Shock week : Servicing an Ohlins STX22

Mroning, as we’re doing shock week, i thought i’d ask who services Ohlins STX22 shocks? TFTtuned do not service these it seems….. So would like some ideas if possible.

Cheers.

At the risk of being a colossal arse, literally the first result on Google:.https://j-techsuspension.co.uk/pages/ohlins-service-centre

i send mine to Öhlins HQ here in Sweden. Hope that helps!

At the risk of being a colossal arse, literally the first result on Google:.https://j-techsuspension.co.uk/pages/ohlins-service-centre

I get that, but was also hoping for a bit of a “yeah i’ve used these and they were great” type scenario.

Jtech do a lot of Ohlins stuff, always had good service from them.

Used Brink/Plush once, they wern’t great keeping to the promised delivery date and gave no reason either.

I’ve used Sprung when I had an Ohlins STX22, sorted an issue and serviced fine, recommended to a buddy who has now used them with no issues.

I have just had my Ohlins fork and shock tuned and serviced by J-Tech. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to test them yet as I broke my ankle while they were away. But the service and communication were first class, keeping me updated on progress all the way.

We have had ours done by Andreani (at race events) and Specialized in the past. Specialized have stopped doing them now but they recommended Plush Suspension who do their warranty work. Have used them for both Ohlin’s and Rockshox servicing last year on the Enduro’s and the service was first class. We do have spares to fit if there is going to be a delay but not had to fit them as the turnaround and communication has been that good.

https://plushsuspension.uk/

I used to own an Ohlins coil shock and got it serviced by Sussed Out Suspension. They are a great bunch of guys to deal with.
https://www.sussedoutsuspension.co.uk/mtb-suspension-servicing/

Have a look at Mick Gardener racing in Barnsley….. These guys work closely with Ohlins on shock design for motorsports but also know there stuff about MTB’s aswell.

Thanks all, plenty of ideas and contacts there.

We had an instance this weekend where the boy went out and his shock only had 50psi in it…. This is the 2nd time we’ve had that. He’s only small so usually runs about 100psi. So i’m thinking sending it off for a service should resolve any issues there. Unless you guys have seen similar?

Check the valve core isn’t loose – had this on my old RS shock and One-Up Dropper.

Not had Ohlins but J-Tech have worked on my RS and Marzocchi forks/shocks in the past – great service.

As above, Check the valve core for leaks or dirt. We had the same problem with a Fox one on the Turbo Levo whilst up at the Tweedlove festival, never done it before or after. Fox service mechanic sorted it in a couple of minutes, removed it, silicone spray and put it back in.

Interesting. Thanks for that. I assume I’ll need a valve core tool. Can’t be that hard to find

Got one, borrowed off a mate. Dunno if it was loose, but it’s not now 🙂

Right, we’re still losing pressure, he went out jumping and it was at 50psi instead of 100 by the time we checked it.

So to start with, we’ve fitted the shockwiz, which will tell us when it’s losing pressure as he can check before he goes out and when he’s out there on the trails/jumps. Obviously with the shockwiz it’s a 5s job to check so will make it really easy.

Onto the next question then.
His Ohlins is 215*57, i’ve got a RS monarch that’s just being sent away for warranty… Which is a 216*63. What’s the chances of me fitting the 216*63 to his while i send his Ohlins away for a service at J-Tech ?
I’m thinking if i fit it and nothing touches/binds then he’s pretty much good to go ? Apart from possibly a small change in geometry it’s only going to be at full extension when unloaded ? Or does it work in the opposite way, so the extra travel is at the compressed end ? In which case i can just add an extra 10psi to his shock over his usual settings and that will stop him using that last bit of travel ?
It’s only for 3-4 days while i send it off for a service and wait for it to return etc.

Another recommendation here for James at J-Tech. As I got my Stumpy Evo more dialled in as a long shocked mullet, I was finding I was getting really badly bucked from deep in the travel (MRP Hazzard, 55mm stroke to give 167mm rear travel, 600lb EXT spring, Cascade link). He took loads of info from me over email (geo in mullet format, weight, bike weight, ride style etc etc) and did a custom tune, fresh fluids & nitrogen charge. Completely transformed the ride of the bike, really fast turnaround, and all your settings are then logged so you can go back to them in future. Oh and you get a proactive service reminder email too.

All round top notch service 👍

It’s booked in for service at J-Tech now 🙂 But not until the 17th March as that was the next daye they have. So we’ll have to wing it until then and hopefully use the Monarch if viable while it’s away for service.

The Specialized shock link on the yoke is probably different than the one that fits the Marin in that it bolts in through the end of the shock.
Once you take it off its worth dunking it in a bucket of water to see where its leaking from.
Where ever you send it for a service its worth checking that they have the parts to sort whatever they find.

The Specialized shock link on the yoke is probably different than the one that fits the Marin in that it bolts in through the end of the shock

I’ve got a G160, mounts in the same way on the Yoke.

I bought my Ohlins from JTech and was over the moon with it. I then sent it back to JTech to shorten it for a new frame and whilst it was a costly job, again I’m very happy with it.

literally the first result on Google

Amazon is often the first result on Google. Does that mean people should therefore choose them?

J-Tech is ace. Been a customer for over 6 years. Never an issue, great customer service and tuning spot on – every time.

Onto the next question then.
His Ohlins is 215*57, i’ve got a RS monarch that’s just being sent away for warranty… Which is a 216*63. What’s the chances of me fitting the 216*63 to his while i send his Ohlins away for a service at J-Tech ?
I’m thinking if i fit it and nothing touches/binds then he’s pretty much good to go ? Apart from possibly a small change in geometry it’s only going to be at full extension when unloaded ? Or does it work in the opposite way, so the extra travel is at the compressed end ? In which case i can just add an extra 10psi to his shock over his usual settings and that will stop him using that last bit of travel ?
It’s only for 3-4 days while i send it off for a service and wait for it to return etc.

WEll that was an interesting morning.

J-techsuspension inform me that the 216*63 won’t fit, not because of the travel/length/stroke (although that may also be the case) but becasue the linkages on the 2015 Sworks is ‘different’ to normal shocks, so it simply won’t fit anyway.

I’ve also spoken to Sprung Suspension who used to look after Katy Curds bikes (which interestingly she’s now got LOTS of pics and blurb about my boy on her site 😀 ) when she was running Ohlins, so i’m taking it down there on Thur for service. The only minor downside is that Ohlins no longer fully support the shock, so some bits if they’re faulty may end up being a deal breaker and we’d then need to look into a replacement shock for him anyway ! Which would be a bit of a sodding disaster that’s for sure.
So we should know the answer by Friday.

If the shock is dead, maybe worth looking at a replacement linkage/yoke from BikeYoke to increase your options:

https://www.bikeyoke.de/en/bikeyokes/

Didn’t think it would fit. The Specialized linkage on the shock is the same on all the Enduros up to the latest change in 2020.

If it was me I would be talking to Plush Suspension before I considered anyone else, its at least worth a phone call. They do all the Ohlin’s repairs for Specialized in the UK and as such they may have any additional parts if it needs any.
I had two Ohlins serviced and one Rockshox, all for Enduro’s with them last year with no problems, one of them needed a couple of other things but they had it all in stock. Shocks were back the same week.

Yeah I’ve seen bijeyoke thanks.

Cheers Tracey too

No problems, they were cheaper than any of the others for the service, £119 for the one with autosag, and as I said one of the Ohlins needed some other parts, all of which were held in stock.

I’ve now started walking into the Minefield of Specialized shocks. Which is great fun.

Looking into it i’m thinking if this can’t be sorted by suspension techs then i’m going to go down the Bikeyoke route via TFTuned and a replacement shock that’s a standard fittment.

Whether i’ll then go new and a DB IL air, or something like a used Fox DPS in a 210*55 i don’t really know yet, i’m hoping on Thurs i get good news on the service/repair and we’re back up and running for £120 rather than £400 😀

“Hi Steve, your Ohlins shock is terminal. The inner body is scored and worn and can’t be repaired. It’s no longer available as a part you can buy, so it’s all dead”

So that there is a bit of a bummer… But happily i’ve already got the BikeYoke installed in the bike and his new 210*55 shock is currently ‘in the Hermes network” and on it’s way here. So we’ll be back up and running by the weekend i hope. It’s disappointing as the Ohlins is a massive part of the selling point of the bike if you ask me. But there’s not a lot i can do, it’s a fairly common issue/fault with the Ohlins STX22 and the reason why places like TFTuned no longer support/service them, because they fail so often.

The STX22 isn’t very good at all

1st failure: started leaking, went back to be fixed, no explanation as to why.
2nd Failure: lost all compression damping and started knocking, back for warranty
3rd failure: came back and still knocked, replaced with a TTX22 after explaining to specialized that on a 6.5k bike, it should work perfectly and not be out of action for two weeks at a time every 8 weeks.

TTX22 coil is mega though, the shock that should of been fitted from the get go.

The enduro is a renownded shock killer, the yoke puts additional loading on the shock, causing failures. Many many DB Inlines were killed, 3 mates had them, all failed and there are multiple instances elsehwere. The monarch, fox X2/DHX2 and TTX22 seem to be the ticket for reliability.
As for the newer metric shocks in 210×55, they should be better with more bushing overlap and so stronger by design.

Fox or Rockshox did publish something on their website about maximum yoke lengths, cant seem to locate it though.

Yep my enduro is not being kind to my online shock. TFT serviced it and said that they get knackered by the enduro.
I spent a few days contacting ohlins UK, who are specialized and got nowhere. A couple of speculative emails to ohlins and they sent me a new shock free of charge.

As our bike is a 2015 and now 6 years old, along with not being the first owner, i don’t think that route would work for me 🙂 I told the service center to dispose of the shock.

One thing i’m interested in trying is whether the 216*63 i have arriving today will work in his bike, even if it’s slightly different in terms of geometry, the reason is that j-techsuspension kindly sent my Monarch RC3 off for warranty which will one day come back from SRAM either repaired or likely replaced. I’ve already bought another shock for my bike (G-160) so the spare RC3 could be used in both mine or his bike as an emergency spare. So i’ll be trying it today in his bike for clearance/issues without any air, before taking it back off and fitting it to mine and then fitting the 210*55 to his when Hermes deliver his… But would be really useful if i can make the longer one work in his frame. He’s not a fussy lad, so if it felt slightly different he’d just ride around it. So it’s only clearance/collisions that are a concern.

Is the 216×63 the specialized mount or is it the standard eyelet mount ?

I bought a BikeYoke so i can fit a standard mount shock of any realistic sizing.

I did a test fitting with my new RP23 and that fits lovely. Doesn’t foul on the frame/extension etc. Obviously 6mm longer will slightly affect the geometry, but we’ll now keep the Monarch RC3 as a spare for both bikes when it’s warrantied.

2021-02-25_02-27-43 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr