Air fork setup help

rosscomac7

Hi guys and gals,

I just received my Scott Scale 960 today with Rock Shox 30 Silver TK Solo Air forks and I'm having issues getting them set up to my weight. I'm new to this so I have no idea if I'm missing something obvious...

I bought a Rock Shox pump and screw it on. The dial reads 0psi so I pump it up to 90psi according the weight chart on the fork. When I remove the pump I hear a hiss of air. When I put the pump back on, again it reads 0psi. I can't get it to not reduce to 0psi when removing the pump.

Am I missing something? It takes only 3 pumps to get it to 90psi, I thought it would take more than that so I'm just really confused overall now!

Cheers

StinkinHippy

Are you sure the valve is engaging? My forks came factory pressurised, would be unusual for them to be sent out empty I think.

Three pumps to 90psi on a suspension pump is not likely... I get like 2psi a pump on my rocks box pump so would suggest maybe you're just pressurising the gap between valve and pump.. Also explaining why you get the hissing noise as you unscrew.

I lose a few psi taking the pump off and putting it back on (testing the loss on removal) but nothing more than that.

rosscomac7

Thanks for the information, definitely sounds like something isn't right then. I will try again tomorrow and see what's going on. I feel like I'm screwing the pump right on as well to ensure its definitely engaged so it's possibly just faulty if it's behaving the way it is.

kickaxe

If you have a friend with a shock pump, try his/hers and see if it works (Bike shop works too). If it does, it's definitely your pump and not the fork.

rosscomac7

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19773484#p19773484]oxoman[/url] wrote:

Sounds like the valve has stuck, just press the centre pin to release it then try pumping back up. It happens on innertubes as well.

I tried this and heard air releasing instantly so stopped and put the pump back on but still reads zero and behaves the same way.

I'm turning the pump onto the valve almost as tight as it can go now by hand which is obviously more than should be needed so I'm guessing the forks or the pump are faulty now.

I don't have any mates with air forks so I'm going to need to find a shop close by that can help hopefully. What a hassle!

wilberforce

Does your pump have an additional clip or collar that you need to engage/tighten to actually engage the valve?

I am not sure of the make of my shock pump but I have to screw the pump onto the valve of the shock and then once connected, then tighten a collar so that the pump engages the valve

If I dont tighten the collar, all I am effectively doing is compressing the air in the hose of the pump

codfather

You may not be screwing the head on far enough to open the valve. Right near the end of the thread, the head of the pump will actuate the valve, so if you don't quite tighten it enough you'll sill create a seal, but as above you'll only be compressing the air in the shock pump hose. Not doing it myself it's hard to say definitively but if you can, take it to LBS and have them show you. That will rule out fork/pump defects and demonstrate how far on it needs to be threaded.

rosscomac7

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19773581#p19773581]Wilberforce[/url] wrote:

Does your pump have an additional clip or collar that you need to engage/tighten to actually engage the valve?

I am not sure of the make of my shock pump but I have to screw the pump onto the valve of the shock and then once connected, then tighten a collar so that the pump engages the valve

If I dont tighten the collar, all I am effectively doing is compressing the air in the hose of the pump

I don't see anything else that would need to be used to engage the valve. It's this Rock Shox pump. The only button on it is for releasing air. http://www.tredz.co.uk/.RockShox-High-Pressure-Fork-Shock-Pump_60390.htm

Codfather wrote:

You may not be screwing the head on far enough to open the valve. Right near the end of the thread, the head of the pump will actuate the valve, so if you don't quite tighten it enough you'll sill create a seal, but as above you'll only be compressing the air in the shock pump hose. Not doing it myself it's hard to say definitively but if you can, take it to LBS and have them show you. That will rule out fork/pump defects and demonstrate how far on it needs to be threaded.

It feels like I am screwing it on more than enough too. I'm gonna have to find a wee shop nearby that I can take it in to have a look.

Thanks for all the replies and help!

StinkinHippy

The rock shox pump I have needs to be screwed all the way. There is no should be far enough when it comes to screwing on pumps.

rosscomac7

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19774114#p19774114]StinkinHippy[/url] wrote:

The rock shox pump I have needs to be screwed all the way. There is no should be far enough when it comes to screwing on pumps.

I know what you mean but if I tighten it any more I worry it won't come back off. That's how tight I'm doing it. Really strange.

Hopefully I can get to a shop tomorrow to solve this mystery!

The Rookie

It sounds to me like you aren't pumping any air in the fork at all, you are pressurizing the tube and then dumping it (you always get a psst noise when you remove a shock pump though), i'd be looking at changing the schrader valve in the fork....has it got a visible pin, they have been known to snap off.

rosscomac7

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19774281#p19774281]The Rookie[/url] wrote:

It sounds to me like you aren't pumping any air in the fork at all, you are pressurizing the tube and then dumping it (you always get a psst noise when you remove a shock pump though), i'd be looking at changing the schrader valve in the fork....has it got a visible pin, they have been known to snap off.

Yeah it definitely seems like that now. This is what the valve and pump look like.





I took the pump to cycle shop and it worked straight away on a bike there so I guess that rules out the pump being an issue.

Does any valve removal took like this work on the forks? As I can pick this up easily after work to check its tight then replace it if need be.

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/breakdown-essentials/halfords-4-in-1-tyre-valve-tool

coulddobetter

That's fine , pick up a new valve whilst there.

rosscomac7

And it's fixed!

You can't really tell from the picture I posted previously but the tip of the valve was a good 1 or 2mm below the top of the housing around it. I replaced the valve and instantly seen that it was level with the housing. The original valve must have been too low for the pump to engage it.

Really poor show for a brand new £900 bike though. I hope that's the last of the problems and I can finally enjoy the bike now. I will be keeping an eye on the pressure now to make sure there isn't another problem causing it.

This is the two valves side by side. Red is original, black is replacement. The black looks a different style and is shorter. I assume that's not an issue as it fits correctly and seems to be holding pressure fine?



Thanks again to everyone who helped!

StinkinHippy

Can't comment on the differences in valves. But a quick contact with the seller may achieve at least a refund for your cheap fix, possibly even more. As you say, it's incredibly poor form on a bike that costs so much in the first place. I'd have been pissed if it happened on my bike at half the price

rosscomac7

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19774981#p19774981]StinkinHippy[/url] wrote:

Can't comment on the differences in valves. But a quick contact with the seller may achieve at least a refund for your cheap fix, possibly even more. As you say, it's incredibly poor form on a bike that costs so much in the first place. I'd have been pissed if it happened on my bike at half the price

Yeah that's a good idea. See if they'll give me some free vouchers for the hassle or something like that! :P