Self service Reverb, Exeter Devon area

Is there anyone in the Exeter Devon or surrounding area that does their own spannering on their reverbs?

As the old saying goes, the devil makes work for idle hands, I have an old spare reverb that was sitting around and in a moment of boredom I decided to investigate how far I could work on it without the proper tools and vices and soft jaw clamps etc.

If youve seen any of my other posts you would know I’m a hacks and bodges type of moron.

I don’t need the reverb it’s just an emergency spare should something go wrong with my main dropper and I need something to use while the proper one is being replaced or worked on.

I was seeing how far I could take it apart but there was stil some air pressure left in it so the poppet blew off and I lost some of the fluid inside and also apparently the IFP would have shifted inside.

I could send it to RSF in Plymouth for a service and rebuild but £85 seems a bit of an unnecessary spend on something that is just going to sit in a box of spare parts and probably never get used. It WAS working fine and doesn’t need a service or any seals replacing etc.

Is there someone who would be willing to undo the seal heads and resit the IFP at right height and retop up the fluid to required level for a suitable reward? Or failing that rent me suitable tools to get the job done myself.

I just don’t have the necessary tools to clamp the shafts and body etc to undo the seal heads

Thanks

Yeah this seems sensible, with Brand x & trans x droppers retailing at £100+, spending £85 for a service on an old reverb seems like a waste of money doesn’t it. Plus the older ones are not that reliable. I have one that has just failed, it has previously had three services at £70, £87, and £105. I’m not spending any more money on it.

Ha. i’m in Exeter and have a reverb that i replaced with a more modern unit, but now im pondering ruining my reverb myself by trying to get it going as a spare.
Is there and echo in here?

I would most trust Jake (silk cycles) who is based down on the Dawlish road:

https://www.silkcycles.co.uk/

( i realize you would end up paying him, but i don’t think it would be megabucks, i think my last reverb service was 40 quid.)

@Olly, do it mate! That’s half the fun. And when you cack something up its even more motivation to figure it out and uncack it

A while back I got it into my head to work out if feasible and what bits and pieces I needed to order off SJS cycles and Silverfish so that I could turn a fit4 performance fork into a performance elite with the adjustable LSC. I never got round to doing it but it helped me understand my forks and suspension a bit better. Not saying that translated into any improved ability on the trails but it’s a start, lol

And before that was the time I bought a knackered magura mt7 master cylinder off Pinkbike just to take apart to see if I could jerry the piston in it to take up a fraction of the lever dead stroke

I came across silk cycles somehwere before, I think I tried messaging Jake a few months back to ask if he was still active on the maintenance side of things but I never heard back from him.

Has anyone had dealings with the chap recently?

Although I’m also Exeter based I’m not specifically aware of a local who’d do it for cheap. However you could also try one of the various other folk out there who will service a reverb for £40odd. I sent mine off to Rebound Suspension in Bolton with issues including the sinking first 10+mm and they sorted it for that kind of money.

@luket @munkiemagik

Jake is good, but sometimes not around when spannering for a DH team, maybe worth a follow up message.

Roots Cycles Works have shops in Exmouth and Edford and do Reverb/Suspension servicing.

What is the issue with the post?

have a read of this:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ghetto-reverb-full-service-kit-bodgetastic/

I took mine apart and fixed the top squish with no specific tools and no new parts (except for oil) last summer. It just needed to be reset.
It’s pretty easy tbh and you could sort the IFP.
Bodges i used. I undid the top collar thing when it was in the bike.
I didn’t have an IFP tool but a piece of wood with markings on did the trick.
I had a golf shaft holder and a vice to open the IFP. These are cheap.
For oil height I used a syringe as per the link.

You can make the shaft clamp you need by drilling then splitting a block of wood, using sime self amalgamating tape or bit of inner tube and clamping the lot in a vice. I did that, and it works fine – though I then bought some shaft clamps as it’s easier.

I don’t think there are any tools you _need_ they just make it easier.