Pace RC 39 advice needed

Monkeeee01

Senior Retro Guru
Hey all, please take a look at the pace forks below I have received after purchasing on the bay. They were advertised as very good condtion and in good working order but when I took them to the bike shop to have the steerer cut down and the crown race fitted from my headset they told me that they were knackered and highlighted where you can see the black anodising coming away on the right stanchion. Other than that they are in pretty good condition and feel like they work pretty well.

They said they will work now but not for long once mud and dust moister gets on them then they won't work at all

I am planning on sending them back to pace for a service and if need be replacement stanchions but I think the bike shop are a bit anti Pace so I was hoping for some more opinons

Thanks

Gaz

pace.jpg
 
(There was a pair of these on eBay recently for like £65 buy it now :shock: I decided against it as there was bound to e something wrong).

These dont look all that bad. I would maybe get new seals to keep as much crap out as possible and use boots if riding in mud. I have a feeling a new crown/steerer/steerer assembly wont be cheap. For a SID your looking at a couple of hundred quid as an example.
 
thanks dude, Pace say they can get pretty much all forks back working 100% but I don't know if that will mean new stanchions or just a service
 
I have a pair of RC40's that have done many a muddy ride and the anodising just above the wiper seal is beginning to show wear. The wear is all the way around, and gets gradually less, about 1,5-2 inches up it is almost non existent. So far it does not affect performance in any way that I can tell.

The black style anodising on the air forks is visually more sensitive to this effect as it has more contrast. Your picture is not very clear with the flash effect but I cannot see much wrong with it.

If an RC39 is knackered from lot's of use I'd expect it to show much more wear on it: cable rub on the crown, peeling logo's and oxidiation to the dropouts where the paint is scratched. Is the fork "tight" as in no play between the stanchions and sliders?

A good service with an experienced and independent wrench (no sales) is always a good idea with a used fork.
 
yes they are stiff, they feel like they will work fine it's only the bike shops comments that is scaring me. I want them serviced regardless but I just wanted some more opinions so I don't get taken for a cash cow.

I have seen other pairs on ebay where the black anodising is starting to wear off and the the sellier comments that they work well and are upto 3-4 yrs old.

There are scratches to the drop outs but I am not concerned with them. Also a scratch on each side of the crown which the seller did not show in the auction.
 
have a chat with tim at "fork english" 01751 476815 aka "justbackdated" on here, he used to be the service guy at pace and is an absolute star.

i used to sell pace forks, i always used to recommend not having the ano black finish purely coz it did wear off but usually as long as the forks were serviced enough the only thing that happened was the oil was alot darker when it came out!

the shop may be trying to convince you that buying 2nd hand of ebay or wherever is not a good idea and that you should have bought new product from them. also if they aren't a pace dealer how would they know what is knackered?
 
Yeah, this is what happens if you use them, scratches and wear. For such nice forks I've always found they chip and rub paint easily, especially on thwe crown and dropouts.

No need to be be scared, just get a second opinion and a good guy for the service. Maybe get some leads to your local area here? And remember this quote from FDR: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

Enjoy, they are really nice forks, I got some RC39s and RC41 Fighters to complete the set :wink:
 
Cool, thanks mate. I'll give that guy a call tommorow.

This was what I was worried about with the shop as they were more than happy to take my SID race Titainum and offer to service them for me.

They have always been good to me there so I didn't want to belive they were only doing it for money.

Think I am going to get them fitted, test them and call your contact and Pace tommorow.

Thanks again.
 
Apart from the visual appearance of the stanchions those forks look fine, the carbon is in great shape and that's the structure you need to worry about if ti looks damaged.

PACE black Ti stanchions rub away at even the slightest hint of mud or grit - you could probably rub it away with mink fur!. Seen numerous pairs including my own. It won't affect performance at all - just car park parades..

Get them well greased and oiled up and they'll be great.
 
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