2002 Pyslo SL U-turn bushings are worn and the seals have blown. It needs the complete overhaul. At an estimate of $175 for repair what would you do ? The fork goes on my #1 bike. I use for XC / all day epics / endurance race / training. Pretty much every thing. Scrap ? or Repair ?
Dump it for sure. The Psylo is a wet noodle. If you like everything about the Psylo then do yourself a favor and get a Pike. It is everything the Psylo is but even better dampening and WAY stiffer. Only issue you may have with it is converting to a 20mm axle.
Unless you want to take the time to learn to do the repairs yourself, then you should scrap it. A friend of mine rebuilt his Psylo SL every six months, and as a result, his fork always felt great. Otherwise look into the Pike, I have one and it is a far superior fork to the Psylo it replaced. Of course you will have to get a new hub for your current wheelset. So, it won't be cheap. If you are wanting to save cash, I hear that the Fox Vanilla's are decent for the price.
I like my vanilla You'll save a bit of weight over the Pike too. Do they still have those sales where you get a king headset free with the purchase of a vanilla? Although I have been curious as to what my bike with a Pike would feel like . . .
Too bad the Vanilla doesn't have a travel adjust though. Shop around, I bought my Pike Team (without pop loc) for $380. Great fork, I absolutely love mine.
Is the 175 estimate the cost of your LBS doing it or the cost of parts? You should know how to rebuild your fork yourself, IMO. (Actually I believe that you should be able to rebuild everything except wheels, which are a black art)
True, it is good to know how to work on your own bike. However I don't think fixing a Psylo that is going to blow again is worth it if you ask me. I rode an '03 Psylo Race for maybe 5 rides and couldn't stand how flexy it was and sold it.
I would say...try to fix it yourself (unless the parts for it are too expensive. What's wrong with it anyway?) and if you mess it up just get another fork. Worst case senario is you develope a better understanding of the fork. This is my favorite way of learning something cool. I have a vanilla and haven't had any problems with it. It's got a lockout so the travel adjust isn't necessary (if you get the right size for your bike). There are a lot of good forks out there and a lot of good deals to be found.
I see a lot of end-of-season sales every year on Marzochi (Bomber) forks. I own a Z1 Atom Race (80mm) and a Z2 MCR Freeride (120 mm with lockdown). The Z2 is heavy, but plush. Paid around $250 for each. Both have been extremely reliable. I know Marzochi has a line of lighter air forks, too.
I had a Marzochi MX-Pro with 100mm with a lockdown to 80. It was a great fork, real plush. I paid about $300 a couple of years ago
