[Closed] reverb ? service/replace

Not used tf due to hi cost but me and the guys I ride with have been using grant at Southcoast sus. Great service good pricing to can certainly highly recommended him.
http://www.southcoastsuspension.co.uk

^ That is who I was going to give a try when my reverb needs doing, good to hear a recommendation

I'm in 2 minds what to do with mine.

A sram service is about 80 including postage and can take 6-8 weeks but might result in a new post if the stories on the internet are to be believed.

A service from Wharnclife Cycle Tech [url= https://wharncliffecycletech.com ]https://wharncliffecycletech.com[/url] is 30 cheaper at 50 and will probably be no more than a week.

Do I take the gable on the new post or not?

im still in 2 minds, is it worth the hassle of a service? might risk it and see how it performs after a service

batman, what was the turn around on southcoastsus?

You can buy a basic service kit for around £8 and do it yourself. It's not insanely complicated and there are some excellent how to videos out there. A lot cheaper than either a professional service or a new seatpost. If I can manage it, pretty much anyone can.

Edit: most of the 'special tools' used by RS are eminently bodgeable with a little thought.

Can the "drops a little bit" fault be fixed with home service/rebuild stuff or is that always a pro job

(every time I've had someone else's that does it, it was just a bleed/setup failure with people not reading the instructions but my own one's definitely faulty, that's karma at play eh...)

If it drops a bit/is bouncy it is a completely different hydraulic area to the remote. A more major service is required.

and to expand on that, you can do it at home and there are videos but from what I have seen you'd better have a reasonable level of competence (I'd guess you would be fine Northwind but check the videos and decide whether you fancy it)

Have a look at the SRAM/RS service video on YouTube. The Internal Floating Piston (IFS) - or whatever it's called - seems to be a weakpoint on earlier posts and has been upgraded. You can retrofit it apparently.

You want to check the air pressure first anyway, but I'm assuming you've done that already.

But yeah, people on here have successfully changed the sealing o-rings etc. I find it a little distressing that people seem to treat Reverb as a sort of disposable, sealed item. You wouldn't do that with a fork, but a dropper post is no more complicated ime.

There's no pressurised nitrogen in there, just a bunch of seals and oil, but the video is pretty comprehensive.

Most reverbs will need a full service and a full service kit is £40.

I service tons of em most just need an oil and air reset service doesn't need to cost much
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Its not too old really 2015 stealth model checked the air pressure which was fine may just neer seals and oil and the keys i belive seems a little dry

There's no pressurised nitrogen in there, just a bunch of seals and oil

If it has got to the sagging / 'bouncy' stage, then there will be high pressure (250PSI) air trapped inside the oil chambers which cannot be vented before the post is dismantled. (I think this is why SRAM tell you not to DIY service a sagging post).

Be very, very careful.

The OP's (post's) symptoms, however, sound like they can be addressed with the basic service which doesn't disturb the oil side of things at all. It gets more expensive if a new top cap bushing is needed (only available as a 'top cap assembly'), or if the brass keys are worn (need to buy the full service kit to get spares).

You can fix the sagging issue by topping up the oil in top of the post. This just requires removing the circlip and the poppet valve, topping up the oil and then rebleeding the remote. Pretty straightforward and no parts needed.

If its under 2 years old return it to sram via bike shop you bought it at or direct if this isn't possible. I did and received my shiny new replacement yesterday.

Once booked, 3 days including me posting it there which was £7 odd quid post there serviced and posted back that day. unless any issues I guess same with my forks to.

This [b][i]just[/i][/b] requires removing the circlip and the poppet valve, topping up the oil...

Have you actually done that to a sagging post?

The poppet valve comes out like a bullet, sending itself, the circlip and washer into orbit, and coating everything with oil spray. It comes out with enough force to cause serious injury, and the consequences of having your face in the way don't bear thinking about. This is after venting the air out of the post.

DAMHIKT.

Like I said above, be very, very careful - there's no truly safe way of dismantling a bouncy/sagging post.

If you do it that way, you also have to mess about a bit adding and removing oil to get the full travel of the post (unless really lucky).

I Service loads and would recommend a full service. They take a beating and the full service kit comes with the new IFP which should help with longevity.

To echo Tillydog.... the poppet removal method can be a bit hit and miss getting the correct oil level and I have also lost several, they are like bullets if you're not careful.

BadlyWiredDog - Member

Have a look at the SRAM/RS service video on YouTube. The Internal Floating Piston (IFS) - or whatever it's called - seems to be a weakpoint on earlier posts and has been upgraded. You can retrofit it apparently.

Incidentally, I have the sagging fault on the latest model. It's possible that the new part is more reliable but it's definitely not flawless. That one'll be going back on warranty obviously as it's quite new.

Have you actually done that to a sagging post?

After my first reverb service involved hunting down the bits that fired themselves out of post and all over the room, if i want to remove the poppet i wear safety glasses, ensure there's no pressure in the post, put the circlip pliers in the poppet then cover the lot with an old towel before opening. If you've let the pressure out it [i] should[/i] be fine, but why risk it

...If you've let the pressure out it should be fine...

As above: If it's got to the sagging stage, there will be high pressure air trapped inside which doesn't come out until you start to dismantle the post, no matter what you do. Be careful.

Yes, I have done it. The poppet flew out but as long as you're expecting it and have something over the top (a rag) to catch it then happy days.

Do it in small stages until you get the oil level just right. And yes, wear some goggles.

See when you have a sagging post, is there any merit in just doing a reset without doing a full service? Obviously there's an issue in the post which won't be resolved by this, but is it the sort that takes months to re-emerge or will it just go wrong again in a day?

IME, it'll be OK for a while afterwards, but YMMV.

Northwind if you just take the post apart and reassemble it with fresh oil it usually will be fine if it's stealth all you need is the ifp depth tool or a bit of pipe with the right forth marked on it
The oil height just needs setting with a syringe and a bit of plastic tube set to the right length

Anyone around Bradford / Leeds area fancy doing mine?

Didn't think so.

As above: If it's got to the sagging stage, there will be high pressure air trapped inside which doesn't come out until you start to dismantle the post, no matter what you do. Be careful.

Hmmm, interesting. By my reading of the internal layout, if you push the button to open the poppet after you've let the air out of the main spring, the small amount of air trapped in the inner oil chamber should equalise pressure out across the entire oil chamber (and potentially air as well, if it's got enough to move the IFP) volume, dramatically reducing it. What do you think?

My original reverb lasted for 2 years before it started showing issues, I got a 'mini' service done which lasted 2 rides before the symptoms re-emerged. Luckily there was a sale on and I picked up a cheap reverb which is now about 18 months old, so I'm just about to pop my original one in for a full service in anticipation of the current one starting to display issues. They're serviceable items so will require ongoing maintenance costs. I think 2 years of trouble free service good for such an item and at £50 to £80 for a full service (almost a triggers broom thing) then that's not bad in my view. Why faff about?

I realise people experiences of things are different, but an £80 service every 2 years seems OK to me. Obviously you don't need 2 reverbs, I just did this to avoid any lost riding time, and it's always handy to have a spare.

By my reading of the internal layout, if you push the button to open the poppet after you've let the air out of the main spring, the small amount of air trapped in the inner oil chamber should equalise pressure out across the entire oil chamber (and potentially air as well, if it's got enough to move the IFP) volume, dramatically reducing it. What do you think?

It helps, but doesn't eliminate the problem - The 'small amount of air' is only small at ~250 PSI / 17 Bar. It can expand on the oil side of the IFP when you release the pressure from the air side with the poppet valve open, but only until the IFP bottoms out, leaving it still under a fair bit of pressure (depending on the amount of sag and the length of the post - more sag and short posts are worse).

(This raises the point that the IFP needs to be manipulated so that it is trully floating again, and not bottoming or topping out - a multi step process of juggling oil levels and post position.)

I've done the poppet valve/oil topup on two Reverbs now. Both times it worked perfectly. I use the oil height tool to make sure the oil volume is spot on- saves on multiple reassembly faffage and only costs £5

Once the poppet valve is out, pour oil in so it almost overflows, then leave the post upright for an hour or so, then tilt and tap in a few directions so the last air is out, then use the oil height tool to set the oil height correctly

Both times the IFP was at the right height so no need to disassemble the whole post to reset. Don't think the IFP will really be affected by the sagging problem. If it is it is, but you may as well try the oil height trick first as opening up Reverbs is a pain when they're new (need a huge spanner and gripping the various Russian doll esque tubes in a vice isn't always easy)

Both times there was a pfft of pressurised air being released, and I put a cloth over the post to catch the poppet valve and small plate. But it was a pffft, not a f*ck the shed roof just blew off. Make sure you don't press down too hard with the cloth, as you'll compress the post and squirt oil everywhere (as I did the first time!)

Need to get my head round servicing mine. Three knackered posts now, and one working one. One has bushing worn plus has bit of sag (might be related though?), another has dodgy lever and oddly keeps refusing to move once out in the cold but works fine in the house despite being bled dozens of times to try and fix it, and third is just very slow regardless of bleed and air pressure fix attempts.

£80+ a pop to service when a new is £150, is a fair whack. Especially if they fail more than once in their lifetime and depreciated value is not far off service price. Hence the disposability of these.

New isn't £150 anymore I'm afraid!

Bloody Brexit

Cool, cheers guys- I was going to get the full rebuild kit and revised IFP for my old-model Reverb, but I'll have a crack at just revitalising it with original parts first