Shock pumps

[Aslan]

Another way of thinking about the shock pump issue is to bring a stint.  If you are lucky enough to be or know a machinist just have them create an aluminium stint to replace the shock that can turn your bike into a hardtail in an emergency.  That way the tour is not over; however, it is one more thing to carry going back to my previous comment.

[Done]

This one is interesting too:

http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Pumps/PropShock

Not sure how well it works, either as a shock or a strut--but it does seem to have won some prestigious awards!

[Aslan]

That seems like a pretty good idea.  A bit heavy though.  I wonder if anyone is just making stints that are lighter.  Anyone?

[Done]

I looked for struts, and they seem pretty rare nowadays. Most shops that I spoke with feel that shocks have become durable enough that there is simply no market for them anymore. But most people don't ride 500 miles in a week either!

[ScottyJ]

The blackburn toolmanator 1 comes with a micro shock pump.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=blackburn+toolmanator+1&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=16560785398100029460&ei=E3RATbmmL4OB8gaRz8WUBA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEkQ8wIwAA#

It works but is not great for fine tuning shock pressure.

full disclosure: I work for bell sports

[Done]

The blackburn toolmanator 1 comes with a micro shock pump.

I just checked the Blackburn site. I think that you're referring to the Toolmanator 3?
http://www.blackburndesign.com/tools.html

Looks pretty cool. I generally like Blackburn gear, so I'm going to check this out. Thanks!

[6thElement]

The problem with multi-tools when they get that big is they're a pain to use for anything. I've got a crank bros 17 and never carry it anymore, usually just my Park CT-5 and IB-2.

[mattinaustin]

Here is another option:



Dual pressure (tire and shock), 300 psi, 197 grams

http://www.serfas.com/product_details.asp?ID=240

Looks interesting.  Would like to get one in my hands to see how well it's constructed and if its worth the weight.

[trailrider11]

My shock pump will do both but takes around 500 pumps to inflate a new tube due to the low pressure output its designed for. 

[Ultra Magnus]

Another way of thinking about the shock pump issue is to bring a stint.  If you are lucky enough to be or know a machinist just have them create an aluminium stint to replace the shock that can turn your bike into a hardtail in an emergency.  That way the tour is not over; however, it is one more thing to carry going back to my previous comment.

Like this? http://www.sicklines.com/2011/04/01/video-straitline-quicky-stiffy/

BM

[Aslan]

Hilarious!  And so reasonably priced. 

[Ultra Magnus]

If a stanchion is scared and comprimises a seal in your fork, a pump won't help. Same goes with your shock.

Just an FYI, no fork that I know holds any pressure on the stanchion tube.  That seal is mainly just a grease/oil seal to hold in lubrication oil, and maybe damping oil on an open bath system, but not one w/ a cartridge damper.  The air piston normally rides on the ID of the stanchion tube, having both a positive and negative spring.

The rear shock, otoh, is another story.  The negative spring seals on the od of the damper strut.  So, if that gets scuffed, the very best case is that the negative spring will bleed off and you will suffer a terrible ride until you get it fixed.  but if you are running something like a fox float, w/ a self setting negative spring, every stroke will bleed off  just a bit more positive pressure and pretty soon you will be on the bump stop (which on a fox shock is just an oring, or at least used to be, dunno what's in their latest and greatest products)...

BM

[bartspedden]

Man you just went way over my head.     Sounds like you know something about fork internals, more then my own anecdotal knowledge.  So, could you help me out?

My talas went out again a few weeks ago.  That same scratch on the stanchion that I smoothed out with some 1000 grit seems to of blown another seal.  Now the adjustability may or may not work.  It went out on a climb, and I noticed it on the downhill.  Basically, it was stuck in the 90mm position will a fair bit of oil on the riders left stanchion.  Additionally the fork felt  really rigid and was not compressing properly, negatively impacting my ability to get into the travel.  I made it to bottom and racked the bike on the jeep.  By the time I got home, the fork had repositioned itself out to the 140mm position.  I tried riding it again and reset the fork to 90mm position.  The fork did adjust, but it's still way too stiff.  I've taken the fork off and don't know if it's worth the money to get it fixed by Push.  Any idea what went wrong?

Also, either way, scratched stanchion can't be fixed my a pump.  My experience (though I don't know anything about the inernals) tells me if a fork looses pressure, adding more air won't fix it.  What's your experience with this type of failure?

[Ultra Magnus]

Sorry- I don't know the specific internals of the talas mechanism.  I specialty is in the dampers, not necessarily the air springs, and especially not travel adjust mechanisms...

Sounds like something broke in the talas mechanism.  It's like a Swiss watch in there.  Fox is the master of stuffing 10lbs of crap in 5lb sacks...

My personal preference is to stay away for all travel adjust / lockout mechanisms.  They don't agree with me.  I like fiddling with my bike as little as possible during a ride.  Checking my tires and lubing my chain is enough.  So, when I ride, I get the shocks set somewhere that works good, and I leave it alone, forever.  Oh yeah, and that goes for the seatpost too.  When I've messed w/ lockouts and travel adjusters for climbing, I ALWAYS seem to forget to switching it back on the decent.  And let me tell you, dropping in and realizing your are locked out and/or the fork is set to 80mm sucks.

So, bottom line- make a call to your nearest Fox service center...  Chances are it's nothing you could fix on your own anyway.  At some point, you'd need some sort of specialized tool or something.

BM

[jp3d]

My personal preference is to stay away for all travel adjust / lockout mechanisms.  They don't agree with me.  I like fiddling with my bike as little as possible during a ride.  Checking my tires and lubing my chain is enough.  So, when I ride, I get the shocks set somewhere that works good, and I leave it alone, forever.  Oh yeah, and that goes for the seatpost too.  When I've messed w/ lockouts and travel adjusters for climbing, I ALWAYS seem to forget to switching it back on the decent.  And let me tell you, dropping in and realizing your are locked out and/or the fork is set to 80mm sucks.

+1 travel adjust / lockout mechanisms are useless.

My friend's TALAS wouldn't work correctly out of the box (felt like it had zero negative spring at full travel extension), sent it back to Fox multiple times and it still never worked, including after they sent him a completely new (next year's model from what he had).

[bartspedden]

Man I've heard so much talas bashing over the years from teammates, friends, etc. I wonder why I've had such an awesome experience with mine. The adjustability has worked so perfectly for mountain trails, both mechanically and for my riding style that I hate switching things up. But I've got a new fork sponsor and will be rocking a 100mm manitou marvel pro QR15 this year. -- update -- turns out the Marvel Pro will not be on the build.  Manitou says it won't be ready until 2012.  So it'll be the R7 with a reducer headset and 9mm axle.

But back to pumps.

I've never had anything happen to a fork/shock that a pump would of fixed. Whenever I've lost pressure it's always required sending the suspension back in for repairs. Even on my talas, when I scratched the stanchion, the guys at the fox tent rebuilt the fork to get me riding again, but they also said that my stanchions needed replacement too. I never replaced the stanchions and the fork failed as predicted. A pump would not of fix this.  So, my question is: what has happened to you folks where your suspension failed and a pump helped?

[jaydude]

Here is the one I purchased for bikepacking specifically.  There is no guage and you gotta pump the hell out of it. I think I counted 20 pumps for 1 psi. 

However after a couple years of never needing it it stays back at home