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My 2013 Reba RLs arrived yesterday from Merlin. Got them mounted on to the bike no probs and the look great, but then I found a problem.
The Poploc works in reverse to all the pre-2013 models.
The cap on the crown of the fork has to be turned clockwise to unlock the fork and anti-clockwise to lock it. I have to raise the (lock) lever to unlock the fork and press the (unlock) button to lock it.
This means that in order for the fork to remain unlocked (which is 95% of the time) the cable must be under constant tension.
It wouldn’t have concerned if I hadn’t heard numerous stories of Poploc’s failing. Should a Poploc fail on a pre-2013 model then the worst that happen is that I wouldn’t be able to lock the fork.
Should the Poploc fail on this setup, I wouldn’t be able to [b]unlock[/b] it.
Google-fu has revealed that I’m not the only one to [url= http://perthmtb.asn.au/node/36805 ]find this[/url]
It seems that the 2013 models are setup to be used with the spanky-new 2013 Pushloc, which should of come as standard with the fork judging by other sellers.
I’m not really happy about the setup. I don’t think it’s fit for purpose and destined to fail.
Before anyone says anything, yes, I did watch the SRAM video.
What should I do?
Give Merlin a bell, I've found them really good in the past.
I rang merlin as you suggested, they seemed to understand what I was saying, they said they would look into it and call me back.
that's really odd.
What the guy in Australia doesnt realise is that he wants to keep the older style for the compression adjustment but as it's working in the opposite direction it won't work right.
All he will end up with is fully open (ie the normal locked position) or adjusted damping if he sets the knob on the poplock. Only if he sets the knob to fully open will get fully locked out.
It does look as though the cable stop on the fork crown is removable so it can be flipped to the other side but they said not in that thread. That would be the obvious solution along with removing the blue cap and rotating it 90-180 deg so the grub screw is in a better position.
So when you undo the cable does the fork default to locked? That is a really arse about way to do it to me and if it does then flipping the cable stop won't work as it will put the cable under compression.
So when you undo the cable does the fork default to locked?
Yep, when I pulled the fork out of the box they were locked until I installed the Poploc and flipped the lever.
that seems a bit stupid. I think I would carry an end bit of cable with me in case it fails - just about 1" with a stop thing as you can thread that through the cable stop, turn the knob by hand and then tighten the grub screw.
Looking at the parts here:
it seems the new ones have 10mm throw and are not compatible with the older 17mm throw ones.
it seems the new ones have 10mm throw and are not compatible with the older 17mm throw ones.
I can say that the poploc included is very much the generic none-compression one that ships with the older forks.
I'm still waiting to hear from Merlin.