Replacing fork spring on suntour XCR LO

freeride-mike · February 2010

After finally tracking down a stiffer spring for my suntour XCR LO forks (yes they do do them

) im gonna have a go at replacing it myself, im quite technically minded and do almost all my work on my bike myself and have replaced elastomers in my old RST's once or twice before but have never attempted replacing a fork spring and was after some advice or if any1 has stripped this fork before??

thanks in advance

mike

nicklouse · February 2010

have a look in the tech links sticky above there is a link to Suntors webby which has exploded views etc.

freeride-mike · February 2010

nicklouse wrote:

have a look in the tech links sticky above there is a link to Suntors webby which has exploded views etc.

brilliant thanks for that nicklouse printed off a very helpful exsploded diagram

freeride-mike · February 2010

So i replaced my spring tonight (quiet simple really) i noticed the old fork was covered in some very tacky grease so did my best to wip off most of it and apply it to the new spring before refitting but i think it could do with some more and wondered what type of grease i could u as working in a garage i have access to alot of different types???

thanks
mike

saracen fan · February 2010

mike, I have the same forks, there suntour XCR with lockout and are black......so im assuming the same forks?

where did you find these springs? did you change them because your a heavy lad? (i am at 16 stone) if so are they much better?

also any tips on fitting would be good lol

cheers 8)

freeride-mike · February 2010

saracen fan wrote:

mike, I have the same forks, there suntour XCR with lockout and are black......so im assuming the same forks?

where did you find these springs? did you change them because your a heavy lad? (i am at 16 stone) if so are they much better?

also any tips on fitting would be good lol

cheers 8)

yes there the same forks

the company i got the spring from is called: GREYVILLE ENTERPRISES LTD 01543251328 the part number u require is FEP251-40.

the spring is stiffer not massively but noticable and im heavier than you lol

really easy to change: on top left leg use small flat screw driver pop preloud cap of (needs a good tug) then use long nose pliers to open and twist cap and wind out once this is out remove white spring top cap and remove spring slide out long black tube and fit into new spring then refit in reverse order

saracen fan · February 2010

thats blinding cheers mate 8)

couldnt see it online....is it a custom order thing? how much was it if you dont mind me asking?

been looking for better springs for ages, this is great...cheers!

freeride-mike · February 2010

saracen fan wrote:

thats blinding cheers mate 8)

couldnt see it online....is it a custom order thing? how much was it if you dont mind me asking?

i ordered mine over the phone, he said they have plenty in stock. think it was £11.75 including 24hr postage

joshtp · February 2010

just use a good teflon waterproof grease! phil woods is good

freeride-mike · February 2010

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

just use a good teflon waterproof grease! phil woods is good

ok cheers for that josh

Trail-blazer · March 2010

I've got a set of those forks that I was going to polish up but I need to remove the top caps ideally. Where could one source the special tool I need to do this?

cavegiant · March 2010

The best grease to use inside suspension forks is Slick Honey.

As the name implies it is VERY sticky (so it stays where it needs to be, and very slippy).

It is designed for internal use on forks, much thinner and slicker than normal grease.

You can only use it inside forks though as it will soak up dust anywhere else.

CJMckay · November 2010

Hi all,

I just got the 2011 Rockhopper which has the Suntour XCR LO fork - but I am too fat for the spring so ordered the stiffer one today from Greyville - mentioned in this thread- plus a cheap and nifty tool to get the preload adjuster out without knackering it - bloody useful company. Wanted to say a massive 'thanks' to the contributors to this thread as it has been a great help to me.

I wonder if anyone might know the answer to a query I have??
Is it possible to fit a 'poplock' remote lockout thingy to the XCR LO fork? I am guessing that it may be do-able if I replace the lockout cap on my LO with one for the XCR RL fork then fit the poplock bits - anyone know?

Also - here is the spec given by specialized for the fork -

SR Suntour SF11-XCR-DS-26-LO-SP, 80mm, 1 piece alloy lower, 30mm steel stanchions, hydraulic damping with mic-tuned spike valve and lockout

The guy at Greyville said that there are only XCR springs available for either the 100mm or the 120mm travel versions of the forks. Other places say that the fork I have should be 100mm travel rather than 80mm so I have gone ahead and ordered the spring to see whether it will fit!!

All good fun!

CJ

CJMckay · November 2010

The stiffer spring I ordered from Greyville didn't fit my 2011 XCR - LO fork because, for whatever reason, Suntour have made the spring/crown hole/possibly the stanchion narrower than on last year's and the year before's versions -thus that FEP251-40 spring will not fit into the 2011 fork; no chance!

However, the guys at Greyville were very helpful and fully refunded me the cost and the postage - and also sent me a longer elastomer (for free) to go into the middle of the fork spring. WIth an elastomer the whole length of the spring, the soft sprung fork sags much less under my large bulk than it did before. To get even harder preload, just use 2/3 of the spring length in elastomer (or the whole of the original one which comes in the fork will do fine) and insert a piece of doweling rod, or even a cut-down drumstick if you are musically inclined to make up the rest of the length inside the spring. These methods are MUCH safer than sticking anything on top of the spring, between preload adjuster and spring cap. The cheapest and easiest way to sort a too-soft spring.

One word of advice though - order the proper Suntour preload adjuster cap removal tool from greyville - Part no. FAA122 - this will save you destroying the plastic adjuster cap and ruining the fork's looks and possibly the function of the cap!! Seriously; don't use pliers!! Greyville are on 01543251328. Having wrecked a few of these sorts of things before, I waited for the tool to arrive before proceeding. If anybody has any questions about this process, please email me on chris.johnxxys@gmail.com (remove the xx, it's there to confuse 'bots). In theory, this should work on any sprung fork, I think.

CJ

steelie600 · May 2012

Chris how are the forks now after the elastomer mod?? Ive spoke to Greyville today and have the tool and an elastomer on the way and they are gonna update me when stronger springs come in. Just wondered how the bike behaves now youve got proper sag. IE the forks work as they should or are still too soft??

Interested to know

Kev

cooldad · May 2012

You may have missed that he posted twice only, in 2010 and hasn't been back. And that was to revive a previously dead thread.
You might wait a while for a reply.

steelie600 · May 2012

My signature isnt what it is without reason CD, was worth a pop! I have also emailed him too.

I'll give a mini report on how my forks are with and without the extended elastomer, and with both springs when I get them. IF we dont get a reply

cooldad · May 2012

You won't get a reply:
Joined: Tue Nov 2, 2010 6:41 pm
Last visited: Tue Nov 2, 2010 7:03 pm

Pfauser · September 2012

Hi,

I have just modified my SF11 XCR LO 2011 forks. I believed I had 80mm forks fitted to a 2011 rockhopper Sl as told by the Specialised shop!... it turns out that the the fork was 100mm and this is the distance between the bottom of the fork crown and the top of the fork seal.... the usable travel is only 80mm. on taking the fork apart it only had one spacer in the left hand leg which denotes 100mm ( the 80mm spring has two spacers to reduce travel).

I added about 40mm of elastomer (thanks Grayville) and cut the black plastic spacer in half to extend the travel by 10mm ( I first tried removing the whole spacer, but whilst the the travel of the fork went up to 100mm it was rough for the first couple of cms)

I now have a stiffer fork, 90mm of true travel and its as smooth as it was before.... result i think!

Now to look at reducing the play between the stanchions and the forks... 14mths old with a fair bit of use and it looks like the plastic bushes need replacing...

scholesyman · February 2013

Hi. Are the Suntour XCR LO forks any good? I'm building a bike around a Scott Aspect 45 frame and I discovered they came with these as standard. I ride roads as well as trail.

I'm a fan of the Fox Float 32's and Rock Shox Reba, but I'm looking for budget but quality.

Any reply is greatly appreciated.

Jimmy

paulneenan76 · February 2013

Nope

I would advise RS Recons - you may even get the Air version if you're lucky. You could also watch EBay and the classifieds on here. You might pick up a bargain or even some nice Rebas.

Paul.

cmm303 · February 2013

Hi
Read through this old thread. I probably need to "service" my forks but not getting any joy googling for advice. I've never dismantled a fork before. Any pointers?

Or take the previous posters advice and just replace the whole fork :roll: ???

Forks:
Suntour XCR DS LO
About 3 yrs old, not had week in week out use but seen tracks, trails and some "incidents"

.
Came with the bike, a top spec Spesh Hardrock
Clunk on rebound
Pre-load does not seem to make any difference now, but did
Only ever get about half travel, even with a near endo. (I weigh 165lbs)
More cream cakes?????

Thanks in advance.
Chris

Replacing fork spring on suntour XCR LO

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