Problem with Pike 454's, please help!!

undapressure

Hi all

I have a set of Pike 454 u-turn (coil) on my bike and they have a problem holding their travel. If I take the travel up from 95mm to 120 or 140mm then put any real pressure on the fork to compress it, the travel adjuster switch spins all the way around until it gets back to 95mm travel. This happens every time I increase the travel but I have cable tied the travel adjuster switch in place at 120mm and it holds the travel perfectly. Everything else seems to work ok and the forks were only serviced by Fisher 4/5 months back.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem is or how I can fix this problem??

Thanks for your help in advance.

supersonic

Does the travel adjuster click when you turn it?

dave_hill

It sounds very odd that the fork COMPRESSES to it's shortest length - surely if the U-turn adjuster is knackered the fork should extend, being a coil spring?

You turn the adjuster anti-clockwise to extend the forks - you're unscrewing it. Hard to see how it can screw itself down. Unless the forks are possessed, obviously.

undapressure

supersonic wrote:

Does the travel adjuster click when you turn it?

It does click and stops rotating when it reaches the max and min travel length as it should do. I really have no idea what the problem with them is.

supersonic

My uturn assembly has the springs and detents missing, and they also creep downwards as I use them. Not sure why with yours though!

When a coil is compressed it rotates slightly.

Jimbo.

undapressure wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Does the travel adjuster click when you turn it?

It does click and stops rotating when it reaches the max and min travel length as it should do. I really have no idea what the problem with them is.

But does it click firmly AND hold position anywhere between maximum and minimum?

Whip the U-Turn adjuster off and make sure the springs/detents/ball bearings are all present and correct. By the sounds of it, something's missing from here.

undapressure

Jimbo. wrote:

undapressure wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Does the travel adjuster click when you turn it?

It does click and stops rotating when it reaches the max and min travel length as it should do. I really have no idea what the problem with them is.

But does it click firmly AND hold position anywhere between maximum and minimum?

Whip the U-Turn adjuster off and make sure the springs/detents/ball bearings are all present and correct. By the sounds of it, something's missing from here.

It doesn't click really firmly but certainly feel it when it does. It doesn't hold its travel anywhere between max and min, but it is zip tied at 12omm and holds its travel fine. Seems like the problem is to do with the adjuster itself?

I took it into Mud dock in Bristol and they had never seen a fork do this, they suggested it may be something loose in the fork.

dave_hill

A trip to TF Tuned it is then...

bungalistic

It's a common problem with Pikes, I have the 426 coil u-turn model and mine do this also, although they don't sound quite as bad as yours.

Take off the u-turn cap and check for the small detent springs and ball bearings, I think they come with 2-3 as standard, you can stiffen the u-turn by adding more springs and ball bearings in, mate of mine has about 6 in his now to stop the travel reducing.

I rang TF tuned to ask about this problem and there is no 'proper' fix for the issue, just more springs and ball bearings, or as you have done use something to disable the u-turn.

undapressure

bungalistic wrote:

It's a common problem with Pikes, I have the 426 coil u-turn model and mine do this also, although they don't sound quite as bad as yours.

Take off the u-turn cap and check for the small detent springs and ball bearings
.

TF Tuned said its the same problem so I bought the spring and bearing kit but the allen bolt is solid in the top of the fork. The new one has loctite on the thread but the one in the fork won't budge. Any ideas how to get it out?
Thanks

Shorty12

Boiling water on it