Out of the loop...

felix.london

First of all, I trust you all had (are still having?) a good winter.

Only a couple more weeks until the lifts close over here and the snowboards & skis go back in the cave

The more exposed, south facing trails are slowly opening up with the odd alpine flower peaking through the snow here and there. So, getting excited to get back to business...but first some help please;

1/ Any CRC vouchers going? - the ba$tards have started charging to France so a £10 voucher equals free delivery

2/ The missuz chopped all my hair off and now my The F-1 lid is way too big for my bonce. Looking for a lightweight and airy XC/AM lid with back of the head protection and decent strap adjustments. The F-1 was very basic in this regard. 661 Recon?

3/ My 2012 Reba RL was performing flawlessly when the bike went away in November but it took a serious alpine beating for the entire season (Every decent is pretty much, full on DH!) and except for installing it in the first place, the odd stanchion wipe and lube and obviously tweaking the air I haven't touched the thing

The question is; Do I send it off for a professional tune & service now (€130) before another season of abuse - and possibly before any problems do arise (I don't want to be off the trails for anytime at all) or as it's working sweetly do I leave well alone? Will a pro tune-up make a noticeable difference to the ride?

..oh and 4/ I've entered this years Megavalanche and booked the hotel so we're on, like Donkey Kong!

Cheers and glad to be back...nearly

The Rookie

3/ Do a full home service, would have been better to do it over winter and then order anything looking past it's best (seals etc)

felix.london

The Beginner wrote:

3/ Do a full home service, would have been better to do it over winter and then order anything looking past it's best (seals etc)

So a custom tune is unnecessary? Like I say I've still got a couple of weeks so should be enough time to order seals or whatever. Any links to a nice service kit? Think Loco do one?

warpcow

You won't get much of a custom tune out of a Reba RL: there're no shim stacks to tune to weight and riding style or anything. You'd have to Push it, or upgrade to a Blackbox/RCT3 dampers to get a proper difference in performance and that would cost a lot more than €130 (though you could source and fit them yourself for about that price, and carry out a basic service at the same time).

Yacoby

felix.london wrote:

1/ Any CRC vouchers going? - the ba$tards have started charging to France so a £10 voucher equals free delivery

I have one that I am probably never going to use. PM Sent

ilovedirt

Custom tune isn't necessary, but I would send them off to TF or someone who knows what they're doing. A lowers service is easy enough, but a damper service isn't so easy. They might be working alright now, but I'm going to bet that they're not so pretty inside after a season's beating. Best to get them done once a year minimum. Send them off to TF to do a full service, and you can do a lower leg service yourself every so often if you feel you need to. Doesn't take long for the oil in the lowers to get all nasty and full of crap, trust me on that

Also, I really rate my Fox Flux lid (pretty much the same as the 661 recon), but as per usual, it's whatever fits you really.

supersonic

Damper service is pretty straight forward to be honest, kits are available on ebay - same for the air springs.

felix.london

Yacoby wrote:

felix.london wrote:

1/ Any CRC vouchers going? - the ba$tards have started charging to France so a £10 voucher equals free delivery

I have one that I am probably never going to use. PM Sent

Appreciated. Cheers my man. Helmet ordered.

felix.london

ilovedirt wrote:

Custom tune isn't necessary, but I would send them off to TF or someone who knows what they're doing. A lowers service is easy enough, but a damper service isn't so easy. They might be working alright now, but I'm going to bet that they're not so pretty inside after a season's beating. Best to get them done once a year minimum. Send them off to TF to do a full service, and you can do a lower leg service yourself every so often if you feel you need to. Doesn't take long for the oil in the lowers to get all nasty and full of crap, trust me on that

Also, I really rate my Fox Flux lid (pretty much the same as the 661 recon), but as per usual, it's whatever fits you really.

Due to postage costs to and from UK it doesn't make much sense to use TF or Loco but these guys have been recommended to me;

http://www.x1-racing-suspension.com/

This is what you get for your €130 (Google translated)

- changes in all joints, internal and external.
- complete disassembly, cleaning
- oil
- labor
- Improved hydraulic flow
- Removing friction
- Changing hydraulic cartridges
- Improvement curve progression

PS - got the 661 the Fox version was a tenner more

Thanks for the advice

ilovedirt

supersonic wrote:

Damper service is pretty straight forward to be honest, kits are available on ebay - same for the air springs.

If you have all the tools etc you need and plan on doing it regularly...

supersonic

Only basic tools are needed! Unless you want to replace bushings.

ilovedirt

It's still a pain in the arse and will end up costing you half of what a tuning company will charge you anyway if you buy the proper rockshox kit, might as well just send it to them.

felix.london

ilovedirt wrote:

It's still a pain in the ars* and will end up costing you half of what a tuning company will charge you anyway if you buy the proper rockshox kit, might as well just send it to them.

My thoughts exactly.

Plyphon

Do it yourself!

It's therapeutic and you'll learn loads about how your fork works which will enable you to make better decisions on how to set it up and more importantly - identify and fix faults in the future.

There are countless guides on the internet and you can always ask here if stuck.

It's quite frightening how simple they are inside, tbh.

bennett_346

I did my Revelations myself. Nothing to them really. The cost can add up the first time but once you have the equipment you have it for years.

felix.london

I did my old '06 Bombers myself and did an oil change on my Boxxers when I got the DH bike but as ilovedirt said by the time I've got all the bits, paid for delivery etc plus the time it takes actually doing it - €130 doesn't sound too bad to get them done by the pros

bennett_346

It's a good price.

felix.london

And more importantly, they'll put an X1 Racing Suspension sticker on the fork...and if that doesn't make me go faster, nothing will

felix.london

The Reba refresh kit plus the low-friction wiper seal kit comes to over £60 by itself (without delivery) from TFT

lostboysaint

On the helmet front you know I'm going to say "whatever fits", but despite that I will also say that if you have a Giro shaped head (mine is) then the 661 Recon fits very well, I know this because I changed to the Recon after writing of a Hex in a crash and I am really impressed with it.

The Rookie

Depends what it NEEDS, vesrus them changing everything because it's a service, although as they sound like they've been well used it may be 'everything'.