Shock service, how often.

Sam J

Hi guys and girls. I've just started to get into mtb'ing and the bug has well and truly bitten. I'm 28 and feel like a kid waiting for Christmas every weekend, I will have quite a few questions to punish you with over the coming months, so go easy on me with my list of dumb querys.

First things first though. I've recently bought a bike that has rockshox pike coil forks and a fox rp3 shock. It was off eBay and from what I can gather hasn't been ridden very much at all. The forks have been serviced by TF at some point as they have a small sticker on them but after asking the seller with no reply, I'm not sure when. How often should I be getting the suspension serviced or is it possible to do it myself as I have seen seal kits for sale ?

Everything seems to be working as it should and I'm not one to meddle with thongs that aren't broken but I also want to maintain everything as well as I can.

Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

sniper68

Service times depending on manufacturer.Some say every 50 hours some every 150 hours or yearly.Basic services(oil/seals etc) are easy enough for the DIYer and service manuals can be found on the manufacturers website.I have mine done yearly(to keep the 5 warranty)and this paid off as my 3 year old fork was replaced under warranty recently.That said The Fox fork and shock on my old bike was never touched in 4 years and worked fine 8)
TFTuned/Mojo etc will do services and they're around the £90 mark.You'll know when they need doing as they won't feel right.You said you have a Pike coil so you'll need to make sure that you have the correct spring for your weight,the previous owner should know what spring it is(TFT/Mojo will be able to service/advise and fit a new spring if you're not confident).The Rp is obviously air so that just requires a shock-pump.

Sam J

Thanks ibbo68, that's just the kind of info I was after. I'm pretty competent when it comes to DIY so I will have a go at the fox shock in the new year , as I have noticed that it does drop a little bit of pressure over a couple of weeks. The forks are very smooth at the moment and don't bottom out, even with my 14stone bearing down on them. However, I have noticed a tiny bit of oil leaking out of the rebound adjuster, which i think might be the crush washers needing changing ?

Is there a way of checking whether the spring is right for my weight , sort of like measuring the sag on a rear shock ?

Sam.

sniper68

TFT have a spring calculator on their website but you can measure your sag to see if you have roughly the right spring. Sag is a personal thing I run anout 20% but i think 30% is the accepted norm.I'm 14 stone and have a 550lb spring on my shock which is a bit soft according to TFT but it feels OK If the fork feels OK and the sag is about right then leave the springand just do a oil and seals change The spring will have the details printed on it.

delcol

i'm sure the rp3 was replaced by the rp23, (someone correct me if i wrong)

they are both vary simlar..

the rp23 is pretty easy to do a basic service/rebuild..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb8BNsFcINQ

cooldad

RP 3 has 3 propedal settings, one always on, RP23 has 3 propedal settings plus off, RP 2 has 1 plus off.

Sam J

Thanks very much guys. I think i will leave the spring as it isn't a problem. I will change the seals in the shocks over the next couple of months and then keep up regular maintenance just so I've got some kind of reference point to service from.

sniper68

Sam J wrote:

Thanks very much guys. I think i will leave the spring as it isn't a problem. I will change the seals in the shocks over the next couple of months and then keep up regular maintenance just so I've got some kind of reference point to service from.

That is probably the way to go 8)

Sam J

Well , I've just got back from a ride and have gone about cleaning my bike. I have noticed that one of the bolts on the bottom of my fork is missing! It's been like this since Ive had it but I haven't noticed until now as I just thought it was the way it should be. It's only since looking at the park tool service quide that I realised . They seem to be working ok but I could do with a replacement bolt ASAP, as I really don't want to knacker them up. It looks like my boxing day ride is out of the question now.

Northwind

Just do it like everyone else- never service it, wait til it breaks then complain on the internet.

Northwind

What exactly's missing from the Pikes? They only really have 2 bolts, right in the bottom of the legs, and Bad Things should happen pretty rapidly if one is missing. If it's the ones that hold the brake on, no bother, they're just standard M6 bolts and easily replaced (though, riding with one missing sounds like a trip to hospital waiting for a ditch to start in)

Sam J

On the bottom of one leg there's the rebound adjuster, this sits into the bolt that's there, on the other there's just a threaded hole where a bolt should be. If that makes sense ?

It's not one of the bolts holding the brake on.

Northwind

Not ideal really, that's the one that the spring's attached to! I thought I might have a spare but just had a wee look and it's the other one I have (the pierced one for the rebound).

Sam J

Great ! I definitely won't be doing any more riding for now then.

Thanks for checking if you had one spare, i will have to see if I can find any online. Unless anyone wants to measure theirs and I get one from a hardware store ? :P

Sam J

Just thinking, with this bolt missing, does that mean that there isn't any oil in that leg ?

sniper68

Sam J wrote:

Just thinking, with this bolt missing, does that mean that there isn't any oil in that leg ?

Personally I'd remove the lowers anyway.You just don't know if any sh!t has gotten in there :?

Sam J

I'm tempted to send them to tft now tbh. I think ill let the pros take a look, just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all your advice on this by the way. 8)