Disclaimer: If you don’t know what you’re doing, feel uncomfortable doing this, or find you’re in over your head at any point in the procedure, STOP and either seek advice or go to a professional to finish the job. I, nor MTBR management, will take responsibility for a poor outcome. Follow proper safety precautions, such as using protective and/or chemical resistant gloves and eye protection.

This procedure was outlined using a 2008 Fox 36 TALAS. It has been used on a Float fork, as well as a Float rear shock. The idea originated from adding fluid every so often to my rear Float shock’s air chamber instead of opening it. Also, this procedure does the periodic lubing of your shock pump at the same time.

Note: Make sure everything is clean, including the chamber and seals for the air pump before you proceed. This may entail adding oil to the chamber and purging it out a few times, or even cleaning the interior with a cloth.

Ease of service: 2/5 only due to being a slight be messy.

Items needed:
Quality Shock Oil*
Shock Pump
Valve Core Remover
Paper Towels
Small Catch Container.

A. Flushing the shock pump and the air chamber

1. Unthread the plunger locknut and clean the barrel and piston. If it’s especially grimy, add a few cc’s of shock oil and cycle, then purge through the nozzle.

2. Add about 5cc’s or a capful of shock oil to the barrel again.

3. Release all of the air from the air chamber of the fork, then screw the pump adapter onto the schraeder valve, then screw the plunger in. No need to push the plunger into the barrel before it’s secured and sealed, otherwise you might have a mess.

ALTERNATELY: screw pump onto the fork first, then fill. Due to doing this alone, I elected not to so I wouldn’t spill oil.

4. Slowly pump the contents of the shock pump into the fork. You will feel the resistance of the fluid going into the valve at first. This is normal. Pressurize to a moderate setting, remove the pump. This setting allows one to easily compress the fork to cycle the new fluid and clean the chamber.

*note, you may ride at this point, to continue cleaning the interior, but don’t do this too many times as the oil will accumulate inside the chamber and it has not been designed to do so.

B. Drain

5. Start pressurizing beyond your normal riding pressure (maintain safe limits and don’t exceed the maximum). I go to about 100psi, riding psi is 45, for example.

6. Turn the fork or the bike upside down and let sit for at least ten minutes or so. This allows all the fluid to drain towards the valve.

7. Place a catch container underneath. There is very little fluid, so even a cup will work.

8. Using the valve core remover, slowly and CAREFULLY turn the core until air and oil come out. DO NOT REMOVE THE CORE COMPLETELY!

9. Cycle the fork several times to remove more oil.

10. Reinstall valve core after cleaning the seal and lubricating it (although there will be oil on the threads in the valve body).

C. Fill

11. Add about one capful of high quality shock oil to the barrel of the pump, once again.

12. Repeat the charging procedure and bring up to proper psi.

Your air chamber is now cleaned and relubed.

*Fox Float Fluid is said to be closer to the viscosity of gear oil. I use shock oil, which is much lighter, with no ill effects, though you may note the fork is much faster and settings should be made accordingly.

The 2006 Marzocchi Z1 Light is an acclaimed 150 mm fork made for one year only. In the US, it featured the successor to the HSCV damper in the form of the RC2 damper, which had compression, as well as rebound adjust. On the other side, it offered the well regarded ETA rebound lockdown, and finally, the TAS travel adjust system knob below. The latter offered travel change from 150 to 130mm. The EU models did not feature TAS. The 2007 Z1 RC2 offered the same specs at the 2006 EU Z1 Light, but now with a bolt on crown to stanchion interface and Bomber Orange color scheme.

The chassis featured 20mm thru-axle dropouts, IS standard brake mounts (spaced for 160mm, and a 5mm lateral offset for the tabs, requiring those thick, 5mm washers Zoke ships with the forks).

In addition to the excellent adjustability, one of the most attractive features of the Z1 Light is the reliability. There are few parts to worry about, a coil on one side, low air pressure on the other, and a large bath of oil. This also makes it very easy to service, and simple oil changes can be done in 10-15 minutes, while a full teardown and cleaning can be done in 30-45 minutes.

Below is the detailed teardown. As always, observe safety precautions, wear eye and skin protection, and if in doubt, stop, try again, or take it to someone who can finish the job.

The fork:

2007’s Z1 RC2 and the 2006 EU Z1 Light are similar.

**Make life easy for yourself and thoroughly clean and degrease the exterior. Pay particular attention to the space between the crown and stanchion.**

Step 1: Insert either the adapter into the air port, or depress the valve to release the air! Don’t point at your face, as a mist of oil can come out.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a guide for a complete overhaul/seal change on a Hope hydraulic disc brake lever. Hope refer to this as the ‘Mini’ lever, it is used on all ‘open’ systems; the silver two-piece Mini/M4’s and the black/gold Mono calipers (Mini/M4/M6) and also the silver/black levers supplied with the ‘07 and later Mini and M4 calipers.. The addition of the BPC adjust on the ‘07 and later M6 and V2 lever changes the procedure slightly, the details are included in the necessary part of the guide. Click here for more…

Cutting hoses or cables to an optimum length can be something of a science. Take your time figuring out how long you want/need your hose to be. More often than not, you can just replace the stock hose with the same length of braided hose, but if, for whatever reason, you’re fitting a longer or shorter section, remember the mantra…

 Measure Twice (or thrice), Cut Once..

Click for more…

The V8 pedals use cup and cone bearings (1/8″ ball bearings). Although the V8’s have a ‘Grease Port’ for periodically injecting fresh grease into the bearings, this won’t clean out the crud and grit that’ll start to eat at the bearings and races. It’s a very, very simple procedure, so give your pedals a spin every now and then to check for grinding or excessive drag. An occasional overhaul will keep them spinning smoothly. The principle here is the same with most bicycle pedals that use loose bearings. Click for more…

(Click on a picture for a larger image to open in a new window)

First, the obligatory disclaimer: as the title suggests, the following article is a guide. It is not intended to be considered ‘gospel’ (ie. there’s more than one way to do most tasks), contains numerous subjective instructions (ie. I’m just telling you how I prefer to do things) and is in no way concise. I’ve read the guide myself and had a couple of other people read it before it was posted here, making corrections and revisions where applicable, and I’m pretty pleased with the result. The guide is intended as a basic introduction, a means of familiarising the reader with their bicycle, not as a step-by-step instruction. The idea is that people can start to develop their ‘inner wrench’ as they become more confident.

I would always refer beginners to the manufacturer’s instructions when installing components. If you’ve bought something new, the instructions should be included. For used stuff, check out the manufacturer’s website as most carry downloadable versions of product manuals. Forums and interweb randoms (like me!) can be a great source of information, but you’re usually guaranteed to get perfect instruction straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Even experienced wrenches need to refer to manuals sometimes.

It’s much more fun getting your bike dirty than it is getting it clean, but keeping it clean and well maintained goes a long way to making sure that your riding experiences are more enjoyable. Paying close attention to detailing means you’re getting up close and personal with your bike’s components and are much more likely to spot potential problems. Cleaning and maintaining can also mean a longer life for components and so better value for your hard-earned cash. Most important, though, is the confidence that the machine you’re sitting on is in top condition; think smooth, quick shifting; tight, responsive brakes; quiet drive-train…

Although I’ve tried to keep things in a general order, I’ve deliberately made this guide non-sequential, so don’t expect to be led through a complete maintenance session in order. Each section is pretty much stand-alone and it is left up to you to combine the described tasks in a regime that suits yourself based on your own priorities at the time.

Please remember that this guide is intended for folk who are reasonably new to bike maintenance. I could have gone into much more detail but felt that I needed to strike a balance of information and keep coverage simple. Although upgrading and replacing components can mean that items such as derailleurs are simply switched out at end of every season (in some cases), it is of course rarely necessary, as you’ll discover if you start maintaining and servicing your bike yourself….

Since originally posting this guide I’ve received some questions about how often to clean a bike. The truth is, only you know. If you’ve been out in mud* and rain all day then it’ll be obvious, but dust and grit can easily build up and start causing unnecessary wear on moving parts. How often you clean your frame is down to how bothered you are about having shiny stuff. A dirty frame makes no difference to anything. How often you clean and lubricate your components will notably affect their performance and life-span. Remember though, that MTB frames can take quite a beating out on the trails and cleaning back the muck will allow you to check for stress fractures or accident damage.

(*remember to ride responsibly on wet trails; soft ground is easily damaged)

Over time you’ll come to recognise when a chain needs re-lubing (squeak, squeak!). If you stick to a particular lube for a few months you’ll learn how long it lasts and what its strengths are and its weaknesses, too. Sometimes it takes the lesson that if you’d taken more care of your chain, you wouldn’t have to be paying out for a new cassette quite so soon.

So, I guess it’s all about paying attention to your bike’s components. There are few things as frustrating as getting well into a ride only to have something go wrong with your bike, so it’s a good idea to develop some simple checks before, and indeed after a ride to keep on top of potential ride-spoilers…

• Check quick release (QR) skewers are correctly tightened. Open the lever, confirm that the axle is straight and firm inside the dropouts and then close the lever again. ‘Tight enough’ is when the end of the lever has left a mark in your palm. Remember to ensure that the closed lever points either straight up or towards the rear of the bike to decrease the likelihood that it’ll be prised open should you catch it on something while riding.

• Go over all bolts and check that none are loose. When you first start doing this, the challenge is simply to remember all the possible bolts, but it’s an excellent way to familiarise yourself with the anatomy of your bike.

• Flip your bike upside-down and slowly rotate each wheel. Properly set up and functioning bearings should roll almost effortlessly and the rear wheel should be brought to a stop by the pawls of the freehub; click, click, click, stop.

• Spin each wheel a little faster and watch the tyre at the point where it meets the rim to confirm that the bead is correctly seated. If it isn’t release enough air from the tyre to enable you to manipulate the bead into the correct position before inflating the tyre back to pressure.

• Move up the tyre and check for bulges that may signify damaged sidewall, or, more obviously, scuffs and scrapes that have made it through the rubber casing.

• When the wheel spins, can you hear any unusual noises? Visually check that rim brake pads are an equal distance away from the rim. Disc brake users, does the rotor pass through the caliper without catching the pads? Again, visually check the pad/rotor alignment; misaligned rotors are the main cause of disc brake squeal.

If you come across any problems that aren’t dealt with or linked in this guide, you could visit Park Tool, who have a comprehensive set of repair and maintenance procedures.

Turn the cranks to get the rear wheel going and feel for any crunching or stiffness. Remember that you can also do this when the chain is off to check the BB bearings. From the side of the bike, grab one crank arm in each hand and try to wobble them back and forth using the BB as a pivot. Any movement (usually feels definite, like a ‘clunk’) most likely signifies either worn bottom bracket bearings or loose crank bolts (if applicable).

Once you get into regular maintenance, rather than diving into your local bike shop (LBS) whenever something doesn’t work, you’ll get a feel for how often stuff needs doing. Bicycles are basically very simple machines (even the rear mech!) and need a relatively small amount of maintenance per mile. A basic multi-tool along with a small flathead and small Philips-head screwdriver should be all you need to get you through this, although it’s also possible that spanners from 10mm to 15mm may be required. Check out the section on using and choosing tools a little further down the page. It’d be worth reading through a section before you wade in, just to make you’re suitably tooled up…

If you’re using a SRAM chain or a Powerlink then no special tools are required, otherwise you’ll need a chain-pull. 9 speeders beware; you’ll need a replacement pin if you open your chain. For splitting a chain that doesn’t use a Powerlink, there’s a description and photos further down the page in the Chain Cleaning section. If you don’t already use a SRAM Powerlink, or similar (like a KMC Missing Link), I’d highly recommend that you get one.

(A 9 speed (gold) SRAM Powerlink will fit 9 speed Shimano and KMC chains. The KMC Missing Link will also fit all three brands of 9 speed. An 8 speed (silver) Powerlink will not work with 8 speed Shimano chains, although the 8 speed KMC link will.)

The chain and drive-train can be cleaned much more effectively and efficiently with the chain off the bike and a Powerlink makes this task simple, especially for those of us who use 9 speeds. There are many other checks and maintenance procedures that are made easier by being able to completely remove the chain from the bike. Identifying and eliminating drivetrain noises (clicks and creaks) can be made easier if the front and rear components can be isolated.

Cleaning, Detergents and WD40

Tools: choosing and using

Removing/Refitting Wheels

Chains

Cassette (and freewheel) Cleaning

Derailleur Cleaning

Derailleur Set-Up

Cable Maintenance

Fork and Shock Cleaning

Brake and Rotor Cleaning

Check your nuts and bolts…

That’s pretty much it, at least for now. I think there’s a fairly good foundation to get you up and running, or rather sat down and wrenching! To fly back to the beginning, whenever you’ve done a job on your bike, try to be methodical and go over the nuts and/or bolts you’ve been working on to make sure that everything that should be tight is, and that everything which should spin does. As your bike becomes more familiar you’ll start to know what to check before and after every ride and what can be left until, say, after every other ride.

Thanks to the folk who loaned me their bikes to work on, fix, and photograph, and you’re welcome!!

If you’ve done everything listed above your bike should be in excellent order. Now would be the perfect time to go and get it absolutely filthy all over again. Good dirt everyone, and enjoy the ride…

This guide and the photographs contain within it are my property and as such are covered by copyright. Please feel free to provide links to this guide, but do not copy or reproduce any part of it without my permission.

The Fox 36 TALAS forks use cartridges known as the “closed” type. This means the air and damper cartridges are closed and sealed, as this classification would imply. They have their own internal lubrication and are separared from the “bath” lube that is in the fork legs. The bath lube serves a purpose in lubricating the stanchions and bushings, as well as the seals. In contrast, “open bath” type forks, even of the cartridge type, share a common oil supplies in the leg and cartridges (or open damper placed in the leg).

In each leg, there is a small amount of oil in the bath that serves lubricating purposes. Recommended is 15cc (ml) in the TALAS side, and 25cc in the damper side. These small quantities of oil are adequate, but they also mean that innaccurate fills or low levels from usage over time can possibly lead to inadequate lubrication for sliding parts, such as bushings and stanchions.

The Fox 36’s sealing system is a combination dust/oil seal, with a foam ring below. The bushings have longitudinal slots cut in their sliding surfaces. Upon compression, the stanchion is dipped in the bath oil that is also splashed around during operation. During rebound, the oil is drawn to the top of the lowers on the surface of the stanchions, with some being returned to the bath, and some allowed upward through the slots in the bushings. There are two bushings in each leg. The remaining oil that makes it to the top saturates the foam seal, which controls how much oil reaches the combinationg oil/dust seal, only allowing a controlled amount to weep past the seal for the purposes of low stiction. The remainder stays in the foam, or excess drains back down. Over time, there is the potential for enough of the bath oil to be lost through stanchion lubrication, necessitating a refill. Fortunately, this is an easy procedure, and does not require opening the cartridges. One can accomplish this in 30 minutes or less, depending the extent of the procedure.

In my case, I replaced my OEM Fox seals with Enduro seals, which provides a dedicated oil seal, and dedicated dust seal in the kit. They also provide new foam rings and new crush washers with the kit.

Disclaimer: This is only a guide, your results may vary, exercise due care for safety, common sense, and respect for the components.

Service Disclaimer: Always clean the exterior of all parts to be serviced thoroughly. This will save you time and headaches later.

 Note about oil volume: 1cc=1ml, 5cc=1 teaspoon, 15cc=1 tablespoon.  I use cough medicine cups for good approximations.

The first round of pictures below are my own, with credited pictures to follow from the Fox Service site at a later time.

1. Wash the exterior thoroughly, remove air.
2. Turn fork upside down, align compression knobs, use 2mm hex key to remove (fig1).
3. Use appropriate sockets to remove the black locknut (15mm) on the damper side, and the locknut (10mm) on the air side.
4. The important hang-up step: put the locknut back on the damper side and make sure it’s down two turns, as per the directions. Hold the underside from turning with a fingernail or similar. Screw the adjuster’s protective cap onto it. Use a rubber or plastic hammer to whack the damper out. It took a lot to get mine out, but it budged, finally.
5. With the lower free, you can now turn right side up and drain the oil from the stud holes in the lower.
6. Separate and clean.
7. Remove seal and foam ring from lower. Damper and TALAS cart are still in place as part of the crown/stanchion/steerer assembly.
8. Soak new foam ring in oil, put in place in the lower. Install oil seal above foam ring, letters up. Grease lightly. Note: the foam rings must be oiled because they will absorb a large amount of oil from the bath.
9. Grease outer seals, put 1/4-1/2 up the stanchion, grease stanchion lightly or oil. Out a film of oil on the bushings.
10. Pull on damper assembly and the TALAS cart to extend them. This will allow the studs to protrude through the holes in the lowers easier.
11. Turn upside down and push lower onto the stanchion. About 1/4 of the stanchion is what I had exposed when I pushed the outer seals on. They go by hand.
12. Pour in 15cc of shock oil in the TALAS side, and 25cc in the damper side. Fox recommends 7wt Fox branded oil. I blended and used high quality damper oil from my local moto shop to 7wt.
13. Compress slighly to get the studs of the cartridges to protrude through the holes in the lower. Put locknuts on, using new crush washers in the Enduro kit or the OEM Fox kit. Disclaimer: I reused my crush washers, but will not recommend you do the same.
14. The fork is now done. The procedure for standard Fox seals is identical to the Enduro procedure, except it does not use a dedicated oil seal.

This is a guide for overhauling Hope’s Mono calipers. Mono simply refers to the caliper being cut from a single billet of aluminium, rather than the two-piece design used by the original Minis or closed caliper brakes, so all Mono (Mini, Trials, M4, V2 and M6) are covered here. Click for more…

This is a guide for overhauling a rear Shimano Deore cassette hub, which uses cup and cone bearings. The cup is the bearing race which is built into the hub; the cone is the corresponding race which is threaded onto the axle. Whilst cone races can be replaced if they are worn or pitted, the cups of the hub can not. Any pitting or excessive wear to the cup races is terminal and means replacing the entire hub. Click for more…