Rock Shox REBA Teams
Discussion
Whilst riding Penhydd last night, my 2007 REBA Teams died.
There was a definite sound (slow) of air escaping, on a slow uphill section, which I thought was my front tyre to start with.
Then the forks became very stiff, with no damping action. Lock out still worked.
My guess was seal to top of left stanchion air chamber, thus resulting in too much negative.
A couple of nice MTBers (are there any other types) had a look with me, and I was surprised to see the pos/neg air pressures were equal, as set before the ride. Thus, left stanchion gubbins are ok.
Anyone know if there is an air chamber on the right stanchion, and if so how to check seals?
These particular forks have only done about 30hrs riding. Still under warranty, but of course, if it's a seal it's not covered.
There was a definite sound (slow) of air escaping, on a slow uphill section, which I thought was my front tyre to start with.
Then the forks became very stiff, with no damping action. Lock out still worked.
My guess was seal to top of left stanchion air chamber, thus resulting in too much negative.
A couple of nice MTBers (are there any other types) had a look with me, and I was surprised to see the pos/neg air pressures were equal, as set before the ride. Thus, left stanchion gubbins are ok.
Anyone know if there is an air chamber on the right stanchion, and if so how to check seals?
These particular forks have only done about 30hrs riding. Still under warranty, but of course, if it's a seal it's not covered.
I can't make any suggestion as to the cause of the problem, but if it is a seal, and they try to tell you it's not covered under warranty on a fork with such little use, then I would suggest you acquaint the shop with the contents of the Sale of Goods Act
You specifically want to focus on the "fit for purpose" element, which includes the fact that products should be free from inherent fault at the time of sale. Like most people with Reba forks, I've put a lot more than 30 hours on mine over the last couple of years, and they hadn't come close to failing by the time I had them serviced recently.
They might well point out that seals are perishable items, and as such it is reasonable to expect them to fail eventually. This is true, but the important point is what you can reasonably expect "eventually" to mean. Certainly not 30 hours of riding! Unless you're some sort of 25 stone freak who regularly does 20 foot drops onto the forks, I imagine they would seriously struggle to make a court believe that the seal didn't have an inherent fault when it left the factory for it to fail so quickly.
One other important point to note is that under the sale of goods act, responsibility to fix the problem lies with the retailer who sold you the forks. They cannot fob you off by saying it's the manufacturer's problem, for example.
You specifically want to focus on the "fit for purpose" element, which includes the fact that products should be free from inherent fault at the time of sale. Like most people with Reba forks, I've put a lot more than 30 hours on mine over the last couple of years, and they hadn't come close to failing by the time I had them serviced recently.
They might well point out that seals are perishable items, and as such it is reasonable to expect them to fail eventually. This is true, but the important point is what you can reasonably expect "eventually" to mean. Certainly not 30 hours of riding! Unless you're some sort of 25 stone freak who regularly does 20 foot drops onto the forks, I imagine they would seriously struggle to make a court believe that the seal didn't have an inherent fault when it left the factory for it to fail so quickly.
One other important point to note is that under the sale of goods act, responsibility to fix the problem lies with the retailer who sold you the forks. They cannot fob you off by saying it's the manufacturer's problem, for example.
Check that the seal around the top of the left hand leg is seated properly. It could be something to do with this. My friend bought some toras for his partners bike and after minimal use (prob less than yours) the seal popped out and the fork basically collapsed. I believe its a known issue with some of the rockshox forks. He sent his back to where they came from (merlin i think) who rectified it with no bother.
There is a seal or seals within the motion control unit which - in the opinion of the well-known aftermarket tuner of bike forks to whom I sent mine after they started leaking out of the oil side top cap - almost always fail if the lockout is used.
Mine were leaking to the point of being unservicable after a few hundred miles from new.
Mine were leaking to the point of being unservicable after a few hundred miles from new.
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