Hello

My ancient, unloved and un-serviced reverb (non stealth) got stuck half way up.

I’ve now tinkered and it’s stuck all the way down (fiddled with pressure).

I have a bleed kit but am unsure as to what to do as instructions say the post needs to be fully extended before servicing.

Any handy hints or tips?

Thanks

I would bleed it in situ, but be prepared for extension/mess to ensue. You could even possibly put the syringe on the lever end first and see if it’ll pressurise enough to get the thing up before you connect the post end.

The bleed process is fairly straightforward in itself, and did the job very effectively on my post that had got a bit sluggish in the cold weather.

The obvious thing that springs to mind is the the button isn’t moving the poppet valve far enough/at all. Adjusting the return speed to max and see if anything happens. IE you can get the post to extend again. The speed adjuster increases/reduces the oil volume going to the poppet. If this fails you can bleed the hydraulic line with the post depressed but be aware that if the post is in a stuck down condition it may release at some point. There’s a lot of stored pressure in these posts so take appropriate precautions.

Might also be worth taking the post out and see if there’s anything leaking out. The other thing that can happen is that the circlip completely corrodes away allowing the innards of the post to drop down. Easy one to spot.

D.

Thanks, the speed adjuster makes no difference.

Would it be a bad idea to just let all the air out and suspend the bike by the saddle so the post is extended?

I’ve just repaired a reverb where the circlip had failed.

I give it a minor rebuild – removed the outer post and collar and gave everything a clean and put it back together.

When I re-pressurised the air spring it sucked down to about half extension, but it popped back up when I bled it. I doubled check the pressure and after that it was good to go.

Bleeding them is really easy. Turn the speed adjuster on the lever to slow. If your post is stuck down then bleed both ends. Cycle the oil back and forth a couple of times until the oil is free of bubbles. Then disconnect the seat post end. Cycle the speed adjuster back and forth a couple of times and press the lever a couple of times to make sure the lever is free of any trapped bubbles then disconnect the lever end. Done

I have a bleed kit but am unsure as to what to do as instructions say the post needs to be fully extended before servicing.

It won’t make any difference for bleeding the remote – just crack on with it.

^^^This

Had same issue as you at the w/e. Bled remote with post half dropped, post returned once bled and button pressed. No issues since.

Would it be a bad idea to just let all the air out and suspend the bike by the saddle so the post is extended?

This would be a very bad idea. Best case you’d be pulling a cavity on the oil side of the gubbins. Worst case you’ll pull a whole load of air past the IFP, and need a full strip down to sort it.

I would probably just do it with the seatpost half up. As someone else said it’s only the poppet valve you need to do to get it moving again. (I mean, the rest of the seatpost might be in need of a service too, but this will get it working for now)

This would be a very bad idea.

😬 oops.

Well, despite the above it seems to have bled ok and the post is going up and down fine now.

It does have a bit of “give” when it’s locked out but I expect that’s something else?!

Thanks for the help

Glad you’re sorted. The “give” you’re experiencing is air trapped behind the IFP and can be got rid of by resetting the IFP & oil height.

D.

It does have a bit of “give” when it’s locked out

That’s what can happen if you take a post which is partly or fully dropped and

suspend the bike by the saddle so the post is extended

Much more involved job to sort that out.