[Sideknob]

I have a friend's Orbea Alma hardtail here for some brake work.

I've detected an odd click as the fork is compressed, about 2/3rds the way through its travel.

The fork doesn't do this with little or no air in it, only when pumped to normal operating pressure.

If I tip the bike upside down, for the first few compressions afterwards the noise isn't there, then it returns. It is quite loud.

It is definitely the fork, not the headset or something else.

The bike has sat unridden for two years, and has had minimal use, really.

Rebound adjustment works. Poploc works fine too. No leaks etc.

I'm loathe to pull a friend's fork apart, tbh though I've serviced and rebuilt my own.

Any ideas?

 

[Mr Pig]

I'd open it.

 

[rlouder]

Wouldn't take but a minute to see if there is any oil in the air chamber.

 

[Sideknob]

Yeah I know....I'll talk to him about it today.

 

[bstock92]

Please excuse the necro-post, but I'm having the exact same issue on my Rockshox Recon Silver RL on my 2017 Orbea Loki.

Did you ever find out what it is? I've heard everything from "time for a rebuild" to "clicking doesn't necessarily indicate a problem (particularly with Rockshox)." Is there any advice before I drop ~$100 on tools to do a teardown?

 

[Mr Pig]

Is there any advice before I drop ~$100 on tools to do a teardown?

It doesn't matter what it is, you're not going to fix it without taking the fork apart anyway. And you need to find a better tool-shop. No way it takes $100 of tool to open a fork.

 

[bstock92]

It doesn't matter what it is, you're not going to fix it without taking the fork apart anyway.

Well, I'm asking because I've heard that clicking can be normal and expected on Rockshox forks. Also, I've never torn down a fork before and a description of what to look for would be most helpful.

And you need to find a better tool-shop. No way it takes $100 of tool to open a fork.

I don't have many bike-specific tools yet. Shock pump and torque wrench alone total $80 CAD. Then consider valve core remover, snap ring pliers, materials such as oil and grease, tools which I already own such as dowel, oil pan, sockets, iso-alcohol, rubber mallet, and taxes... It all adds up.

I don't just need to open it up; I need to put it back together again. Can you really do a full fork service with < $100 of tools?

 

[Mr Pig]

Can you really do a full fork service with < $100 of tools?

Well the shock-pump doesn't really count, as you need that anyway. You'll probably have allan keys too? So you need snap-ring pliers and a socket for the top caps.

On top of that you'll need oil but you're still well under $100. A torque wrench is nice but not essential and again, doesn't really count anyway as it's not fork-specific tool.

 

[bstock92]

Well the shock-pump doesn't really count, as you need that anyway. You'll probably have allan keys too? So you need snap-ring pliers and a socket for the top caps.

On top of that you'll need oil but you're still well under $100. A torque wrench is nice but not essential and again, doesn't really count anyway as it's not fork-specific tool.

Regardless of whether it "counts" or whether I "should" already have the tools or not, the bottom line is that I need to spend about $100 on tools before I can do the job.

Therefore, my original question about what was found inside the clicking fork stands, as it would help me determine:
a) How urgent the service is; and
b) What to look for.

 

[chazpat]

Regardless of whether it "counts" or whether I "should" already have the tools or not, the bottom line is that I need to spend about $100 on tools before I can do the job.

Therefore, my original question about what was found inside the clicking fork stands, as it would help me determine:
a) How urgent the service is; and
b) What to look for.

PM Sideknob (OP) and ask him.

 

[Mr Pig]

help me determine:
a) How urgent the service is; and
b) What to look for.

No one can answer that. It's a bit like saying 'my car is making a knocking noise, what is it?'. If someone brought a fork to me that was making bad noises I'd open it. There is no other way you can find out what it is. And without knowing what is wrong, how can we say how urgent it is!

The Recon is not a complex fork so the chances are it will be obvious what is wrong once you strip it.

 

[bstock92]

No one can answer that. It's a bit like saying 'my car is making a knocking noise, what is it?'. If someone brought a fork to me that was making bad noises I'd open it. There is no other way you can find out what it is. And without knowing what is wrong, how can we say how urgent it is!

Please allow me to clarify. I'm not actually asking, "How urgent is this," or, "what is the cause of my knocking sound?" I'm asking, "Sideknob, did you ever find out the cause of your friend's knocking?"

I understand it may not be the exact same issue, but considering that it's the exact model of my fork with the exact symptoms on a bike from the same manufacturer as mine, a description of what was inside *may* be helpful. That's all.

It is encouraging to hear that it's not a complicated shock! Thanks for pointing that out; I've obviously never done this before.

PM Sideknob (OP) and ask him.

I think I will.

 

[Mr Pig]

I understand it may not be the exact same issue...

It could well be. Faults and issues are usually common across the product run. All built from the same parts in the same factory by the same people so stands to reason that they tend to suffer the same faults.

 

[admc7777]

Anyone figure out what was causing this? I have the same fork, same problem. I'm riding one last day in Moab but then will take everything apart...

 

[bstock92]

Positive Air Piston Rattle

Hey admc777,

I did a tear down and found that the rod was rattling around in the positive air piston of the air spring, as shown at the top of page 19 of the service manual. A spare, smaller-diameter O-ring (leftover after replacing with a rebuild kit) around the rod, where it meets the collar of the positive air piston, seems to have silenced it.

My findings and symptoms seem consistent with this YouTube video, despite his being a Sektor and ours being a Recon Silver:

Update: The shop I took it to couldn't see anything wrong inside. They added an extra bushing of some kind (sorry I don't know enough about the internals to tell you exactly what was added or where) and though it wasn't designed to take two of these bushings, it did make the noise go away!

I hope this helps other Rockshox owners!

 

[0v3rcome]

Thanks bstock92. That helped me locate my clicking. Not sure if you did the same thing.

I added an oring to the air piston side's top cap. The part you unscrew with the schrader valve on it.

Before and after pics below. Note that I ended up using a thicker oring than pictured below. The oring used below did deaden the sound a bit, but didnt eliminate it. The larger oring pretty much eliminated the sound.

Before


After

 

[CyrocAZ]

I performed my first 50 hour service on my recon 2 days ago and when I reassembled the fork and added my air I had the dreaded click. I took apart my air spring and re-lubed everything and and re-assembled and the click was still there. I came across this thread and Ov3rcome you are the MAN. I added a 1 inch oring to the top slot and kept the original oring in the second slot on piston side cap and THE CLICK WAS GONE!. Thanks for all the details guys.

 

[patrickc]

[QUOTE
I added an oring to the air piston side's top cap. The part you unscrew with the schrader valve on it.[/QUOTE]

 

[stm32disco]

Ov3rcome's fixed worked for me.

I just bought and rebuilt a used Recon RL and found the click after I put it back together. I bought a pack of 8 random o-rings from the plumbing section in Home Depot for $2.22 CAD and one of them was the right size. I'm not sure I understand why it works though.

 

[SissyFoot]

My Recon fork started clicking after 30-35 hours of use. I used the o-ring fix, and the clicking stopped. Super weird.

If you have the big box of o-rings from Harbor Freight, I used size #116 in that kit.

Thanks!