I wanna throw a bomb at Rockshox HQ....

Discussion in 'The Workshop' started by bing!, Aug 9, 2014.

  1. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Rockshox Reverb Complete Service Gone Awry....

    I was real busy today fixing bikes, and my last job today was a Reverb rebuild with a complete service kit.

    A 1 hour job turned into a 5 hour nightmare. After a hose trim, complete rebuild and full system bleed, the seat post was locked and the remote would not depress. Trying to fix what may have been a missed step, I rebuilt the post, and bled it, 3 complete times! I was livid. I just wasted 5 hours weekend time, and
    I may be in the hook for a 300 dollar seatpost, plus the 40 I spotted for the rebuild kit, wiping out most of the work I'd done today.

    I gave up on the third try, showered and went to bed. Just before I got to sleep, I remembered that one o-ring, looked out of place. One oring out of of approx. 35 that I just installed. The large poppet o-ring was the right diameter, but looked real skinny. The remote button would bleed but would not depress and felt like the fluid had no where to go. Hmmmmmm. The odd oring was on the poppet at the top of the post where I put a syringe when I bleed the remote which activates the post. I had an epiphany! The remote button hydraulically controls the poppet which is the actuator of a hydraulic valve that controls the post. BAM! I shot up from bed, got in the garage, popped out the top cap, pulled the poppet, replaced the oring with the old one, and rebled the remote. Pulled it off the vise and, Voila!, the post is fixed.

    Went back in and laid in bed, and then my wife looks at me... ?... and says... WTFs wrong with you?

    And I fall asleep. ZzzzzzzzzzsNgork.

    image.jpg

    .......I m dreaming that I had a grenade and I was throwing it into Rockshox's packing department.
     
  2. Garrett

    Garrett Active Member

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    Sounds like more of a bing! problem than a Rockshox problem...
     
  3. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Yup.....sounds like user error more so than an issue with RS. Sorry, but no sympathy here.
     
  4. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Don't take this the wrong way, but I agree with your wife. WTFs wrong with you?! (J/K) You do like the technical stuff, and your tenacity is now legendary.

    I hope you slept well - you earned it.

    :clap:
     
  5. Danimal

    Danimal Gary the Cat

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    bet you got reverb repairs down now!

    Kind of reminds me when I replaced brake pads on a VW bug as a teenager. First wheel took over an hour, the other three 15 minute each.
     
  6. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    youd only say that, if you didn't know what you were talking about.

    O-rings are packed in individual baggies for every assembly. The poppet valve has two o-rings.

    One is 2mm od, and the other is up there in the pic. The thicker one is the one from the post that I put back in. The thinner one is from the service kit, that is now a reject. There are no extra o-rings from the kit.

    Oh well, live and learn. I'll have to make comparisons between service kits parts and parts I take off. I have seen RS change specs on the rebuild kits and still have it work. Next time around, I will have to question if they packed the right stuff.

    btw, to the self proclaimed internet sympathy grantor, don't need sympathy. keep it. I solved my problem, I'm happy. It was a good day fixing bikes. We can probably upgrade our dinner plans to The Bazaar :)

    [​IMG]
     
  7. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Go back to bed, Bing! :wave:
     
  8. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    I cant, packing the car for SS :)
     
  9. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

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  10. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Hahaha, thanks. I've actually rebuilt a few I these now. I tend to trust the kits as theyve been accurate till yesterday. I am intimately familiar with the poppet valve post head assembly now :(
     
  11. surftime

    surftime New Member

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    the risk of any type if service or repair business. Customers only want to pay for your time spend on a perfect repair done fast with no second visit. Fact is, they dont always go fast and you might have to take second looks so you have to charge accordingly. Fun story
     
  12. Revalimage

    Revalimage Active Member

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    hhhmmm, this entire episode sounds like a plan for 'The Path Bike Shop'...I'll let them star in this episode.
     
  13. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

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    It happens man. That's how you learn.
     
  14. exrcyst

    exrcyst Member

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    There are a few different variations on poppets. Maybe the silver one doesn't use the same o-ring as the black one. I've never paid attention. Anyway, I've run into the hard lever at least three times and it's always been user error on my part.
     
  15. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Thats what I thought! That I had a misstep in the bleed process. Which is why I rebuilt the post 3 times over. Im familiar with the black and the silver poppet. If there was a variation in the O-rings, RS will usually put two in the bag for both versions, and label it like, A1 and A2 inside. As there was only that one o-ring for the main poppet seal, I used it.

    There are two versions of top caps, and two versions of the lower seal head. Those are properly marked in their service kit packets.

    You've seen these before? Thanks for sharing. I've seen stuck up posts, but the hard lever is new to me.

    What I did learn is that xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (deleted, trade secret). A 5 minute refill :) That will be useful for posts that don't need new seals.
     
  16. exrcyst

    exrcyst Member

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    Now you're sharing my secret no-service technique to the world. I thought I was special. Anyway, it's not a 5-minute affair because you'll notice it takes a long time for air to escape. So the hard lever can also be caused by not taking out all the excess reverb fluid before installing the poppet and also not putting that washer in before locking down the top cap with the c-clip. I just use a towel and absorb all the excess fluid now and cover the top cap with a towel before removal so I don't have to go hunting for the washer when it becomes an airborne projectile, which is usually why I forget about it. Also, if you just put the poppet in and press it down with the top cap instead of push it all the way down, it seems to help prevent it from getting stuck in the down position from the start and then having no room to move because you have too much fluid in the lever circuit. Bottom line, it's all poppet related. Oh, I fill up the top of the poppet with reverb fluid before closing it up and it makes for an easier/better bleed.
     
  17. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    Sorry about that :) I need to keep some of these trade secrets down low for us pay to play mechs :) I'm still discovering stuff that I learned from this particular service nightmare, and am pretty stoked about it.
     
  18. grenader26

    grenader26 Member

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    Someone's a sad panda
     
  19. BROWNIE

    BROWNIE I'm good at recess!

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    Look at it this way, you'll NEVER have that issue again!

    you can't train experience!
     
  20. bing!

    bing! Active Member

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    I know. And it's not a complaint, it's really just a story.

    The real benefit to the whole episode is that I just figured out how to bleed a Reverb without taking it apart :) Considering that seatposts don't cycle anywhere as much as an air fork, I think I can start offering people a cheaper alternative to remove seatpost sag, without rebuilding and still provide a guarantee that it will reliably hold the bleed indefinitely. I couldnt offer that before as the number of man hours involved in tearing a Reverb apart was worth so much more than the full service kit.
     

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