The Golden Wrench

Give blood: ice racing!

2012-02-05T10:24:00.000-06:00

Despite the fact that we're having the wimpiest Minnesota "winter" I've ever seen, 2012 turned out to be another good year for the growing trend of ice bike racing. I first tried my hand at homemade studded tires two years ago for the City of Lakes Loppet and decided to give it another try this year. I learned some valuable lessons last time, namely don't skimp on studs. So this time around I had to visit several local hardware stores to come up with enough #8 x 3/8" and #8 x 1/2" pan-head sheet metal screws to get the job done. The pile you see in the top photo is nowhere near the final total I wound up using (I lost count, but I think I had 350-400 studs in the front tire alone).

I also improved my construction process this time, using a 2x4 on end to support the tire while predrilling the lugs from the outside. This serves two purposes: it makes it easier to find the lug from the inside of the tire when installing screws (they're installed with the points facing out) and (this one is conjectural) it reduces the chance of a lug splitting when a screw is installed.

By the time I was done both ends of the 2x4 looked like they had a bad case of termites. And of course the tool end of the screws isn't as pointy as the business end, but you still have to line the tire with something to protect the inner tube. This year I cut up some old inner tubes and held them in place on the inside of the tire with duct tape.

And after several hours of very tedious work, I finally had a bristling set of race tires. Here's a close-up of the front...

...and here's the rear. And yes, my race bike is equipped with V-brakes. Anyone remember those? Something about V-brakes on an old, beat-up Surly 1x1 makes me smile.

The other fun part of this project was rigging up my Bikes at Work trailer to haul my race bike. Not like it was terribly involved--most of the work is done by a Saris fork mount which does a great job of holding the bike in place. I have to wrap the front wheel in a towel (not shown) to keep it from chewing the heck out of everything else while I'm towing. Which brings me to my safety message: it's a rare interaction with ice-racing tires that doesn't involve bloodshed; those babies are sharp!

Which is, of course, the point. With the number of studs I had in these tires, I had incredible grab even on pure ice-rink conditions. I could come screaming into a sharp corner, stick out my inside foot and get off the saddle towards the inside, and pretty much lay the bike down to horizontal without losing control. Though that technique requires building up a good head of steam into every corner, which would require that I be in a little better race fitness than I actually am, but even with both feet on the pedals I could lean the bike over pretty well. I was able to make plenty of outside-of-the-corner passes around riders who were tiptoeing around the track on their factory studded tires.

Altogether it was another fun project, and I highly recommend giving it a shot. Just be prepared to set aside a couple weekend afternoons and have your work gloves handy!

[Edit, Feb 14, 2012--Here are a couple shots of me trying to lean it over on a frozen lake in northern Minnesota on a subzero day. The ice was so hard because of the low temps that I couldn't really pitch it in, but you get the idea...]

Line Up!! Amp Research Service Kits Are Back In Stock!!

2012-01-27T11:37:00.001-06:00

Get your rebuilds done while they last. These kits tend to go fast.

How do I tell if my fork/shock needs service?

2012-01-26T09:04:00.000-06:00

This is like asking a dentist how often you should brush your teeth. Most suspension manufacturers recommend having your components serviced once a year, minimum. For most people that's enough to ensure your fork/shock has a long life of solid performance.

Ruined fork stanchion. Don't wait this long!

But if you're the kind of person who waits until something is broken before you have it serviced, here's what to look for:

1) Does the fork/shock hold air? Rapid air loss is a sign that your air piston seals are damaged or worn. Or worse, that the metal sliding surfaces which those seals contact are damaged. Time to have it worked on.

2) Do your external adjustments make any difference? Turn your rebound adjuster all the way one direction, compress the fork and watch the speed of the rebound stroke. Now turn the adjuster all the way the other direction and do the same. There should be a noticeable difference. Try the same thing with your lockout or platform adjuster (see below for more on lockout issues). If you don't see a difference, either oil is sneaking past damaged seals or has broken down to the point where it can't do its job.

Scratched rebound shaft

3) Does it make any unusual noises? Grinding, clunking and slurping sounds are signs that you're way overdue for service. This is like waiting for your car to start smoking before you change the oil. In a rear shock, swishing or slurping (or in some cases squeaking or barking) means that the damper oil is cavitated (full of emulsified air), in which case it needs to be overhauled.

4) Does the lockout work? On some forks the first sign something is wrong is that the lockout gets soft or won't engage until part way into the travel. This is because of oil loss or degradation and is a good indication that the fork needs service.

5) Are you still getting full travel? If your damper seals or shafts get so worn out that oil is leaking out of the damper into the lowers, it will eventually be so full of oil that it can't compress all the way. This can feel like a metal-on-metal bottom-out. Typically this means your rebound shaft is scratched and needs to be replaced. In this case you should go back in time and have it serviced earlier. Or just have it serviced and expect to need to replace some parts.

So if your suspension is acting/sounding funny OR it's been over a year since your last service OR you've been riding at Cuyuna, give Shockspital a call or email and we'll figure out what you need.

Old forks and old bikes, when is when and riding in snow...

2012-01-16T13:39:00.000-06:00

This is what a terminal illness looks like for a suspension fork.

A lot of forks come through the door here and as far as I know Shockspital repairs more older forks than anyone. The hard question is always "Is it worth saving?".
For as long as Shockspital has been around I have maintained that it doesn't cost anything to find out if it is saveable so when a fork comes in, especially an older one we look to answer this question first.
With older forks we do try and give special consideration to special situations. Exceptional bikes that were born to early to purchase replacement forks for now are a common problem.
Bontrager and Klien are two big exceptions we have to work with. A 1997 Judy is not a fork worth the $125 to $200 it takes to rebuild it but if you have an old Racelite or Attitude it might be worth to you. (I would recommend a thorough and honest look at the bike before you decide to make the investment). So we maintain parts and tools to work on this older stuff.
But do not count on the rebuild service to save your bacon if your stanchions look like this. Old or new forks are vulnerable to this kind of wear if you don't maintain them. Whether its a new Fox or a Halson Inversion you have to keep the stanchions clean. This is a bigger deal than ever during winter riding. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
1. Water, aluminum, steel and magnesium are just four things that can be found in your fork most of the time, but winter riding can add salt! Then you have all the ingredients to make a low voltage batter that will grow corrosion inside your fork quicker than grass through a goose.
2. Dirt and mud and the grit they contain are easily wiped off during most riding. Your fork is prepaired to handle these elements . But when you add snow and ice this fine particulate matter is not as easily wiped away. The dirt that is the finest is the most damaging and snow and ice can keep this packed on your stanchions for an entire ride.
3. Oil viscosity changes in the cold weather. Thus the now colder and thicker oil applies more resistance to everything inside the fork including its self. The pistons in your damper are meeting more resistance than normal because of the higher viscosity oil; this will change your damping and in the case of some older Manitous and Rockshox it could actually snap the piston off your damper shaft. (most oils don't have enough viscosity change to do this anymore).
4. Lubricating oils don't move as freely in your fork so your bushing stay dryer and wear faster as well as increasing wear on your stanchions.
5. And lastly, as everything in your fork gets cooler; all the rubber gets harder. Worse case scenario is your Pace fork might collapse totally as the seal gets to rigid to seal air or your Fox might puke its guts out of the upper seal and all over your disc brake (yuck!).
This doesn't mean don't ride suspension in the winter, this stuff is made to be broken; its the price of admission. We aren't knitting scarves here. BUT you will have to take better care during the season.

Keep your mountain bike off the streets (that's where the salt is). Salt is hard to beat and contamination is minute and invisible till things go south.
Wipe your fork with a soft rag when you are done (before and after your bike thaws).
Fork oil is a mess but an ideal lubricant for your wiper seals before and after a ride (a little triflow works well also). This will keep your seals from stiffening up and sticking to the stanchions while riding. Just wetting the seal with a gooey rag is enough.
Replenish your air pressures often. Just like in a car tire, temperature changes will affect your pressure. (coils hand the cold WAY better).
Some forks, older Manitous and cheaper Rockshox Dukes and Psylos (non lock out XC models) will live longer staying home below freezing.
Your Bontrager Racelite and its 96 Judy SL should not be let out in anything less than a perfect spring day.

Hopes this helps,
B Rose

Wanna See The Unicorn Dust

2012-01-12T23:32:00.001-06:00

Inside of a lefty.

The Lefty and what's so right about it!

2012-01-09T12:54:00.001-06:00

People ask me what I think about the Lefty all the time. It is probably the best suspension fork ever made in my mind with one major weakness; It needs to be maintained. And when I say it needs to be maintained I mean that in all caps, IT NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED!
The Lefty is race equipment. Its not like other forks that have different levels or cheaper models. All Cannondale Lefty forks are expensive to buy and repair. You can ignore and abuse most telescoping forks for a while but the Lefty will not tolerate it.
I see people convert leftys for 29ers and Fat bikes a lot lately, so many of these forks have been sourced on Ebay that people really don't know what they cost and they never see an owners manual for them. So here are some things to know:

Big T finishing off a full Lefty service.

If your Lefty has been submerged; you need to rebuild it.
If you have ridden your lefty in bad weather for a while; you should have to boot lifted up and have the fork cleaned up. Any dirt could cost you a water bottler full of cash to repair.
You should rebuild your cartridge one a year.
If your boot is ripped replace it immediately! A TORN BOOK WILL KILL YOUR LEFTY.

Tyson and I are always willing to talk to you about your lefty and we service quite a few of them. This is the time of year that a Lefty might not be the best choice for an everyday rider but if you take care to maintain it you and your lefty will be ok.
We also service all Leftys and Headshoks . Stop by Shockspital.com if you would like to send in your lefty for service.

Cannondale, Cannondale, Cannondale!

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

Our life of making your lives easier just got easier. Shockspital has always worked on Cannondale suspension components. Over the years we have managed to scrape together a decent collection of spare parts and o-rings for all the Leftys and Headshoks that you send us. Sometimes another shop will discover a big pile of Headshok parts in the back of their parts room and send it to us because they know we'll use it.

But as of this week, Shockspital is officially a Cannondale small parts dealer. This means that we now have direct access to the parts that we need to keep your Lefty/Headshok working like new and to get your Cannondale MTB back on the trail quicker.

So add Cannondale to the list of suspension companies (Manitou, RockShox) who are helping us provide the best service we can to you, the customer. And add Shockspital to the list of people who are breathing a sigh of relief. Man, was I tired of hand-knitting replacement Lefty boots...

No Winter Overhauls on Groundhog Day

2012-01-01T13:20:00.006-06:00

Our annual Winter Overhaul Special ends when this month ends, pretty much at the same time. In other words, if the phone rings on February 1, and a customer says "I've been preparing for the family Groundhog Day feast (little varmints are elusive this time of year) and I haven't had time to bring my bike in," we'll say "Yuck," and "Sorry."

Once that corpulent rodent drags his sedentary self out into the daylight to inspect for his shadow, we consider it spring regardless of the outcome. Our Winter Overhaul is still drastically reduced right now, so if your rig needs some work, this is the time to get it done. Don't let a bloated rat get in the way of optimal bike performance!

Question: What kinds of things happen to my bike during a Winter Overhaul?

Answer: Good question! Read all about it here.

Free pickup and delivery. Yep, we'll come to your house, get your bike, spirit it off to our wokrshop, let our helper elves do magical thingies to it, and bring it back all sparkling precious, ready for spring to spring.

Right now, there is barely any wait involved. We can promise no such thing after the groundhog has emerged.

Save the money toward some sweet rear window louvers for your '86 Camaro.

Manitou Absolute+ Tuning Awesomeness

2011-12-22T12:21:00.019-06:00

A while back I was assigned to guinea-pig around on a demo Manitou fork. Was I a bit concerned, you ask? More than a bit, I reply! I had ridden, observed, and worked on recent iterations of Manitou forks, and they had been gabbage for a while. They hit their nadir in about 2004, which is about when I gave up and became a fan of another company's suspension offerings.

These new forks, I was assured, are completely different. They feature the Mars air-assisted coil spring (of which I was suspicious), a brand new damper (of which I was suspicious), a new crown casting which would be stronger than the previous one (of which I was suspicious), and a brand new feature: custom tuning (of which I was more than suspicious).

Then along came the Tower Pro into my life. I rode around with it, and it was nice. I put a 17 degree stem on the bike, flipped it, slammed it, and rode it around some more. Magical things began to happen: with the Absolute+ damping system and its subtle-to-pronounced platform settings, the bike felt lively and quick. The front wheel stayed planted in corners. The platform kept it from diving, and it is adjustable with the little red dial on top of the right leg.

But the real magic comes when you get done with a ride and say, "Meh. The fork didn't feel good today, and the little red dial wasn't doing it for me." With the Absolute+ damper, we can totally change what your fork feels like.

POWER TO THE SHOCK TUNERS!!!

Because Manitou has put the power in our hands to make your suspension what you want it to be, if you can describe what you want, we can make it happen. If you want lots of high-speed damping for big hits at speed, we can do that. If you want a solid platform for race day that opens up to linear-rate travel, we can do that. If you want progressive, non-bottoming travel for dirt jumping, we can do that. If you want maximum versatility because you have no idea what you're getting yourself into, we can do that!

For my demo fork, I felt that the stock platform was too firm and that the high-speed damping was preventing me from getting full travel. It felt a bit harsh in anything but the wide-open setting. I'm more of an XC guy than a trail guy, so I wanted the fork to be super linear whether the platform is on or off. Once I break that threshold, I needs me my travel.

So I shopped their handy super-secret tuning catalog, looking for something that would suit my needs. I found this setting and decided to give it a try:

But the platform was way too light! It broke free at 50 lbs of force, which is fine for smooth riding, but when I was cranking up a hill, I easily overwhelmed it. Maybe for an 80 lb. junior racer, but not for a 180 lb. cannonball.

I figured I would need more than double that to be truly happy in life. By my specious calculations (involving some serious rounding) on the back of a random receipt, I discovered that I could get around 115-120 pounds by changing the platform shim from 1.5mm to 2.0mm.

Fan-doodly-tastic! Now to actually make it happen!

This is the red dial of fun. I will eventually get the optional MILO handlebar remote kit so that all this fun is accessible without getting my hand tangled up in my shift cables on rough trails.

Whoa, Nelly! Can you say "options paralysis?" This is the Absolute+ tuning kit. We have one at each location.

Thankfully, the stout yeomen from Hayes/Manitou/Answer/Sun/Ringle/Wheelsmith provided us with the super-secret tuning manual that features a color-coded cheat sheet. "Yes, but what if I'm colorblind?" Well, be sure and ask someone you trust before you leave the house if you pick out your own clothes.

Once you pull the compression damper, that 13 mm nut is the only thing holding it together!

OK, there's your entire compression damping assembly. Mine is pretty simple because I don't need a lot of high-speed damping. Otherwise there would be more shims in the stack, and they would be different sizes according to their function.

These two items are the only ones that matter for our purposes. The one on the left is called a clamp shim and comes in two different sizes that make a huge difference in the breakaway rate and feel of your platform. A bigger clamp shim means a more pronounced sense of break-away on your platform. The one on the right is the platform shim itself, and its thickness determines how much actual force is needed to overcome the lockout.

Confusing? It makes total sense when you feel the difference.

There you is. Now, into the fork you goes, mister .2mm shim! I'll leave everything else the same this time around.

And... slap it back together. I topped off the oil at the factory-specified height (with Motorex oil, of course!). Must not lose the detent BB's. They're little fellas.

Voila! It's a totally different fork now. Just honching around the shop demonstrated that I should be able to gorilla-climb without overwhelming the lockout, but the lower settings are pretty much the same as the middle settings with the previous shim stack. And the compression rate will stay nice and linear, just like I want it. It should be perfect! If not, I'm the guinea pig, so I'll try again!

So how will 115.3 pounds of lockout work for me? I'll find out tomorrow morning.

Real World Suspenion Tuning

2011-12-16T12:01:00.001-06:00

Whoa! This could be the future of rear sus.

...This is the true story... of a room full of suspension tuners... picked to learn in a classroom...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...SRAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, 2011 TunerPalooza.

Dbl D and a tool I just gotta have!

Many years ago I went to the RockShox compound in Colorado Springs learn about their forks and stuff. It was a different time in suspension. The Pure system was king. Names like Duke and Psylo were the hot topics of the day. Hippie Tech and the Angry Asian were the big tuners at the time and PUSH was about to happen in California. There was change in the air.

We spoke of Nitrogen! Unheard of.

Back then the education I got at Rock Shox was pretty wide open, I don't think anyone told my tutors not to tell me everything. For the last decade things have been different for sure. At best training from the factory was based on eye candy, sales pitch, free lunch, swag and then a trip home. You tended to feel a little dirty and guilty when it was all done; after a shower and some introspection you went back to the shop and figured out how to fix things on your own.

Well, what I am calling "TunerPalooza" was definitely a different beast entirely! Rock Shox spilt out all the pixie dust and unicorn oil for us to see. Illicit secrets were confessed and dirty laundry was aired and we all spoke freely (I did hold back a little as I have learned people look at me funny when I don't).

For me it was a great opportunity to connect with old friends and meet some legends of the industry.

With the major suspension companies really taking an "open source" policy with professional tuners and service centers the future is bright. The Shockspitals, Suspension Experts, Garage Works, Dirtlabs and Push' of the world have been tuning, rebuilding and repairing better than anyone for a long time (most have worked for the big three). It will be really beneficial for the companies like SRAM and Manitou that are building a nest in the trust tree for all of the professionals. Performance and Customer service will only improve with policies like this.

FOX is still keeping its secrets; we will see how that works out for them.

If a grenade went off...

2011-12-14T10:12:00.003-06:00

Shockspital/Freewheel helped make history this week, taking part in the first-ever gathering of suspension gurus from across the country.

Get a bigger truck!

SRAM Technical University (STU) pulled together a veritable who's-who of suspension service shops at their facility in Colorado Springs for a two-day master class in being awesome. Pick any legend in the MTB suspension service/tuning industry who isn't currently working for one of RockShox's competitors, they were probably there.

And this wasn't your average Chuck & Dave's Comedy Hour kind of STU (okay, yes it was, but...). Instead of the usual pair of instructors--who do fine job on their own--SRAM threw everything they had at us. In the room at any given time were product managers, lead technicians, race mechanics, engineers, marketing staff, the folks behind the technical documentation, you name it. At several points there were as many SRAM/RockShox employees in the room as there were "students." Clearly there was something special going on here.

The group gathers for knowledge absorption

And in many ways what RockShox was doing is unprecedented. Not only had the attendees never all been in the same room together, we had never been treated to such unguarded candor from a major manufacturer before. Typical tech trainings are informative but very by-the-book; we learn the official way of doing things and don't get to see behind the curtain, to hear about the product eccentricities that often we have already discovered for ourselves, but have had to develop our own techniques for dealing with. But at this event we were treated like trusted insiders. RockShox was more interested in knowing how they could make our lives easier as suspension techs rather than getting us to toe the line and promise never to take apart their dampers.

Come in close, kids! Don't want to miss anything...

Our time, as usual, was split between the classroom and the lab. But again where this STU session differed from the norm is that the classroom time was a big group discussion, with equal amounts of information coming from all corners of the room. And in the lab, taking apart Boxxers, Monarchs, Vivids and Reverbs under the tutelage of an impressive team of experts, we got into such detail that the STU instructors were asking questions along with us. We now know things about RockShox rear shocks that are so privileged that I'm not allowed to blog about them! But rest assured that it's information that helps us do our jobs better.

Our friend Luby expertly attends to a Monarch

The best part is that this wasn't a one-time deal. The idea is for this first meeting to develop into a long-term relationship between us and SRAM. This has the potential to benefit everyone involved, not least of whom is you, the customer!

And though the folks from SRAM treated us very, very well, and are clearly very serious about this venture, don't forget that the first company to bring us into their trusted circle was Manitou!

What I did for my Winter Bike Expo!!

2011-12-05T15:01:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was the Winter Bike Expo, and it was a hit! We had seminars on things like Tire Science, Winter Maintenance, The Arrowhead Adveture Race and how to dress for the cold.
There was food, beer, prizes, racing and beer.
There were demos of fat tire bikes from Surly and Salsa and lots of sales and specials to help get you out fitted for this winters riding season.

As far as I can tell the Winter Riding Expo was a huge hit! Seminars on Winter riding, tires and Maintenance; as well as the Arrowhead. There was free beer and beer tasting.

Here is a good shot of me from the side. Also in the background is the Midtown Bike Centers service leader and "Too Tall" Tyson of Shockspital fame.

Here is I am in a funny hat; and this little honey is the Beez Knees, literally... really she is!


This is me At the Festival enjoying, all the conferences	.

This is me about to mug these people. Shhhhh, be very very quiet.

Here I am telling a very funny story.

This is a self portrait I took while riding a Moonlander through a crowd of people.

This Stuff Really Works

2011-12-01T16:36:00.001-06:00

I didn't expect that it would but it kept my coffee from soaking my shirt! Then it kept water from soaking into my shoes.

Crank Bros Egg Beaters Rebuild!

2011-11-29T16:30:00.023-06:00

For those that don't have Mukluks or Pugsleys or those that simply choose not to subject themselves to the elements, winter can be tough. A lot of time is spent on trainers and cursing the sky upon waking up in the morning in the dark to huge piles of snow. I feel for you guys, I really do. To ease the pain of putting away the bike for a few months consider tinkering.

I know when I first started tinkering with my bike I was terrified that something would blow up or fall off while I was riding but it's amazing what kinds of resources are out there to help. It also helps to start small, like rebuilding pedals. My personal favorite clipless pedals are Crank Brothers Egg Beaters (you can't beat four points of entry when your cleats are full of mud.) Now before you start telling me about your brother's best friend's cousin's son's Egg Beaters blew up on a ride a few years ago let me mention that they have addressed their earlier workmanship problems.

I got my first pair of Egg Beaters from an awesome friend who had raced a lot of cyclocross on them. Upon attaining them I put 'em through the wringer at Almanzo, Tuesday night 'Cross, and other races I do annually. On my ride to the campgrounds at Carver Park, I felt and heard a very unfriendly creaking in my pedal and that to me means it's time for a rebuild. Lucky for you there was a camera handy to document all of the fun and grime involved.

Here you go, the tools of the trade:
White Lightning Clean Streak Dry Degreaser This stuff melts away a ton of grease and road nastiness and leaves no trace, what's not to love?
Needle nose pliers
Ice pick/awl (I had two!)
Flat head screwdriver
3 mm hex wrench
8 or 6 mm hex wrench (depending upon which generation of pedal you have)
Cotton swabs
8 mm socket wrench (I used a 8/9/10 tri-socket for better grippage... yes that is a technical term)
lube (I was going to use Polylube 1000, but this was closer and works just as well if not better)
Crank Bros Egg Beater pedals
Crank Bros Egg Beater rebuild kit

Start with your flat head screwdriver to remove the plug

Once you've removed the plug you'll see an 8 mm nut in there

Grab your socket wrench and either your 6 or 8 mm hex wrench and unscrew the nut. Feel free to pitch it once you've got it out, Crank Bros gives you all of the innards in their kit.

From here you can remove the spindle and admire all of old grease and road muck you've acquired while riding.

Next, remove the seal. The seal has an internal steel reinforcement so it can be somewhat tricky to remove...

Thankfully there are ice picks hanging out around the shop. A little bit of wiggling and you'll be able to get it out.

Next is my least favorite, the most hated bushing. I found it to be the hardest part to remove from the pedal body...

I had to use an ice pick and some elbow grease to break the old bushing to make removal easier.

...and finally the needle nose pliers to pull the tricky bugger out of there. ***NOTE!*** Crank Bros mentions that if you are planning to break the bushing you should wear safety glasses

Lastly, remove the old ball bearings. Mine were stuck in the muck so I had to use a hex wrench to push them out from the opposite side we just removed the bushing from.

Hooray, it's all apart!

Next up we're going to blast all of the nastiness out and off the spindle and body assembly with some Clean Streak.

The best way to keep your work area clean is to fold up a towel and place it underneath to collect all of the refuse.

Crank Brothers advises us to use a paper towel to clean off all of the bits from inside the body assembly but I was worried about the towel tearing and leaving pieces of it inside so I opted for the cotton swab route. This also allowed for deep cleaning in the nooks and crannies. Make sure you clean it all, well, inside and out.

So fresh and so clean, clean...

If you have access to some pressurized air this helps to make sure you've got the last of the grit out.

Once you've got everything squeaky clean, push the new cartridge bearing provided in the kit into the body assembly.

Aah tttssss push it...

Next, get out the new bushing. I've found the best way to make sure it gets pressed in evenly is to use your socket wrench.

Tri-socket wrenches are sooo ergo

Nice, clean bushing.

Now time to place the seal. Make sure the thin rubber lip side is facing out.

Don't forget about that steel reinforcement, use your socket wrench again to apply even pressure to push it into place

Almost there!

Grab your lube and apply the grease to your spindle but only the parts that are going into the body assembly.

Slide the greased up spindle into the body. Take care not to pinch the lip of the seal.

Next screw the new nut on the other end...

Grab the trusty socket wrench and your 6/8 mm hex and tighten the nut to. ***Make sure to tighten correctly or the body assembly could fall off while riding. Crank Bros says 30 in/lbs or 3.5 NM***

Last but not least screw in the end plug.

...almost there

Viola!

Look OK?

2011-11-28T22:23:00.001-06:00

Corrosion Testing of Chains

2011-11-28T19:55:00.046-06:00

These sections of new (never ridden, no corrosion) chains were degreased at 4:16pm on 11/28/11 then soaked in salt water (I used table salt) for about an hour. I took them out about an hour later and let them sit. At 7:08pm I was able to see rust forming on some of the chains.

From left to right: KMC Z1X Inox - Stainless Steel $27.99

Sram PC1090 Hollow Pin $76.99

Shimano Dura Ace CN7701 $54.99

Shimano CN6701 $53.99

Shimano - Most Likely HG50 (no part number on chain) $24.99

KMC Z51 $10.99

KMC Z410RB (Rust Buster) $14.99 for Single Speed, $32.99 for 9speed

I left the chains exposed to the air overnight. This is how they looked at 11:00am on 11/29/11.

The KMC Z1X Inox - Stainless Steel plates were not rusty but you can see orange rust on the pins. There was one link that was just starting to get stiff.

The Sram PC1090 only showed rust at the pins but all the links were stiff. The links freed up when operated by hand.

The Shimano CN-7701 didn't show any rust but did have some marginally stiff links. The stiff links loosened up when worked by hand.

The Shimano CN-6701 had some orange rust on one roller. Some links were marginally stiff but loosened up as soon as they were worked by hand.

The Shimano HG50 chain showed a lot of orange rust but the links were not stiff.

The KMC Z51 chain showed a lost of orange rust. There were no stiff links.

The KMC 410RB did not have visible signs of corrosion. One link marginally stiff but loosened up.

* At this point it is possible that the stiff links were caused by the salt solidifying inside the chain.

The chains were re-submerged in the salt water from 11:15am to 11:30am on 11/29/11 then hung up to dry. This is how the chains looked on Thursday December 3rd at 10:45am.

The KMC Z1 Inox chain did not have any stiff links.

The Sram PC1090 had some mildly stiff links that were easily loosened up by hand.

The Shimano Dura Ace CN-7701 had a visible white/cloudy coating but no stiff links.

The Shimano Cn-6701 had a visible white/cloudy coating but no stiff links just like the CN-7701

The Shimano HG-50 chain was quite rusty and had one significantly stiff link.

The KMC Z51 chain was quite rusty. The links weren't stiff but they had some noticeable friction/resistance.

The KMC Z410 RB (Rust Buster) chain did not show any signs of corrosion. The links were not stiff and had no increase in resistance/friction.

12/1/11 10:58am, chains were submerged in salt water again. Over the next 5 days the chains were dipped in salt water randomly and then hung out to dry.

This is what the chains looked like on 12/6/11.

The Shimano HG50 and the KMC Z51 (non-rust buster) had seized links. None of the other chains had stiff or seized links. I was able to get the seized links to start moving on the Shimano HG50 but they remained stiff. I was unable to get the KMC Z51 links to free up.

Nothing Beats Hand Built Wheels

2011-11-22T09:57:00.006-06:00

Every year shrewd companies scramble to make the newest, lightest, most aerodynamic, weakest, most fragile, and most NASCAR-looking wheelset so that Bike Rumor, Velo News, MTBR, and local message boards light up with excitement. Gram hounds everywhere, rejoice! For an extra $400 you can lose 30% of your lateral stiffness and shed a face-melting 40 grams of rotational weight!

YEAH!

Then you break a spoke off in the proprietary nipple and it takes 6 weeks to get replacements, and when you DO get a replacement, you have to completely de-tension the wheel to replace the spoke.

Then the freehub dies three times in one season. Two inboard bearings seize up, and one pawl mysteriously snaps in half and chews up the drive ring.

Then you bend one of your fancy aluminum spokes. 100 miles later, it snaps. Then another one, not bent in the above incident, snaps. They cost $10 each, and they're not even anodized exactly the same color as the originals.

Then the rims that are supposedly "tubeless ready" get you stranded in the field because you can't get a tire to seat properly without an air compressor cranked up to 120 PSI. Funny, other "tubeless ready" setups don't need that much pressure...

Then you are in the biggest race of your life, pushing yourself to the limits, and you stop pedaling, only to have your blingy, ultra-loud, ultra-engagement freehub keep spinning with the wheel, winding your chain up into your spokes. Thus ends your race, and possibly your season!

All of these lessons we've had to learn the hard way. We wanted to believe the glowing magazine reviews and message boards. We wanted to believe that such-and-such company was really producing superlight wheels that were bombproof and laterally stiff and armed to the teeth against the elements. When those wheels failed the first time, we thought it was a fluke. When they failed repeatedly, we woke up.

You know, some system-built wheels are awesome, especially for road bikes. Most, however, utterly fail to live up to the hype that surrounds them from a performance, durability, longevity, serviceability, or cost-effectiveness perspective. And if you end up with a wheel from a fly-by-night company, who is going to service it for you when the design features which made that fly-by-night company a fly-by-night company go KABOOM?

Customers say "why you sell me this crap?"

This is why we're taking our custom wheel building program to the streets. We've been building wheels since the Nixon administration. We know what works, we know what doesn't work. We know how to save weight, we know how to save money. We know how to make wheels fast, we know how to make wheels last. We know wheel theory, we have the right tools, and most importantly, we have the right people.

And we stand behind our work! And no, I'm not sure why we used a picture with a dirty cassette!

Read more about our Hand Built Wheels.

Why Volunteer?

2011-11-15T11:25:00.004-06:00

My dad was a bike mechanic, so that implies a few things. First, I always had a couple of bikes because my dad was a bike mechanic. I learned that no one bike does it all, and that you don't take your nice bike out in the mud unless you want to spend the time to clean it. So my nice BMX bike stayed in the house most of the time, while my beater bike experienced unspeakable horrors at the hands of a kid who hadn't developed a caution reflex yet.

Second, my bikes always ran correctly because my dad was a bike mechanic. I never had to worry that something was going to fall off unless I broke it. When I grabbed my brake lever, I did so in confidence. When I broke stuff, I got lectured; when I wore stuff out, no lecture.

Third, I rode used, hand-me-down junk a lot of the time because my dad was a bike mechanic. Aside from my nice BMX bike which I didn't ride much, I rode junk that other people were giving away. I rode a Schwinn Scrambler that my dad took out of a scrap pile and welded back together, and I even had a wheel built around a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub so we could go "trail riding" on BMX bikes. This was before we even knew mountain bikes existed!

All of these experiences I see as advantages in my current role as a mechanic at Freewheel, and that's why I see the value in giving back. Being a bike mechanic is an honorable profession, as well as a gift that we can use to help people who can't do what we can do.

But not everyone has the same experiences. Many kids might never know the privilege and responsibility of owning their own bikes. Meanwhile, kids' bikes hang unused in garages or end up as scrap because either they've been outgrown or nobody wants to invest the resources to fix them.

Right now at the Midtown Bike Center, we have a bunch of kids' bikes that need some love from qualified mechanics. Some of them are in need of more than merely filling the tires and wiping down: loose hubs, loose headsets, crooked handlebars, wheels out of true, and structural failure that only trained eyes will catch.

The program is called FreeBikes4Kids and you can follow any of these links to see the volunteer page.

If you're a competent wrench, your skills and example are truly needed!

Thanks!

Have you been to Cuyuna yet?

2011-11-09T18:08:00.001-06:00

Everybody is raving about the new Cuyuna trail system in northern Minnesota. I myself haven't made the trip yet, but identifying a bike that has spent time in the iron-ore-rich dirt up there is easy: just look for the coating of bright red dust.

Just a word of warning to anyone who has ridden up there: One of our Cuyuna-riding customers brought his fork to us for an overhaul the other day and it was just as red and dusty on the inside as it was on the outside. Take a look at these wipers and foam rings:

Here's a photo down into the lowers--notice the red dust on the bushings:

This fork was serviced early enough that there was no internal damage, but I can only imagine what kind of havoc this fine-grained iron ore dust could wreak if it was left in the fork for too long.

Moral of the story? Send us (or bring in) your Cuyuna'd forks before they Cuyuna apart!

Mechanics From Around The City Mechanicking

2011-11-08T11:09:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Hayes for the awesome training.

"Hey, get out of our ditch, you creeps!"

2011-11-07T15:53:00.004-06:00

The other day at Freewheel Eden Prairie Deee-Lux campus I saw what I thought was some blurry Bigfoots tromping around in the swamp. I was just about to get their autographs when I realized it was just some random vagrants. They looked like they had tools in their hands.

Was this the disposal crew executing the final phase of an instance of "frontier justice?" Was this some random hippies doing some random "farming?" I don't know.

Tyson walked up behind me and said "Why are those vagrants messing around in our woods?" You could tell from his voice that he was troubled.

I had no answer for him, but I intend to find out.

This In An Old Shockspital Post Someone Asked About

2011-10-27T23:38:00.001-05:00

I repair a lot of Fox Alps Rear shocks. The downside of these shocks is that they have two major failure modes.

The strut cracks and the shock will not hold air anymore. Sometimes I can replace the strut with a used one. Used ones are getting harder and harder to find so the this is becoming harder to to.
The Eyelets crack. Same story here.

If you have an older Cannondale this can be a real bummer because nothing else fits in place of the clevis mount Fox.

But the guys out at Risse Racing put together some of their Genesis Air Shocks for me and they have the clevis mount!! Yeah! The retail is $198 and they out perform the original Fox Alps.

So if your shock can’t be repaired this is a really nice to keep your bike going!

The Moonlander Had A Moonlanding At Midtown

2011-10-27T22:41:00.001-05:00

Karl was busy taking measurements and recording all the pertinent information.The new Surly Moonlander seems to be much lighter than its Pugsley predecessor. And boasts a much larger tire.You should come up with questions to try and stump Karls initial information gathering efforts. I am sure his wheels are already turning planning some crazy future Moonlander project.

Rohloff Internally Geared Hub Service

2011-10-25T22:50:00.001-05:00

Today I'll be showing everyone how to change the oil on a Rohloff Speedhub. I've been riding mine since June and have put about 500 miles on it so far. Rohloff recommends an oil change annually or every 3000 miles. Since this hub may see winter duty it's a great time for the initial oil change. No matter which configuration of the Speedhub your bike has, you can leave the wheel installed. If you're using disc brakes now would be the time to remove your rear brake pads. With a little care the pads may be left installed and a clean rag placed over the caliper to catch stray drops of oil. Tools/Supplies

Rohloff oil change kit
3mm hex key
8mm box wrench (optional--for EX box when unmounted)
spray cleaner
rags or cotton swabs

Clean the rim and hub shell, especially around the drain screw, to prevent debris from entering the hub. The Speedhub should always have 25ml of oil inside to run as smoothly as possible. I will be adding oil and then removing the used oil and replacing it. Rohloff has a cleaning oil and "all-season" oil produced specifically for the Speedhub--nothing else should be used. The cleaning oil, at a lower viscosity, acts as a solvent to thin the all-season oil and remove any contaminants from within the hub. Draw 25ml of cleaning oil into the syringe fitted with the tube and drain plug. Rotate the wheel so that the drain screw faces upwards. With a 3mm allen key remove the drain screw from the hub and carefully thread the syringe into the hub. Slowly inject all oil into the hub, remove syringe and replace the drain screw.
To fully rinse the old oil from the hub you can spin the cranks or go run a short errand with the cleaning oil inside the hub. If you're doing all this in the shop you can spin the cranks for a few minutes at a decent cadence and switch between gears 3-5. Have a snack or relax for a few minutes to let the used oil settle inside the hub. Again, rotate the wheel so the drain screw is facing upwards, remove the screw and install the empty syringe. Rotate the wheel so the syringe faces downwards and slowly draw as much oil as possible from the hub. You won't be able to remove all 50ml from the hub because some will always stick to the gears. I managed to draw out ~35ml and you should expect about that much. Rotate the wheel so the syringe faces upwards, remove it and dispose of the spent oil. Usually, you'd fill the hub with 25ml of all-season oil, but for cold weather you can mix the oils without worry. I'll be using the maximum 1/1 ratio of cleaning to all-season oil. Draw 25ml oil into the syringe and mount to the hub. Fill the hub, but take care to equalize the pressure within the hub. You may notice more resistance on the syringe with the last bit of oil. The plunger may spring back--take your time with the oil and allow the plunger to naturally return to "zero". Once the syringe is empty you may draw a little air from the hub to prevent pressurization. Replace the drain screw. Don't forget to replace your brake pads.

All done!

Brass Mass

2011-10-24T13:26:00.001-05:00

This is where the magic inside an older terra logic is stored.

You Wanna See The Inards?

2011-10-20T16:55:00.001-05:00

Faced!!

2011-10-20T11:26:00.004-05:00

I got some feedback!!

1. I always thought the idea with copper paste is to put it on the back of the disc pad where it contacts the piston. That's supposed to stop the high-frequency vibration between pad and piston, which can cause squeal.
However, I've never found this to be a problem with modern disc brakes.
If you can get it in the USA, I find Muc-Off disc brake cleaner to work really well.

2.I deliberately avoided being sarcastic in my last comment, which has been deleted! I would have thought that someone with 'the touch' when it comes to disc brakes, would know that putting copper paste onto the pads and disc (and not the backs of the pads, where its supposed to go) will ruin them.
This article makes you look a bit foolish.

Don, no comment was deleted; it just takes a bit for moderation to catch up. And for the record I do not have the ability to moderate comments that is handled by someone else. AND I have never deleted a comment on any blog that I sit on and there are quite a few.

Your comments are spot on. Everyone makes mistakes and maybe I have made one; maybe not. As I have said I am waiting for Motorex to get back to me because they were not clear as what should be done with the copper paste. And in all fairness it was offered up as a competitor for the Squeeeall Out, so I just went ahead and treated it as if it was the same style of product. The instructions aren't super clear but the context seemed to be.

So... when I get a chance I am going to try Don's idea, it certainly seems more feasible and I will get back to you.

B "$.02" Rose

Do you think this is hot or not?

2011-10-18T08:39:00.001-05:00

Battle of the Disc Brake Cleaners

2011-10-17T13:45:00.002-05:00

People ask me about cleaning their disc brakes all the time. "Should I use disc brake cleaner, gasoline, boiling water or alcohol?", is something I get at least once a day.
People don't always realize that I consider my real specialty to be disc brakes. I have always had the touch when it comes to disc brakes. I have more bikes with disc brakes than suspension also.
So when two products showed up at on my desk both claiming to eliminate squeal I was very skeptical. I have done some preliminary testing and there are three things that jump out at me so far;

Squeal Out: This is a gritty goup that you put on your pads and rotor. Then you actuate the brake lightly for a little while (don't ride any real distance with this stuff on your brake) and then clean it off. It actually works better than I thought. One thing it did really well was quiet down the feedback you get from mechanical disc brakes. If you are running mechanical brakes and you get weird tnk, tnk, tnk, tnk noises as you apply the brakes this stuff seems to hone everything done and give a quieter smoother feel.
Motorex copper paste: This stuff seemed to hone the pads and rotor also but we could NOT get it off the brake. So the brakes got quieter but we were not able to clean the copper paste off afterwards so the brakes didn't develop power after we used it (but they did not squeal). I have sent an email to ask Motorex if we used it right because the jar is thin on instructions.
Dawn dish detergent and water: Still the best! I learned to rely on this back in the Cannondale days when working on CODA Competition brakes was a daily occurrence for me. Its easy on the environment, easy to clean up and cheap! Keep an eye on the Shockspital Blog for some handy tips to manage your disc brakes in the future; including the secret of letting Dawn make your life better.

And as always I learned that boiling your pads doesn't help, Speed Clean and other "disc brake cleaners" are OK for your car but generally aren't the best idea for your bike (most are petroleum based).

I will follow up on this again as soon as I hear back from Motorex. Motorex makes a great selection of shock oils and the very BEST, MOST recommended DOT fluid on the market as far as I am concerned. So I am interested to hear more about their idea of what the copper paste will do for disc brakes.
--B Rose

In Praise of Prevention (yes, Prevention)

2011-10-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

Here is some stuff you've heard a million times, with a few timely cliches mixed in for variety.

Honesty is the best policy.
The bubbles in bread are yeast burps.
Maintaining your stuff will make it last longer.
Bike stuff is getting more expensiver all the time. Cyclocross tires (!!!) are more than ATB tires, for heaven's sake.
Maintaining your stuff will make it last longer.
Motorex suspension fluids are very nice.
The length of time for which the stuff of you lasts is in direct proportion to the amount of maintenance you throw at it.

So mix all those truisms together, set it aside and cover it with a cheese cloth while you make the gravy.

Wait, no! The point is that your fork is an expensive, complicated thing. Retail on a middle-of-the-road fork (as in, 4 pounds, 26" wheel) is still going to be $400 to $500. For a nice fork, think $800-$1000. Inside, there are springs, dampers, liquids, protons, valves, nitrogen, mouse droppings, radio waves, shims, gases, and (if it's a Magura) the faintest hint of schnitzel.

Just like anything else, there are parts in this system that break down over time. For example, the top seals usually last about a season before they start to either weep oil or allow dirt inside the fork. The foam ring that keeps oil on your upper tubes gets corrupted faster than that. Damper oil has a shelf life, and can migrate past o-rings to places it doesn't belong. Speaking of o-rings, they are wear parts as well, and can begin to leak air and fluid.

What will you notice while these things are happening? Probably not much. Remember, you're the one who has been wearing the parts out, so it's likely you won't notice that much has changed because most of these parts don't puke in the middle of a ride. They wear out slowly, and eventually your fork stops doing anything productive besides weighing the front of your bike down. At least you won't notice until you get on a bike with a new or recently-serviced fork. There you will notice that the compression stroke is smoother, you get full travel, the rebound feels better, and all the adjustments turn easily.

Forks are sensitive to neglect, and performance can deteriorate without you even knowing it's happening. If you're racing, you need your fork to be working properly, or else you'd be riding rigid and saving the weight. If you're just riding, you want your stuff to work right. Don't wait for black goop to come out of your top seals. Don't wait for all of the oil to leak out on your garage floor. Don't wait until your compression stroke feels like your unshaved legs in late September and you can't hold a good line in corners anymore.

Changing the oil in your car is always cheaper than changing the engine in your car. Changing your the filter in your furnace is always cheaper than changing your furnace. Changing the diapers on your children is always cheaper than... uh... something.

Preventative fork overhauls are always cheaper than "my fork is leaking and clunking" overhauls.

Shockspital Is Truly Home

2011-10-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

This might seem like just a box to you; but to me it is much more. I have worked very hard for a long time to make Shockspital special but it really took Freewheel to get it to the next step. It looks like a box but its really a milestone.

Knowing When To Stop...

2011-10-12T17:15:00.001-05:00

This was a step to far...

Manitou's Absolute Plus Tuning System

2011-10-12T12:57:00.008-05:00

Recently the mechanics at Freewheel Bike, the new home of Shockspital, were introduced to Manitou's new Absolute Plus Tuning system by Shanan and Ed from the Hayes group.
I'm excited about this system because it is the first time that bike shops are able to easily perform true custom tuning on suspension forks.

This is Shanan in the white shirt. He's been with Manitou for a loooong time. If you've ever called Manitou for tech support chances are you talked to him.

This is Ed. He's and engineer (note the white board).

Ed was explaining the difference in damper shim thickness. It all seemed to make sense at the time.

This is the tuning book that comes with the kit. It helps you choose which shims to use to tune the fork for individual riders.

This is the parts kit. It comes with damper pistons and shims.

Specialized FSX Titanium 2lbs 10oz

2011-10-11T17:14:00.001-05:00

Freshly rebuilt and feeling like new.

Di2 on a Cronus CX???

2011-10-05T13:14:00.013-05:00

Frankenbikes, Jackalopes, and Velos-Kludges are some of our favorite things. The average mechanic's bike is usually a mixture of old, new, beautiful, ugly, and well-loved items that have been accumulated and curated over his or her career. Coveted items such as Mafac brakes, Dura-Ace 7400 anything, beleaguered Flite saddles, and old Hugi hubs find their way from bike to box, and box to bike until either Sir Isaac Newton enforces his Second Law, or an unexpected rent payment comes due and it's time to liquidate some capital.

Here at the shop, we tend to accumulate old parts from repairs. Usually the customer is either traumatized by what happened, i.e. "the velociraptor what ate my leg also done messed up my shifter, and therefore, I don't want it around, lest I get bad dreams" OR, he or she doesn't want to pay to have the parts fixed. In the case at hand, it was the latter.

One of our favorite customers busted up a brand new Trek that was set up with Dura-Ace Di2 shifting mess of goodies. Out of the wreckage (WRECKAGE, let me tell you now!), we were able to salvage most everything from the Di2 setup except the front derailleur, whose cage was pretty much destroyed.

The frame could fit in a laundry basket. It was a mess!

OK, so we successfully dissected it. What do we do with it? Not much call for a 1x10 road bike these days, and getting all the little aftermarket doodads from shady websites to make it into an allegedly mountain-compatible setup would have been expensive and risky.

Well, Kevin the Boss Man rides his bike furiously and occasionally falls off and breaks himself. He's sort of a "tape-it-and-play" type, so things like sprained wrists and broken thumbs don't really slow him down that much. Truth be told, he has watched too many Civil War documentaries and is afraid that his doctor is going to furrow his brow with his arms akimbo, sigh gravely, and reach for a hacksaw.

His crunched-up hands and wrists tend to limit his range of motion for the big throws required to shift some road groups. So when he got a deadly new Trek Cronus CX rocketship for gravel roadin' and CX racin' and single trackin' and stuff, shifting the bike in the heat of battle was a literal pain. Since we had the busted-up Di2 set sitting around, we decided to try to retrofit it.

"But I don't want to be a Di2 bike, guys!" said the Cronus CX in that whiny "I own you and you will buy me a pony" sort of voice.

"You're gonna be a Di2 bike and you're gonna like it, you lecherous, sponge-bathing, Froot-Loop devouring circus midget reject! That's the problem with kids like you and your roller skates and your dungarees, you don't appreciate quality. It's all ball bearings and transistors these days"

"But I look all stupid with a front derailleur that isn't a front derailleur! I'm a 1x10! Nobody in the entire Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Jr. High is going to sit by me in the cafeteria! I'll be such a loser in the game of life, and I've only just got started at it!" said the Cronus CX, with an appreciable flow of alligator tears.

"Fine! We'll stuff the front derailleur remnants inside the down tube, will that stop your sniveling? Don't push your luck, or I'll turn this car right around! So help me, I'll fill your shorts with pork chops and make you walk home in this bear-infested wilderness!"

"Oh, look at me! I'm as lithe and supple as a figure skater now!" said the Cronus CX, all 1x10 and electric-shifty.

Will it hold up to the Boss Man's crashing and bashing riding style? Time will tell. All the wires and stuff are tucked up inside the downtube, but the battery is still exposed to the elements. And it will see elements.

37?

2011-09-29T15:58:00.001-05:00

Thanks to David "The Main Event" Mainguy

New and Improved Midtown Rental Shop

2011-09-29T14:50:00.011-05:00

Over the last month or so we've been re-vamping our rental shop at the Midtown Bike Center.

If you've used the shop in the past, you'll find double the amount of tools at every stand.

If you haven't used the shop, and don't know how it works, it's easy. $16/hour gets you a stand with all the tools you see in the picture, lubes, rags, degreasers, greasers, and use of the parts washer.

A person can use the rental shop any time we're open as long as there isn't class going on so it's not a bad idea to call ahead.

And speaking of classes, we have a variety of classes that cover everything from changing a flat to setting up and servicing your full suspension mountain bike.

Winter is coming up soon, and as those who ride know... Winter is the season of messy bikes. The salt and sand that they spread all over the roads gets all over your bike, and your bike hates it. Hates it bad.

One of the best way to make your bike feel better is to give it a shower. We've got an official Bike Shower that you can use for only $5. Spray off the gunk, wipe it down, lube it back up. It's like a spa for your overworked friend.

And lastly, if you're riding by and have a loose something or a maladjusted something else or even just a low tire; we've got a free stand in the front of the store with basic tools attached that anyone can use and pumps that pump up both kinds of tubes.

They Claim This Will Stop Brake Squeal...

2011-09-29T14:26:00.001-05:00

I intend to find out and let you know.

Bring in your Fox FiT forks!

2011-09-20T09:05:00.004-05:00

Here at Shockspital I finally got the chance last week to do a full overhaul on a Fox fork equipped with their new FiT cartridge damper. We haven't seen many of these come through for service yet because they're so new--Fox only starting putting FiT dampers in their 32mm forks in 2010. But if you're following Fox's recommended service intervals, those 2010 forks are due for some love.

But back to my story: At the Murphy Menace 50-mile MTB race that Freewheel sponsored at the end of August we gave away several fabulous door prizes. Among them were some gift certificates for a full suspension fork overhaul! One of these lucky winners brought in his Fox F-series FiT RLC for us to freshen up. Here is a shot of the FiT damper once we got everything apart:

The shorter gold rod on the left is the coupler that holds the bladder assembly together. Just to the right of that is the black bladder which allows for volume changes as the fork moves through its travel. Just under that is the compression piston and the shim stack which controls oil flow through said piston. On the right is a longer gold shaft which is part of the rebound assembly. But of course that's not all one big piece; here's the guts:

At the top right, sporting the pink glide ring, is the rebound piston. At top left is the adjuster which is the only part of this assembly which is visible from the outside of the fork (though typically it's mostly covered by the red rebound adjuster knob on the bottom of the fork leg). As you spin that knob it moves the threaded portion of the adjuster, which in turn pushes the small silver shaft up through the larger gold shaft. As you thread the adjuster further in it causes the needle on the opposite end of the shaft to close the central port of the rebound piston, which increases the rebound damping and causes the fork to rebound slower because of the restricted oil flow.

I'm not going to go into the procedure necessary to get this entire assembly back together with no air bubbles in it. I'm sure you can imagine. But that's one of the benefits of this closed-cartridge system: it's much better than an open-bath system at resisting cavitation and contamination, both of which affect the performance and longevity of your suspension components.

One important point here is that this fork was still performing fairly well. The damper was still in good shape and the oil was pretty clear. But now with fresh oil and new seals this fork should run smoothly all through next season, too. And by having his fork serviced before any major problems manifest, this customer is helping ensure that it will perform at its best for many seasons to come.

A tech bulletin from Trek regarding carbon assembly paste

2011-09-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

Trek has recently learned that carbon paste (of any brand) can damage a carbon steerer.

With most parts, correct clamping prevents any relative motion between the parts. For example, the stem firmly clamps the handlebar and the frame firmly clamps the seatpost; there is no movement. In these cases, carbon paste performs the valuable function of reducing the amount of torque required to affect a solid attachment of the parts.

However, with a headset there is movement of the parts. In normal usage of a threadless headset there is some slight movement of the compression ring relative to the steerer. This movement occurs when you hit a bump or apply the front brake. Normally, the movement of the compression ring does not hurt the fork. However, if there is carbon paste between the compression ring and a carbon steerer, the paste works like an abrasive to remove carbon material from the steerer. If enough material is removed, this could lead to breakage of the steerer.

What Trek is doing

The Trek Owner’s Manual and Assembly instructions say this about assembling carbon parts:

The carbon part can be assembled in a clean, dry state. As an alternative, we recommend the following special carbon prep products:

Tacx carbon assembly compound

Fiber Grip™ carbon fi ber assembly gel from Finish Line

All Trek publications will be amended to say that carbon paste should never be applied to the steerer.

What you should do

Stop applying carbon paste to carbon steerers. Although it might seem possible to only apply paste under the stem where there is no movement of the clamp, we have seen that paste can migrate down the steerer. This might happen on its own, or through exchanging parts or positions of existing parts. In any case, we recommend avoiding any contact between carbon paste and any part of a carbon steerer. Instead, clean both the steerer and the compression ring with rubbing alcohol and a shop rag; clean until the rag shows no discoloration.

Educate your customers. If a customer brings in a bicycle with a carbon steerer, inspect the steerer and if necessary, clean it. Also please explain this information to the customer. Trek is committed to the safety of our riders, so if you find a steerer with significant scoring, please contact your Rep for a free replacement fork. You will be asked to follow normal procedures, and the jpeg image you submit must be reviewed by Trek before any further action can be taken.