hi guys, my mate has just bought some new fox float forxs and asked if he can buy a rubber band type thing to indicate the sag and travel on his forks….i think his are 09's as they didnt come with one, i know all r/s rev's come with them this year….

i know he will have to dismantle the forks to get it on, but he wants it to see how much travel hes using and to make it easier for setting various sag up without having to use zip ties…

so can you buy these anywhere? i cant seem to find any for him though i dont know the exact name of them 😆

i apologize in advance for the shit thread 😆

small zip tie and then you don't need to dismantle the fork to fit it.

Cut a thin section of old inner tube, slice so it becomes a strip rather than a loop. Wrap strip round stanchion, tie neat reef knot. Job done. Won't knacker seals like zip ties are alleged to.

he doesnt want a zip tie dude, hes worried the harsh plastic material will scratch the stanchions 😆 that was my first recommendation…..i suppose he could have a little point and im guessing the proper ones are made from rubber?

thanks for recommendations but he is specifically after the rubber 'proper' ones, if any one knows where you can buy them please post 🙂 would appreciate it 🙂

Tell him life's too short, just look at the line of dust/dirt 😉

Failing that TF Tuned are probably your best bet.

Alaric.

It's just an O ring with an ID that's a smidge (maybe half a smidge) less than the stanchion diameter so it's a snug fit. Try a plumbers merchant/DIY place.

I know this sound daft but is he sure that there isn't one there already? The one on my forks was right up by the crown and it took me while to notice it was there.

surely you only need the zip tie/rubber band on there when you do your initial setup and 'first ride' to make sure it's ok?

I'd be reluctant to disassemble a fork just so I could get the sag right, tbh.

grahama – no definitely not one i saw the forks last night, he didnt have any zip ties either so it was a guessing game 😆 ……

yeah he would like it for seeing how much travel hes using too, as hes quite new to it all and i wont be here to help out so trying to help him beforehand 🙂 will perhaps email tft and mojo see if those guys stock them 🙂

sure the new revs come with a red one this year and im assuming they are 32 stanchions

If it's just for setting up a bit of masking tape works

why email tft etc and pay stupid money plus postage for a rubber band when someone has just told you to get an o ring from a plumbers merchant, they will prob give you a single one for free if you ask nicely!

Sometimes wonder why some people make such a big thing of the smallest easiest most pointless parts of biking. Dismantling a fork just to get sag right? Jeez sag will be the least of his worries when he has the fork in bits!

Use a zipties FFS it aint going to do any damage whilst you check sag
If an o ring was so important to him he shuld have bought rockshox not fox!

oh one final thing before this thread is officially over –
Make sure you put it on the right fork leg
It won't give a correct reading if its on the left 😉

That's nonsense iain. If you want an accurate figure you should put one on each leg and take an average.

Didzy said that the new revs come with a red one so surely that should go on the left – you'd need a green one to go on the right.

😆

😆

i told you it was a shit thread in advance 🙂

plumbers sounds a good idea! cheers for the info, so just to clarify it doesnt matter which leg it goes on??? 😆

thats why mine don't use the full travel, the "O" ring is on the left leg. ARGH!! 🙄

One word:

zip tie.

Just use one o ring stretched round both legs

cynic-al – Member

One word:

zip tie.

That's two words.

If you do use the zip tie, remember to remove it when the sag is set. If you leave it on there it'll force dirt into the seal and cause accelerated wear on the leg.

Buy a Fox seal kit from TFTuned. (or Ebay) (or Mojo)
The rest of the kit might come in useful one day.

Fox fork seal kits don't include the sag o ring, if it's that important I can sort you out one. http://www.locotuning.co.uk.
Simon.

Nice offer. (The shock seal kit does, so surprised the fork doesn't, sorry for misleading (ie. wrong) info)

Cut the O ring from the plumbers, do it with a brand new stanley blade or craft knife, make sure the cut is as clean as you can get it, a dob of superglue and it will stay stuck together forever, and take all the guesswork of getting the right diameter, as long as its too big you can make it fit buy cuting it to the right length…

DO NOT DISMANTLE FORKS FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

How does a zip tie force dirt into the seals?

Oh no, Fox have put my rubber ring on the right fork leg of my 2010 floats! Sorry, it's ok, I've just gone round the back and its ok now!

Surely there's something drastically wrong if it matters which leg you measure sag on!

Unless it's sat at the top of the leg, when the fork compresses any dirt on the stantion is collected and pushed against the seal.
I've seen alot of forks where there's a tie fitted and there's a marked difference between the amount of dirt between the seal with and without.
In addition to this if dirt gets under the tie it'll be rubbing dirt against the stantion surface effectivly sanding it which again over time will over time wear the surface.

"Surely there's something drastically wrong if it matters which leg you measure sag on!"

I think you have to reverse the leg for the rubber band for Pace and Manitou forks as the crown is at the back of the fork.

I think he is more worried about the zip tie itself being more abrasive rather than forcing more dirt into the seal.. Its an odd worry but its his bike, and the solution is just above. 🙂

In addition to this if dirt gets under the tie it'll be rubbing dirt against the stantion surface effectivly sanding it which again over time will over time wear the surface.

The zip tie only gets moved when travel exceeds it's position. Unless you are constantly pissing around with it, it will only touch the seal on rare occasions when you hit max travel. Even then, after the first time it won't actually be moved.

I just scratched a mark every 10mm into the leg of my stanchions, like the printed graduations on RS U-Turn forks.

Makes it dead easy to set the sag.

Interesting, one might have thought the seal pushes dirt out of the way whether there's a zip-tie in the way or not. Or even that the upper edge of the zip tie cleans dirt away and makes the seal's job easier.

As my zip-tie gets pushed up by the seal at most once per ride, I'm not too concerned.

"Surely there's something drastically wrong if it matters which leg you measure sag on!"

I think you have to reverse the leg for the rubber band for Pace and Manitou forks as the crown is at the back of the fork.

or just fit the forks back to front supermarket style

Yes I agree, it's just best to remove it once your got he right sag from the air pressure/spring preload.
Over the years I seen loads of forks that the zip ties have caused problems on.

If it moves at the start of a muddy midwinter ride and your riding round for 3 or 4 hours with it grinding away at you stantions it isn't great.

I'm not a total zip tie facist and not wishing to berate the way in which anybody see fit to use them, before this turns into a several page thread about the merits of them, like the ones on bearings.

If it moves at the start of a muddy midwinter ride and your riding round for 3 or 4 hours with it grinding away at you stantions it isn't great.

Is it magically getting sucked back down again?

Various size O-rings are usually available from car spares shops too.

I cant believe this thread, is it just be me that thinks the idea of taking a pair of forks to bits just to install a sodding o-ring is utterly f**king nuts…seriously, utterly f**king nuts…..

OP, both you and your mate need a reality check, stick a cable tie on, do what you gotta do then take it off.

Here is an idea. Why not get a thick O ring, reasonable cross section, from the plumbers merchant that will fit then then cut it with a sharp Stanley blade. Right now get a couple of sheets of paper to wrap round the stanchion and secure temporarily with some masking tape. Apply a small drop of super glue to the clean cut end and then join both ends round the stanchion. Any excess glue will go on the paper and it will all be set in 10-30 secs. You can then remove the paper and check the sag. Quicker than stripping down the fork.

If it holds the man up on the parallel bars I am sure it will work here on a smaller scale.