Another reverb issue…

Serviced the post last week (using the basic service kit), have put the post back on the bike and just bled the lever (3 times), now the post isnt returning up….

Pushing the lever has got the post up from fully compressed to about 50mm up (reaaaaallly slowly), but the lever isn’t returning to it’s out/extended natural position once pushed in, and the post won’t fully extend

Any ideas?!

Needs bleeding again.

Quick update, with the adjuster on the fully fast position, the post is extending at a normal rate when I press the lever, but only extending 30mm or so (so still nearly fully compressed). And it has about 5mm of squidge if I press on it…

Seems more like an internal problem than a bleed problem?

Post is returning with the adjuster in fast or slow position, but still only returning 30mm….

Compress it all the way in, invert bike, release lever with bike inverted. If that removes the squidge (for one compression) then you have air in with the oil internally and it needs a full rebuild, not just a lever hose bleed.

Sorted, eventually. Internal problems, the lever was bled fine. For those having the same problem:

The post wouldn’t fully extend when the lever was pressed. From following the sram service video….

After filling the upper part with oil, I pushed the shaft piston into the shaft, then drained away excess oil, as per the SRAM instructions.
When installing the inner seal head onto the shaft, I had inadvertantly pressed the shaft piston further into shaft than it is supposed to be. (the gold shaft was too far into the stanchion of the seatpost), so it lost fluid here.

I found an alternative way to solve this:
1. remove the black lower body of the seatpost
2. remove air
3. remove the top snapring, cap and poppet at the top of the seatpost
4. push the gold anodized shaft up (slowly) until you can see oil start to rise out of the hole now in the seatclamp area of the post (where you just removed the poppet from)
5. Slowly add oil here
6. Pull the gold shaft down slowly to allow the oil level to drop, add more oil, pull down etc. Jiggle it a bit to dislodge bubbles, and try not to squirt oil on your face 🙄 )
7. Repeat until the shaft is fully extended, and the top poppet area is full of oil
8. Use the rockshox oil removal tool to remove the correct amount of oil
9. reinstall poppet, cap and snapring
10.reinstall the lower body (ensuring the keyways are lined up and greased)
11. repressurize and finish reassembly
12. Bleed lever

so basically add oil slowly form the top, rather than filling the tube up and trying to hold everything in the right position whilst putting it back together

Hope that helps someone!

I’m glad someone else has tried this- I’ve been meaning to try something similar since the last time I serviced mine. Did you get it properly ‘bob’ free at the saddle i.e. a good internal bleed?

By my reckoning it should be possible to get rid of the bob reverbs typically develop without having to take the whole thing apart. Just let the air out, take the saddle off, remove poppet and top up with oil, then drain, reassemble and bleed remote.

I haven’t installed it on the bike, but from a push test on the floor it felt completely solid! 🙂

What you’ve said might work- just trying to figure out if the air pressure inside would be pressing upwards on the shaft, and on the poppet? Potentially shooting the poppet straight at your face when you take the circlip out?! I’m not sure though, multitasking at work here! 😆

Also, I tried to just fill the chamber with the shaft all the way down (so the full volume was there to fill up) with a syringe as you have suggested, but only the top portion where the poppet sits filled with oil- it wouldn’t flow down into the chamber and displace the air already in there, probably too viscous. I had to push the shaft up until the oil was visible and nearly brimming out, then slowly pull the shaft down whilst filling it with oil, so it sucked the oil in.

What you’ve said might work- just trying to figure out if the air pressure inside would be pressing upwards on the shaft, and on the poppet? Potentially shooting the poppet straight at your face when you take the circlip out?! I’m not sure though, multitasking at work here!

Yes it would! Well, the air would push the IFP, keeping pressure in the oil, then that and the poppet would go flying. But give me credit, I did start with

Just let the air out

😀

I’ve chased a poppet that got ejected by some residual pressure before, it took ages to find!

Also, I tried to just fill the chamber with the shaft all the way down (so the full volume was there to fill up) with a syringe as you have suggested, but only the top portion where the poppet sits filled with oil- it wouldn’t flow down into the chamber and displace the air already in there, probably too viscous. I had to push the shaft up until the oil was visible and nearly brimming out, then slowly pull the shaft down whilst filling it with oil, so it sucked the oil in.

Interesting. I’d thought about doing it already mostly full of oil, my concern was how to get any air out of the outer tube, where the IFP was. Could you use the bleed tool to put the oil in from the bottom up as it were?

spicer

8. Use the rockshox oil removal tool to remove the correct amount of oil

How do you know how much oil to remove?

How do you know how much oil to remove?

The tool effectively sets it- you can only put it in so far, at that point it will remove the correct amount of oil

Thanks.
Do you have a link to the tool please?

Just stick ‘reverb oil height tool’ into google. I think tweeks had some last time I looked. You may also want to get the ‘post bleed tool’ and the ‘IFP height tool’ if you want to do a full service. I think you can bodge them (the ifp height tool in particular is just a calibrated stick) but they do the job well and aren’t horrifically expensive (~£5 each). My thought was ‘why make an already involved job harder?’

I got all 3 tools from summit to sea for £15, plus a tenner for the basic service kit

http://www.summittosea.co.uk/rock-shox-reverb-ifp-height-tool.ir
http://www.summittosea.co.uk/rock-shox-reverb-oil-height-tool.ir
http://www.summittosea.co.uk/rock-shox-reverb-post-bleed-tool.ir
http://www.summittosea.co.uk/rock-shox-reverb-service-kit-for-post.ir

Interesting. I’d thought about doing it already mostly full of oil, my concern was how to get any air out of the outer tube, where the IFP was. Could you use the bleed tool to put the oil in from the bottom up as it were?

I had already set the IFP during the full rebuild, then used my method to add the oil, so I knew the IFP was in the correct position. I suppose you could you as you’ve suggested, I haven’t tried though!

Cable operated one for me next! 🙂 (with a lever style remote, instead of the ergonomically horrific reverb button!)

Aye, the IFP should be at the correct height if pre-assembled, it’s just making sure that there isn’t any air trapped in that outer tube that I was thinking of. I will have to try it and report back.

I actually don’t have much of a problem with the reverb remote- compared to the liklihood of gunked up or frayed cables the very occasional bleed doesn’t seem too bad. The ergonomics don’t generally bother me but that’s personal.

I don’t think you’d solve the internal bleed problems with a cable remote unless you went with a mechanical lock like a spesh though? You could trade for a ks or a thompson, neither of which is supposed to be user serviceable.

I’d like to see rockshox put a bleed port for the internal system up top, connected to the outer (IFP) part of the oil circuit. Then you could take out the poppet and push oil in on the IFP side, pushing the air out in the centre. Thinking about it, you might be able to enlarge the popped sufficiently that you could get a bleed screw through the centre, then you might not even need to bleed the remote. That would add an extra seal for the remote line though.

These things sound like a right pain in the arse!

I actually don’t have much of a problem with the reverb remote- compared to the liklihood of gunked up or frayed cables the very occasional bleed doesn’t seem too bad. The ergonomics don’t generally bother me but that’s personal.

I just find it awkward to use (particularly when it’s cold and my thumb cant feel when it’s on the button!)- I’d like a gear shifter style lever, something like this

http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/KS-Suspension-southpaw-left-handed-bottom-mount-dropper-post-remote01.jpg

The infrequent internal service isn’t too much of a problem, but I find the lever is a big factor for me. I’ve also crashed a few times from catching my shorts on the protruding reverb button! The novyparts one looks better, but is a bit too pricey for me to warrant it!

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/novyparts-rockshox-reverb-remote-review-2015.html

Clamped too tightly in the frame?

I just find it awkward to use (particularly when it’s cold and my thumb cant feel when it’s on the button!)- I’d like a gear shifter style lever, something like this

I think you’re in the majority there. TBF, I’d prefer it but it doesn’t seem to bother me as much. I’m just waiting for the reverb gen 2 and rockshox to bring the wireless tech from the roadie groupsets in. If it’s fast enough for them it should be good for a dropper!

I’ve got a bit frustrated with mine lately as one of the seals has a very slow air leak, but I can’t find which one. I swapped them out for the ones I replaced when I serviced it a year or two back but it doesn’t seem to have cured the problem. Really not sure, but suspect the next option is to get a complete set of new seals!