[goatman]

The Rockshox Recon Solo Air comes set at 100mm (stock).
Apparently it is possible to internally adjust spacers to adjust travel to 80mm or 130mm.
My question is: Can one adapt the spacers themselves to adjust internal travel to a different setting e.g. 110mm?
Anyone done this?
Just want to slacken the head angle of my mate's Giant Trance 2 (2007).
At 100mm it is 70.5 degrees, so at 110mm should be about 70 degrees.
Should benefit downhill performance without affecting climbing and tight steering too much.

 

[Squash]

Sure it can be done....

not recommended by Rock Shox, but.... All you would need to do is tear down the fork, remove the spacer for the 100mm travel mode and cut it down by 10mm. Presto! 110mm of travel. Now the deal here it to modify the spacer so that it has a smooth and precise finish when done, and to do so in such a way as to not damage or crack the spacer. They are made of a semi brittle nylon so they can be cracked and ruined if you're not careful. Also they can be melted by a high speed cutting blade, i.e. band saw, reciprocating saw, etc. The best method would probably be a hand held hack saw with a cutting jig or guide. The cut must be straight and precise or you'll end up putting uneven pressure on other parts that could well affect air seals. So a straight cut is needed. Then a good light sanding to remove any burs etc. would be in order. Also keep in mind that the 100mm travel spacer is 30mm long. So you'd be taking 10mm off of an already relatively short part. Might run into problems securing it while cutting. But it certainly could be done with enough care and finess.

Good Dirt

 

[goatman]

Rockshox Spacers

Thanks for the input, Squash.
Just seems strange that you can't buy aftermarket spacers in different sizes from Rockshox (or Fox) to adjust internal travel in smaller increments than 30mm.
It would make sense to sell 10mm spacers aftermarket enabling the rider to adjust travel to perfectly suit his/her riding style and frame geometry.
Currently it is a take it or leave it 80mmm, 100mm or 130mm option.
If you change the spacers yourself Rockshox will probably void their warranty....
A 30mm change would change the head angle roughly 1.5 degrees which can have a major effect on handling.
But just 10mm change can transform a bike to find it's sweet spot.
Maybe Push Industries could make some spacers like that.
Just my 2c.

 

[Squash]

I know what you mean....

it would be nice if you could just buy a spacer for the travel you wanted within the range of the fork. But believe it or not (I work at a shop) and probably 75% of the people that buy RS all travel forks don't even know about the feature, and 99% that buy them get them set up at one travel setting and leave it like that the whole time they own the fork. That and those that like to fiddle with it usually spring for the U-turn system. Faster and easier.

I can certainly see your point and agree with you, being a tinkerer and adjuster myself. But I can see RS's dilema too, it just isn't cost effective. It'd require 3 additional spacers to cover the 80 to 130mm range in 10mm increments. Personally I think that would be great myself. I'd have to fiddle with the different travels and see how my bike reacted. But I'm sure the just aren't enough poeple out there that would tinker like that to create enough demand to make it worth it. It's all about margin you know. If it don't make you money it's costing you money and that's a no-no!

I agree with you 100%, it would be great to have ride tunning options like that available. Unfortunately until more of the mountain biking community gets into fine tunning their rides, it'll be up to "fiddlers" and thinkers like us to come up with ways to "tune the less tuneable" so to speak. :thumbsup:

Anyway I'd be interested to hear how it turns out!

Good Dirt

 

[goatman]

Recon spacer change

Thanks for the thumbs up Squash!!
I had some custom spacers made that I fitted to my Fox Vanilla RLC..... travel set at 120mm which is perfect for my bike.
I was wondering whether it is necessary to strip down the whole fork to change the spacer? Looks like it may be possible to just release all the air, then compress the fork so the Solo air shaft with spacer extends above the top cap, then snap off the spacer.

 

[Squash]

I don't think you can reach.....

the spacers from the top just by compressing the fork fully. There's quite a bit of space between the top of the air piston and the crown opening of the fork when fully compressed. I'd just plan on doing a full service to the fork, i.e. having all the oil and lubes and tools that you need. You can give the full compression a try but I'm pretty sure you won't be able to reach the spacers without pulling at least the air piston side. You should be able to leave the damper side intact. All you should have to do is pull the lowers, then remove the top cap and the inside snap ring at the bottom of the stanchion on the air spring side and carefully remove the air piston. That will give you access to the spacer. Just remember when you re-assemble to drop about 3cc of 15w fork oil on the top of the air piston. From there all you should have to do is inject 10cc of fork oil into each bolt hole in the bottom of the lowers before you button the fork up. Not to tough and you shouldn't have to mess with the damper side at all unless you want to.

Good Dirt

 

[goatman]

Thumbs up!

Thanks Squash that makes sense, will give it a try!

 

[The Factory]

hi, I am in a similar situation except I want to raise the travel on my Recon Race Solo Air's to 130mm from 100mm. The guy at my local shop told me that it is not a good idea because it significantly reduces the life of the fork. While one of my buddies told me that it should be find because its all the same fork, whether you buy it in 80mm, 100mm or 130mm. the only difference are the spacers. On the fork itself is a sticker that lists the respective PSI for travel size and riders weight.
was the guy in the store just trying to convince me that I am better off buying a new fork and getting rid of the old one? or will it in fact ruin the durability of the fork?

 

[trailbildr]

Cut the spacer in the middle so the top and bottom flats remain...

Good luck.

mk

 

[bad mechanic]

Provided the fork is capable of 130mm of travel and provided it's maintained per the maintenance schedule, it shouldn't affect the longevity of the fork.

 

[The Factory]

cool, thanks for the feedback. I think I'll try another shop because even on the fork itself it mentions travel from 80mm to 130mm. It came with the bike last year and it was just recently serviced with no winter riding {i'm a skier, not because i dont like biking in winter}
my only question, lets say i convert it to 130mm, and in the future I want to return it to 100 when i build a pure XC bike, will it still be possible or once i convert to 130mm there is no turning back?

 

[toot334455]

do we have any updates on this ?

I would like to remove a spacer and increase my travel from 80 to 100 mm.

I know how to take the legs off but I cannot find any videos on what these spacers look and where they are located.

Thanks

 

[dundundata]

It's easy to do. Once you take the lowers off you need to remove the air spring assembly. It's held in place by a circlip so you'll need snap ring pliers. Put a towel around the shaft when you do this so you don't scratch it. They show you how to do this in the Rockshox technical manual and there are vids on youtube as well.

Here is a vid on removing the air spring. You don't need to do everything in the vid unless you want to do a complete service.

YouTube

Check out page 16 of this manual it shows the spacers

Technical Manual - Recon Gold - 2011 | SRAM

 

[toot334455]

It's easy to do. Once you take the lowers off you need to remove the air spring assembly. It's held in place by a circlip so you'll need snap ring pliers. Put a towel around the shaft when you do this so you don't scratch it. They show you how to do this in the Rockshox technical manual and there are vids on youtube as well.

Here is a vid on removing the air spring. You don't need to do everything in the vid unless you want to do a complete service.

YouTube

Check out page 16 of this manual it shows the spacers

Technical Manual - Recon Gold - 2011 | SRAM

thanks this is awesome

Im confused about suspension oil though:

Correct me if im wrong but I need to buy 2 diffrent weight suspensions oils? One for the lowers and one for the upper fork?

and since the fork is new can I re-use the existing oil?

 

[dundundata]

You may need to add a bit of 15wt that can be lost when removing the lowers and air spring. The bulk of your forks oil is 5wt found in the damper and you won't be messing with that.

 

[toot334455]

Ah alright, thanks I was thinking about upgrading the damper with the moco revelation damper.

Also when there is mentions of grease variously throughout the procdure

what grease should I use?
will polylube 1000 be ok?

 

[dundundata]

Damper swap is just take old damper out put new one in. This is done from the top (crown) so you can leave the oil in there. The amount needed may be slightly different. That grease is fine.

 

[toot334455]

Damper swap is just take old damper out put new one in. This is done from the top (crown) so you can leave the oil in there. The amount needed may be slightly different. That grease is fine.

do you know if this damper is the same as the argyle one that fits the recon silver?
Rock Shox Duke Remote Motion Control Upgrade Kit | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com

 

[dundundata]

No the Duke only had 30mm stanchions.