Help needed - Forks locked out / not traveling

swedenuk

Hi All,

Since purchasing my Carrera Fury ive hammered it quite a bit. I've used the jetwash @ Bedgbury after its very muddy and wet outings but there is always some dirt left over. I took the bike out yesterday for a ride on the Thames pathway and found the fork is no longer traveling. At first i thought it was locked to the siffer setting, but when I swap modes, it remains the same. VERY stiff...i can put all my weight on it and it moves about 2mm at best. I found a red nosle at the bottom that has +/- options - moving to both extremes made no difference.

Should I bleed them?
Do you think dirt has got in somewhere?

Thanks for all your help.

jarjar

you might find that the bottoms of the legs are full of water,as you have got it very wet recently,obviously you cant compress water so it stops the travel...... hope this helps

swedenuk

Thanks - that sounds very likley hehe. This may sound stupid but... how do i get the water out?

jarjar

at the bottom of the leg there should be an allen bolt (unsure on your particular bike) i would have thought if you just slacken them off a fraction and them apply some pressure as you would if riding the water ( if thats the prob) should exit around the bolts ! i have a similar problem on my rally car and its a pain to sort on that let me tell you !!

The Northern Monkey

what forks are they 1st?

swedenuk

Thanks :-)
Forks: Suntour Raidon X2 air suspension forks

cooldad

Don't use a jetwash in future.

chedabob

Are you sure the lockout lever hasn't slipped?

http://www.srsuntour-tuning-base.com/in ... 108&sid=1#

There's a video on there for solving lockout issues. If there's a white "gear", lift it up, and then turn the knob with a pair of pliers. When you put the gear back, make sure you line it up properly, and press it down completely.

I doubt it's water in the bottom of the legs. It'd get forced out somewhere, most probably through the wipers at the top.

bellys

cooldad wrote:

Don't use a jetwash in future.

+1 never use them

jarjar

chedabob wrote:

I doubt it's water in the bottom of the legs. It'd get forced out somewhere

if a rally car with proper suspension can hold water in the lower part of its front suspension and stop travel, then it can happen to a bike, im not saying this is the case just a possibility, trust me, from experiance it can happen....... let us know what it ends up being, id like to know !

cheers si

The Rookie

Water in the bottom of cheaper sus forks is a well known issue - as is water past any seal (forks, wheel/bottom bracket/headset bearings etc when jetwashing - if you can't keep it away from seals, keep it away from the whole bike!). Not sure how much of an issue with your airs, but the eay way to remove is....

Loosen 2 allen bolts on the bottom of the works (remove rebound adjuster to access it), undo about 3mm, tap up with a hammer (gently) so the bolt head goes back flush, then compress the forks a few times and see if any water is coming out.....

Simon

swedenuk

Thanks. The allen bolt hidden beneath the rebound adjuster is huge so I will need to hunt out a larger tool.

swedenuk

The bike is now back @ halfords. They were not sure what was wrong at 1st glance. Tested pressure etc but nothing made any difference. They are prob going to order a replacement.

Makes me wonder about the quality of the forks (Raidon Suntour x2)... should I sell the replacement on ebay and upgrade?

waby1234

Have the forks been run with the lockout lever set somewhere in the middle (i.e. not fully locked/unlocked)? That could potentially damage them.

swedenuk

I find the lockout leaver is very easily moved, so that is quite possible. Perhaps I swapped it back to full open when I noticed. Perhaps once fixed, I will look at trying to fix it in the open position as i hardly ever lock it off (dont really mind the extra work on the hills etc).

supersonic

DId you try the video as above?

swedenuk

Didn't have the correct tools. But the lockout did seem to work (the guys in the shop thought so too). I pointed out the suggestions made on this forum (water etc). Should hear later today / tomorrow what the verdict is.

swedenuk

Apparently I had buckled the forks. I can't recall hitting anything too hard and haven't had a crash :-/

New Raidon fork fitted but different version (black rather than grey and different graphics) with rebound adjuster relocated to the top of the fork.

Will see how long these ones last, fingers crossed.

supersonic

Interesting! What model of Raidon?

waby1234

Manufacturing fault maybe?

swedenuk

I was told the new forks fitted are exactly the same but 2012 versions (although looking online looks like they may be 2010 forks or something).

Suntour Raidon x2

These are the ones that broke:



and the new ones Halfords fitted look more like this...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49125