is my fork acting normal?

nickfree

I've just purchased a 'Fox Racing Shox 32 Float 140 RL',(new one)(haven't rode it yet)
and it seems that when i push the fork in(at home, while holding the front brake), it doesn't fully go back to place, nothing major, just a few millimeters, but to get it back to its original position i have to lift the front wheel of ground by pulling the handlebar up.(so the stanchions get some weight from the wheel),
i already lubed the stanchions with "finish line Stanchion Fluoro Oil" thinking it was some friction problem, but it didn't seem to solve the 'problem'.
any thoughts?
and second thing I've noticed, is that the lockout doesn't fully locks the fork, i can still push the fork a bit down(a few millimeters.),
is it some security measure so the shock doesn't explode if it hits a bump while on lockout?

cooldad

They are not supoposed to go rigid when locked out, and have you set the sag properly.

nickfree

i have set the sag only by weight: 145 - 155 lbs. = 65 psi

cooldad

So set it properly on the bike.

TheNorthernTrain

Im not an expert but i'm pretty certain suspension is designed that way. If it were constantly at full extension if you went over a dip/hole it wouldn't extend to fill the gap so would negate the purpose of having suspension.

I could be wrong

slickmouse

yes that's quite normal

think about it, if you fully extend the forks, then compress them, they wont return to the same place as the weight of the bike is still compressing them slightly, if they do, you have probably over done the rebound damping ?

lock outs don't eer lock out, you can get an inch or more of movement if you bang it down a high kerb

nickfree

maybe it's normal with an air pressured fork,
i don't recall it being that way with a coil fork, which sound normal too since coils are meant to go back to their initial position.
maybe i need more pressure in the fork,
i'll try to set it properly this time, and not just by the weight/psi table.

slickmouse

nickfree wrote:

maybe it's normal with an air pressured fork,
i don't recall it being that way with a coil fork, which sound normal too since coils are meant to go back to their initial position.
maybe i need more pressure in the fork,
i'll try to set it properly this time, and not just by the weight/psi table.

which original position

its returning to the same point every time isnt it ? it must be or soon youl have no fork travel at all. what its inst doing it returning to the unloaded position when it has a load on it, and why would it

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks, but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

nicklouse

slickmouse wrote:

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks,

you can tell.

slickmouse wrote:

but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

total cobblers.

poah

slickmouse wrote:

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks, but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

air forks have more stiction than coils due to the seals so small bump sensitivity is poor compared to a coil.

cheap end forks are coil because they are cheaper to make but if you want a decent mid range fork you are plain out of luck getting a coil (id love a decent 140 mm coil fork but they are far too expensive)

stubs

POAH wrote:

cheap end forks are coil because they are cheaper to make but if you want a decent mid range fork you are plain out of luck getting a coil (id love a decent 140 mm coil fork but they are far too expensive)

I believe you can convert some air forks to coil, TFtuned do Rockshox parts including springs on there website. Dont know how expensive it would be though.

The Rookie

nicklouse wrote:

slickmouse wrote:

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks,

you can tell.

slickmouse wrote:

but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

total cobblers.

Slickmouse never lets the facts get in the way of his opinion or his willingness to share it!

slickmouse

nicklouse wrote:

slickmouse wrote:

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks,

you can tell.

slickmouse wrote:

but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

total cobblers.

youve not even expressed what you are disagreeing with, are you actually suggesting that air suspension ISNT more progressive ? people have tried installing dual and even try rate springs to get better progression on coil suspension with little success, why is that you think ?

slickmouse

POAH wrote:

slickmouse wrote:

ive never spent that much time staring at my forks, but air is far more progressive that coils, as it doesn't need to over come the initial inertia of the springs in order to start compressing, thats why they are a) better at little bumps and b) dearer

air forks have more stiction than coils due to the seals so small bump sensitivity is poor compared to a coil.

cheap end forks are coil because they are cheaper to make but if you want a decent mid range fork you are plain out of luck getting a coil (id love a decent 140 mm coil fork but they are far too expensive)

sticktion ? right OK, that's a product of poor manufacturing and lack of maintenance not an innate quality of air forks, bang some GT 85 on them and their up and down like a tarts nickers

cooldad

Bad advice. GT85 or most aerosols are not good for forks.

Chunkers1980

I love it when when people like you come along. Semi illiterates from a different world of 'expertise' and think their knowledge transfers to push bikes.

stubs

Inertia for a coil spring will be worse than inertia for an air spring wont it. Your trying to get more weight moving and stopping.

slickmouse

stubs wrote:

Inertia for a coil spring will be worse than inertia for an air spring wont it. Your trying to get more weight moving and stopping.

yes that is absolutely correct, but its not just the weight, its the compression of the spring your trying over come

cooldad

And of course, you're (not the apostrophe) not compressing air.

stubs

You can't have it both ways an air spring and a coil spring are both springs. Compression of the spring means nothing to your argument, stiction in the seals and bushings is why air forks are not as small bump sensitive as coil forks.

slickmouse

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I love it when when people like you come along. Semi illiterates from a different world of 'expertise' and think their knowledge transfers to push bikes.

im not sure you can use the term expertise and push bike in the same sentence, they are amongst the simplest machines you can find, they are at about the same level as a Meccano set, but one up from a lego set, the square wheels lets it down. By that i mean that any one over the age of 12 can easily build/maintain one. if fact my ''expertise'' is this area start at about that age, they where a lot harder back then with loose bearings and sturmy archer hubs to contend with

but i was essentially doing what the people in the show your bike section are doing, get some old knackered bike for a couple of quid, true the wheels, paint the frame, change a few bearings, get the gears working, stick some knobbly tyres and a pair of cow horn handle bars, yes that should be in the range of a 12 yo, i think?. the only difference is i was finding and reconing my parts my parts, rather than sending a large cheque to SS ETAL. by 14 i was chopping them and building my own forks/ frames and earning a good living welding up the rear tubes of Raleigh Choppers, which had a habit of snapping if you did jumps on them

I can see some of you think you've achieve some major feat if you, bolt a few dozen parts together, get the LBS to index the gears and put the head set in, but be real, its childs play to the most part

cooldad

slickmouse wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I love it when when people like you come along. Semi illiterates from a different world of 'expertise' and think their knowledge transfers to push bikes.

Blah blah blah etc.

slickmouse

stubs wrote:

You can't have it both ways an air spring and a coil spring are both springs. Compression of the spring means nothing to your argument, stiction in the seals and bushings is why air forks are not as small bump sensitive as coil forks.

NO a spring is a coil of wire, and a water source, the air fork does NOT have a spring, that why its not called a springl fork,

slickmouse

cooldad wrote:

Bad advice. GT85 or most aerosols are not good for forks.

you seem to be following me up and down the forum, to contradict me, offering no science, just something youve heard or made up ?

when you say some airosols, what do you mean EXACTLY, shaving foam, after shave, double cream airfreshner, none of these are going to damage my forks

spraying silicon on them is a bad idea, but as GT 85 contains PTFE instead im at a loss to see what damage it can do

perhaps you can back up your claim by identify the constituent of GT 85 that will cause harm

NB me and my rebas are doing just fine on it

cooldad

slickmouse wrote:

stubs wrote:

You can't have it both ways an air spring and a coil spring are both springs. Compression of the spring means nothing to your argument, stiction in the seals and bushings is why air forks are not as small bump sensitive as coil forks.

NO a spring is a coil of wire, and a water source, the air fork does NOT have a spring, that why its not called a springl fork,

The air is a spring, moron.

slickmouse wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Bad advice. GT85 or most aerosols are not good for forks.

you seem to be following me up and down the forum, to contradict me, offering no science, just something youve heard or made up ?

when you say some airosols, what do you mean EXACTLY, shaving foam, after shave, double cream airfreshner, none of these are going to damage my forks

spraying silicon on them is a bad idea, but as GT 85 contains PTFE instead im at a loss to see what damage it can do

perhaps you can back up your claim by identify the constituent of GT 85 that will cause harm

NB me and my rebas are doing just fine on it

I am just correcting garbage.
I'm not following you, you just post an awful lot of it.

cooldad

But as you asked, a lot of sprays contain additives which can cause seals to swell, or damage them.
If you don't believe me, check out RS techdocs. I believe they know something about forks.

poah

slickmouse wrote:

sticktion ? right OK, that's a product of poor manufacturing and lack of maintenance not an innate quality of air forks, bang some GT 85 on them and their up and down like a tarts nickers

oh dear - should be a warning on this site not to buy anything from you.

slickmouse

cooldad wrote:

But as you asked, a lot of sprays contain additives which can cause seals to swell, or damage them.
If you don't believe me, check out RS techdocs. I believe they know something about forks.

I asked YOU to back up YOUR claim that you should not specifically spray GT85 on them ?

can YOU do that ?

my rebas are 7 yo, they look and operate like they are new, when should i expect the sudden and terminal; seal failure you predict

cooldad

cooldad wrote:

slickmouse wrote:

NO a spring is a coil of wire, and a water source, the air fork does NOT have a spring, that why its not called a springl fork,

The air is a spring, moron.

What's the point?

Kowalski675

slickmouse wrote:

welding up the rear tubes of Raleigh Choppers, which had a habit of snapping if you did jumps on them

If you were daft enough to do jumps on a Chopper then you'd be lucky if you only split the frame, and not your ballsack, lol. That's what Grifters were for...

stubs

slickmouse wrote:

stubs wrote:

You can't have it both ways an air spring and a coil spring are both springs. Compression of the spring means nothing to your argument, stiction in the seals and bushings is why air forks are not as small bump sensitive as coil forks.

NO a spring is a coil of wire, and a water source, the air fork does NOT have a spring, that why its not called a springl fork,

A spring is a coil of wire it can also be a leafspring or a torsion bar or a Belville washer or a volute spring or a hairpin spring or a rubber band and on and on.

An air cylinder with a piston in itis also a spring. Your at the bottom of a hole mate I would put the shovel down.