DeKerf Softtail servicing / repair.

Though this might come in handy for anyone in a rush to repair a softtail.

Obviously the best way is to send it back to the manufacturer, but with the expense and time of sending to Canada I decided to find a more expensive / longer method and also redesign some of the parts. 

Parts left to right

1) Metal collar that holds the seal against the shaft,
2) Spring - yellow is the hardest,
3) Origional Spring holder (melted in picture),
4) New Spring holder (M6 x 20 washers & M6 bolt drilled through the centre)
5) Cup that is bolted into the frame, the titanium shaft fits into it, the spring retainer fits in the bottom and the spring goes inside,
6) Titanium shaft.




Disassembly is fairly straight forward, remove circlip from cup, unbolt cup from frame, undo the grub screws on metal collar and pull everything downwards. 

I found on mine that the seal was missing and the titanium shaft was worn. 
As the titanium shaft is 89mm long and only the end 40mm wears it can be removed from the cup and turned around. This is done by heating up the cup on a gentle flame, it should come out easily. But first the spring holder should be removed as it is plastic. I didn't realise this and melted it! Some are metal. To remove a plastic one I would suggest carefully screwing a screw into the vent hole in the center and pulling out with pliers. 
The titanium shaft measures: 89mm long, 22.2mm diameter, 1.2mm thick. So if you want to replace it you can use a piece of titanium handlebar. Which I suspect is what was used originally!

As I destroyed my spring holder, I drilled out the vent hole in the bottom of the cup and threaded it to take a M6 bolt. I then drilled through a stainless M6x20 to replace the vent hole. Then using a stack of M6x2x20mm bolts (couldn't get stainless only zinc plated so had to cover everything with grease) to get the preload. Doing this allows you to set the preload, if for some reason you wanted to but you'd have to be carefull not to allow the frame to flex out of its intended range. If anyone knows the height of the original spring holder can you let me know please. 
The titanium shaft is replaced into the cup using a vice carefully making sure it goes in straight. 




As my metal collar was damaged (cable rub?) I decided to get another one made in a different design, thanks very much to the member who made it. I won't mention names in case they get inundated with requests!
The new one allows a 22x3.5mm o-ring to be used as the seal. 
I will be using a Nitrile o-ring rather than what's in the picture. It will have two holes drilled into the sides and threaded so it can take the original grub screws. 







The other part is the bush that is in the frame. I decided not to replace this as it looked like a PITA to remove, it also uses a custom made shim to keep it in 
place. If you want a new one it is part number LFI-1416-20 from www.IGUS.co.uk. 
http://www.igus.co.uk/default.asp?PAGE=IGLIDUR
There is also another (metal) spring holder behind the bush. 


Refitting is the reversal of removal but with lots of grease!

thanks for the guide. i recently picked up a team st with a loud creak in it (it's a very well used bike) and this was really helpful beore i took it apart.

how did you get it back together though?

after i cleaned up everything and lubed it, i realized that i was going to have to compress the spring in order to get the clip on.

this was really difficult!

i'll probably have to take it apart again as there's a clunk in it - i imagine i didn't get the spring seated properly on the spring holder, which i never even saw as it didn't out of it's hiding place.

Mines not really been touched since I serviced the shock, it's still sitting upstairs unbuilt. In fact, I've never ridden it! It does creak a bit when you push the rear down, I've not had time to look into this though.

You might be interested that someone on here had a new Team ST built for him recently, the thread is below, on the second page there is a link to all the pictures and description.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/vi...torder=asc&highlight=dekerf+softtail&start=15

This is how you out the shock back in (from Stefan's thread):

https://picasaweb.google.com/stefan9113/ChrisDeKerf#5342985909570016706[/url]

i was part way to the solution - i thought about putting an old hub in it but couldn't figure out how to leverage the spring cup up from there.

thanks for that!

mine creaked with each pedal stroke, and when you held the seat and pushed the rear end side to side. the creaking is gone now, but there's a clunk in it now, so i'm thinking i didn't put it back together properly.

seeing those images really makes me want to send it back for a refresh - the shop i used to work at is a dekerf dealer now so i'll have to ask about it.

Was that Prestige cycles?

Redbike - in Edmonton, AB.

I'm not sure where this bike came from originally, it doesn't have a dealer sticker on it.

http://teamcow.tumblr.com/image/31634189923

Oh, I thought you were in the UK!
That's a nice bike, I've not seen one that colour before.

it's definitely seen some use - the Cane Creek wheels are very rough, the fork needs a rebuild and possibly new bushings, and i don't think if it had ever been cleaned.

i was looking at your bikes, and here's an interesting coincidence; the day i saw the Dekerf for sale is the same day my Nashbar Ti frame arrived in the mail.

it's a '94, and as far as i can tell from research i've done, it's the same as the Raleigh MT-1000 frame of the same vintage. it does look a lot different than your Raleigh though, so i don't know if they're from the same place.

Interesting. I've not heard of them before. Do you have a picture of it? Is the MT-1000 frame a bonded one?

Here's the ebay listing;

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/330775599014?ssP ... 647wt_1186

I didn't save the research I did, but the details of the Raleigh Ti frame and my Nashbar frame are too similar to be coincidence. Specifically the cable housing stops, which look like their finned. Not sure how else to describe them.

There is a thread on this forum somewhere where a builder from the Raleigh factory gave some details about the frame, and I guess I need to find a 30.0 seatpost for it.

What I don't know, is how these Raleigh-made frames ended up being sold through the U.S. discount chain with 'made in U.S.A.' stickers.