no one wants to touch this?
i thought this is just the kind of thing STW likes.. almost a “here’s my crack” thread but with a slight twist and chance of serious injury 🙂

fyi torx is “better” as less likely to round out, but, the torque on this bolt makes it pointless ..

i like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-38716-33-Piece-Security-Bit/dp/B0001K9U46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342018679&sr=8-1

what tricks to impress the kids? 🙂

i need to try something >700 .. just i like tight twisty places and aren’t too hot at judging gaps.

£1000/litre haha hadn’t thought of it that way.
anyone confirm a gearbox oil that’s def. plastic/seal safe?

no, unless it starts chain sucking.

yes, any 5.1 is fine.

if your bike weighs more than 32kg, time to buy some titanium rotor bolts? 😉

pedals, rear mech off and don’t forget to space the frame and forks.

have a great trip.

+1 for Tweeks, those guys are great. CRC is OOS anyway of that btw.

you’d be amazed what difference a good fork can make on just about any bike.. if i were you, which i’m not, i’d buy a nice fork, try that (maybe with diff bars/stem too), then if still not happy look for a frame deal (based on test rides if possible, reviews if not) and transfer all bits over. probably not what you want but just throwing that out there. works best if you have someone to do the labour for you or want to learn to build a bike :p

^ if you can’t afford to break it/lose it, don’t buy it? yeah i’ve been guilty of this in the past.

some stuff is a ripoff as you know there’s a huge margin, other stuff because performs less well than cheaper alternatives (titanium chainrings anyone?). though the machining etc might be very nice that’s your choice to buy Bike Jewellery rather than something that does the job.

hmm not sure how MTBing can be overpriced but bike parts not be? you mean clothes, car parks cost too much? one of the things i like about the sport is once you’ve bought the stuff it pretty much feels “free” to go ride.. apart from trips and tuition of course 😮

which size knippex best for RS forks? 10-25mm i guess?

all bike greases/oils, original brake pads, chain devices, chainrings that aren’t shimano steel ones, official shock service kits (orings and washers cost how much?), shorts, high end helmets, lights that aren’t made in china. a lot of bars/stems/seatposts are overpriced tubes. high end hardtail frames/bikes (it’s two triangles guys just get the geometry right and don’t break).

not complaining about costs of things like XTR/XX as you subsidise the rest of us when we buy Deore/SLX. it’s essentials like replacement frame pivots (Trek want £7 for a plastic top hat bush and be glad you can get it at all!) that p*ss me off.

edit: forgot mucky nuts fender bender made me feel pretty stupid for buying what looked like a plastic pants outline even at £7 but well done them.

yeah i think new Crest’s might be tighter (bigger) than early Crests, the 26″ i bought a few weeks ago is the tightest rim i’ve ever known (ooh err), and that’s with a 2.35 Minion which is an old tyre not known for being tight afaik – wonder if they were trying to solve a tyre blow-off problem, the socket on Crest is way smaller than on Flow.. or bad batch of Crests in 26 and 29? no idea. i don’t think this guy is just incompetent though.

“My new rims are stans licenced and i can fit the same tyres by hand in no time at all.”

you mean someone else is doing the mnfr? how do you tell? tbh i’m more worried about tyres blowing off than struggling to mount them.

depends on the frame but yeah, do it. only costs around £20 for skewer and caps right?

i did find my 26″ crest tighter than any other rim, including the Flow.. idea is to push rest of bead into the well and work the slack around to the last bit. maybe use some washing up liquid as lube. maybe take the tape off and replace with thinner tape, yellow or insulating tape. how much does kevlar expand when hot anyway, steel bead maybe, but then you’re f**ked when you get a flat out. start again, no oven 🙂

tyre in the oven? Shirley you must be doing something wrong.

only times i’ve got marks on RS stanchion is when i let the lower oil run dry first year i had rebas – left ring partly around stanchion from bush edge, always expected that to get worse after i started servicing properly but it never changed. and then, when some sharp grit got between wiper and stanchion that really f**ked them up.

other than these cases RS coatings (and bushes) do seem to last very well..
Never owned a Fox fork, too expensive, but if you really want long service intervals take a look at Pace?

Maybe if you have older Fox change to RS wipers, isn’t that what some shops do?

Though this looks like the coating just isn’t hard enough and/or it’s running dry against the bush.
Also:
No idea why most forks say to use damper oil in lowers.. fork oil is not particularly a lubricant?, try a fully synth motor oil like Mobil1 5w-30, clings to metal much better and shouldn’t damage rubber/plastic. This specifically was recommended to me by someone who should know what he’s doing..

Do Fox forks use foam rings? not sure, but might help keep lube up there.

That’s about all I can think of, but if yours already **** see how much Fox CSU cost, RS not worth it.

anyone who’s replaced a shorter fork with these… you’ll have slacked your HA and maybe messed up steering.. this is probably obvious, but before you reach for the spacers, try a short stem, 40-50mm short. i had no idea this could change handling so much, was 65mm before too, not long. had something of a “revelation” (groan) of my own whilst riding today between the rains. So i am genuinely concerned my trails may be too easy now :D. assumes you have long enough top tube, ymmv etc.

also don’t forget about angle headsets and offset bushes:

http://www.workscomponents.co.uk
http://www.burgtec.co.uk/

supporting companies with great products and service!

the extra front end cornering grip with good fork + slacker HA is also pretty astounding. 5 mins of fork setup. wish i’d bought this one earlier.

if you still need the spacers and don’t have them, ask Merlin, should come with 2 x 10mm.

but black is now down to £300.. anyone who wanted black. gogogo!

OR

if you wanted black but got white to save £100, start swearing 😡

hehe. these are nice forks feel a ton better than old rebas, even though mostly the same, lots of small refinements that add up. the new cable clamp, clicky adjusters.. price is about the same too (think i paid £225 for reba SL from Merlin) so really can’t complain at £300 now.

ah yeah but Fox OE stanchion seals are (were until this year?) crap. RS seals are not.
would need a suspension specialist to see enough shocks to give a good answer (Enduro vs RS) – Loco? 🙂

can’t advise but thanks for the heads up, i find HT2 s**t (and stiff) enough.

regular regreasing seems the only way.. boring!

that’s nuts if the unofficial kits are fitting better than official.. maybe tolerance differences in fork parts also so ymmv i guess.
yep i use the unofficial but only because they’re cheaper, haven’t noticed a difference.

do people normally change the rings routinely (during oil changes) anyway or just wait till they blow/leak? used to change them but now don’t really bother.. unless going away maybe.

oil does migrate from the +ve to the -ve by gravity and use.. this is ok (better than having air get around) and why it’s maybe good to periodically add oil to the +ve through the air top cap (24mm spanner), to keep the o-rings lubed. something thick like Fox Float Fluid, not damper oil. only like 5mls won’t affect spring rate or anything. you’re probably already letting enough oil out the bottom if you adjust -ve with fork upright, or maybe take the valve cores out and fully compress the fork, so it doesn’t hydrolock. this is my experience not from manuals.

yeah RS forks are kinda basic but that’s why they’re cheap (vs Fox) and fun to work on 🙂

btw grease on o-rings and oil, suspension stuff not just any kind.

nice bike.. should get more than that. if you have time, break it up, should get plenty more..

front tyre is on backwards i think? :p

well spotted, 13.50 cashback so £256.50 total, wery nice.

they might need oil/grease from new, dunno.

still in stock.

the hose holds the handle down so you can pick it up. it’s exact length to just fit into the clip stretched a little – hose is rubbery – if you can’t clip hose in sommat’s wrong.

love these pumps, more than i ever thought i would love a track pump. got it for £27 in CycleSurgery sale. Had a blackburn AT4 before, total sh*t. tried to repair it, still shit, leaked and gauge all wrong.
but this beauty is so nice to use with its stretchy tube and wooden handles 😀

edit: this one
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/pws/UniqueProductKey.ice?ProductID=CLEZ0074KK
bit different/more expensive sorry, anyway can totally recommend even at £40.

how do you guys stop Crud Catcher slipping around the downtube?
anyone drilled holes for it, probably a bad idea..

most likely fork sat in storage for months or seal was damaged at the factory.

http://cdn.sram.com/cdn/farfuture/AI2eab6UCQXF2oI6WYGjmfGn2AKwj8ORWSnDla3YG14/mtime:1301946040/sites/default/files/techdocs/2011-revelation-technical-manual.pdf

Page 13-14. interesting for me they do 20mm spacers.
+

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rock-Shox-Reba-Race-O-rings-Seals-Crush-Washer-kit-/180908359291?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a1efa7e7b

or get CRC to sort it out. learn how to do it though or you’ll spend a fortune on services over the life of the fork.. but as new and you don’t know if any other problems probably best to ask CRC!

seals btw are classed as a wear item by SRAM so they don’t have to warranty that later, but CRC still have to replace or fix it as new, i think. meh, ask them. good luck CRC not as good as they were.

yeah i’d guess as you’ve cut them you’ll need to go through the warranty and can’t return – not sure, ask CRC? shame as that saving would have paid for new wheel anyway. but CRC or SRAM should honour this so you’ll have a working fork one way or another.

To save time i’d probably just order a seal kit from ebay, about £8 iirc, and service it myself, which you’ll need to learn at some point anyway! lots of info around on that, first i’d wait for Loco or someone to confirm a bad o-ring between + and – is likely issue. you haven’t got dual position so pretty simple fork.

oh right, then you have a blown o-ring probably. i’d use this as perfect excuse to return them and get a refund, unless you really need black or QR or something from CRC.

fined £850 plus £930 costs and a £15 surcharge for the crash on July 5 last year.

wow, nowhere near enough if he was at fault, imho.
this isn’t even about bikes, it’s about one main ruining another’s life. sad.

these? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=67900
not sure what’s up with yours but just a thought: send them back, buy from Merlin, pocket £130 difference?
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-revelation-white-15mm-remote-now-270-at-merlin

or do you have the more expensive dual position?

http://enduroforkseals.com/id275.html

yeah i think they feel better, but i’m very light (hence low pressures) and aware of what suspension is doing.. ymmv.

It’s smiff with an M, and Merlin should be paying me commission.. :p

don’t forget to helitape those b***ers up to keep em shiny and white!

update: i misunderstood what was turning, oops. just a bad bearing in my new front wheel! will ask Wiggle maybe they’ll send me a new bearing, would save having to return wheel.. although i should probably have got Flow instead of Crest hmmmm.

^ swingbing pretty much my reasoning there too.. it’s just that 150 could do crazy things to handling, on any of my bikes. i’ll find out soon 🙂

thekingisdead, there’s a dual travel or whatever they call it option (lever changes between 150 and 120 i think for climbing), but not at this price, and reviews seem to be reliability is a problem and not to bother.

just weighed mine (Rev RLT): 1696g without maxle or remote, uncut

can anyone confirm if its ok to shim further than 130, presumably you gets lots of thread sticking out bottom of air side, but that’s ok? at what point does the damper hit something?

i think Quidco is worth it for bigger purchases like this, if it tracks it pays out eventually (set your min payout to something sensible like £10 so you don’t lose it all in paypal fees). TCB is another newer one with very slightly better rates.

not much discussion on the fork then, they’re just the Best a man can get? 🙂
I’ve never had to deal with Merlin for warranty, what are they like?

@proberts, this is 2012 with new damper and rebound, reviews are great. how much did you pay for your RCT3 then, best price in UK i could see was about £450, not worth £180 more than this for most people.. spend the money saved on a new front wheel and have money left over 🙂

i use Time (Xroc), like them, and always hear they’re better for knees but they’re the only ones i’ve crashed in and not disconnected from… can’t be good for your knees having them twisted right around can it? mine aren’t adjustable, or maybe i’m doing something wrong. shimano’s disconnect too easily for me, i got Time partly for this reason, and the float.

since they redesigned their site, the 10% is now automatic. no further discount unless you have your own voucher or use quidco/tcb etc..