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Fox Float 130 RLC

Pau11y

Pau11y

Turbo Monkey
Oct 20, 2004
1,968
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In a web in the corner of your room
I noticed that my relatively new Float 130 RLC has developed a play between the uppers and lowers. I got it a few weeks ago and haven't put much miles on it at all. It was a NOS fork. Is this normal or has my bushings played out? It prob has less than 50 miles on it... The weird thing is when the fork is in its travel there is no play.
Anyone have any clue on what's up?
 
bjanga

bjanga

Turbo Monkey
Dec 25, 2004
1,356
0
San Diego
^No, he is not saying it tops out. Yours has play too.

I think many forks have play/slop. My new Z1 has slop, Marz says it is normal. Have you tried calling fox?
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,220
1,430
NC
Yep, Pau11y, it's how they're designed. I'm going to give you their explanation and you can try to seperate out the fact from marketing BS... I don't really know.

They call them "hydrostatic bushings". Essentially, they have small channels in the bushings and some places where the bushings don't quite snug up against the lowers. At rest, this creates play. When you start riding, though, the oil works its way up the channels and into those gaps, filling them. Supposedly this makes it super plush (because it's oil instead of rubber/plastic that you're sliding against) and still allows it to have no slop.

It sounds fishy to me, but I have no idea really. To my way of thinking, oil is oil and no matter how you cut the bushing, if the oil can get it, it can get out again. That, to me, would mean that when the bushing was needed (e.g. there was lateral stress on the fork), it'd push the oil right out. But Fox forks seem to work well, so maybe I'm wrong :p
 
Pau11y

Pau11y

Turbo Monkey
Oct 20, 2004
1,968
0
In a web in the corner of your room
I did call Fox and they gave me a PDF explaining the same thing BV said. It sounds a bit fishy to me too. I can see this behavior in a high rpm settting like spindle in a hydrostatic bearing of oil where the rotation creates a pressure and keeps the spindle centered. But in a situation where that pressure isn't there, BV is right in that the oil will just get squeezed out. Hum... I wonder if the air pressure helps keep the oil between the legs and bushings. I guess any oil trapped between two rough surface will create its own pressure when a normal force is applied...? Meh... whatever. So long as I don't have to replace bushings on a brand new fork...

Yeah mastercycleman, it isn't playing when I'm bopping down the trail. Infact, the slop is gone when the fork enters it's travel.

Thanx for the replies.
 
bjanga

bjanga

Turbo Monkey
Dec 25, 2004
1,356
0
San Diego
mastercycleman said:
what does he mean, what is play/slop, is it bad, should I freak out, didnt you say it was my front wheel, not my fork?
Click to expand...
it is normal, at least on marz and fox forks, do not freak out, and both your fork and hub have play. The fork is normal, get the hub looked at.

I can feel the slop when the front wheel slams down on something smooth after fully rebounding mid-air, but it is very slight.
 
w00dy

w00dy

In heaven there is no beer
Jun 18, 2004
3,417
52
that's why we drink it here
I just started riding a Fox, it has more play than any other fork I've tried. Rather unsettling, but it doesn't seem to affect the performance negatively. As for their explanation, they're trying to say that their poor tolerances are necessary for an oil film bearing to perform, which is absolute crape.
 
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