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Part rebuild tools

KenW449

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
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Floating down the whiskey river...
What are the basic tools needs to rebuild forks, shocks and droppers? I know there are probably certain tools needed for different brands and models but im just looking for the basics and will go from there.

I've had my bike about a year now. I bought the dropper aftermarket as my bike did not come with one, and i just got a cheaper $140 dropper to see if it was worth spending the money to have a one. At this point, its basically just a heavy, expensive, standard seat post. I would like to take it apart and clean it to get it working again. I will upgrade to a better dropper for the main bike so this will probably go on the HT once i get one.

The shock has been replaced by a coil and will likely never go bike on the bike unless the coil has a catastrophic failure.
I would like to rebuild it and keep it as a back up.

Fork still work fine, not in need of a rebuild yet but would like to have the tool available when it is time.

Thanks Moankies!
 
StiHacka

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,505
In hell. Welcome!
I don't know if there is a universal answer. Start with service manuals / videos for the parts you have. They'll list tools you need for the job. Some parts you can't really rebuild at home unless you have access to expensive equipment (like vacuum bleeding of shocks or seat posts or very special tools that are not for sale).
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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sti is spot on. vast majority of suspension components and droppers (including the user serviceable ones) still require proprietary tools for service.

if you can give us some specifics of what components you have that you want to service and what specific service you want to do that would be a good starting point.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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that being said, ease of user service has become a major deciding factor for me when choosing what component to buy. for instance, i just bought a new dropper back in december. i went with the e13 TRS because it's 100% user serviceable with standard bike tools (torx wrenches and a cassette tool).

manitou has been killing it in this department with their new stuff as well. i've got a mattoc, and they have a 15 minute video on youtube on how to fully disassemble and service it. does require a few special tools which they do sell, but they are also ones you could modify on your own (cassette tool with a cutout, some thin wall / flat ground sockets).
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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KenW449 said:
That's probably what i am going to upgrade too.
Click to expand...
i've been REALLY happy with it. they're gonna releasing a 175mm drop version too. some people are turned off by the 4 indexed positions, i've come to really like it because it offers some consistency / predictability in terms of saddle height.
 
KenW449

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
2,704
329
Floating down the whiskey river...
jonKranked said:
i've been REALLY happy with it. they're gonna releasing a 175mm drop version too. some people are turned off by the 4 indexed positions, i've come to really like it because it offers some consistency / predictability in terms of saddle height.
Click to expand...
i think the E.13's were on the Demo's. They were fast and consistent from what i experienced. A guy at my work just got one on his bike, and he loves it.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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KenW449 said:
i think the E.13's were on the Demo's. They were fast and consistent from what i experienced. A guy at my work just got one on his bike, and he loves it.
Click to expand...
plus if you do any riding in cold weather there's no hydraulic anything to slow down. been riding mine all winter
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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the remote is really nice too, most reviews i've read consider it one of if not the best dropper remote out there. it is one of the heavier droppers out there, but it comes with a 5 year warranty (which i don't think any other droppers come with a warranty that long)
 
6thElement

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,956
13,207
I've had a couple of issues with ours.

On my wifes 125mm it was missing the brass indexing key to stop the saddle cradle twisting on the stanchion, e13 sent a new one.
On my 150mm it doesn't click fully extended every time, even with the new springs they sent it still seemed to require a thigh squeeze and pull in the first test yesterday.
 
Adventurous

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
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Crawlorado
You'll also need circlip/retaining ring pliers. There are a number of ones with replaceable tips, but I'd stay away from those as I've never had a pair work half as well as ones with fixed tips.

You'll also need a graduated cyclinder or some semi-precision measuring device, and I've found having a turkey baster or syringe handy as well.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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Adventurous said:
You'll also need circlip/retaining ring pliers. There are a number of ones with replaceable tips, but I'd stay away from those as I've never had a pair work half as well as ones with fixed tips.

You'll also need a graduated cyclinder or some semi-precision measuring device, and I've found having a turkey baster or syringe handy as well.
Click to expand...
a syringe is more accurate than a graduated cylinder, especially for the oil volumes most forks are using these days.

and get a syringe designed for use with suspension fluid. many times the rubber seal on the plunger tip will react and swell making it difficult if not impossible to depress.
 
rockofullr

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
jonKranked said:
went with the e13 TRS
Click to expand...
KenW449 said:
probably what i am going to upgrade too
Click to expand...
jonKranked said:
i've been REALLY happy with it
Click to expand...
KenW449 said:
i think the E.13's were on the Demo's. They were fast and consistent from what i experienced
Click to expand...
jonKranked said:
the remote is really nice too,
Click to expand...
The 150mm TRS dropper was OEM on the bike I bought over the holidays. I agree with everything you guys have said but I have a serious gripe with it.

I've only been riding it for 1.5 months and already it's developed serious side to side play (about 15deg). This is obviously a know issue, a riding buddy has the same post with the same issue only worse (about 30deg play) and their troubleshooting PDF features discusses how to fix it.

I'm debating if I want to bother trying to warranty it or just fix it myself since I don't have a backup. Looks like it just involves some disassembly and loctite-ing.
 
Adventurous

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
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rockofullr said:
I don't need any special tools but it's still a pain in the ass to disassemble this shit.

I'll probably do it in the next week at some point. Got some ski tuning work to do this week.
Click to expand...
I'd learn how to do it yourself, cause chances are it's gonna happen again.
 
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