Got my daughter a cheap old bike with an RST “Capa C20” fork, it’s getting on but the seals look OK and the spec sheet says it has springs not elastomers.

She simply can’t make it move, I’ve splashed some fork oil in the top and on the seals/stanchions and freed it up a bit, but I reckon it’s still just oversprung.

If I open it up will I be able to remove the spring from one leg and re-assemble it will it work?

Anybody had a crack at fixing one of these?

I replaced my daughters RST forks with rigid ones – she couldn’t move them either – lighter, better tracking and gave me piece of mind. I’ve seen old cheap sus forks fall apart going off kerbs….

Remove one of the springs out of one of the legs, run them with a single spring?

Seeing the older cheap forks we get at the bike recycling place I’d be more inclined to say they’ll be rusted up around t the bushes causing the stiffness. Can still be rescued though. Take them apart, clean them out, wet and dry the stantions, relube and resemble. That’ll make them live a little longer if you have to.

I did half plan to fit a rigid fork, however she’s seen it now, with bouncey forks “like Daddy’s bike has” and wants to keep them…

@shindiggy yes, that’s what I would like to try, just wondering if anyone else has had a pair open before and knows how feasible such a change might be…

I might have a chance to fiddle with them some more tomorrow morning, ride in the afternoon though, so it may have to wait…

Not taken those apart, but it’s quite likely they’ll only have one spring anyway. I have used extra soft springs from other forks, modded to fit if required, and they seem to work far better than the originals did, finding the right size is the problem though, helps if you work in a bike shop, and can rummage through the spares.