one can be sourced from?

supersonic

Mine move about 20-25mm when locked. All of my RS forks have. 2-4mm is way too little for this design, it is intended to move to aid traction.

Though if you feel it is faulty, contact TF Tuned.

stumpyjon

Sonic's right, I wouldn't compare locked out Rockshox with other brands, my 100mm REBAs (when working properly :evil: ) do have a noticeable amount of travel, around 20mm I'd guess, when locked. When I lock out my Fox Talas 140mm forks there's no movement at all.

30mm does sound a bit too much though.

Gwaredd

Had another look at this last night. I have 2 mates with SID's, one with a DART & the other has a set of Pikes. All lock out instantly with about 2 - 3mm of travel - the same as mine used to do.

So, re-stripped it all down & this time I stripped the damper unit & blew through it whilst opening & closing the lockout feature. With it all re-assembled again, it seems to have pretty much done the trick.

Un locked it will bounce cleanly, & when locked it has a compression of about 30mm, then gradually less untill it locks out after about 6 - 7 compressions - although this only happens on the full 130mm travel setting. If I wind it down to 100mm it locks out instantly.

So, it's better, but not perfect. I suspect a new damper cartridge would sort it but I'll probably upgrade them to Rebas before I get round to fitting one.

Thanks for the advice though.

riggsy81

my 318s move about 20mm when on lock out which is the way they are designed I think. A new cartridge wont be cheap

BoardinBob

My toras move <5mm than locked out

My recons move <5mm when locked out

supersonic

Are we talking form fully extedned or from the sag point?

BoardinBob

Fully extended.

Big hits will trigger the blow out valve but when they're locked out, they're properly locked out.

supersonic

Just checked my 318 and when locked out I get an inch of travel (very progressive) from fully extended. A decent hit of course blows it through.

Looking at the RS diagrams, it would appear Turnkey should move a little less.

Gwaredd

Yeah, fully extended. As mentioned above, at first I get about 15mm of travel (was 30mm, seems to be getting less) when going from off to on, then it 'pumps up' & locks completely & only travels about 5mm max.

I'm wondering if there was a bit of crap in the damper preventing it from closing fully & I've now blown it out. Glad I have though as I hated the noticeable bob when climbing steep hills on lockout.

supersonic

Might have been, or the oil was returning to the rightful place.

Does seem to be some variation accross models.

Gwaredd

An inch sounds excessive. Perhaps yours are suffering from the same problem as mine were? Do they 'pump up' solid on lockout or does it retain the inch of travel constantly? Also, is this on the full 130mm setting?

supersonic

It is constant. It will not move past that lock point once I reach it under smooth riding. But from sag point obviously the positive movement is somewhat less of course. I like it that way, just gives a bit more traction!

But this damper is the non floodgate adjustable model.

Gwaredd

Hmmm... that is exactly how mine was. 30mm of travel before lock out but would then not budge past that point. OK when on the smooth stuff, but when pulling hard up hill, I didn't like the bob at all.

To me, lockout should mean just that, no matter whereabouts it is in the travel. 130mm 100mm 85mm - it should just lock out, no?

supersonic

Some models yes. But RS says in the manual and blurb that the fork will still retain a small amount of travel to aid traction and protect the internals.

I don't really want it locking right at the top when fully extended as it will slacken the head angle, which is the last thing you want when you are climbing which is where it is most likely to be used.

Personal preference I guess!