Lefty Reset on the Go

[GrizzlyAdam]

Fellow Lefty owners, are you resetting your Lefty bearings out on the trail during multi-day races and rides? any secret tips? I plan to just carry the BB tool needed for the job, and resetting the shock (2011 XTR) once a day or so (every 10+ hours).

[Done]

I didn't reset my Lefty on the CTR last year, and it wasn't a problem. When I checked it out after the race, my bearings hadn't migrated much at all.

The trick is to have someone like Craig at Mendon Cyclesmith work on your Lefty before the race. He knows how to match the best bearings to reduce migration.

For something longer like the Tour Divide, I'd probably reset it every week or so at bike shops along the way.

[frejwilk]

Adam,

How often are you resetting your bearings now? If it's very often, you might want to have someone check your races like Toby mentioned above. I suspect you know someone there who can do it. PM me if not.

I've never reset the bearings in my Lefty's during multi day rides. If I lost much travel, I didn't notice.

Hopefully your days will be longer than 10hrs on the CTR...  Have fun!

Fred

[GrizzlyAdam]

Thanks guys.

Fred, good to hear from you! I haven't reset the bearings at all, I just got the bike. I've only ridden it about 10 hours. But I've been told that resets are needed about every 10 hours of ride time. Maybe I've been misinformed?

[frejwilk]

Adam,

Probably not misinformed. My experience is with older forks than yours. But 10hrs still seems pretty frequent to me. I don't think the race/bearing design has changed that much (at all?). You'll have a good idea after more riding time.

Good luck with CTR.

Fred

[Done]

I haven't reset the bearings at all, I just got the bike. I've only ridden it about 10 hours. But I've been told that resets are needed about every 10 hours of ride time. Maybe I've been misinformed?

Every 10 hours is very, very conservative. In the worst-case scenario, and to maintain every millimeter of travel, this might be necessary. But many factors determine how much the races migrate: bearing tolerance, type of riding, type of grease, etc. This is why I recommend sending the shock to Craig at Mendon Cyclesmith before the race. He'll clean everything up, replace the seals, and check your bearings to see if there's room to reduce migration by tweaking the tolerance a little. At least that's what worked for me!