[Johnny_T]

I took a 120mm 2014 Fox Float 32 into a very respected LBS to have basic maintenance performed. When I picked up my bike, I immediately noticed the fork looked taller. I took it home and messed around and figured out that I now had 130mm of travel and my front end seemed higher. I took it back to the shop.....they think I am crazy. They told me that I just didn't have enough air in the fork and that increasing the air in the fork makes it look taller. They assured me that they didn't change the travel in the fork saying that to change the travel they would have to open up the air spring which they didn't do for a basic rebuild. The shop owner was very cool about it and spent a lot of time talking to me about it, but sticks by his guns that I must have had a 130 mm fork on the bike when I brought it in. I have the receipt for the shock saying it is 120mm (I have never seen where you can buy a 130mm).

The fork rides great, smooth, nothing loose, but it has been bothering me. I ended up getting a GREAT deal on 2015 120mm Float which is essentially the same shock I already had. The new shock is exactly 1 cm shorter with the same amount of air in it. I am happy to be back at 120mm and the bike again rides like it should. I am a fairly experienced mechanic, but was a little hesitant to tear into a perfectly good fork. My thought is that I will now tear into the 130mm fork and see if I can figure out what the shop did to it. I can use this as a learning experience so I can do my own maintenance in the future. I have watched videos on the Fox website that show you how to change the travel in the fork but involve going into the air spring....which the shop supposedly didn't do. Does anybody have any other thoughts on what they could have done or what I should check out? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[xeren]

changing travel is a decent amount of extra work that you can't really accidentally make happen - you would have to be deliberate about it. so i really doubt they did that - it's a waste of their time and they aren't getting paid for it.

my only thought is that maybe they put too much float fluid in the upper air chamber, or you had too little, and they put the correct amount (should be 15cc IIRC), and so at the original PSI, it's pushing your fork a bit higher, preventing the weight of the bike from sagging the fork slightly like it had before

 

[matadorCE]

This would have had to happen in order for the shop to change travel:
1) open up air spring using chamferless socket or 6-point wrench
2) take out air spring by emptying fluid and removing circ clip
3) install travel change bumper (assuming they even had the correct one, for that year and model of fork)
4) put everything back in and putting new float fluid (which is a lot more expensive than bath oil)

I seriously doubt this would have been for free by a LBS unless there was a mix up/miscommunication for the service request. It would be like taking your car in to get new tires and ending with new brakes as well free of charge.

 

[Johnny_T]

my only thought is that maybe they put too much float fluid in the upper air chamber, or you had too little, and they put the correct amount (should be 15cc IIRC), and so at the original PSI, it's pushing your fork a bit higher, preventing the weight of the bike from sagging the fork slightly like it had before

Thanks for the response. Is the upper air chamber the same as the air spring? They say they didn't open up the air spring (and it would have been a ton more work to get into the air spring) so they probably didn't have to add float fluid to it.

 

[xeren]

Thanks for the response. Is the upper air chamber the same as the air spring? They say they didn't open up the air spring (and it would have been a ton more work to get into the air spring) so they probably didn't have to add float fluid to it.

yep, the air chamber is the air spring - i'm stumped, then

 

[Johnny_T]

This would have had to happen in order for the shop to change travel:
1) open up air spring using chamferless socket or 6-point wrench
2) take out air spring by emptying fluid and removing circ clip
3) install travel change bumper (assuming they even had the correct one, for that year and model of fork)
4) put everything back in and putting new float fluid (which is a lot more expensive than bath oil)

I seriously doubt this would have been for free by a LBS unless there was a mix up/miscommunication for the service request. It would be like taking your car in to get new tires and ending with new brakes as well free of charge.

Thanks for the response. You are stating exactly what the shop said, there is no way they could have done it without a bunch of extra work. I believe that but I also believe something changed during that service. I noticed it as soon as I saw the bike, I could tell the fork was taller and riding confirmed that it felt different. The fact that it is taller than a 120mm fork with the same amount of air leads to the only conclusion that I bought a 130mm fork, which isn't true. Something isn't right. I was hoping there was an easy explanation like a "spacer was installed upside down" but it doesn't sound like that is the case. I think I will use the shock as a learning experience and tear into it. Once I get it figured out I will put it back on my bike and sell the new one. I should have had the balls to work on it myself originally.

 

[matadorCE]

10mm of extra travel can be adjusted by lowering your bars. You could always email or call Fox and they'll tell you what that fork's travel should be by looking it up via serial number.