so my pikes are 2 years old soon. I do a lowers service every 6 months and general fettle.
no issues really
so should i send them off? i also fancy doing a damper bleed myself? worthwhile or only if its stopped working?
Id deffo say yes. noticed my 36's performance fall off after just under a year of riding, its a slow degradation though so easy to miss.
They'd benefit from some loving.
I'd DIY though, the air side is easy apart from the bastard circlip - just clean and re-grease everything, you can replace all the seals if you wish, but it rarely needs it IMHO.
Chargers are easy too, bleed kit from epic bleed kit.
Unless you happen to have a 24mm socket, circlip pliers, seal setting tool (really don't need them) 3 different weights of oil etc laying around you won't save any money the first time, but it's pretty good fun (each to their own of course) and you'll learn a bit about your forks, it helps me visualise how the settings work etc.
IMO, the lowers service should include servicing the airspring, they do go sticky over time and its a two minute job.
Bleeding the damper is pretty straight forward, you will need an adapter for the old charger dampers, the new ones use a reberb adapter.
so yes to a service.
I do the air spring with the lowers as its easy and its off.
So what am i getting from sending it off for a service vs me just bleeding the damper?
So what am i getting from sending it off for a service vs me just bleeding the damper?
Depends on the model of fork. Charger 1 damper would get a full strip/inspect, new bladder, all seals, new seal head.
Charger 2 damper would be a lower seal head, clean and new oil
ah so could just swap the oil out using the bleed kit?
Personally I'd strip it down and service it myself, unless the bushes need attention.
thats what im thinking.