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Debonair? Junk?

Electric_City

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
I didn't really get to ride my Spartan much this year. Probably 75-100 miles, about half on rail-trails. I figured I'd clean it up and take it down the basement for its winter cleaning/overhaul. Washed it, sat on it and it seemed fine and then it went down and stuck @ 50%. Wtf? I contacted Craig and he said that they usually have to be rebuilt every 50hrs. Wtf! I went onto Jenson and sure enough, there's a "50hr service kit". It's $15, but Wtf? Are they really that much of a piece of shit? They're using the same seals as Avid/Sram brakes- Both get stuck in! Lol! I guess I'm used of Fox lasting a season at a time. Oh well.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,903
21,428
Canaderp
Aren't you supposed to service some Fox stuff every 20 hours or something? I never do, but still...

The solution here is to ride more. Keep those seals lubed and moist. :busted:
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,785
5,602
Ottawa, Canada
My last 2 Debonairs have worked well. I just change the lube in them about twice a season. seems to keep them happy. fwiw, I ride on avg about 4 hours/week from april to november.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,149
13,358
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
Funny how pressurized seals age when they're not used.

Yes, debonair shocks are pieces of shit that are completely unusable, just like dhr2 tires (all of them).



PM me your address and I'll mail you a seal kit. I have more of them than shocks.
 
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troy

troy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 3, 2008
1,026
785
Junk'r ? 50hr of riding isn't that bad You know. Take into consideration that it is not particularly well lubed and sealed part of the bike.
 
Electric_City

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
troy said:
Junk'r ? 50hr of riding isn't that bad You know. Take into consideration that it is not particularly well lubed and sealed part of the bike.
Click to expand...
That means I'm riding about 1.5-2 mph.




That sounds about right.
 
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SylentK

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,634
1,084
coloRADo
That happened to mine. But it was at least 2 years ago. I also remember sending it SRAM for another fix or two. It's been fine for the last 1.5 years I want to say. But it also shared riding time with the Fox Van R coil that I bought as the backup shock while the debonair was getting repaired.

I hear the metric shocks are more reliable. Time will tell....
 
toodles

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,824
5,201
Australia
canadmos said:
One beer per seal now, with those frustrating flush fit seals.
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God those are the shittiest 'upgrade/update' ever.


Service intervals are all notoriously short on everything suspension related. I'm sure we all check the shock pressures before every ride?
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,589
2,021
Seattle
jonKranked said:
Everything is technically user serviceable if you know what you're doing and have the right tools.
Click to expand...
Well, sure. But Fox has been posting very good instructions on their website, and making the requisite parts available since pretty much always.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,652
26,890
media blackout
HAB said:
Well, sure. But Fox has been posting very good instructions on their website, and making the requisite parts available since pretty much always.
Click to expand...
It used to take a little digging to find the info but it was there.


Manitou has been putting out EXCELLENT video guides on how to service their newer forks.
 
F

FarkinRyan

Monkey
Dec 15, 2003
611
193
Pemberton, BC
So, Electric_City I put it to you that the problem is 50% Rock Shox air seals are rubbish and 50% Devinci Spartan's are hard on air shocks in general.

You should be able to unstick the shock by airing it up to high pressure and forcibly extending it. If you can unstick it, set it back to your riding pressure, equalize it and then perform the old 'how stiff is my frame' test where you lay the bike over at 45 degrees, hold one grip and stand on the outside pedal, see if you can get an air seal to burp. You will be replacing your air seals even if you can unstick it and yes, you will replace RS more frequently than Fox seals.
 
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Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,630
AK
i've had a couple Monarch+s, I usually serve them around 2x a season if they are on my bike for most the season. This season I ran a coil most of the time, so I only served the monarch at the beginning of the riding season. They are easy to service and that seems to keep them going just fine.
 
captainspauldin

captainspauldin

intrigued by a pole
May 14, 2007
1,297
192
Jersey Shore
HAB said:
Well, sure. But Fox has been posting very good instructions on their website, and making the requisite parts available since pretty much always.
Click to expand...
Back when I had a 36 they only had instructions on how to change dust seals and adjust travel on the website.. anything else you had to send in to get serviced. But I guess that was awhile ago now(2009 maybe).
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,589
2,021
Seattle
captainspauldin said:
Back when I had a 36 they only had instructions on how to change dust seals and adjust travel on the website.. anything else you had to send in to get serviced. But I guess that w Ias awhile ago now(2009 maybe).
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They were a bit buried and hard to find, but they've been there since the mid-2000s.
 
dcamp29

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
Electric_City said:
I didn't really get to ride my Spartan much this year. Probably 75-100 miles, about half on rail-trails. I figured I'd clean it up and take it down the basement for its winter cleaning/overhaul. Washed it, sat on it and it seemed fine and then it went down and stuck @ 50%. Wtf? I contacted Craig and he said that they usually have to be rebuilt every 50hrs. Wtf! I went onto Jenson and sure enough, there's a "50hr service kit". It's $15, but Wtf? Are they really that much of a piece of shit? They're using the same seals as Avid/Sram brakes- Both get stuck in! Lol! I guess I'm used of Fox lasting a season at a time. Oh well.
Click to expand...

Try to get the shock un-stuck-down by pulling the seat up from the wheel to extend the suspension. You need to get the main air piston back up to the bypass dimple. Putting more air in might help extend the shock also.


You should probably service your stuff once in a while. It helps. If you have no lube oil and a bunch of dirt in there (this happens over time esp in Monarchs) the aluminum bits will be scratched and ruined. A $15 rebuild kit once a season isn't the worst thing.
 
Electric_City

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
All of my bikes get a complete overhaul every winter. But for as little as this was used, it surprised me that it got stuck down.

I don't think it will take much more air than I had in it. I'm not 150lbs. Hahaha
 
Electric_City

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
So due to this negative pressure I assume, it seems impossible to get the air can to spin (I'm using a strap wrench). On the bottom of the can is an o-ring that holds the sleeve on... This negative pressure scares the shit out of me BTW... So here's my 2 questions- How do I turn the canister without turning the sleeve? And can that ring be punctured with a pin or something to release the negative pressure?
 
D

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
I have a monarch + rc3 hv that got stuck down in the travel last weekend while riding, total pita! It doesn't have much ride time on it, but I did slide the air sleeve down a few times, trying to get it off and see how many spacers are in it. Maybe i scratched an o ring.. I still haven't got the sleeve to come completely off. It seems like the hv can doesn't slide down and off as easily as the debonair can.

I did find this article though. https://nsmb.com/articles/care-for-your-debonair/
 
D

Dirk77

Monkey
Feb 15, 2014
233
48
I had to pull the $hit out of my rear wheel to get the shock to go past the dimple into the positive air side. Then i deflated and reflated and rode the rest of the day.
 
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