[Tmeyer]

my velvet RL had some bad creaking problems once my buddy put it on his bike and started riding it.. x fusion gave me the idea of turning the bike upside down and pouring tri flow in the steerer/crown junction.. so far no creaking. i just hope this isnt an issue for this fork.

part of me also really wishes they just uni-crowned every damn fork they make.. not sure why they dont..

The paste or whatever they use to fit the stanctions is strange and it's just friction between them and the crown from what I've gathered. The fork is fine.

I know the fork is fine but the sound it makes is seriously painful. I tried the Tri Flow fix and it worked for a day or so. It's pretty dry here in UT. Just frustrated as I love the fork. Lets hope their loctite fix does the trick.

 

[Mr. Scribbles]

In my experience all single crown forks over 140mm travel end up creaking. I have had all of them (marz,rock shox, fox) do it.

 

[blindboxx2334]

I know the fork is fine but the sound it makes is seriously painful. I tried the Tri Flow fix and it worked for a day or so. It's pretty dry here in UT. Just frustrated as I love the fork. Lets hope their loctite fix does the trick.

weird. did you let it sit over night? IIRC, my buddy put a good amount in and let it soak overnight.. although he revealed to me later that his integrated headset wasnt greased, he greased it and that seemed to really help too.. not sure why he didnt do that in the first place, for christs sake, he even works at a shop... (i should have hit him for that)

and yeah 'seriously painful' is an understatement.. my buddy weighs more than i do, so we were both scared for him.. he actually didnt ride it for a week until we got that tip from x-fusion.. now to just deal with these cracking seals hes got..

 

[big-ted]

X-fusion told you guys to fix your creaking forks with tri-flow?! That'd scare the crap out of me. If it's creaking, there's movement occurring at the interface. If there's movement, it will get worse. Shouldn't be any movement in a cryofit interface. All the tri-flow is doing is allowing it to move without creaking...

 

[WestCoastHucker]

X-fusion told you guys to fix your creaking forks with tri-flow?!

people that listen to this and do it aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. tools, yes; sharp tools, no...

 

[4130biker]

Yeah, I stop riding a fork right away when it creaks. I'd be a little annoyed that they aren't just replacing the CSU.

 

[blindboxx2334]

X-fusion told you guys to fix your creaking forks with tri-flow?! That'd scare the crap out of me. If it's creaking, there's movement occurring at the interface. If there's movement, it will get worse. Shouldn't be any movement in a cryofit interface. All the tri-flow is doing is allowing it to move without creaking...

heres how i look at it.. you can fix the creaking or not.. i understand what youre saying, but they specifically told me they wouldnt replace anything on my fork because of what frame im running it on.. so this is good as it gets. and my fork isnt getting any worse.. its just quite now

yeah its still moving around in there, but you gotta realize that its going to do that either way.. not sure how that qualifies me for 'not the sharpest tool in the shed', since it really is x fusions fault.

said it once, and ill say it again, if they had taken more than 2 minutes to think this out they should have just uni-crowned all their forks and skipped all these headaches..

kinda scary cause im considering this DH fork.. ill have to wait a couple of weeks after they drop and see if i hear anyone saying it creaks.. cause i am not dealing with this all over again.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

...not sure how that qualifies me for 'not the sharpest tool in the shed', since it really is x fusions fault...

you already answered your own question...

...my fork isnt getting any worse.. its just quiet now...

but hey, i guess ignorance really is bliss...

it's the equivalent of a cracked frame, which of course, you probably think putting tri-flow on the crack solves that problem too...

 

[blindboxx2334]

lol. i ride mostly street and single track trails.. so this fork has seen its fair share of abuse and a lot of miles, im not really worried about it, nor is the person who is riding it now. hell my buddy weighs another 30-35 lbs than i do, and it still is good to go (even with cracked seals).. its not like he puts tri flow in it every week or two. just a one and done kinda thing. but what do i know, im ignorant

 

[blindboxx2334]

it's the equivalent of a cracked frame, which of course, you probably think putting tri-flow on the crack solves that problem too...

nope. i use gorilla tape for that.

so you're telling me that every x fusion fork that makes creaking noise at the crown/steerer junction is completely junk? my fox makes noise too, just not as much, so that must mean its on its way out too? gonna have to agree to disagree with you on that one

 

[bdamschen]

...wait? so your fork was creaking at the crow/steer tube junction and you're fine with just putting tri flow in there and calling it a day?!?!

One of these days that's going to bite you. Like badly.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

...my fox makes noise too, just not as much...

when i called fox and told them my 36 was creaking at the interface, they replaced the whole upper assembly. i'm sure if tri-flo was an adequate substitute, they would have just told me to buy a few bottles and oil it up...

 

[Udi]

In my experience all single crown forks over 140mm travel end up creaking. I have had all of them (marz,rock shox, fox) do it.

I've seen virtually all brands do it too. Single crown forks over 140mm should really have steerer diameter greater than 1 1/8" at the crown, whether it's overdrive or 1.5" tapered / straight.

X-fusion told you guys to fix your creaking forks with tri-flow?! That'd scare the crap out of me. If it's creaking, there's movement occurring at the interface. If there's movement, it will get worse. Shouldn't be any movement in a cryofit interface. All the tri-flow is doing is allowing it to move without creaking...

Agreed, pretty dodgy thing for a manufacturer to recommend. They should be replacing the CSU or keeping quiet for legality's sake.

 

[tacubaya]

X-fusion told you guys to fix your creaking forks with tri-flow?! That'd scare the crap out of me. If it's creaking, there's movement occurring at the interface. If there's movement, it will get worse. Shouldn't be any movement in a cryofit interface. All the tri-flow is doing is allowing it to move without creaking...

It's not a cryofit.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

It's not a cryofit.

oh, so the movement is ok?

 

[tacubaya]

All manufacturers (especially Fox) have very serious issues with creaking in the CSU, especially in the crown-stanchion interface. CSUs are not creaking from the steerer-crown interface.

This creak mainly occurs because the PRESSFIT (not cryofit) interference tolerance is not appropriate or because of excessive friction between the crown and stanchion surfaces. I have internal memos dated back to 2007 or so from Fox advising service centers to use anti-seize grease in stanchion pressing procedures to stop creaking CSUs, so this is nothing new...

One fix is to use Loctite bearing retainer compounds, which are widely used in pressfits in other industries and allow slacker tolerances (cheaper, faster to manufacture) with good fits (large pullout forces, no excessive press deformation or buckling, quiet and durable interface). Using loctite fixing compounds in already assembled CSUs is not ideal but it is possible, given that the viscosity of the compound allow enough capillary action for proper penetration and also having a compound with enough strength.

I have personally investigated this issue thoroughly and tried almost every combination of dry, dry film, wet lubricant as well as retainer compounds and I am pretty certain there is a fix that does not requiere a new CSU (although a new CSU with better tolerances or assembled with Loctite is preferable of course).

Another thing I have to say is that creaky CSUs do not pose any danger to the rider as even with creaks they pass pullout and fatigue tests without any problems.

 

[buckoW]

All manufacturers (especially Fox) have very serious issues with creaking in the CSU, especially in the crown-stanchion interface. CSUs are not creaking from the steerer-crown interface.

This creak mainly occurs because the PRESSFIT (not cryofit) interference tolerance is not appropriate or because of excessive friction between the crown and stanchion surfaces. I have internal memos dated back to 2007 or so from Fox advising service centers to use anti-seize grease in stanchion pressing procedures to stop creaking CSUs, so this is nothing new...

One fix is to use Loctite bearing retainer compounds, which are widely used in pressfits in other industries and allow slacker tolerances (cheaper, faster to manufacture) with good fits (large pullout forces, no excessive press deformation or buckling, quiet and durable interface). Using loctite fixing compounds in already assembled CSUs is not ideal but it is possible, given that the viscosity of the compound allow enough capillary action for proper penetration and also having a compound with enough strength.

I have personally investigated this issue thoroughly and tried almost every combination of dry, dry film, wet lubricant as well as retainer compounds and I am pretty certain there is a fix that does not requiere a new CSU (although a new CSU with better tolerances or assembled with Loctite is preferable of course).

Another thing I have to say is that creaky CSUs do not pose any danger to the rider as even with creaks they pass pullout and fatigue tests without any problems.

Totally agree, every creaky fork I have had was at the stantions and not at the steerer. They all do it.

 

[allen]

I've done the loctite rentention compound fix and it's been quiet ever since. The only thing I would suggest is give it a few days to cure. After 24hrs I still had noise, so I let it sit a few more days while upside down.

Al

 

[wood booger]

All manufacturers (especially Fox) have very serious issues with creaking in the CSU, especially in the crown-stanchion interface. CSUs are not creaking from the steerer-crown interface.

This creak mainly occurs because the PRESSFIT (not cryofit) interference tolerance is not appropriate or because of excessive friction between the crown and stanchion surfaces. I have internal memos dated back to 2007 or so from Fox advising service centers to use anti-seize grease in stanchion pressing procedures to stop creaking CSUs, so this is nothing new...

One fix is to use Loctite bearing retainer compounds, which are widely used in pressfits in other industries and allow slacker tolerances (cheaper, faster to manufacture) with good fits (large pullout forces, no excessive press deformation or buckling, quiet and durable interface). Using loctite fixing compounds in already assembled CSUs is not ideal but it is possible, given that the viscosity of the compound allow enough capillary action for proper penetration and also having a compound with enough strength.

I have personally investigated this issue thoroughly and tried almost every combination of dry, dry film, wet lubricant as well as retainer compounds and I am pretty certain there is a fix that does not requiere a new CSU (although a new CSU with better tolerances or assembled with Loctite is preferable of course).

Another thing I have to say is that creaky CSUs do not pose any danger to the rider as even with creaks they pass pullout and fatigue tests without any problems.

Yeah, tell that to my buddy who continued to ride a creaky 'zoke until both legs snapped at the crown and he ended up with broken vertabre. Marzocchi thought it was a problem considering he got a six figure settlement.

At some point the movement which makes the sound will cause damage which developes into a crack and propagates. There is no way you will know until it breaks.

I'd love to see the test lab data from a fork that has been creaking for a season or two. Considering that many brand new forks have problems passing test standards like CEN, I don't think a creaky, fatigued one has a chance.

 

[tacubaya]

Yeah, tell that to my buddy who continued to ride a creaky 'zoke until both legs snapped at the crown and he ended up with broken vertabre. Marzocchi thought it was a problem considering he got a six figure settlement.

At some point the movement which makes the sound will cause damage which developes into a crack and propagates. There is no way you will know until it breaks.

I'd love to see the test lab data from a fork that has been creaking for a season or two. Considering that many brand new forks have problems passing test standards like CEN, I don't think a creaky, fatigued one has a chance.

Fox has thousands of creaky forks out there, some as old as 2006 and 2007 and I haven't heard of a single catastrophic failure. I do not know the conditions the fork as ridden or the problem your buddy's fork had so I can't comment on that.

By the way, Marzocchi uses cryofit, which generate a tighter interface fit and in some cases (where initial dimensions were not within spec) generate excessive deformation and stress that can result in failure in high load applications.

 

[Nick]

Been riding 40s in east coast rox since 2006 with no punctures.
The fox decals have also done a great job preventing lift/shuttle damage.
Still think the guards are gimmicky.

I cut and applied a few strips of the heavy mil 3M tape I use on my frame on my Fox 40 lowers. Helps prevent shuttle rash and saves the lowers from minor scrapes due to being, you know, a DH fork.