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Has been fine since I got it but after a muddy ride a couple of weeks back and no maintenance after, it seems like the top bushing has almost swollen up. Maybe some grit got inside it but it has scratched the top (slidey) bit of the post to hell (not overly bothered - it's a steel post and it's only the colour that's come off, it's not some fancy anodising material or owt) and now it won't slide up under the spring pressure only, needs a tug at the same time.
Anyhow - anyone seen similar, can you get spares to fetch it back to vaguely working condition? Or do i put it to experience and try one of the Traildrops instead?
From what I have seen of the Forca posts, in my experience you'd be better off binning it and buying a "proper" one. The ultimate "buy cheap, buy twice" product I recon.
Can you not just take it apart, clean it all up, slap in some fresh grease and bung it back together? seems silly to buy spares or a new one if its fixable.... maybe pop a bit of old inner tube over to keep the shite out next time?
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What I was going to say. Did you not buy the rubber boot to go with it? They sell it for a reason I suspect.
No offence, but being willing to bin an £80 seatpost rather than do some basic maintenance smacks of laziness 😉
Another +1.
Strip it down (it's fairly simple internally), clean it up, regrease and reassemble. 15 minute job maximum. Bit of TLC and some care over cable tension and it should be good as new.
And as said above, if you ain't got a boot for it then get one or make one.
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slainte 😉 rob
Has been booted since I bought it with the oem boot, nothing home made. Before I used it, as per the advice elsewhere on STW I stripped it down before using it and reassembled with new grease. That's what I did yesterday after my wet ride, which is where I noted the scratching and that the top bushing (the one under the red screw on collar that holds it together) seems to have swollen / 'absorbed' grit. Dissembled, the bushing won't even slide up and down the shaft even with copious amounts of grease.
So no, not lazy, not not prepared to do basic maintenance, just asking if anyone has seen similar / have I bought a pup? I recall reading that Trail Drop have specced different material for the bushings which might be a clue?
Hmmmm, Swolen bush could be nylon (hydrophilic) it tends to absorb liquids and expand, you could try leaving it in the airing cupboard for a week, not sure if that would work though TBH....
Alternatively you could get a replacement turned up in Delrin maybe or better yet see if it has the same dims as a standard part(s) from IGUS or similar in something intended for shitty environments, or contact the supplier and ask about a replacement bush...
Of course by the time you've gone through all of that faff it might just be easier to to buy a different post...
The trouble with boots/old bits of inner tube is for all the crap they keep out they still run the risk of allowing a small quantity in and hold it next to seals/bushings making the situation potentially worse than if it was open to the elements....
Might I ask did you wash down/clean the post and then leave wet at all, with the boot in place? you might have inadvertanatly soaked/trapped moisture next to the bush in question and actually caused it to swell, well intentioned maintenance could in this instance lead to damage/failure...
no, worse than that - used it on a wet ride and then left it with boot in place so probably had a nice fetid damp environment to sweat in.
I'll try the i-phone trick on it - I'll strip, dry, put in a cup of rice and put in a low oven for the evening, see if I can dry it out.
Let us know if you get any joy...
would the traildrop one's suffer from this?
I read on that thread that they'd used a different material (which made me wonder if there was an issue with compatibility with certain grease types for example)
I have been happy occasionally stripping and re-lubing mine, seems OK.
I bust a small part of the seat clamp gubbins the other week, contacted the German eBay guy (info@wavers24.de) and sent him photos, no problem sending replacement part FOC, however, wanted 12 Euro p+p to the UK for a 50p bit of aluminium...
Luckily he was happy to post it for free to my sister in law in Innsbruck and she's bringing it next time she comes home, which is next Friday so all good.
However it would be a pain to have to get parts regularly this way.
I would go for a traildrop if buying again, assuming there are no stock problems there?
This happened with my sample a couple of years ago.
Didn't proceed.
Do you still have it? I could use one of the internal 'keys' that stop it rotating (hamfisted maintenance on my part) if you have one to spare?
[edit] - assuming I can fix the main problem
Unsure. Will look. Does importer not carry these as spares?
I bought direct from germany, not via the importer. have asked them (Forca) via their website but no response (yet)
Who's the UK importer?
www.bigmassive.co.uk
is that in response to the Importer Q - because the traildrop and the Forca are not the same. Or a recommendation to get a traildrop?
I was going to wait to tell my Forca posts story but ass this post is running i will tell it now.
Bought a Forca posts Oct 2011, came in a couple of days.
Got a bit sitcky a couple of time took it apart cleaned and Greased it.
Work great again.
4 weeks ago put it down and couldn't get i back up.
3 weeks ago Took it apart and it had snapped.
3 weeks ago Emailed wavers24 and no answer.
2 weeks ago Emailed Forca and they said send it to us and we will try and fix it.
Posted it to Germany for £6
This week Emailed Forca and they are looking at it whis week.
Just waiting now to See if I get it back and if they can fix it.
Maybe if the Traildrop uses a different bushing material, Will (from Bigmassive) could sell/give you a replacement one?
maybe, but that's taking the piss a bit - hence trying to see if I can fix it through official channels first.
Although in fairness too, i would have bought a Traildrop anyway but the stock / availability prevented me.
i thought he got hte traildrop from forca (or from where forca do) - they certinly have the same specification
whats wrong with buying a replacement bushing from a traildrop? or is that too easy?
They are not the same spec - the Traildrop is longer / more travel, has a different cable routing - it's true he has a [i]similar[/i] spec product , possibly made in the same factory, but i am also lead to believe (mainly from this thread: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/forca-vario-dropper-seatpost-gravity-dropper-clone-272/page/4) there are some other differences that make his version superior.
Was specifically mentions a different bushing material, but i'm not sure therefore given the post is also a different size (bigger / bigger drop) whether the bushing is also resized as well. If Was is following this and can confirm, I'd be more than happy to buy 'better' bushings from him if he's prepared to sell them to a Forca vario owner.
both the traildrop and forca are 85mm drop from what i can tell.
and almost identical - certainly originate from the same place. if the bushes are that different i`d be amazed.
you can but ask eh.
im quite interested in following these threads and any issues they may have as im considering getting one. But i`ll use it alot on wet off road commutes. so longevity and parts availability are key.
Would you by any chance be looking at importing these (t mars)?
Doe anyone know the true length of the Forca versions? On the ebay page it states 350mm, but when I emailed forca themslves they sent a very crappy diagram which the lengths add up to 400mm (23cm for the post tube and 17cm for the stanchiony bit)
Well, I bought some new bushings which came today, and it still hasn't fixed it. The Traildrop bushings which look identical aprt from being a different material, clearly aren't because they are slightly tighter around my shaft than the original ones, and the shaft consequently won't slide up and down at all.
So will be putting a spare set of Traildrop bushings onto the Classifieds shortly, and consigning the Forca to the spares bin 🙁
Quick update- got my spare part from the german ebayer (wavers24.de) and post is all fixed now. It was posted out quickly but I only just got it due to convoluted arrangement with posting it to relative in austria.
In the package was a sheet with all the parts listed and priced individually.
I would have thought dealing with germany direct and paying the postage is best way forward:
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