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Rather annoyingly, the shaft on the rear shock of my T129 is scored. No idea how it happened, as it looks otherwise fine. I probably should have dropped it out and serviced it as soon as I bought the frame late last year, but then I've been running it all winter, so no way of knowing if a can service then would have made a difference.
Anyhoo.
Has anyone found themselves in a a similar situation? it's 216x63, with a high volume can. I've literally no idea where to start when it comes to looking for a replacement, other than to find an identical Monarch RL. Any suggestions gratefully received...
Does it leak air?
How did it perform when it was on the bike? Did you like it or feel it was lacking?
Easy option if it was working fine is replace like for like (same tune etc)
It may also be fixable with a new air shaft and service, though costs may be close to a new shock but worth speaking to the suspension people.
Whats the tune on the shock?
Sorry for the silence! No idea of tune, unfortunately. I've asked Whyte. There's no note on the shock itself.
The shock loses air - which is how I noticed it was scored in the first place. Looking at servicing costs vs NOS costs, it'd cost about the same to recondition the old one. There seem to be a few about for £150.
I'd be happy to plump for other shocks, but to be honest this one seemed pretty good to me for what it was, and the idea of something super-tweaky doesn't appeal. I've run X-Fusion coilovers, Fifth Element coils, Fox Van Fox Float , RS SID (AAARRGH!) and older Monarchs in the past, and the Monarch has always seemed pretty good - although this is the first Horst link frame I've owned.
Just to reiterate: the SID was awful, awful. Or rather, the three SIDs I blew up in quick succession and had replaced on warranty, were awful.
Don't buy a SID, is the only thing I learned
Hmmmmm... I'm sure mine shows the tune on it, will check when I get home. When I'll also be taking it apart to find out why it imploded after a couple of hundred miles use.
Ow - that sounds a bit wrongle!
If it's any consolation, I had an earlier version on an Orange Five that was utterly bulletproof...
Compression tune is L3
Thank you, chap!
I think technically the tune is L3L if that helps. Red L, blue L3
I'd get a Cane Creek DBinline. There's already a base tune for it on their site and they're really nice shocks.
Thanks chief.
Had a look. Almost cried. I know it's probably lovely and everything, but it's way out of my price range.
I just had a look at a couple of [url=
and tutorials about tuning the shim stack, to see how easy or otherwise it would be to adjust the tune on a Monarch if I found the right size but the wrong tune, and it looks like the shaft could be replaced without too much faffage at all; go for an air can service, but also depressurize the floating piston in the shaft, unscrew the damper head from the top of the shaft and replace. Is it really that straightforward? (I'm paraphrasing here, and fully expect to spend an evening drinking tea in my garage and swearing, by the way) if so, a new shaft's about £40 on Amazon, a seal kit's about £7.50, and there's no need for me to have a cow about tunes - the shim stack doesn't even need to be tinkered with... right?
Speak to LoCo on here, he can advise you.
Thanks, GR!
I probably have an RT3 ML3 standard can HVI that will be spare at the end of the month... Can do you a good price. The M tune should be fine as the rebound is so wide that I dont know why people bother speccing L rebound at all!
A quick follow up to this for anyone looking at a similar replacement.
I contacted Whyte via Facebook, and got back a very detailed and specific response which is worth sharing.
Two thumbs up to Jon and the rest of the team at Whyte for being so responsive and helping a customer out.
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Hello there - our service team advise as follows :
The following should work as a direct replacement:
Monarch RT
Eye to Eye: 216mm
Stroke: 63mm
AirCan Volume: HV eyelet with Debonair HV.
HV Can/Debonair Volume Spacer: Zero.
Rebound tune: L
Compression Tune: L1
Pedal Spring: Firm
Lockout Force: 320
Shaft eye Hardware: 8x35.5
Body eye Hardware: 8x22.0
The following would be an upgrade to the RT3.
Monarch RT3
Eye to Eye: 216mm
Stroke: 63mm
AirCan Volume: HV eyelet with Debonair HV.
Rebound tune: L
Compression Tune: L3
Pedal Spring: Firm
Lockout Force: 320
Shaft eye Hardware: 8x35.5
Body eye Hardware: 8x22.0
Kind regards
Jon
Oh, and Ben - yes, I might be interested in that. A firmer tune might not be a bad thing. I'm guessing it's not got the high volume sleeve, though - is that right? Drop me a line via profile if you've a mo. 🙂