Wookiee's 2012 Santa Cruz Highball Alu FINISHED PAGE 2!

Doug there is a company near you that does hydrodipping, much more effective than wrapping as there is no joins. They quoted me 200 quid for my cruiser but thats nearly 6 foot long so I would estimate 150 quid. You can have any design/pattern/colour or picture you want although repetitive patterns seem to work the best. (Imaging lots of tiny screaming hands as a pattern lol)
Anyhoo thought that might help with the colour choice. Wicked coatings in poole is the company.

My 36's used to go a year between services but I did keep the seals clean abd lifted then every month or so to clean and relube the foam wiper. They were old too and still on the original stanchions from 2005.

Rock Shox do require less servicing but there are still a number of forks that suffer from stanchion wear.

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theres a place in hull does hydrodipping

Chute55uk":2vdayq55 said:

Doug there is a company near you that does hydrodipping, much more effective than wrapping as there is no joins. They quoted me 200 quid for my cruiser but thats nearly 6 foot long so I would estimate 150 quid. You can have any design/pattern/colour or picture you want although repetitive patterns seem to work the best. (Imaging lots of tiny screaming hands as a pattern lol)
Anyhoo thought that might help with the colour choice. Wicked coatings in poole is the company.

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OOoooh screaming hands is an ace idea! May give them a call!

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Right so the forks got sorted! I took an hour or so this morning to get this job done. I removed the forks from the bike and detached the brakes to make for an easier job. I got a seal and o ring kit for £20 and the oil for about £6. The oil that came out of the forks was misty and had dark sediment in it and the foam o rings were discoloured and grubby. The stantions on one of the legs were marked where I think a bit of grit had become lodged in the wiper seal. All good now though and they seem much smoother. I was surprised that the amount of oil that went into the damper side was 160ml! The old oil that came out was far less probably half that. But hey I still have another change of oil left for another service in the future too!

Happy days thats another job that I am happy to do myself!

Good stuff.

I think quite a lot of new forks are supplied with too little oil in them. Keep the new seals clean and keep an eye on the stanchions because Fox are notorious for eating the gold coating if they're not liked after.

I'm loving the bike it looks pretty awesome and it seems to handle really well from what you've said but not sure if i'd like riding a 29er tbh as they seem to look pretty tall but yours does tend to look a little tempting imho ..

Muddy paw":13f3xel5 said:

I'm loving the bike it looks pretty awesome and it seems to handle really well from what you've said but not sure if i'd like riding a 29er tbh as they seem to look pretty tall but yours does tend to look a little tempting imho ..

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I don't think 29ers are for everyone but this one does suit me. I like the wide bars and it feels robust and has a "go anywhere" feel about it. I do also ride 26ers which offer a different experience, maybe a bit more responsive or you could call it twitchy. I guess as I am getting older I am like something a bit more stable! I would say try one though if you get the chance, I was a bit dubious but that changed after I rode one.

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Thought it time for a bit of a catchup... The bike has made it through the wettest, muddiest winter I have ridden in! The SC has taken all in its 29" stride! As always the right tyres make all the difference! Cannot praise the Bonty MUDX tyres for the worst conditions, grip where I wasn't expecting it and tubeless was running them around 25psi! Great tyres but now removed for next year. I slung back on the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and went out on a 28 mile offroad jaunt. All was good and a great ride was had with a mate I have known for over 35 years. On the way back I left the bike in the car as I popped into Tesco for some supplies. When I came back to the car the alarm was going and on closer inspection both of the tyres had blown off the rims!

The car was hot so perhaps that was a factor? (it was also sprayed with sealant! :facepalm: ) But when I got the tyres back on the rims they would not inflate. I think the beads must have stretched and not allowed them to seat snugly on the rim. Time for new tyres! After a bit of research I decided that the Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35" on the front and Nobby Nic 2.2" on the rear would suit my local rides. Took a few times to seat the tyres evenly eventually they did though and they are performing very well so far a mid range between the MUDX and the Racing Ralphs.

But the winter mud had not been kind to the bike. The following have had to be replaced in the last month!

- Rear brake pads
- Chain
- Smaller front ring
- Rear hub bearings
- Fork service and parts
- New rear mech! (XTR one exploded after a branch flicked up and caught in it!) XT replacement.

So all set for the summer!! We'll see!

Good to hear that it's treating you well.

I'm a big fan of Hans Dampf's although I've just swapped to a a Rock Razor and Magic Mary combo. I'm not sold on the Rock Razor rear tyre because it doesn't give much control on steep stuff so may well go back to a Hans Dampf on the rear. I also find them super easy to run tubeless.