Whats a guy to do..........

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May 24, 2012, 07:53:51 AM

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[willber]

I have a 2010 meta 5 which has the Fox 32 RL Talas forks from my '09 meta 5 on.  I have changed the lower legs to 15 QR. Now then, the thing is, no matter how much i mess with the pressue and rebound, I cannot get the forks right. They do not sag unless the air pressure is too low, and when I run the pressure anywhere near what Fox reccomends for my weight I cant get more than 70% of the travel from them.  On top of all this, they dont feel great.  I've been out today and dropped the pressure down to 70 psi and reduced the damping - and to be honest they feel better but still not right.

With these problems in mind, me and google set about finding some cures.  I didn't find much in the way of treatment for my suffering forks, but I found a lot of posts from people who hate the 32 talas forks, pre 09, for a multitude of reasons.

I now find myself at somewhat of a crossroads - do i send them of to TF Tuned to see what they can do - estimated cost £200. Or do I sell them, put the money from the sale to the £200 i wont spend with TF and look for some replacements? If so, what?  I was thinking of the 2010 Talas 32 RLC, seem to get very good reviews.  Or maybe shift allegiance ro Rock Shox.

Advice and opinions welcome.

[mc]

Could simply be that they're just needing bed in.

I'd give them a few rides before making any decision.

[willber]

I've had the forks since Feb 09, and replaced the lowers in January this year. Pretty sure they're fully bedded in by now. The main problems in terms of ride are as follows

1) A lot of stiction in the first 3rd of travel making setting the sag impossible
2) Notchy feel throughout travel
3) Have to run low pressures to get anywhere near full travel
4) Although there is a noticeable difference when adjusting rebound, cant find a sweet spot. (Any advice this particular aspect appreciated).

[tintole]

Try some of this, I use it after every ride on the forks and the shock,(fox van both ends) I was suprised how much difference it made.

http://www.juicelubes.co.uk/all-products/fork-juice-single-can-1x400ml/

Bear in mind Talas forks have more seals than normal forks due to the multiple chambers for the travel adjust.

floats or vans are always going to be plusher.

[tank_rider]

Do you need the travel adjust?  If not then sell up and get some floats instead.  I have some 09 36 float r and they are absolutely buttery smooth, the best feeling air fork I've ever felt and very very close if not the same as my old coil pikes.

If you do need the travel adjust then were they serviced when the new lowers went on?  If not have they always felt this notchy?  Might be worth a service, TF will charge £95, but it could also be worth sending them to mojo with a description of the problem as they have a really good reputation for replacing parts that aren't quite right for free as they are the importers.

[willber]

I put the new lowers on - and changed the oil at the same time. The new lowers had new dust wiper seals already fitted. The only thing that is different is I used Rock Oil from CRC in the forks.

With regards travel adjust - yeah I do use is quite alot, I run a 1x9 so ascents are hard enough as it is, without loosing the talas system.  I've read a lot of good tings about 2010 Talas forks, and quite a lot of negative stuff about the 2008's. Apparently the FIT damper of the 2010 is somewhat of a revalation, and fox have apparently removed the talas chamber on the newer models too. A move they wouldn't have done if the TALAS chamber was a sucess I'm sure.

[mc]

Did you use the right weight of oil?

Also, did you put some float fluid on the foam rings?

[Bigboy]

oil level is another thing that you might want to play with, I would add a little by the sound of it to reduce chamber volume and thereby increase end of travel progressiveness. It is worth having a play with them as a can of oil is cheap, also you may want to check the oil you fitted was suitable for the seals as some oils have seal swelling additives which don't play too nicely with bike forks!

[willber]

Thanks for replies. i didn't put any float fluid onto the foam rings as they already had it on.  The oil I used was 7.5 wt, i think standard fox oil is 7.

I'm gonna drain them, clean 'em, oil the foam rings with float fluid, renew the oil with Fox oil to the specs on Fox's website and see how they go.  If they are still crap after that I'll be back to square one. Then i'll either sell 'em, swap 'em or speak to TF and see what they think.

[chrissturch]

It might be worth trying to rebuild them using the oil you've already got first as you may have just done something sightly wrong. Rockoil is one of the best oils around, so I cant see how Fox branded oil will make a difference, especially as its likely to be made for them by someone like Rockoil anyway.

[willber]

I've stripped them down and whilst doing so realised that when I fitted the new lowers I did not pump the old oil out of the damper, as a result, when I added the prescribed 160 ml's of oil the total oil level would have been substantially above 160 ml.

Anyway, i've removed all the oil from the damper side, cleaned the lowers etc and rebuilt them.  Although I've not ridden them yet, they feel better when I push on them, and the notchiness/sticktion seems to be much reduced.  I'l gove them a blast round Llandegla tomorrow and post back.

Would too much oil mess up the charcteristics of the fork?

[tank_rider]

Yep, too much oil will cause an air lock in the fork and rather than ramping up towards the end of the travel it will result in an air spring effect in the damper side adding to the air in the spring side.

[mc]

Too much oil would do it. As tank_rider says, it effectively reduces the air chamber in that leg, causing it to ramp up more.
There was also the risk of blowing the seals out.

[willber]

well i think i've been lucky in respect of the seals then.

I'm gonna give them hell tomorrow so i'll report back,


Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to reply,

Will