Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 49 total)
  • Sagging reverb – when to send back for warranty?
  • BillOddie
    Full Member

    I have a reverb that has started to sag when fully extended. It’s currently sagging at about 8mm or so.

    When have people been sending them back? Straight away or waiting until they get really bad?

    Also, has anyone sent one back via Wiggle, if so how quick did they get it back?

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    At once, why wouldn’t you

    LoCo
    Free Member

    Send it now, it’s not working properly.

    julians
    Free Member

    yep, just send it back now, SRAM will replace it.

    I bought mine from alltricks in france, it lasted nearly 2 years before it failed, I sent it back to alltricks and a new one was sent to me about 6 weeks later.

    Leku
    Free Member

    I sent mime back to Sram via my LBS. It’s 31/2years old and drops about 10mm when I sit on it.

    They said ‘”Yep that’s shagged. You should buy a new one”.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Mines one of the original silver ones, sags about 3mm.

    It’s had a good innings despite being sat unused for a few years.

    Almost seems wierd that:
    a) The reverb is still pretty much unchanged
    b) No one else has come up with an alternative for the same price, even gravity droppers now seem to be more expensive!

    Still a surprise that Cannondale don’t make one under their Si brand/program with their experience with the lefty, although it would inevitably be 200g lighter but cost £1000 RRP.

    pickle
    Free Member

    Can’t believe how many people put up with these considering how much they cost

    leftyboy
    Free Member

    I have 2 and one’s started to make horrible noises. It’s reluctant to go down but oddly is OK when re-extending. My LBS sent it off to Fishers who’ve agreed to replace it with a new one, it’s just over a year old but they didn’t quibble at all.

    aazlad
    Free Member

    I might be wrong but can this issue not be solved by a service? Each time there has been a problem with mine either a pressure top up, a bleed or an internals service has got it working like new. Mines over three years old and counting and has an annual service at the same time as my shock and forks.

    Legoman
    Free Member

    I can’t believe how widespread this problems seems to be.
    Whenever it comes up on a thread Fischers seem to get praised for their great customer service – it’s not. Good customer service would be re-engineering the thing to stop the problem.

    Mine’s about to back for the second time – so that’ll be a few weeks without the bike then & they’ll probably replace it with a different spec (got a replacement with a LH lever instead of RH last time).

    Sadly mine came as part of a full bike spec, otherwise I’d be going down the ‘not fit for purpose so full refund please’ route this time.

    julians
    Free Member

    I just buy a new one,so im not without a bike,and then sell the warranty replacement when it comes back a few weeks later. Its works out cheaper than paying for an annual service

    goldenwonder
    Free Member

    We sort them in house to save our customers being without their post for a week or so. Same day turn around & done FOC if it was purchased from us. Standard service charge (£40+ parts if required) if it didn’t come from us. Simples & you can ride the same day-try your LBS, you might be pleasantly surprised.

    Alex
    Full Member

    Mine did that. In fact two of them have. Mate is good at fixing them. Resets the oil levels. Both of mine were stealth and didn’t even need rebleeding. I did have another one tho that was 2 years old and was changed for a new one with no drama.

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    CRC return form (not bought from Wiggle apparently) sent in. :sigh:

    Ordered cheap “normal” post to sling in the van just in case. I was going to get one for bikepacking anyway.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    so that’ll be a few weeks without the bike then

    For the sake of a £10 generic seapost to tide you over?

    *worlds smallest violin plays in the background*

    Can’t believe how many people put up with these considering how much they cost

    I once bent a normal seatpost within a month, an expensive easton one too! In VFM terms the £160 Reverb is a lot better! And both given the number of reverbs out there and the generally good turnaround from fishers the number of “my reverbs broke and I’m out of pocket” threads/posts is pretty small.

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    Mine did that. In fact two of them have. Mate is good at fixing them. Resets the oil levels.

    Be interested to know how to do that…

    pickle
    Free Member

    ^^ did make me laugh 🙂

    pickle
    Free Member

    But I think I must see two or three threads a week about people having issues with them.

    If it were a particular set of forks or rear shock I think people would be giving them a huge amount of grief rather than just getting them looked at or replaced every year

    benp1
    Full Member

    @goldenwonder – what shop are you?

    Do you service them and that fixes them, or is there something specific you’re doing? Can a regular Joe manage it?

    [mine is new under warranty, just asking for my information]

    goldenwonder
    Free Member

    I work at the smallest shop in Shrewsbury, but I’m not naming names, as I don’t want to be seen as advertising.
    It’s not rocket science, but you need a certain amount of knowledge & the IFP height tool or do you don’t stand a chance.
    Anyone who tells you ‘it just needs an internal bleed’ is talking twaddle & doesn’t know the bottom from their centre arm joint..

    Alex
    Full Member

    ^^ yep. Mate has the IFP tool and is pretty handy. If he didn’t do it, I wouldn’t even know where to start!

    swanny853
    Full Member

    Anyone who tells you ‘it just needs an internal bleed’ is talking twaddle & doesn’t know the bottom from their centre arm joint..

    Ahem. I (and someone else of this forum) have managed to reassemble dry and then refill carefully. I’m planning on testing bleeding the internal circuit without a full post breakdown but if the post can be reassembled dry then filled a bleed should work.

    If it does then all you’d need to get rid of the bob would be the remote bleed kit and the post oil height tool. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.

    The IFP height tool is arguably the least necessary of the special rockshox tools- it’s just a piece of pipe with the correct ID, OD and some height markings. You could probably substitute a couple of spokes if you were feeling very tight (I wouldn’t recommend it, it does actually do the job very well.

    Legoman
    Free Member

    thisisnotaspoon – Member

    so that’ll be a few weeks without the bike then

    For the sake of a £10 generic seapost to tide you over?

    So your suggestion is that, having forked out for a £200+ piece of kit, I should have to buy another seatpost (regardless of cost) to keep me on the road when the expensive one repeatedly fails?
    I can only assume you work for Fisher with that attitude.
    Should I be keeping some cheap rigid forks in the shed too, for when my forks fail? Or perhaps it not actually that unreasonable to expect it not to keep packing up during normal use?

    the number of “my reverbs broke and I’m out of pocket” threads/posts is pretty small.

    well this is the second one in less than a week. Both with several people reporting the same problem.

    given the number of reverbs out there and the generally good turnaround from fishers

    I don’t dispute Fisher being quick at handling the complaints, but this is not good customer service. Good customer service would be not having loads of people keep sending the things back for the same problem. How is this difficult to understand?

    goldenwonder
    Free Member

    swanny853 – Member
    swanny853 – Member
    Anyone who tells you ‘it just needs an internal bleed’ is talking twaddle & doesn’t know the bottom from their centre arm joint..
    Ahem. I (and someone else of this forum) have managed to reassemble dry and then refill carefully. I’m planning on testing bleeding the internal circuit without a full post breakdown but if the post can be reassembled dry then filled a bleed should work.

    If it does then all you’d need to get rid of the bob would be the remote bleed kit and the post oil height tool. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.

    The IFP height tool is arguably the least necessary of the special rockshox tools- it’s just a piece of pipe with the correct ID, OD and some height markings. You could probably substitute a couple of spokes if you were feeling very tight (I wouldn’t recommend it, it does actually do the job very well.

    I bow to your superior knowledge & apologise for insisting on the job being done correctly if it’s going to be done at all.

    swanny853
    Full Member

    I bow to your superior knowledge & apologise for insisting on the job being done correctly if it’s going to be done at all.

    You did suggest I was talking twaddle though. I did say it was better to do it with the IFP height tool, but have you seen the process? It’s literally just a ‘pusher’ shaped to fit in the gap! (Re-reading my comment it could be unclear- I meant you could use two spokes but I wouldn’t recommend it as the IFP height tool is the ‘right’ tool for the job.

    Having done it the ‘correct’ rockshox mandated way a fair few times now, I would much rather avoid a complete strip down and rebuild if possible!

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    So your suggestion is that, having forked out for a £200+ piece of kit, I should have to buy another seatpost (regardless of cost) to keep me on the road when the expensive one repeatedly fails?
    I can only assume you work for Fisher with that attitude.
    Should I be keeping some cheap rigid forks in the shed too, for when my forks fail? Or perhaps it not actually that unreasonable to expect it not to keep packing up during normal use?

    I can only assume you work for Fisher[b]ride your bike rather than shout about it on the internet[/b] with that attitude.[b]FTFY[/b]

    On the second point, I actually do, usually to swap the forks for the winter** to avoid 90%* of the yearly wear and tare. It’s a mix of mechanical sympathy, tight fistedness and an acceptance that moving parts really don’t like the British winter. I also ride a singlespeed rather than wearing out cassetts and chains, and have my most expensive headsets and BB’s on my winter bikes for similar reasons (they’re the only ones that seem to last).

    well this is the second one in less than a week. Both with several people reporting the same problem.

    Yes, but probably 50%* of STW have reverbs, so to get a comparable figure would be to look at say all frame failures and divide by two*. I don’t think* there’s a vastly larger number of broken reverbs to broken frames.

    *statistics made up with credible numbers on the spot to illustrate a point.

    ** not the jokey “everything apart from the 6 hours of dry trails in summer the week before Mountain Mayhem”, just December-Febuary.

    I’m not saying it should be acceptable if a lot of them fail, I’m challenging the assertion that a an unreasonable number fail, otherwise I’m sure RS/SRAM/Fisher would be bankrupt fixing them, and the assertion that the lack of a seatpost is stopping anyone from riding for weeks upon end. CRC/Wiggle/Merlin/On-One could all have a new one in your hands for under a tenner within 48 hours.

    Legoman
    Free Member

    I’m not saying it should be acceptable if a lot of them fail, I’m challenging the assertion that a an unreasonable number fail, otherwise I’m sure RS/SRAM/Fisher would be bankrupt fixing them, and the assertion that the lack of a seatpost is stopping anyone from riding for weeks upon end. CRC/Wiggle/Merlin/On-One could all have a new one in your hands for under a tenner within 48 hours.

    Of course I could go out & buy another seat post, or I could nick one off my wife’s bike (it never moves anyway!), the point is why should I have. Repeatedly.

    I’d make up some bullshit stats to disprove your bullshit stats if I could be bothered too. The point remains, there’s a lot of discussion about the failure of reverbs (another’s just popped up this evening on the Swinley FB page), far more than for any other single component

    chrisrobs
    Free Member

    I’ve just had my third one sent to me by wiggle via sram in just under 3 years. Just send it back pal before it completely packs up.

    lornholio
    Free Member

    My current Reverb sags 2-3mm when I sit on it. Barely noticeable. I contacted bike-components.de who said that if/when it starts to sag more than this I can send it in for a free service or replacement. Seems fair.

    LoCo
    Free Member

    Ahem. I (and someone else of this forum) have managed to reassemble dry and then refill carefully. I’m planning on testing bleeding the internal circuit without a full post breakdown but if the post can be reassembled dry then filled a bleed should work.

    Why would you bother though? just rebuild it if it’s faulty, replacing all seals 😕

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    I’m not saying it should be acceptable if a lot of them fail, I’m challenging the assertion that a an unreasonable number fail

    You’re talking about a specific brand of post failing, it’s not something specific to RockShox, every single brand seems to have questionable reliability when it comes to dropper posts.

    There is an awful lot going on in a very small space, that is subjected to some sh*tty conditions, patchy servicing (if ever) and maybe the odd fatty screwing up jumps and seat bouncing them, it’s no wonder they go wrong.

    My experience is they do go a bit wonky every now & then, but I’m happy to put up with it for the benefits to riding with one.

    swanny853
    Full Member

    Why would you bother though? just rebuild it if it’s faulty, replacing all seals

    It’s a fair point and up ’til now I have, a few times (three times for mine because I didn’t quite get it right the first time and pinched a seal the second, twice for a friend and once for the OH. I think!).

    My thoughts were along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t completely disassemble brakes that just needed a bleed, is there an easier way to get rid of the sag?’ Especially as the seals have generally looked OK when I’ve opened the things up.

    As far as I can tell, air in the system should gather just under the poppet valve. So if you (depressurising the post first) remove the poppet, drop a little oil in, maybe tap a few times to help any air out, then remove with the oil height tool, it’s probably down to a pretty short job. Even if it’s not 100% I can probably live with it cutting the gap between full strip downs.

    I haven’t tried it properly this way yet, so if anyone has with disastrous consequences please do let me know!

    LoCo
    Free Member

    The air’s there from a seal leaking, the faulty/worn seal will only do it again though. It’ll only ever be a pretty short term fix, what’d bother me was the though that the seal could go completely at an inconvenient moment.

    Edit: not wanting to sound like your dad though!

    swanny853
    Full Member

    That is also a fair point, but I figured was significantly aggravated by the odd bit of pulling up on the saddle when not paying attention. I also figure that no seal in a post that’s flexing is absolutely perfect and will potentially be letting a small amount of air through anyway (this may be very wishful thinking!). I suppose I’m gambling that ‘pretty short term’ will turn out to be long enough.

    Anyway, if it works I’ll have to see about getting back to you

    swanny853
    Full Member

    Actually, thinking about it, if the sag is caused by a leak in the air/oil seal surely that’s pretty unlikely to go catastrophically? My original post got to a good 30mm of sag slowly before I got round to a service.

    I have had the air/atmosphere seal go on a ride (that was a fun slog home) but that was the pinching a seal on reassembly case and that seal should be a different issue entirely to the air/oil.

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    I was a fortnight after sending it back to Sram via my lbs. It will be replaced if it meets the criteria (so far all of mine have been replaced bar 1…and that is sitting as a spare as no one wants to buy it after 2 months use)…so I’ve bought 2 brand new and had about 4 replacements through warranty. Seems to be same issue so unsure if they are fixing it. Given quantity at oem I doubt it is a pressing need to fix, which is a shame.

    townydc
    Free Member

    Just sent a replacement reverb back to CRC after only having it for 18 months.
    My original post lasted the same amount of time before it was replaced under warranty due to lack of pressure. The 2nd one has suffered the same fate and after bleeding and recharging it to 250 PSI i decided not to faff around and send it back to CRC to see what can be done.
    It may not be covered under warranty as although it was manufactured in summer of 2014 the warranty only covers the time form the original purchase date which was December 2012.
    So as i write i am awaiting an outcome after investigation.
    If they do replace it with a new post (which i doubt very much) i will be tempted to sell on and buy another brand of dropper.

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    Apparently aside from the truly ugly Gravity dropper, the most reliable droppers are the Fox DOSS but you need to be able to get on with the remote.

    DrP
    Full Member

    I’m sure mine is sagging too…
    I’m sure it’s about 2+ years old, not sure where I got it from though (I think might have been a store on Ebay)..

    If there’s a known issue, are SRAM rolling out an open returns policy then?
    Or should I try to remember purchase place and go via them??

    DrP

    Legoman
    Free Member

    Given quantity at oem I doubt it is a pressing need to fix, which is a shame.

    It should be, this will be a factor next time I buy a new bike – if it comes with a Reverb as OEM, I’ll consider it a negative feature.

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