rebuilding a reba 29er, POS

[thomllama]

OK, I got a wicked deal on a Rock Shox reba 29er, or so I thought. :mad: thing has been nothing but trouble since day one. keeps hydro locking. not going to waste $$ shipping it back again to have it come back the same way, again...

so I have a good grip on what's wrong, how to fix bla bla bla... but while I got it apart I was thinking about taking the so called 100 travel and make it a 120.. has anyone done this? I hear it's just a pull of a bumper?

now if I do this will it raise the bike nose? or will it lower it?

in other words, will the stalions raise up in the lowers or will they now sink lower under compression?

[Longshanks]

Yes, I did it, and yes, it was just pulling out a spacer. It raised the stallions up a bit (if I'm getting your metaphor right) AND allowed for more cushion when needed. And the lockout came in handy from time to time.

I really liked my Reba - even better than the White Bro$$$ fork I have on my Sultan. The Reba was a 'set it and go' kind of fork - once I got it right, which didn't take too long, I never had any problem with it whatsoever. The only reason I don't use it anymore is that I went back to a rigid fork on my SS.

Hope that helps.

[AA]

I have had several Reba's and ridden the crap out of them with no issue.

If you increase the travel the front end of the bike will be raised. Are you sure that you can convert this fork to 120mm travel? Only the versions with the Maxle are 120mm, if yours is a QR version it can only be 80mm or 100mm travel.

[MMcG]

WTF is a fork stalion?? And what the heck is hydrolocking?

I think I've seen your Canzo with the REba on it - the max travel you can get out of it - as AA said - is 100mm. I think the only ones that are 120mm are the new Reba Teams with the Maxle.

[thomllama]

WTF is a fork stalion?? And what the heck is hydrolocking?

Stalion = Stanchion... what ya think we are all english majors? gessh ;)

Hydro locking is when the oil in the motion control gets into the upper air chamber (not the pressure chamber) and basically locks the fork in place.. no movement... (i'm getting about an inch now) and if you hit a bump hard enough it'll blow the sweepers right off the forks as shown below. Sounded like a shot gun when it happened

http://ectrr.com/Media/rebaPOS.jpeg

[AA]

Ummm your fork is broken, send it back.

[thomllama]

Ummm your fork is broken, send it back.

ummm did that.. waited, and waited.. paid to ship.. got it back the same way... why waste the $$$.. UPS doesn't need it.

[digger]

I have 2 of these forks and zero problems. Had both apart for travel change and replace defective lowers. Looks like a straightforward rebuild if you have some skills. Get the parts and give it a go.

Did you return for repair through a shop?? A good shop?? Better chance of getting it fixed right.

[thomllama]

Did you return for repair through a shop?? A good shop?? Better chance of getting it fixed right.

yup, returned to shop/place of purchase. they have been great, gotten other things from them real easy to deal with. Just from everything I've read the reba 29er has a under sized seal on the bottom. so no matter how much it goes back it's going to have the same issue. I'm going to give it a go.. if it doesn't work, well off to PUSH..;) which Is what I would like to do now but just can't swing the $$$$

[thomllama]

ahhhh guys, you were mistaken.. you can convert the 100 with QR to a 120 by removing the spacer :):):):):) (actually it 15 MM so it'll be a 115) Right out of the Sram/Rockshox manual!!


http://ectrr.com/Media/rebatravel.jpg


got to get oil now... Beach Bum Back up traffic has all the roads backed up so it's either tonight or tomorrow...

anyone know the oil conversions? I remember reading it online somewhere but now I can't find.. errrrrrr Auto shop should be able to..? certianly not going to shell out $20 on a pint of oil I can get from the motor cycle/auto shop.. :)

[MMcG]

I know the Reba 26er could get 115mm of travel max - but I've never heard of a Reba 29er getting 115mm of travel other than from a real custom conversion type thing where I think the guy used RS Pike parts to make it happen. Is that image from the Reba 29er manual?

Good luck with the rebuild.

[thomllama]

I know the Reba 26er could get 115mm of travel max - but I've never heard of a Reba 29er getting 115mm of travel other than from a real custom conversion type thing where I think the guy used RS Pike parts to make it happen. Is that image from the Reba 29er manual?

Good luck with the rebuild.

yup, right from the manual... it is only 100 though, I just put it all back together and checked everything out. it must have been an 80 not the 100 that they told me it was. I never measured it before because I took them on their word. Always did seem to be short and stiff on travel... now it's SUPER NICE!!! SO you guys were right, I think that image applies to the standard 26" forks not the 29ers... anyway, now it has "fatter" lower seals (same diameter, but thicker material) thanks to a friend over at CLIMB who mailed me a mess of them. took the spacer out and OH MY GOD the extra travel is sweet.. letting it sit for an hour and make sure no leaks then off to Rocky Neck to beat on it :devil

[thomllama]

well, got a pretty good ride in... guessing 15 + miles (didn't take the time to reattach the puter) did a few little 1ft drops really slow to mash the fork and MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! the extra travel is sweet!! I haven't even set the sag proper yet.. just threw 120lbs in upper and lower and off I went.. rode over stuff with ease that used to jar my shoulders. going to fine tune the air later after that it's just wait out some time to see if she hydro locks again... usually takes a week or two for it to leak enough to be noticed. :confused:

[MMcG]

Very cool - glad you seem to have gotten it sorted.

[adrnalin69]

Okay suspension squirrels. Yes you can remove a spacer (not a "bumper") to extend the travel to 115mm. The Hydro Locking that you explained makes no sense. There is NO air chamber in the Motion Control. There is a space that allows oil to travel between the compression damper and the rebound damper. This is caused by a faulty O-ring. This is a "HYDROLOCK" or an "ED" as I call it. You just need new damper assemblies. If this is a repeat issue then your fork is F'ed or as us Industry Monckies like to call it "used".

Get rid of that raccoon killer and buy a new fork. May not be a good deal $$ wise but you will never have a silly issue like this. OOOOO and it will be under warranty. And mechanics will work on it without wincing at every turn of the wrench waiting for the can of worms to explode.

Take my advice and by a Fox, Marzocchi, or a ridgid Surly 1x1. No Hydroloc there!

Your Friendly Bike monckey