Recall: Öhlins RXF Air Fork

Öhlins has issued a recall of its RXF Air Fork, and advised riders to cease using them immediately.

The forks came as standard on a number of Specialized 2017 and 2018 bikes, so we expect that this is recall is going to have quite a substantial impact, with many bikes affected. The Öhlins website states that around 17,000 of these forks have been produced, and there are four reported incidents of the defect, which is described as follows:

The right-side cap top on some forks potentially may unthread and become loose which in some cases may lead to the top cap working itself free through riding. When this happens, the air cartridge may spring out of the stanchion tube causing a risk of injury to the rider.

If you’ve got one of these forks (and note that it doesn’t affect the RXF 36 Coil forks), stop riding it and get in touch with your dealer.

---

The official recall notice reads:

“Dear Öhlins RXF Air fork rider

At Öhlins, safety is our primary concern, and when safety is compromised for the rider, we need to take action.

Based upon reports from the field, we’ve concluded the Öhlins RXF 36 29/27.5 Air forks and all RXF 34 Air forks sold to aftermarket and spec’d as original equipment on the 2017 Stumpjumper, Enduro, and Fuse, and the 2018 Stumpjumper, Enduro, Levo, may contain a defect in the top cap which potentially affects safety. Specifically, the right-side top cap on some forks may not be adequately torqued which in some cases may lead to the top cap working itself free through riding. When this happens, the air cartridge may abruptly spring out of the stanchion tube causing a risk of injury to the rider. Therefore, we’ve decided to ask riders to stop riding, and our dealers to stop selling, affected forks and bicycles.

We are working urgently in partnership with Specialized on a remedy to this issue. Once we have obtained the necessary government approvals on our solution, we will issue a recall to fix the forks and get you back riding. As we progress with our recall strategy and approvals this site will be continuously updated.

Please note that other Öhlins forks such as RXF 36 Coil forks are unaffected by this notice.

We wish to apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

For further information please contact your dealer, origin of purchase, primary.

Thanks for riding Öhlins suspension.

Torkel Sintorn
General Manager MTB
Öhlins Racing AB”

 

In addition to the recall notice, a series of FAQs has been provided:

Q: Why is Öhlins conducting this Stop Ride / Stop Sale?

A: We are conducting this action because we have identified a potential safety issue and want to keep our riders safe and prevent possible injuries.

Q: Which products are involved? 

A: Öhlins RXF 36 29/27.5+ and 27.5 Air Forks and RXF 34 fork.
It do not affect RXF 36 Coil forks or the DH Race Fork.

Q: What is the problem with the affected forks?

A: The right-side cap top on some forks potentially may unthread and become loose which in some cases may lead to the top cap working itself free through riding. When this happens, the air cartridge may spring out of the stanchion tube causing a risk of injury to the rider.

Q: How many incidents have happened?

A: We have reported, to CPSC in US, that four incidents were the air cartridge has come loose. There has been approximately 17 000 forks produced.

Q: Whom do I contact if I have had problems?

A: Contact the retailer you bought the product from and they will help you out when the fix has been government approved.

Q: Do you have a fix?

A: We have worked tirelessly and we have a validated fix that are not yet approved by government authorities. We ask for your patience and we will continually update this FAQ with more information regarding the process.

Q: I have not had any issues with my fork.  Can I continue to use it?

A: No, at this stage we advise that you are not riding our product until our fix has governmental approval and has been applied to your fork.

Q: Where can I find more information?

A: We will continuously update ohlins.com with news on how we are proceeding in getting the fix governmental approved.

---