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OK this might be a common thing with suspension forks but it's not something I have experienced before.
Start of a ride fairly smooth trails fork is fairly stiff so I ride with all damping wide open for comfort and it will stay with the same stiffness all the while the trail is smoothish. Hit a bit of gnar later in ride and after a bit of that the fork seems to really open up and become as plush as a plush thing so I have to increase damping a lot to tame it. Not much later when trail gets smoother it stiffens up again and I need to open up the damping again.
Is this normal? Oil thinning as it heats up maybe? Just seems like two very different forks sometimes.
Perhaps the smooth trails you're riding at the start require different things of your speed-sensitive damping than the gnar later?
@lewzz10 oh yes I can understand that, it's just that the plushness in the fork after the gnar stuff continues for a while on the smooth until it returns to normal feeling.
Has it been serviced recently? Bushings can be on the tight side which means they perform great but need a regular lower service.
@seanr well it's never had a service yet since new and it is probably coming due for a 50hr service and was planning one soon. Will see what effect that has.
When I think about it, I have noticed that after working hard and using lots of travel the stanchions get a very fine film of oil on them which they don't usually have. Maybe it's just that when they are going deep in their travel they are pulling a bit of oil up from the lowers and lubing the bushes and seals causng the extra plushness.
Do a lowers service on them and give them a good clean and replace the oil and give the foam rings a good soak.
and after a bit of that the fork seems to really open up and become as plush as a plush thing so I have to increase damping a lot to tame it.
This needs a bit of unpacking...first up, coil or air? what's your base settings? when you say increase damping, what are you increasing, with the RXF there's LSC HSC rebound...what are you playing with and by how much?
@nickc Air. Pressures set at pretty much the recommended for my weight with about 5psi less in the main chamber to try and soften them up. All dampers wide open normally and then closing them all down at least half way. tbh. the more I think about it, the lowers service is the place to start. This fork has been very stiff from new and never really became plush until it goes plush temporarily after hard riding and developing the oil film. You do hear of forks not having enough lube from the factory and I wonder if this is one of those. I have read many people describing these forks as a bit harsh so I just accepted that that was the way they were but there is a massive difference once the oil comes up.
The older RXF’s were harsh for a few reasons. The damper tunes were a bit racer orientated, so too stiff for the Average Joe rider & they had some bushing tolerance issues.
The M2 however, is the opposite, every review is the same, super plush setups & good range of damper adjustment. I would echo this, my air is the first fork I’ve ridden that was as good as the original BOS Deville.
Been really impressed with them. Did you buy from someone who cracks them open to check before shipping? (TF or J-Tech?).
I would start with a service and advise of what you feel the issue is, they might offer some pointers.
@Hob Nob sorry, just seen your post. Been camping for a couple of days with no internet. What you say makes me think there is something amiss with mine then because it has been firm since new and tbh. it has been so firm that anything but extreme damping adjustments aren't really noticeable. I have never had such a high levek fork before and I just put it down to me not being man enough and riding too tame stuff to get the best out of the fork as it only seemed to come alive when riding gnarly stuff. It came new fitted to my HB130 so don't know if it had any checks before fitting. I also don't know if they have a custom damper tune for the HB fork like they do for the coil shock.