What did I do wrong?

[jboyd122]

I went out for my first real rid of the year this morning. Over the winter I upgraded my fork to a Rock Shox Tora Air fork. This was my first real test for my new suspension and it didn’t go so well. This is also my first experience with an air fork so there may be something completely obvious that I am just missing.

I am ~200 lbs so I filled the fork to 150 PSI. The chart on the side says that for 180-200 I should fill it to between 140-160 PSI for 100mm travel. Since this was my first run I figured I would put it in the middle. I also adjusted to rebound knob to between the turtle and the rabbit, I would adjust as needed on the trail.

Everything was going great for the first 10 minutes of my ride. The trail was relatively flat with just a few rocks and roots to tackle. Once I got to my first big downhill section with rocks a plenty it became apparent that my suspension was not working as I thought it should. The suspension bottomed out and would not rebound at all until I got off the bike. Once I was off the bike it returned to the regular position. I thought it may just be something with the rebound adjuster so I spun it all the way around to the rabbit to hopefully allow it to rebound more quickly. I kept riding, but as soon as I hit some rocks or roots it would bottom out again. I tried the lock out on the fork, but it would slowly drop down almost to the bottom again.

I checked the fork PSI after the ride to see if it leaked air, but it held strong at 150. it said for 80mm travel I should put it at 180-200 PSI.

What am I doing wrong? Should I put more air in the fork?

[GoldenGoose]

Sounds like you have an internal oil leak. Maybe some of the O rings inside aren’t keeping the oil where it should be. I remember reading that a batch of these forks had that issue so you may have gotten ahold of one of them. If it’s new, take it back to the folks you bought it from. Should still be under warranty. If that’s a no go, either take her to a shop or do the change yourself. Good luck.

[jboyd122]

Thanks for the Reply Goose.

I took it into my LBS this morning and spoke to the mechanics at the shop. They confirmed for me that it is likely something internal that will require a rebuild. Unfortunately since I bought the fork on ebay, even though it was brand new, there is not a huge chance I will get any warranty replacement on it. They are calling Rock Shox for me to see what they are willing to do on the warranty. I should hear back from them later this afternoon.

[jboyd122]

Update:

My fork is on it’s way to Rock Shox to be repaired under warranty. My shop says it should take about a week or so to get it back. I have put the stock suntour shock back on to get me by until then. I’m pretty pleased with Rock Shox for agreeing to fix it under warranty even though I purchased it on ebay.

[GoldenGoose]

That’s pretty sweet. Could have definitely gone the other way. I wonder if you got one of those bad models. That’d explain them doing the work for free. Either way, good thing it’s getting fixed.

[jboyd122]

Got the fork back today from the shop. Rock Shox replaced the air mechanism, cleaned lubed and tested it before sending it back. I installed it this afternoon and took it out for a brief spin. It feels way better. I don’t recall the action on the suspension ever being as smooth. It makes me feel like there must have been something wrong with it from the get go. Either way I’m happy to have it back. I’m going our to Gambrill tomorrow to see what it can do.

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