Hey this is awesome! I’m just starting out with MTB and have been racing motocross since I was 6 so it’s cool to hear that you guys ride MX too. One of the reasons I’m getting into bikes is because the maintenance on dirt bikes is really time consuming but it’s also a part of the sport that I love so I’m really enjoying these videos to learn about the mechanic side of mountain bikes. As far as I can tell it’s very similar to dirtbikes but simplified into a smaller scale. I love it thank you for the content!
Perfect timing, i just got me one of them shocks! Ive gotten more tips from this channel than i can remember! Just need to buy me one of them "pokey things"
Another useful and relateable tutorial! I would suggest leaving the shock on the bike to start with: remove as much air as you can, cycle the shock (easy to do while still on bike, very hard to do out of the bike), remove rest of the air. Then, if really tight use a square of old tube to grip the canister, twist loose. Place rag on stanchion in case canister still wants to fly off, rag will stop it from hitting the bike. Then you can loosely thread canister back on to remove shock in one piece for the rest of the service. Oh - everyone should take the time to look up torque settings for bolting back onto their bike. Too tight and you can wear out pivots, bushing, and/or bearings. Or even affect the smoothness of the fork travel. It's not as tight as most people think they should be.
Im one of those people who basically other than checking the cylinder pressure once in a while neglected my shocks but attest to fox it lasted 16 yrs (fox float R purchased 2008) with no problems and it was just a valve failure but im going to do it properly and recondition it she should be good for another 16yrs then. Cheers for the info
Haha! That's what I've noticed... In general, I lose 15 psi when I put the shock pump on... but it can vary a psi or two one way or the other depending on the shock volume. I've never rebuilt a Fox Shock, this is good stuff! I have rebuilt my old Cane Creek AD12 about 4 times in the past 20 years. It is amazingly robust, but tends to go flat suddenly one day if the seals are not replaced often enough. The Ad12 is not nearly as refined as a good modern air-oil shock, but it keeps working, with, as you mentioned, regular maintenance.
That was cool. My only criticism. At 8 minutes when you placed the white rings on. Use the small cylinder of the shock to pass through the gap. Rather than opening ring really wide around the larger diameter of its resting place....:-)
Perfect timing given I just got a bike with Fox suspensions in it :D thanks. I just did the service on my older bike with a RockShox and I had to figure a few things out to make it to the end, same problem as you putting it back together, ended up pushing it against a concrete wall with my whole body weight and I managed to close it actually pretty easily. And as Felix suggested: cycling the shock while letting the air out to equalize the two chambers helps a lot, the air can wont explode out on you :)
Thanks for another great instructional! I do have a question, though. Can you tell me how to remove the bushing that connects the bottom end of the shock to the frame?
Generally you can remove the bushing using a small flathead screwdriver to pry the outer pieces off and then and then press it out using your hand or a vise plus something like a socket on the other side for it to slide into.
Love your videos. So I've done the can service a while ago. And for reasons I don't know the dust wiper managed to get out of the shock on a ride. Can someone explain what happened and why? Did I do something wrong in the service? I'm sure I put everything back together the right way. It also only got out after bunch of rides. Any insight would be highly appreciated
You can get a strap wrench from Harbor Freight for under $10 to take the can off rather than using your hands. It's actually what I do to keep the shock in the bike before I remove everything
They do make non marring composite seal picks. I'm a Fred Flintstone with tools and will most likely damage every critical surface with a metal pick...
Haha! Yep, I have wrestled the greased pig while rebuilding my shock. My buddy was watching, and laughed his butt off! In my case I ended up figuring out how to use a socket tool to help get things together... Sometimes I fantasize about just buying a new shock. After biting the bullet, and getting the shock rebuilt, me HAPpY!
Hi Syd, good tutorial, still a bit scary for me to do it for the first time but I will give it a try,, can I use SRAM butter instead of the honey stuff? Thanks!
Great video as always, but what happened to the sag O ring? I ask because I have managed to re-install several shocks before remembering that I too forgot to put the ring on after doing the service!
Would a strap wrench have helped Syd with leverage, while putting it back together in the vice? Seems like that would have been less challenging than working on the frame.
The reason servicing the Air Can is important, is because the Fox Fluid is consumed throughout the use of the shock. If you go a really long time without service, you can actually open a chock to find a dry can and by that time, your shock will start losing air and the shaft can be damaged.
I've had a non boost valve 2014 fox float CJMS coded shock that hasn't been serviced since day 1 since I ride most of the time on the road (due to changed interest to road bikes early in but haven't got the cash for RB so I rode it with slicks with the RB guys) but then again I got it for so cheap that another 2nd working one would cost less
the reason why the aircan shot out is because the neg airspring was still charged and i recommd letting out a bit (50 psi or so) of air cycling the shock( equalizes it) and doing this until its emty so you domt have a aircan flying im your direction , or at least put a shop towel thru tje bushing and for all boys out there aim away from your nu*s, it fri*king hurts, ask me how i know
Ahhh so this is why Macky had me do this step 😂😂 but seriously the towel tip works, we did it on the second shock we did and things were much more controlled lol. Good to know about neg air spring, that makes a lot of sense. Live and learn!
@@sydfixesbikes It's also a good idea to make absolutely sure that your shock is not in what's referred to as a Stuck Down condition (where pressurized air has bypassed the internal seals and is now forcing the shock to contract completely- most often the product of cold weather riding in my experience) BEFORE you unscrew the can. In this state the air can will be fired off into the next time zone and can do a lot of damage to anything in the line of fire! There are tutorials available on how to deal with a Stuck Down shock that you really want to watch before messing with!
Yeah I was curious about that too, when I've had my shock serviced I've always been told to slowly release the air pressure approximately 50psi at a time, cycle the shock, and keep doing it until it's completely empty. Even if you're just deflating your shock or fork to take out a token or something like that, you should still do it. Same with pumping it back up, cycle it every 40-50psi to balance the two chambers otherwise you might pump it up and after a ride it'll be too low because it balanced the air between the two chambers during the ride.
Yeah, that part of the shock is generally "clamped" between the linkages anyway. Obviously you don't want to over tighten it, but clamping in the vice shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks for this video! Realizing I needed some more shop towels, I tried using your affiliate link but the link is broken. Might be worthwhile to re-link some!
I actually had my shock serviced by a shop the year before last and since I got it back it won't lock out ? Any idea what they might have done and how I might fix it ? Thanks for the great tutorial. I really appreciate what you do. 😁
Unfortunately not. This just changes the lubricating fluid of the shock (the equivalent of a lowers service on a fork). Cavitation is air inside the damper cartridge which requires a full shock rebuild.
@@sydfixesbikes haha. Ok any chance u will do a video on that process 😅 thanks for the reply. Also is there any risk in riding my bike with this happening.
The shock is likely to behave somewhat erratically, so be careful sending it. We talked to Fox about doing a video on it and they basically said "you need too many specialized tools, like a nitrogen machine, for this to make sense for consumers to do themselves" so probably no full rebuild video anytime soon...
When you say to equalize the positive and negative chambers in the 1 minute summary, do you just mean cycle the shock (bounce on the bike) a couple times? I see another commentor provided that definition WRT can removal, but wanted to confirm. Thanks!
It's more of a consistent pressure on the shock to compress it to about 25%. You can actually hear a little psst as air transfers to the negative chamber and you just want to go back and forth past that point a couple times every 50psi or so and then as you get to your final pressure
I cannot figure out why my Float DPS blue firm to soft (3 position) goes “crazy” randomly. At times, often after a ride the switch seems loose, stripped or broken - but its NOT 😅. I eventually just locked it in one position with the set screw on the body of the shock… whatever position would create 20% of sag at my weight.
How much did it leak? Assuming it wasn't much, most likely that was just a bit of the shock oil from when you did the maintenance. Give it a good wipe down and see if it happens again. If so then it would be a more serious problem that might require sending it in to Fox.
The slick honey is to lubricate the seals with a lube that stays longer to keep the seals from drying out. Probably not necessary if you store your bike in a way that keeps the oil on the seals all the time (i.e. hanging from the front wheel).
I am trying to service my Fox DCRV rear shock, but the air can refuses to unscrew. It has several years of African dust in the thread! All the air is drained (cycled the shock repeatedly) I have tried putting it in a vice and using rubber gloves for more grip but can't shift it. I have used penetrating oil and even heat from a hair drier (so it's not too hot and damaging seals) but still no joy. I don't want to use a strap wrench as it will dent and wreck the shock. Any suggestions as to how I can unscrew this uncooperative air can?
Heyyyyy, so i have a 2021 Rocky Mountain Altitude A70, it's only 6 months old but I ride it like someone's going to take it away from me at any given moment! Anywys i think I'm losing air in my Factory Float X2. i went from 230PSI to 160-170 ish in about 2 weeks? is this excessive? any thoughts?
Yeah, definitely shouldn't be losing that much. It is worth noting that when you put the shock pump on, you lose some pressure (it has to fill up the hose of the pump). Figure out how much by pumping up to a certain pressure, removing the pump and putting it back on and checking what the pressure says. Usually it's between 10 and 20 psi that it loses to fill the hose. I'd recommend putting it up to 230 and checking again in a week to see if it's actually losing (and it's not just the hose). If it is losing, it's probably a warranty issue
Yeah, if the seals aren't leaking you can just clean them. It's good to replace the foam o-rings when swapping oil though as it tends to hold onto dirt...
Compress the fork or shock about 25% every 20psi or so. If you listen carefully you can usually hear the air equalizing between the positive and negative chambers.
Leave the shock pump attached and compress about the suspension about 25% and you should hear a "psst" as it transfers from the positive to the negative. Repeat until you don't hear the noise then check the air pressure. If it has gone down (it probably will), add air and repeat the process until the air pressure remains where you want it to be. Then remove the shock pump.
