forks!
Big day today,
Fork elastomers were waiting for me when I got home
Initially I was happy, then as I unpacked them, I became a bit annoyed
I though that a kit would be seals and bushes too
- This is the most expensive single item in the build - other than the bike
- These were a whopping £34
- I had to recycle the washers and the doughnut elastomers from the old set as these weren't included either
But never mind, lets crack on
Here are the forks with the unassuming little package from the land of Uncle Sam:
Dissambly is suprisingly easy
So I'll detail the whole thing
Prise out the spring clips with a very small screwdrive and a careful hand:
Undo the way too small allen screw at the bottom of each leg
Get the lower/outer legs off:
They will feel like they aren't going anywhere but persevere and alternate which leg you are pulling
- Of the forks, not the cat or the wife/husband
At length:
Undo the big outer screw on top of each fork leg
And get the kebabs out!
- Bearing in mind I've been in these forks already hence my mostly eaten kebab
Get your new elastomers sorted out:
And if you're me you'll be glad you didn't throw away anything that wasn't beyond use
Because... you got to reuse it all... Cos it ain't in the 'kit'
Tastier looking kebabs:
I reused the washers and the doughnut elastomers, cos none were supplied but I also reused the topout and bottom out elastomers cos they were AOK
I now have spare elastomers for tuning
Reassembly:
I greased the OUTSIDE of the inner legs, do not get any grease on the elastomers
- Except for the funky stuff in the kit - Yes there was grease in the kit! Wow felt like I'd won the lottery
The funky grease is good for lubing the skewer and the inside of the inner legs
Regular grease is best for sliding parts of the legs:
- This stuff will decompose your elastomers over a few months so don't let it get past the bush at the bottom of each inner leg, but you can smear some on the bush, or put some funky grease on there
Lets put the forks on:
Recycled the original headset, YST, complete with no problems so passed up a NOS Deoer XT headset for £20 cos although that is a damned bargain, it's £20 that doesn't NEED to be spent on this build cos the old headset isn't buggered or cosmetically unaccepatable
Got a NOS 150mm Zoom cro-mo stem though:
The old stem was scratched and had rust in places so this was justified
- And it was black not shiny
- And... Oh yeah... new stem cost? £4!!!
...Done a few rounds of frame polishing during that last week
Dull bits are greasy hand prints
... Plenty more polishing to go, I want the frame too be mirror-like!
Was starting to wonder how the build was going as you had been a bit quiet but then thought your prob still polishing away
