MTB front shock question
Discussion
OK guys, quick question for you.
My wife has a 2008 Trek 4500 mountain bike which has had extremely light use over the years (read no use over the last 6 years!)
She wants to get back on it and the only thing I see wrong with it is that the front suspension lockout no longer works. Makes no difference if is locked out or not - there is still suspension travel.
These are Rockshox dart 3 forks - so pretty basic but good enough for what we need right now.
A while ago I took the shocks apart and ordered the a replacement compression damper unit as this is what I thought might be at fault. Sadly no change and then I noticed that there was a oil leak from the base of the shocks.
My uneducated guess is that if the oil level is too low then the lockout won't work since there will be no oil pressure on compression.
Just took the bike in to Halfords (that used to have a really good bike mechanic) to get it fixed. Sadly the previous guy is no longer there and has been replaced by a 14 year old who tells me that he can only do menu based service and that to look at the forks it will be the thick end of £100. Frankly the bike is not even worth that these days so I'll have another stab at fixing it myself.
Sooooo. to the questions. Am I right that if the oil is low then the lockout will not function? If so, how do I top up the oil? A quick look on youtube has not helped sadly
Any advice on here? Is it as simple as just adding oil or will I need to do a more complete strip down?
I'm usually pretty good at the mechanical stuff but bikes are not one of my areas of expertise so I thought I'd ask here.
These are the folks (well a pic of Google of the same model) and below the compression damper that I replaced - it seems needlessly.
My wife has a 2008 Trek 4500 mountain bike which has had extremely light use over the years (read no use over the last 6 years!)
She wants to get back on it and the only thing I see wrong with it is that the front suspension lockout no longer works. Makes no difference if is locked out or not - there is still suspension travel.
These are Rockshox dart 3 forks - so pretty basic but good enough for what we need right now.
A while ago I took the shocks apart and ordered the a replacement compression damper unit as this is what I thought might be at fault. Sadly no change and then I noticed that there was a oil leak from the base of the shocks.
My uneducated guess is that if the oil level is too low then the lockout won't work since there will be no oil pressure on compression.
Just took the bike in to Halfords (that used to have a really good bike mechanic) to get it fixed. Sadly the previous guy is no longer there and has been replaced by a 14 year old who tells me that he can only do menu based service and that to look at the forks it will be the thick end of £100. Frankly the bike is not even worth that these days so I'll have another stab at fixing it myself.
Sooooo. to the questions. Am I right that if the oil is low then the lockout will not function? If so, how do I top up the oil? A quick look on youtube has not helped sadly
Any advice on here? Is it as simple as just adding oil or will I need to do a more complete strip down?
I'm usually pretty good at the mechanical stuff but bikes are not one of my areas of expertise so I thought I'd ask here.
These are the folks (well a pic of Google of the same model) and below the compression damper that I replaced - it seems needlessly.
I cannot answer your question regarding fixing the lockout.
However, if the fix requires spending any significant amount of money I'd seriously consider buying a new air fork instead. You can still get them for 26 inch wheels and V-brakes. I reckon these will be about 400-500 grams lighter too......not sure if your steerer is straight or tapered :
https://www.bike-components.de/en/RockShox/Recon-S...
However, if the fix requires spending any significant amount of money I'd seriously consider buying a new air fork instead. You can still get them for 26 inch wheels and V-brakes. I reckon these will be about 400-500 grams lighter too......not sure if your steerer is straight or tapered :
https://www.bike-components.de/en/RockShox/Recon-S...
I have the exact same bike! The lockout won't function if the oil level is too low. I did an oil change on the forks a few years ago and it was fairly straightforward following the service manual from the SRAM website:
https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/...
https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/...
Thanks guys,
Agree that the forks might be worth replacing but I have a suspicion that the bike won't get used much and certainly not for anything more than the odd bumpy track and road riding so I'll see if I can repair them first.
Link to the service manual much appreciated! Looks pretty straight forward and good to know that low oil = no lockout as suspected.
I'll retrieve the bike from Halfords (there for a free assessment) and take the opportunity to do manly things by repairing it.
I'll probably be back once I have buggered it up and need more advice!
Agree that the forks might be worth replacing but I have a suspicion that the bike won't get used much and certainly not for anything more than the odd bumpy track and road riding so I'll see if I can repair them first.
Link to the service manual much appreciated! Looks pretty straight forward and good to know that low oil = no lockout as suspected.
I'll retrieve the bike from Halfords (there for a free assessment) and take the opportunity to do manly things by repairing it.
I'll probably be back once I have buggered it up and need more advice!
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