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Why would you NOT want a remote lockout (REBA)?

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mforness3000

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Greetings everyone,

I'm getting a REBA and I'm trying to decide between the model with the remote lockout or the one without it. (Please correct me if I'm wrong but the model without the remote lockout has a manual lockout lever on the top of the crown, right?) I've never had a fork with a lockout and it seems to me that it would be really nice to have a remote lockout lever on your bar.

But I read through some old threads and found several where folks wanted to ditch the remote lockout and go with the manual one. Why? What are some reasons why you would not want a remote lockout lever such as the poploc/pushloc?

thanks all! ~matt
 
#3 ·
It'll vary for different folks, but...it could be cost...it could be addtional weight...it could be added clutter and complexity up on the bar...it could also be that some had some operational issues with the remote. I have a Revelation fork with the compression/lockout knob on the right fork leg top...I think the Reba is the same. It's mighty simple and easy to operate. I'm thinking if the terrain and conditions are bad enough at the moment I want to quickly reach down and flip that knob closed and locked, then I probably don't really need to be locking my fork. However, others may have a different perspective on this. Overall, I don't think I'd particularly dislike having the remote knob on the handlebar, but I guess for the reasons I listed above, I guess I like the knob on the fork. The one knob on my handlebar that I might be tempted have might be one attached to one of those gravity droppers. That one intrigues me.
 
#4 ·
For me the reason would be that you loose a significant portion of compression adjustment range of settings.

Let me explain this in more detail. If you just want to be able to switch from fully open to fully closed fast and without taking your hands from the handlebars, the poplock will do you a great service. I use it a lot in situations it would be impossible to take the hands out of the handlebar to adjust the compression on the fork's crown.

The limitations of the poplock design start to show up when you want to do more than this. The limitations are two fold. The poplock has only two positions, closed and open, nothing in the middle. You can, to some extent, adjust the compression level of the open position of the poplock, so that the fork has some compression when the poplock is in the open position (for this you need the poplock adjust, with the blue knob). You cannot make a similar adjustment for the closed position, unless you play with the bolt where the cable attaches to the fork.

The second limitation is that you can only adjust the compression level of the open position from zero compression to about 50% compression. You loose all ability to choose compression levels between 50% and 100% (closed).

Bottom line, if you want to play with your compression adjustments, you will be seriously limited by the poplock. You will have to weigh in what is more important to you or ...

... do as some guys have done, and I'm planning to do. Get the poplock version of the fork (you need that version because of the return spring) and substitute the poplock with a thumb shifter. Then you can have the best of both worlds.
 
#5 ·
mforness3000 said:
What are some reasons why you would not want a remote lockout lever such as the poploc/pushloc?
Click to expand...
I don't want more crap on my bars. Besides when i feel the need to lockout my Pike I reach 6 inches down and flip the lever, no biggie.

I've got a Pike coil now without the remote and my new bike will be spec'd with a new Pike Air, without the remote.

I think if I were a serious xc racer I would make use of the remote so I could quickly go from lockout to unlock and vise versa without having to let go of the bars.
 
#7 ·
The way I have my fork setup, the remote lockout is useless. I usually run with zero Floodgate and maybe 25% compression to control dive. With the remote lever, I would go from full open to normal. I don't need that at all much less pay extra for a cluttery gizmo.
 
#8 ·
I like the poploc. When I want the compression firmed up to control bob, I am usually out of the saddle and there is no chance to "just reach down". When I have forgotten that I have the fork locked out and it is starting to get gnarly, the poploc release is right by my thumb.

The clutter is minimal as this is a fork mounted adjustment. The cable runs... all the way from the bar to the fork - big deal. At least this doesn't involve extra cables ty-wrapped onto the frame - I haven't fitted my Speedball R because of this...

The best mounting location and angle for the poploc lever is not obvious and it needs a bit of playing to get something ergonomic.
 
#9 ·
petercarm said:
I

The clutter is minimal as this is a fork mounted adjustment. The cable runs... all the way from the bar to the fork - big deal. At least this doesn't involve extra cables ty-wrapped onto the frame - I haven't fitted my Speedball R because of this...
Click to expand...
I'm considering a Speedball also but don't want the cable and lever. It looks like they have a nice, easy to reach lever right under the seat. That's the way to go for me, I think.
 
#10 ·
Pretty much all the reasons already listed. My fork was a Tora though.
I got rid of the remote because I don't use it a great deal & the clutter on the bar was really annoying, not to mention the extra cable sticking out.

If you do get the poploc and then change your mind, you can't just take it off & that's it, it means getting a whole new motion control damprer as well as the knob assembly - not cheap! The only other way is to do a ghetto set up, disengage the spring in the motion control yourself & then mount a rubber o-ring under the knob for a bit of resistance - and vila I now have a leg mounted lockout that can go to fully locked or anything in between!

If you don't buy the poploc straight up then it's the same thing, you have to dish out the cash to get the new moco cartridge & poploc assembly.
 
#11 ·
There is a third option. Take the spring out and get the knob assembly, which is cheap(ish). You don't really need to change the Motion Control cartridge.
 
#12 ·
as others have said; less crap on the bars. several years now on some motion control forks. after the first few rides of dialing in things where i want, i never mess with the stuff again. find the sweet spot and leave it be.

now, i'm actually running an internal floodgate adjust mo-co cart on my pike 454 dual air. never adjusted the travel, so that new fork for me didn't need u-turn. and should i need to mess with the gate setting, the rebound adjuster works for that. and i still can easily mess with the compression knob. less crap on the bars, less knob sticking up top of the fork to mess with. :)

for racing it might be good, or if my rides involved long stretches of smooth climbing or pavement it might be fine. they don't though, so...
 
#14 ·
It really depends on what kind of riding you do. I lock my fork out on just about very out of the saddle effort--especially nice for demoralizing riding buddies :D as you blow past them. To be honest, I probably use poploc as much as I use my front deraileur. Yes it does add a bit of "clutter" to your bars, but let's be honest, does that really affect your riding? That being said, I would definitely recommend getting the poploc adjuster instead of pushloc so you can set the compression dampening. At first glance, the range on it isn't very good --which seems to be the chief complaint of most Reba users, and the reason why most people have gotten rid of it.

The best way to control brake dive on the Reba is by running as low a negative air pressure as possible; the negative air chamber only affects the very top of the forks stroke and makes a HUGE difference in brake dive. Disregard what RS recommends for negative pressure, I use just enough to keep the fork from topping out harshly-- the results are phenomenal. Others on this forum have used a friction shifter to actuate the motion control as well.

Bottom line, if you're the set and forget type, don't bother with it; you didn't have a lock out before and you're not going to miss it in the future. If you like to hammer out of the saddle a lot and and are a "fidgeteer" like myself; it's a wonderful gadget to have. Just make sure you get the poploc adjust model. Either way, you are getting a wonderful fork!
 
#16 ·
It's a bit OT, but since you mentioned, what are the pressures you're riding with and your weight? From my experience, if I set a low negative pressure to get rid of brake dive I will loose the sag.
 
#17 ·
Yeah, it does effect your sag, reset that with the + pressure. The reason why I bring it up is becuase if you set the fork via RS instructions, it does have a lot of brake dive. My fork is properly sagged and does not have excessive brake dive. That's one of the main reasons why people have been getting rid of the poploc remote.
 
#18 ·
If anyone has the standard Reba MC cartridge WITHOUT the remote (you know, the manually operated one), I have the remote operated one I'd be willing to trade you for it... no strings attached.

I actually bought my Reba with the standard MC cartridge and traded the cartridge with a guy in CA for the remote version. The remote version works great, I'm just not using it a whole lot since I'm not racing as much as I used to.

Any takers? Please, before you PM me or whatever, make sure you're not offering some damaged POS. My remote and MC cartridge are in perfect condition and I would expect the same in return. I'm going on a biz trip in a week and that would be the perfect time for these parts to spend 3-4 days in the mail. Unfortunately no riding on this biz trip (Disney World though!... can you say "open your wallet and turn it upside down"?).

Again, this is for a Reba (not sure if the other shocks use a different cartridge).

Thanks!
 
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