Bike came with the above forks on, about 5 months ago.
The ride is like a demented pogo stick.
I have tried a wide range of air pressures, & rebound settings. If they are soft enough to not be too bouncy they bottom out – if you hit a rock they bottom out & the bike nose dives. Even going down fast tracks he front end is skipping all over place, so on loose stuff that feels horrible. There seems to be a lot is stiction too.
Any ideas please!!

its broken, they all broke, mines gone back twice.

its because of poor quality cartridge construction, warranty job you have 3 years!

Thanks for that. 2 out of the 3 then – rubbish and broken.
Handy time – 3 days before we set off on holiday……..

if they are tst2, they are shite.

They are TST2……if they are fixed will they work OK (until they break the next time)or will they alwayts feel crap??

TST2 = port orifice damping with no high speed blow-off valve.

That’s why they feel harsh when you’re going at speed. I imagine the high pressure spikes don’t help with the reliability of the cartridge either.

There’s a PUSH-style mod you can do to them which would improve them a lot:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=410874

Who could I get to do this for me??

retro83 – Member

TST2 = port orifice damping with no high speed blow-off valve.

That’s why they feel harsh when you’re going at speed. I imagine the high pressure spikes don’t help with the reliability of the cartridge either.

There’s a PUSH-style mod you can do to them which would improve them a lot:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=410874

I’ve been through that while browsing mtbr and fancy doing that to my 55 tst2. Only problem is I don’t know where to get the shims in the UK. Any ideas where to buy shims for a DIY job?

kitebikeski – Member

Who could I get to do this for me??

If you want it done for you then try TFTuned. They offer shim stack damping upgrades for rear shocks so they may be able to convert your tst2 cartridge for you. You will lose the lockout but gain high speed suspension performance.

Thanks – will give them a go – after I get them back from the warranty claim.

High speed blow of valve or damping is nothing to do with high speeds being ridden – its high speed movement of the fork.

TandemJeremy – Member

High speed blow of valve or damping is nothing to do with high speeds being ridden – its high speed movement of the fork.

So you are saying that you don’t get high speed movement of the fork while riding at high speeds?? not sure what your point is

I have the 55 TST 2 and they spike at ‘high’ speed over rocky ground. A set of boxxers I had with cheap damping did the same. The mtbr mod discussed above is to stop that high speed ‘spiking’ by replacing the lockout function in the TST2 cartridge with a shim stack to tune the high speed compression and allow much better high speed small bump performance. If the xc600 has the same cartridge then it should apply

tandemjeremy’s point is just that- high speed damping refers to the speed of the shock/fork movement not the speed of the vehicle. If you hit a vertical kerb whilst riding at 10mph, your fork is going to move at high speed. If you hit a rolling bump at 30mph your fork will respond at low speed.

High speed damping and spiking may often occur at high trail speeds (like the sharp edges you are likely to incur on your rocky ground) but the two arent synonymous.

………but the most important thing is I have an almost new 5″ travel bike which rides like a rigid coz of the crap/f*&%^$£ked forks 4 days before setting off for the Alps…………..
Not a happy bunny

Ring windwave direct first thing tomorow. I had similar problems with the 07 66sl1 forks and windwave sorted them very quickly. Are you anywhere near driving distance of Portsmouth/Southampton as I hink that is where windwave are based (marzocchis uk agents).

If you can drop them off with them they may be able to do you a fast turnaround on the repair

Try these numbers, ask for tech support as they are usually very helpful.

http://www.windwave.co.uk/contactus.html

Technical Support 023 9250 5322 tech@windwave.co.uk
Warranties 023 9252 6882 warranty@windwave.co.uk

i’ve got the same forks.not getting full travel and the travel adjustment is very notchy.waiting on windwave for advice.certainly not as plush as my 04 marathon’s.if you did have the mod done wouldn’t that invalidate the warranty ?

Thanks AndyPaice for that – I e-mailed them today – so will also call them.
I was also wondering about the warranty side of things. Maybe better to get them sorted then sell them.

yes, if you fiddle around with the lockout mod then technically the warrantee is void as you have modified the internals of the forks.

the solution to the problem, according to the thread on mtbr, is to replace the ’08 damping cartridges with the ’09 damping cartridges and I think that is what windwave would do under warrantee.

It only took windwave three or four days to turn around my 66s with no hurry, so if you ring them and explain the situation they may be able to sort you out in time for your holiday.

Windwave were pretty helpful – but won’t have any replacement cartridges for 2 weeks, and no spare forks to lend either.
Oh well I survived the Fort Bill red with them, so the alps should be no bother!