Rockshox Reba RL 100mm back for repair for the third time

avalanche_expert

Hi guys,

I've got a 10 month old Reba RL Solo Air 100mm fork. It's been a fantastic fork, but recently it started giving trouble. I put it down to needing a service as I've given it a lot of use. It started bottoming out and it was developing sticky stanchions.

To save the time and effort of doing it myself I gave the job to my local bike mechanic whom specialises in suspension (they are the only suspension service place anywhere near me). He gave a fast turnaround and picked it up and dropped it off free of charge.

Long story short I've had to return the fork to him for the third time in a week. First time the fork felt way too harsh with hardly any travel and it blew the top dust cap off the air stanchion when 6 miles from home.

Second time he gave the fork back to me it feels like sticky stanchions for the first 40 - 50 % of travel. If I set the pressure for my weight to set the sag, when I get on the bike the fork drops to 30%, but when I take my weight off the bike it is sticking at 30%. Small bump compilance was almost zero, very harsh - no give at all. However on larger bumps and on any travel over 50% the fork seems to perform fine.

The weird thing is off the bike and testing the fork by hand or on the bench it appears to work flawlessly. It's only on the bike it's giving the stiction issue.

The mechanic has admitted he seems to be stumped by it. He's replaced the seals, O-rings and fluids. He's going to take it apart one more time and go over everything again for me and give it back to me for third time on Monday. He's said if it's no good this time he'll raise it as a warranty issue with SRAM and deal with them direct on my behalf.

I'm just a bit concerned, does he either not know what he's doing or has something more major gone wrong with the air Spring perhaps?

figbat

I had an identical issue on an enduro motorcycle fork. It turned out the wheel axle was bent, so when the axle was tightened up it flexed the fork legs leading to enough stiction the fail an MoT. Check your axle and/or crown straightness?

avalanche_expert

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's not that. I've had good look at the wheel hub and axel. There is no way I can physically see myself bending that doing the XC riding I do, but it was worth a check anyway!

The fork is being delivered again this evening and this time the mechanic is going to stick around while I refit it to the bike and check it's operation on the bike with me on it before he leaves.

I'd like to think it's going to be fine, but I don't have much hope TBH.

avalanche_expert

Well my mechanic returned the fork to me last night. We fitted it to the bike and tested it, again it bench tests fine - but on the bike it is very sticky. This is the first time he's actually witnessed the fault I was talking about.

Anyway he has no idea what's going on as internally the fork seems fine. It's going back to SRAM/RS under warranty.

That's me MTB less for weeks now

JGTR

If it's any help my Rebas are very sticky. They have been like that since new. I've serviced them and fifties low friction seals and the latest greases/oils etc and made a slight improvement but thy still require slot of effort to get started. If I sit on my bike to set sag they don't move, I have to roll the bike and put a bit of pressure on forks. I found the pressures required to make the fork feel nice were too low and the fork would bottom out all the time so I fitted a token to to allow me to run lower pressures without bottoming out which helped. Overall mine work ok they are just very stiff to get going.

The Rookie

Two thoughts
1/ the uppers or lowers are bent so that the stanchions are not running straight in the bushes, as above that could happen if there was an axle issue (such as a spacer missing) so the QR is bending the lowers in at an angle
2/ there are two sizes of inner diameter on the 32mm fork, maybe you have the older/rev o-rings and they are binding under load.

My similar 2009 SID are smooth as butter.

avalanche_expert

JGTR wrote:

If it's any help my Rebas are very sticky. They have been like that since new. I've serviced them and fifties low friction seals and the latest greases/oils etc and made a slight improvement but thy still require slot of effort to get started. If I sit on my bike to set sag they don't move, I have to roll the bike and put a bit of pressure on forks. I found the pressures required to make the fork feel nice were too low and the fork would bottom out all the time so I fitted a token to to allow me to run lower pressures without bottoming out which helped. Overall mine work ok they are just very stiff to get going.

I agree the pressures required to achieve the correct sag are much lower than suggested. From new with the recommended pressure in I couldn't move the forks by simply sitting on the bike.

With a slightly lower pressure the forks have been brilliant. Very plush ride, great small bump sensitivity etc, full range of travel achieved without bottoming out. I really couldn't find much to fault them.

It's only very recently that any problems have occurred. I think your Reba doesn't sound right going off how mine used to be.

avalanche_expert

The Rookie wrote:

Two thoughts
1/ the uppers or lowers are bent so that the stanchions are not running straight in the bushes, as above that could happen if there was an axle issue (such as a spacer missing) so the QR is bending the lowers in at an angle
2/ there are two sizes of inner diameter on the 32mm fork, maybe you have the older/rev o-rings and they are binding under load.

My similar 2009 SID are smooth as butter.

The only thing I can think of is it's either somehow no longer true/straight as you suggest, or bushings/o-rings aren't right. With the latter I've only got the word of the mechanic that the o-rings are correct.

There are definitely no issues with the axle. If the fork has become bent, I'd be very surprised. It's never been crashed and the most air I get is about 18 inches