RR: Clapham Tunnels Ride - 'awesome!' Ahem.....

(Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).

The weekend arrived, I had my nice new pair of chunky Nokian Gazzaloddi
2.6's in hand, and I decided I definitely wanted to get a decent ride in on Sunday (just gone),
so I searched for my club rides list. After not finding it anywhere, I called up the LBS, and
John informed me the folks were meeting at the LBS at 9:00 a.m. (in the morning), on Sunday,
and the ride was the Clapham Tunnels (loop) ride, starting off from near a place called summink
like 'Feizor'.

'Whooo-hooooo' I thought out loud, what, with me having enjoyed that ride quite a bit the last
(first) time ',;~}~

I was a bit concerned, because I hadn't been on a long-ish, tough going, off-road ride for some
time, so I didn't rate my stamina, or my skills, and my back was suspect to say the least, not to
mention my knees..........heheheheheh.........

........Did a bit of fettlin' and fitted the tyres on Saturday, inflated to an unusually high (for
me) 25 psi (checked after I wrote that, seems my pump is out at the low end - I read about 18 psi
with the big hose). Sunday, up at 7:00, shit, showered, shaved (? - nah, I didn't do that shaving
thing...), collected my gear together, then Kath kindly gave the BASE and me a lift to the LBS for
to be meeting up with the club folks.

Well, one thing led to another, and next thing I knows, I'm in that 'Bloody Yorkshire', just outside
Settle, near Feizor (or summink), and putting the bike back together. Oh, I put on my leg armour for
this ride too........figured I'd prolly need it knowing me, and knowing the ride......

Weather was looking good as we 11(10 1/2? - There was the young son of one of the guys with us -
good skills he had.....) folks pulled out of the car park, and crossed the road for the trail head,
and our first little climb.

Made it up the first steep bits with only one dab (too little mo'!), and found myself up front -
tyres were gripping nicely, thankyouverymuch! I was 'chuffed', and headed over to open the gate for
the others. We are now in a field with some nice swoopy vertical plane contours (aka 'bumps'), over
some of which, I got me some good air! Oh, but not like the little lad did..fearless little
bastard....heheheh.......He was giving his own running commentary the whole damned ride! Quite
entertaining, good kid ',;~}~

Again, I'm in front all the way through, opening the gates, and tearing off, grinning bigly. We
finally exit the fields down a piece of doubletrack with some good limestone bedrock chunks to
launch off (this whole area is limestone), past the farm, and very briefly, we are on the road. Turn
right off the road and onto a section of s/t that runs between two old dry stone walls - great stuff
this is! It's narrow enough, full of loose rocks, roots, part buried boulders, slabs of limestone
ledgey formation thingies emerging at strange angles from the earth, and mud! Bill, one of the older
guys of the group, and quite a freak for speed and the rough stuff is in front now on his
pre-monocoque Marin FS, and I'm hanging on his tail.

The bike is behaving exceptionally well, and just rolling over the bumps and lumps, railing and
ripping round the corners, down the muddy dips and up the ledges without even a hint that it might
even want to lose traction. I'm having a hoot, a blast, a freaking great time - the earth, the bike
and me, as one (but not in the same sense as when you crash, obverously).

We exit this walled trail onto a short section of road, up the hill, round the corner to the left,
behind a couple of nice cottages, and onto some more similar trail, but all climbing. Again, I take
the lead here and spin on up over the loose rocks, part buried slick-slabs (and I mean polished
'shiny' slick), through the mud pits, round the corners - it's all great!

We get to the ford, and I ride the bridge - pop up the front wheel onto the ledge of it, pull the
back wheel up behind, and across. Turn at the other end, back across, pull a wheelie drop back off
the ledge - just having a play while the others gather. After they arrive, I get convinced to ride
the river ford itself, and so go for it with my usual enthusiasm (heheh....), spinning madly and as
smoothly as possible, and plough through the water, right through and over the hidden rocks and
green slime covered boulders, and I clean it, wet through, heheheh.......

When I get back to the others and come to stop, I notice a brake howl, look down, and there's fork
oil all down the left fork leg,and on the rotor, again, despite the new seals! Well, I'm gutted, but
all I can do is wipe it off, cover the rotor with heaps of mud, and tie a rag around the fork leg to
stop the oil passing and dripping on the rotor again. Brakes soon start working good again, and we
are off, back tracking a short way from the ford, sharp left, and again, we're onto this dry stone
walled in s/t, this time, mostly a slight downhill.

I'm at the back here, as I'd hung back to sort my brake/fork out and left the others to go on, but I
soon catch up and take any safe opportunity to pass those who desire to take a more sedate pace, and
then, I'm again flying the good flight, eating up the obstacles nicely, and really having a fair old
bit of fun catching up to Alex.

The trail levels out, onto farm track, round to the right, then left again back onto the old
walled-way, a bit more slight descending, then the trail and walls decay somewhat. There are sudden
piles of stream washed loose rocks, where the run offs from the hill to the side and front of us
cross the trail. I see Alex fail to make one down, through the rocky water, and up the ledge move,
slow down to let him get out, then go for it, and pass the move, and himself, cleanly.

I'm pushing on in front now, and making every technical part, no dabs, no problems, and I'm psyching
myself up for the approaching climb - the trail here gets steeper and steeper, as it winds in a
leftward arc up to the crag ridge above. This section nearly killed me last time, and I was
expecting it to be even worse this time, but I just kept out front, and kept on spinning that little
gear. I'd take it slow and easy on the smooth sections, then as I approached any rocky outcroppings,
I'd spin quick with the energy I'd saved, so as to have the momentum to make the moves - slow, pick
line, faster, faster, un-weight the front, step on the pedal, chest almost upon the bars, back wheel
hits, move weight backwards a touch, keep the traction happening, pedal hard but smooth again, tight
twitch turning of the bars to keep the right line, the one that wiggles all over the bloody place
trying to escape me (bastard, heheheh.....) - complete the move! Thrilled ',;~}~

The whole climb is like this, steep, but with enough smooth bits between the moves to be able to
measure the pace, save the energy for those few explosive demanding moments. I'm halfway up the
steepest part, and my back is hurting now from being bent so low over the bars, but I'm steadily
pushing on, and still making the moves. I find the bike seems to be steering nice and precisely, the
big heavy tyres are giving their all to keep the power transferred to the ground, their low pressure
squishiness is helping to take the jar and bounce out of the moves, and I'm at the top, the last
move! This move is a steep series of small natural limestone step/ledges, I know I can make it, but
in my state of mind and body, I dumbly fail to figure out what to do. I pick my line, spin like mad,
get half way, then the back loses traction for no more than 1/8th wheel revolution, but I'm stopped.
I pushed over the rock and sat at the top, waiting for the group. I remembered that I should have
changed up a gear and paid for some more momentum to make that one, but what the hell - I looked
down the hill, and the others were all pushing their bikes already, bar 2 or 3, who'd climbed back
on at the last smooth section before the top - I figured I'd done well enough.

I sat and waited, and I was a bit pleased with myself, and not a small amount surprised - I'd
not expected to do so well stamina wise, and certainly not technically, I mean, I suck at
technical! ',;~}

We sat and ate, the wind picked up, then it dropped, leaving us in surprisingly warm sunshine. We
each adjusted our attire to suit, then proceeded left along a fairly level, but rather technical
section that took us over well eroded, broken 'limestone pavement' interspersed with ledgey dirt
s/t. I had a bit of fun playing on this, dabbed only once on an easy bit (heh...), then we were at
the bottom of a short but steep climb, which turned out to be a hike-a-bike for all.

Up past the walkers, smiles, laughter and pleasantries exchanged, and we are up on a wide expanse of
sloping fell land. We all turn and look down to where we have just been, and the view is amazing -
spread out before us are row after row of eroded limestone strips interspersed with couch grass and
heather, and beyond, the large imposing bleakness of the dark and white hills and peaks, and the
steep climb we made earlier.

We continue on to the left up the bridleway towards the tops above Clapham, all pretty uneventful -
I manage to catch a nice 2 1/2 foot or so drop off a grass and sand ledge on the trail, notice that
there have been motos up here, ride over the muddy dips and whoops toward the final high point
before the descent into Clapham.

The wind suddenly picks up, the skies darken ominously, the rain comes, gently, then torrentially as
we get nearer the cairn we are aiming for. We pick up our pace, shrug off the hail as it starts to
bounce down, then at the top, put our w/proof shells on, and set up for the DH.

Alex sends me first and requests I open the gates as I go. I tear off down the sandy s/t. I get a
bit of air off a couple of steep drop-aways, more than I'd planned, and grinning, make the first
gate. I open it as some of the others catch up. They take charge, and I'm off again down a really
fun stretch of very rocky d/t. Heh - warnings are being shouted to those behind about the nature of
these next sections, and a reminder that the shiny slick limestone is now soaked and mud covered. I
take heed of my own inner caution, but the grip of the big tyres encourages me to go for it, push
myself that bit more, and with confidence I haven't had on this sort of ground much before, I do,
and I'm loving it!!!!!! Heheheheheh-whoooooooooooooOOOOOO! I'm launching off boulders, small drops,
twisting and turning, no sign of slipping at all! The new and improved stiffness of the Bomber is
telling now, as the wheel goes exactly where I want it to without hesitation, bouncing off loose
boulders without twisting away in weakness, soaking it all up. More gates opened and ridden through,
more fun rocky trail, more jumps and drops, and I'm at the top of a short but very steep section.
This bit of trail is fairly wide, but entirely populated by loose, round, smooth lime boulders of
all shapes and sizes, from cow-head to baby head to squirrel head, save a small strip down the right
hand side. I wait for a couple of the guys to catch up.

Bill and another go first, and I follow. Bill, as ever, is making good speed down the right hand
side, the smoother part, and calling warnings back as to how slick it is. I soon catch him and the
other guy (sorry other guy - forgot your name!), but I want more speed, want to push my personal
boundaries forward some, am more than up for it, so I plough straight into the danger zone in the
trails middle, at full pelt, and fly past them both. I'm fairly far back on the bike, and just
pointing it where I want to be, it feels more like surfing than mountain biking! I'm off the brakes
completely and still pedalling, and the bike and myself, we just seem to float over it all!
Heheheheheh - I'm grinning and feeling quite deliriously ecstatic, and in no time at all, I'm at the
bottom of the dip, then half way up the following short rise, and riding up the slick ledge moves
with ease - no dabs! I'm dumb struck and glowing all through.

We gather once again, then turn right down the trail to Clapham Tunnels, steep and foot polished,
wet and rocky, flying downward, hopping the drainage culverts and into the sudden dark tunnels.
Brakes on here, as the light at the end is all we can see. Out of the tunnels, and down into the
village for a well earned pint of Copper Dragon and a bite to eat.

The weather is miserable now, and we all are wet, so we decide to shorten the ride a little. We head
back up through the tunnels. I make the move over the first culvert, dab on the second (bugger!).
Get back on the bike, and tiredly crank my way up the hill. I neither pause, dab, nor spin out the
rear wheel again, and soon, I'm at the top, and breathless. Short wait for some of the others, and
we take the trail straight ahead that leads down to the bottom of the earlier large, steep hill
climb. More slickness, and I can't see a thing - glasses on, steam and running water, glasses off,
rain filled eyes. But hey, I'm out front again and loving it! I arrive at the bottom of the hill,
where Alex and Bill soon join me. They have tales of sliding around a lot, and some very close
calls. I didn't even realise it was slippy - damn these XC types and their skinny tyred ways,
heheheheh.....

We are soon on the walled s/t from earlier, going in the other direction back towards the cars. It's
muddy now, and I have to stop a few times while those in front recover themselves from lost
traction. I am let to pass, and the problem ceases for me - I have the Power of Grippingness strong
beneath me. I ride another ford and clean it, more muddy s/t up the a trail junction, I stop and
wipe the rain from my eyes. Suddenly, there is a rush of heat in my belly, everything in my field of
vision becomes brighter and more colourful, I feel light headed.....?!?!?!?!?........... I'm
bonking! Hell fire, that came from out of nowhere, and so suddenly! I grab the last of my food from
the pack and wolf it down, swigs of water, 2 minutes, and I'm feeling better. Start climbing again
up the walled trail, through the mud, pushing, tyred now but still going, up and over the root and
rock ledges, making the moves, until the bike refuses to drop into granny gear at the base of the
steepest section. Damn that sloppy, rattley mech! No worries, I just go with it - some moves I make,
some I don't......

We are back at the cars in no time, and the rain has stopped. We have a laugh and a giggle about the
day's events as we change into dryer clothes. Kath and her daughter arrive to scoop me and the bike
up, the sun shines again. Bike and gear loaded, hugs and kisses exchanged, I make my farewells to
the folks, say my thank-you's, and off we drive. I'm very tired now. Kath tells me she knows I've
had a great time because of the huge stupid grin on my face. She tells me how happy she is for that,
asks me when I'm joining these folks again for a ride, smiles, takes me home.

Cheers!!!!!!!!! ',;~}~

Shaun aRe - 17/18 miles was the shortened ride. Hard, fun, full miles - can't wait to do it
again ',;~}~

P.s. - I didn't do great by a lot of folks standards, and the moves were probably quite easy for
many, but the improvement over my own norm is what surprised me, what enthused me so much.

P.P. - Anyone know why TF the new seals on the Bombers would suddenly go again after just 2 or 3
weeks?!?!?!? Scratched stanchion?!?!? Cheers!

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> (Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).
>
<snip very fine RR>

You need to buy new tyres more often! hehehe... Most excellent stuff. Sounds a lot like where I ride
in West Virginia. Hope you get the fork sorted, new seals huh? Maybe a scratched stanchion?

Trails soaked here and stuck being on call for work, thanks for the 'ride'.

Mike

 

Shaun Rimmer wrote:

> (Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).
>
>
> Shaun aRe - 17/18 miles was the shortened ride. Hard, fun, full miles - can't wait to do it
> again ',;~}~
>
> P.s. - I didn't do great by a lot of folks standards, and the moves were probably quite easy for
> many, but the improvement over my own norm is what surprised me, what enthused me so much.
>
> P.p.s. - Anyone know why TF the new seals on the Bombers would suddenly go again after just 2 or 3
> weeks?!?!?!? Scratched stanchion?!?!? Cheers!

Buggeration!!! that was a cool RR! ;-D

Jimbo(san)

 

Michael Dart <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > (Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).
> >
> <snip very fine RR>
>
> You need to buy new tyres more often! hehehe... Most excellent stuff.

Cheers Mike!

While I am fully aware that sooooo much is down to the rider themselves, I feel it's only fair to
give props where due, to the tools, and those tyres do the business......if you don't mind hauling
near 6 lb's of rubber around, heheheh.......

> Sounds a lot like where I ride in West Virginia. Hope you get the fork sorted,

Me too!

> new seals huh?

Yup - just fitted them recently.

> Maybe a scratched stanchion?

Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can do that you are aware of?
Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the leaky side (?!?!?)......

..... If it turns out there is a surface mark on the left side that has sharp edges and it has torn
the sealing surface, would gently piening(sp?) it with the ball side of a steel hammer before again
replaceing the seals cure it, do you think? - There is absolutley no way I can spring to have it
replaced........

> Trails soaked here and stuck being on call for work,

Bummer! - Soaked trails are the norm here, so most still ride (not an issue like it is stateside).
Why do you think I'm prepared to pay for those tyres and drag the extra weight (uphill as well!)
around? Heheheheh........

> thanks for the 'ride'.

Hey, your welcome - glad you enjoyed it! Hope you manage to get out soon 'dewd' ',;~}~

Cheers!

Shaun aRe

 

jimbo(san) <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > (Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).
> >
> >
> > Shaun aRe - 17/18 miles was the shortened ride. Hard, fun, full miles - can't wait to do it
> > again ',;~}~
> >
> > P.s. - I didn't do great by a lot of folks standards, and the moves were probably quite easy
> > for many, but the improvement over my own norm is
what
> > surprised me, what enthused me so much.
> >
> > P.p.s. - Anyone know why TF the new seals on the Bombers would suddenly
go
> > again after just 2 or 3 weeks?!?!?!? Scratched stanchion?!?!? Cheers!
>
> Buggeration!!! that was a cool RR! ;-D
>
> Jimbo(san)

 

jimbo(san) <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > (Oh, this might be a bit, errmmm, 'long'.....).
> >
> >
> > Shaun aRe - 17/18 miles was the shortened ride. Hard, fun, full miles - can't wait to do it
> > again ',;~}~
> >
> > P.s. - I didn't do great by a lot of folks standards, and the moves were probably quite easy
> > for many, but the improvement over my own norm is
what
> > surprised me, what enthused me so much.
> >
> > P.p.s. - Anyone know why TF the new seals on the Bombers would suddenly
go
> > again after just 2 or 3 weeks?!?!?!? Scratched stanchion?!?!? Cheers!
>
> Buggeration!!! that was a cool RR! ;-D
>
> Jimbo(san)

(Whoops! Sent last one too early!)

By heck, I am glad that thee enjoyed it Jimbo!

A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more
I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more
I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was!
I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good
ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want
more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want
more I want more A good ride it was! I want more I want more I want more
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heheheheh........

',;~}~

Shaun aRe

 

> > Maybe a scratched stanchion?
>
> Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can do that you are aware of?
> Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the leaky side (?!?!?)......
>

Could be too, when you took the trip through the water, some grit washed into the seal, or perhaps
got caught in a scratch and damaged the seal. either way, when you replace the seals you should be
able to tell if there is any scratched that may be below the seal (not normally visible), and you
can check the seal.

> ..... If it turns out there is a surface mark on the left side that has sharp edges and it has
> torn the sealing surface, would gently piening(sp?) it with the ball side of a steel hammer before
> again replaceing the seals cure it, do you think? - There is absolutley no way I can spring to
> have it replaced........

Could have been an edge, but according to the RR, it was after the water crossing so i would be
inclined to think a piece of grit is to blame. it couldn't hurt to peen of some sharp edges too.
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

Technician <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > > Maybe a scratched stanchion?
> >
> > Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can
do
> > that you are aware of? Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the
> > leaky side (?!?!?)......
> >
>
> Could be too, when you took the trip through the water, some grit washed into the seal, or perhaps
> got caught in a scratch and damaged the seal.

Tope seal is a dust/crap seal, and keeps all like that out, even tiny particles tend not to get past
it tpo the oil seal.

> either way, when you replace the seals you should be able to tell if there is any scratched that
> may be below the seal (not normally visible), and you can check the seal.
>
> > ..... If it turns out there is a surface mark on the left side that has sharp edges and it has
> > torn the sealing surface, would gently
piening(sp?)
> > it with the ball side of a steel hammer before again replaceing the
seals
> > cure it, do you think? - There is absolutley no way I can spring to have
it
> > replaced........
>
> Could have been an edge, but according to the RR, it was after the water crossing so i would be
> inclined to think a piece of grit is to blame. it couldn't hurt to peen of some sharp edges too.

It was after the water crossing I noticed it for real, and my guess is the water helped wash some
oil down the fork leg onto the disc rotor, and the leak was well in progress by that time - it'd
take more than the time it took to cross the small river and ride up to the group to squeeze a few
cc's of oil out through that seal set. I had noticed what looked like a bit of oil around the top of
that seal when I set the bike up back where the cars were, but dismissed it at the time. Didn't
mention that in the RR, because it was largely irrelevant.

Shaun aRe

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> > Maybe a scratched stanchion?
>
> Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can do that you are aware of?
> Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the leaky side (?!?!?)......
>
> ..... If it turns out there is a surface mark on the left side that has sharp edges and it has
> torn the sealing surface, would gently piening(sp?) it with the ball side of a steel hammer
> before again replaceing the seals cure it, do you think? - There is absolutley no way I can
> spring to have
it
> replaced........
>

I've heard of folks 'burnishing' out the gouge, even filling it in with epoxy and wet sanding it
smooth. Did you replace with Marzocchi original or those 'blue' after market ones? I prefer the
Marz. ones myself even though you have to seat them with the tool. If I recall your post on the fork
maintenance, you may have thought you damaged one installing it without the seal press?

Mike

 

"Technician" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > > Maybe a scratched stanchion?
> >
> > Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can
do
> > that you are aware of? Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the
> > leaky side (?!?!?)......
> >
>
> Could be too, when you took the trip through the water, some grit washed into the seal, or perhaps
> got caught in a scratch and damaged the seal. either way, when you replace the seals you should be
> able to tell if there is any scratched that may be below the seal (not normally visible), and you
> can check the seal.
>

Highly unlikely. The dust caps do a great job of keeping that kind of stuff out.

Mike

 

On Wed, 28 May 2003 04:46:00 -0700, Shaun Rimmer wrote:

> ........Did a bit of fettlin' and fitted the tyres on Saturday,
inflated
> to an unusually high (for me) 25 psi (checked after I wrote that, seems my pump is out at the low
> end - I read about 18 psi with the big hose).

That's what you call it?

> We gather once again, then turn right down the trail to Clapham Tunnels, steep and foot polished,
> wet and rocky, flying downward, hopping the drainage culverts and into the sudden dark tunnels.
> Brakes on here, as the light at the end is all we can see. Out of the tunnels, and down into the
> village for a well earned pint of Copper Dragon and a bite to eat.

One of the coolest rides I ever did went through an old railroad tunnel. Love it.

Great RR Shaun.

gabrielle

 

gabrielle <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Wed, 28 May 2003 04:46:00 -0700, Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > ........Did a bit of fettlin' and fitted the tyres on Saturday,
> inflated
> > to an unusually high (for me) 25 psi (checked after I wrote that, seems my pump is out at the
> > low end - I read about 18 psi with the big hose).

> That's what you call it?

No! - I would never be so conceited - that's what Kath calls it ',;~}~

> > We gather once again, then turn right down the trail to Clapham Tunnels, steep and foot
> > polished, wet and rocky, flying downward, hopping the drainage culverts and into the sudden dark
> > tunnels. Brakes on here, as the light at the end is all we can see. Out of the tunnels, and down
> > into the village for a well earned pint of Copper Dragon and a bite to eat.
>
> One of the coolest rides I ever did went through an old railroad tunnel. Love it.

Heheheh - spooky, ain't it?

These are two short-ish tunnels, and I don't know for sure what they are there for. The story I
heard, is that the track through them and up the hill, has long been a public right of way. The
owner of a big house and large plot of land that over looks that section of the track, desired to
not have to look upon the local commoners walking up and down it to and from the 'watering hole',
and so put the tunnels in place to hide them from his view.

> Great RR Shaun.

Cheers Gabrielle ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

 

Michael Dart <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > > Maybe a scratched stanchion?
> >
> > Ah, so you agree with my suspicions then? If it is that, anything I can
do
> > that you are aware of? Both stanchions have some slight surface damage though, not just the
> > leaky side (?!?!?)......
> >
> > ..... If it turns out there is a surface mark on the left side that has sharp edges and it has
> > torn the sealing surface, would gently
piening(sp?)
> > it with the ball side of a steel hammer before again replaceing the
seals
> > cure it, do you think? - There is absolutley no way I can spring to have
> it
> > replaced........
> >
>
> I've heard of folks 'burnishing' out the gouge, even filling it in with epoxy and wet sanding
> it smooth.

There is a visible scratch on the stanchion (a couple on both, actually), but it looks to be just
that bit deeper than the coating, what, about 0.02 mm? Might give it a try.

> Did you replace with Marzocchi original or those 'blue' after market ones? I prefer the Marz. ones
> myself even
though
> you have to seat them with the tool.

Original - never heard of any others. What's the diff with the blue ones that negates use of the
seating tool?

> If I recall your post on the fork maintenance, you may have thought you damaged one installing
> it without
the
> seal press?

Was a bastard to get in, but the sealing surfaces were un-damaged as far as I could tell. Gonna buy
another set (they're only cheap) and machine up a couple of tools on the lathe to seat them with.
While the forks are stripped, I'll take a good long look at the stanchions, see if I can't smooth
away any scratches too. I should be building up a steel rigid for commuting the next couple of days,
so I'll strip the forks down in Kath's dad's factory unti 5 mins from where I live - that'll give me
time and space to do the job slow and smooth/make certain all is spot on correct. If they leak again
after that, I'll buy some s/h elastomer Rocksux and be done with
it.......... ............... .............. ............... .............. ...............
............. ................... ................. ................. .................
................. .................bwaaaaahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!!

>',;~}~

Cheers Mike!

Shaun aRe

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Michael Dart <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
>
> > Did you replace with Marzocchi original or those 'blue' after market ones? I prefer the Marz.
> > ones myself even
> though
> > you have to seat them with the tool.
>
> Original - never heard of any others. What's the diff with the blue ones that negates use of the
> seating tool?

I'm not sure who makes 'em. But they pop right in above the bushing. Then the washer, that normally
goes in first, sits on top of it and the wire clip holds it all in place. They work but didn't give
me the feeling of security a pressed in seal gives. It wasn't my fork, I was rebuilding it for a
friend. I can take off some measurements or pics from my seal press if it will help you make one.
The trick with it is that it has a recess or groove between the bit that centers the seal and the
bit that actually does the pressing. This protects the upper lip of the seal from getting mashed.

>
> > If I recall your post on the fork maintenance, you may have thought you damaged one installing
> > it without
> the
> > seal press?
>
> Was a bastard to get in, but the sealing surfaces were un-damaged as far
as
> I could tell. Gonna buy another set (they're only cheap) and machine up a couple of tools on the
> lathe to seat them with. While the forks are stripped, I'll take a good long look at the
> stanchions, see if I can't smooth away any scratches too. I should be building up a steel rigid
> for commuting the next couple of days, so I'll strip the forks down in Kath's dad's factory unti 5
> mins from where I live - that'll give me time and
space
> to do the job slow and smooth/make certain all is spot on correct. If they leak again after that,
> I'll buy some s/h elastomer Rocksux and be done
with
> it.......... ............... .............. ............... .............. ...............
> ............. ................... ................. ................. .................
> ................. .................bwaaaaahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!!
>
>
> >',;~}~
>
>
> Cheers Mike!
>
> Shaun aRe
>
>

Hehehehe...yer funny!!!

Mike

 

Michael Dart <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Michael Dart <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > >
> >
> > > Did you replace with Marzocchi original or those 'blue' after market ones? I prefer the Marz.
> > > ones myself even
> > though
> > > you have to seat them with the tool.
> >
> > Original - never heard of any others. What's the diff with the blue ones that negates use of the
> > seating tool?
>
> I'm not sure who makes 'em. But they pop right in above the bushing.
Then
> the washer, that normally goes in first, sits on top of it and the wire
clip
> holds it all in place. They work but didn't give me the feeling of
security
> a pressed in seal gives.

Ah, I see.

> It wasn't my fork, I was rebuilding it for a friend. I can take off some measurements or pics from
> my seal press if it will help you make one. The trick with it is that it has a recess or
groove
> between the bit that centers the seal and the bit that actually does the pressing. This protects
> the upper lip of the seal from getting mashed.

Yup - I figured that from looking at the seals. I was going to either find a piece of tube roughly
the right size, and mod-it to fit, or, turn a counter-bore in a piece of bar, and turn down the o/d
to fit inside the top of the fork leg. Either way, I'll get the seals first, and make the press to
fit it - cheers for the offer anyhow Mike.

> > > If I recall your post on the fork maintenance, you may have thought you damaged one
> > > installing it
without
> > the
> > > seal press?
> >
> > Was a bastard to get in, but the sealing surfaces were un-damaged as far
> as
> > I could tell. Gonna buy another set (they're only cheap) and machine up
a
> > couple of tools on the lathe to seat them with.

(One for the oil, and one for the dust seal also, cos they were a bitch to 'improvise' into
place as well).

> While the forks are
> > stripped, I'll take a good long look at the stanchions, see if I can't smooth away any scratches
> > too. I should be building up a steel rigid for commuting the next couple of days, so I'll strip
> > the forks down in
Kath's
> > dad's factory unit 5 mins from where I live - that'll give me time and
> space
> > to do the job slow and smooth/make certain all is spot on correct. If
they
> > leak again after that, I'll buy some s/h elastomer Rocksux and be done
> with
> > it.......... ............... .............. ............... .............. ...............
> > ............. ................... ................. ................. .................
> > ................. .................bwaaaaahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!!
> >
> >
> > >',;~}~
> >
> >
> > Cheers Mike!
> >
> > Shaun aRe
> >
> >
>
> Hehehehe...yer funny!!!
>
> Mike

Heheheheh - aye, and not just to look at ',;~}~

Cheers!

Shaun aRe

 

"Michael Dart" <[email protected]> wrote
> "Technician" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> > [...babble babble babble...]
>
> Highly unlikely. The dust caps do a great job of keeping that kind of stuff out.

Dude, you're forgetting that Trav seems to have a compulsive need to post earnest pontifications on
all sorts of things he knows jack all about. The scary thing is that some poor gullible fool might
actually mistake him for somebody who knows something about bikes.

Maybe somebody can get him going on quantum mechanics again.

CC

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> "Michael Dart" <[email protected]> wrote
> > "Technician" <[email protected]> wrote
> >
> > > [...babble babble babble...]
> >
> > Highly unlikely. The dust caps do a great job of keeping that kind of stuff out.
>
> Dude, you're forgetting that Trav seems to have a compulsive need to post earnest pontifications
> on all sorts of things he knows jack all about. The scary thing is that some poor gullible fool
> might actually mistake him for somebody who knows something about bikes.
>
> Maybe somebody can get him going on quantum mechanics again.
>
> CC
>

you seem to have a rectal-cranial inversion going on there. perhaps you unwittingly stumbled through
an Einstein-Rosen bridge and got mixed up half way through (if you figure out the mistake in that
last sentence you get 10 points).
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

"Corvus Corvax" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Michael Dart" <[email protected]> wrote
> > "Technician" <[email protected]> wrote
> >
> > > [...babble babble babble...]
> >
> > Highly unlikely. The dust caps do a great job of keeping that kind of
stuff
> > out.
>
> Dude, you're forgetting that Trav seems to have a compulsive need to post earnest pontifications
> on all sorts of things he knows jack all about. The scary thing is that some poor gullible fool
> might actually mistake him for somebody who knows something about bikes.
>
> Maybe somebody can get him going on quantum mechanics again.
>
> CC

No I didn't, hence my addition to the thread in disagreement. ;^)

Mike - is the cat in the box alive or dead? Let's look and see.....

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Mike - is the cat in the box alive or dead? Let's look and see.....

both ;-)
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

"Technician" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > Mike - is the cat in the box alive or dead? Let's look and see.....
>
> both ;-)
> --
> ~Travis

Correct!

Mike