Rockshox Monarch RT help

[toughguy]

Hi I was hoping to get some advice on my shock.

It’s about 4 months old, had it from new. After about three rides there was quite s bit of gunk around the o ring on the stanchion. I’m assuming this is oil and dirt. So cleaned it up.

Thinking it may have just been overfilled or something I carried on riding for about another two months but after every ride the same gunk would be back.

It now has no lock out, it used to work real well. I also have to pump it up to 330 psi to get it to sit at 25% sag, I’m 85 kg. This is way more than I used to put it in. I normally ran 20% but I don’t want to add more psi as the max is 350.

I sent it off under warranty to get it checked. I assumed the oil seal was faulty but They seem to think It was fine but the air seal was faulty. They replaced the air seal. So I chucked the shock back on but the same result when I pumped it up and still no lock out.

Just want to check with you guys if This sounds like any issues you have had before. I want to call Rockshox back but thought I would just check I’m not missing something.

Cheers
Chris

 

[c3024446]

Well damper probably has no fluid in it. Unbelievable how they could not notice that?


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[c3024446]

Does rebound knob have any effect or is it just rebounding super fast?


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[wkkie]

The lock out on the RT isn't a lock out, is just a platform.

The must be something going on with the air though.

I've got 30kgs on you and I'm running around 215psi to get 30% sag on a Kona Process.

Have you checked the sag marker when you're not on the bike? It's not sitting at around 20% is it?

That happened to me recently and a quick air can service sorted that out and haven't had any issues since.

My rebound was still working fine though, check that and if it's a pogo stick there'd be issues with the damper.

 

[Travis22]

The Monarch RT3 Debonair on my Rocky leaked every ride from brand new. Shop said it was common and to persist for 10-12 rides and see if it stops leaking.

(It was leaking to the point that after a ride there would be enough oil for 1-2 drips to drop off the shaft at the travel indicator oring when the bikes left to sit).

When this didnt let up the shock was sent back to sram who inspected everything and return slip said there was nothing wrong with it but they replaced the seals.

Hasnt leaked since and seems to work as it should (bout 2000km on it now). Never really been happy with the shock, Im about the same weight + riding gear. 230psi has me at around 35% sag and ive never gotten more then 80% of the travel out of it. (I know thats not just the shocks fault - frame design is just way to progressive).

Travis.

 

[The Duckmeister]

A bit of gunge around the stanchion is pretty normal for a new or newly-serviced shock or fork; behind the outer lip of the wiper seal is a grease-filled channel, and the excess will work itself out over the first short while. Just keep it clean so it doesn't score the stanchion coating.
Deeper issues such as non-functioning compression or rebound damping generally won't present external cues.

The fact you're needing to put a lot of air in suggests, like the above, to be an air can isue rather than a damper issue, possibly the negative chamber not equalising but somehow becoming overpressurised. An overpressurised negative chamber will push the shock into compression, reducing the effectiveness of the compression damping circuit, it will reduce shock stroke, thus overall suspension travel, as it will be pre-sagged, and will most tellingly need higher pressure in the positive chamber to counteract it, but because there's probably a blockage in the bypass port preventing proper equalising, will compound the problem......

 

[SummitFever]

...possibly the negative chamber not equalising but somehow becoming overpressurised...

Maybe this. Easy to check. Let all of the air out the shock and see where it sits on the sag% gradient markers. If the shock sits deep in its travel then you've still got pressure in the neg side. Put you foot on the rear wheel and pull up on the seat and see if you can get the shock to extend fully (at which point the chambers should equalize).

If you can get the shock to fully extend by itself then you can easily remove the air can and have a look inside - see if you've got some excess grease clogging the equalization dimple on the inside of the air can. Removing the air can won't affect your warranty.

However, if the shock is "stuck down" then I would not remove the air can unless you know what you're doing. For anyone that want's to do this, then extreme care is required as the neg chamber will be under a lot of pressure and will fire the air can off the shock and across the room. To do this safely you need:

- safety gear: at the very least eye protection (face shield is best) and chuck on some ear muffs or plugs for good measure;
- clamp the top of the shock at the top eyelet in a vice;
- thread a thick rag through the bottom eyelet (which should be facing up) - this rag is what is going to arrest the air can once it's unthreaded;
- slowly unthread the air can taking particular care not to lean over the top of it.

 

[wkkie]

... However if the shock is "stuck down" then I would not remove the air can unless you know what you're doing. For anyone that want's to do this, then extreme care is required as the neg chamber will be under a lot of pressure and will fire the air can off the shock and across the room. To do this safely you need:

- safety gear: at the very least eye protection (face shield is best) and chuck on some ear muffs or plugs for good measure;
- clamp the top of the shock at the top eyelet in a vice;
- thread a thick rag through the bottom eyelet (which should be facing up) - this rag is what is going to arrest the air can once it's unthreaded;
- slowly unthread the air can taking particular care not to lean over the top of it.

I had to do this, didn't quite break out the face mask, but I kept the shock on the bike, just undid the shaft end and jammed a rag in the eyelet.

It gave a bit of a pop, but nothing too major. Keeping it in the bike and the rag in place limited where it could shoot off to.

Like I said above, I gave everything a clean and some slicko and it's been good since.

 

[toughguy]

Man it always amazes me at how how many replies I get and how much effort you all put into the answers. Much appreciated fellas I will have a crack at some of the suggestions and get back to you. I am conscious of voiding my warranty if I tamper too much as I don’t have a lot of experience under the hood. Plus I don’t think a 4month old shock should need much in the way of servicing.

I realise it’s not the best shock on the market but it worked really well for the first 2weeks, it was leaking then but it was still working fine.

It is basically too soft all the time, it doesn’t seem to ramp up much at all. I don’t have any spacers/ tokens in it but never did in the first weeks either when it was working well. If I flick the switch to climb there is no change whatsoever. It’s hard to explain but there is no life to the shock any longer, ist just feels like a wet sponge.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Man it always amazes me at how how many replies I get and how much effort you all put into the answers. Much appreciated fellas I will have a crack at some of the suggestions and get back to you. I am conscious of voiding my warranty if I tamper too much as I don’t have a lot of experience under the hood. Plus I don’t think a 4month old shock should need much in the way of servicing.

I realise it’s not the best shock on the market but it worked really well for the first 2weeks, it was leaking then but it was still working fine.

It is basically too soft all the time, it doesn’t seem to ramp up much at all. I don’t have any spacers/ tokens in it but never did in the first weeks either when it was working well. If I flick the switch to climb there is no change whatsoever. It’s hard to explain but there is no life to the shock any longer, ist just feels like a wet sponge.

The shock loosens up as it wears in, that's why it would have felt more firm at the start. I've owned a few from new myself and have experienced the same. I've never found them to have a good climb platform without running spacers in the air can and some of them have a real light tune from factory.

 

[SummitFever]

What bike is it on? I've got an RT on my Trance and the threshold position does what it says but then again the maestro suspension doesn't really need a platform shock to pedal well. If you've got a horst link or faux bar bike then the standard platform may not be enough. It is possible to revalve the RT firmer or even convert to a proper lockout. Unfortunately it looks like Rockshox are now offering less spare parts options for the newer shocks.