suspension forks

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alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
the forks seen on this bike

P1060212.JPG


(rst branded) are 'bottoming out' on the steep section of pavé that i've been riding down recently.

the bike is quite old and needs lots of work really, but the forks are the bits i don't know much about (being a roadie).

is this a problem, and what do i do about it?
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
They look like coil spring rather than air forks. There must be a way of pre-loading the spring a bit. Only one side might be adjustable.

Tried Googling for a user's manual?
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
They may have sprung all they were ever meant to spring. Old cheap suspension forks tend to give up after a lot of springing.

Do they still spring a bit? or is it a more sort of squish?
 

kyuss

Veteran
Location
Edinburgh
Globalti said:
They look like coil spring rather than air forks. There must be a way of pre-loading the spring a bit. Only one side might be adjustable.

Unfortunately they're probably not even coil spring. Old RST forks used an elastomer spring in their suspension with no adjustment at all. As you've found out, over time they lose their ability to handle bumps and go soft and squidgy.

I remember looking for spare elastomers for my RST 281 forks about 5 years ago and couldn't get them. No great loss really. They were crap. £30 got me a set of rigid forks that were much better.
 
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