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On the whole, I quite like Reverbs. Cheap to buy s/hand (the last one cost me £35), fully rebuildable, and once fitted with the new blue IFP, pretty reliable.
The one fly in the ointment has been the disintegrating top cap bush. Now a while ago this thread https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/reverb-bushes-top-bottom-diy/
happened, and I gave DIYing new bushes a go. The bottom (smaller one) works absolutely fine, but I've had very poor results with the one that lives in the top cap. I don't know if they end up slightly undersized by the time they're pressed into the top cap or if they swell with grease/water, but they're a really tight fit on the upper shaft. Mostly it kinda works, just a really slow return, but sometimes they gum up completely.
So I was quite excited to see Spring Suspension offering a "specially made" Igus bush. Ordered some and just tried fitting one, but it's incredibly tight. I can barely slide the top cap up and down the upper shaft by hand, and the post resolutely won't extend when the lever is pressed.
I've dropped Sprung a mail, and are waiting for a reply - but wondered if anyone else has had the same problem/got a solution?
Thanks!
Like you a thread on here inspired me to replace the worn bushes with home made ones. Material from BearingBoys cut to length. I've not had to do the top cap bush yet as it's always the bottom ones on mine that go first.
Would it be possible to split the upper bush thus relieving the pressure on the post? The other alternative would be to install the new bush in the top cap & remove a couple of thou at a time if you happen to know someone with a lathe.
Watching with interest as I'll have to do one of these at some point.
Good luck.
An aftermarket manufacturer listed a resizing or sizing tool to go along with the replacement bushes they sell. It would imply a new bush can need to be resized.
I have not seen any for sale though, just on the price list.
From Bounce
https://bouncecycles.co.uk/servicing-your-own-rockshox-reverb/
The top cap bushing is not available from Rockshox on it’s own so you must replace the entire top cap assembly if the bushing has become or looks like it’s about to de-laminate. Now there
aftermarket polymer bushes out there presented as upgrades, however many engineering polymers are hygroscopic, meaning they take on water. When this happens the material swells and becomes tighter, resulting in a stuck post as the Reverb doesn’t have the grunt needed to overcome the increase in friction. We figured that this is the reason Rockshox never used a poly bush for this application. The older basic reverb kits do not include a top cap assembly but the newer ones do. More on that later.