Vorsprung Smashpot - fitted.

What’s the top out spring like? Don’t think I’ve noticed it in any photos

Quite small, you can see it on their website.

How many preload washers have you got on the spring?

two x 20mm = 40mm for 170mm travel
Just added the 2mm x 2 to see what happens - it's the same.

You got the 9mm of shaft showing when you fitted the spring?
If it doesn't top out when you're actualy riding is it a problem?

9mm showing, not noticeable when riding.

I've seen the video in pm, likely it's a blown shim or leaky damper looking at the rebound speed at 6 clicks from fully closed.

Not a real problem then.
Coil forks are always a bit noisy.
Edit.
Not seen any of that so my comments are pointless.

They don't visually top out that loud, it's as loud as my PUSH when I open the damper fully - but at 6 from closed. Fully closing the low speed ports fixes it and finally slows the fork downn, but the setting at 6 from fully closed is crazy fast to me. So IMO, bent high speed rebound shim.

it's not on social media or ever has been!!

Raybanwomble - Thanks for your thoughts on the video I sent you, just got a reply from Steve at Vorsprung (great customer service on a Sunday!) so a few things to check with regard to pre-load etc. Will let you know result 🙂

Be interested to see your results and what you did.

Unfortunately I'm working away from home from tomorrow until Thursday night, so not much I can do till then.

Interested how you get on with the 45lb spring, I was unsure between the 40 and 45 but went 40. Waiting for some tools to arrive in order to assemble mine.

TF tuned via email seemed to suggest that the spring alone weighs about 400g so 600g extra weight all in fitted to the fork

Minus about 100g from the the airspring - which is what my 170mm Fox 36 air shaft weighed. The Spring kit for my ACS3 weighed 400g as well but only added about 300g to the total weight. The extra oil will of course add a bit more.

250g to 450g of extra weight depending on the spring rate sounds about right to me based on my experience with the ACS3.

45lb spring in the bag is 337g.

Anyone got a 29er 150mm debonair shaft they've taken out they want to sell?

Needs to be 100% scratch free obvs.

how is it? mini review?

So, it's sorted now! Very critical that you do not pre-load the spring at all, just snug the spring collar up to the spring to stop any vertical movement, the spring can move laterally on the collar and spacer but that's not a problem.
Feels very smooth so far but I've only managed a blast round my cul de sac 🙂

Will report again once I've been into Wharny.

Think I may need the 40lb spring not the 45lb I ordered.

What grease did you use for the spring? I've got sram pm600 military grease which I'm hoping will be ok.

I used SRAM Butter, you don't want anything in there that may swell the seal, bushings etc.
RSP stuff for forks from TFT or the recommended Slik Honey.

<p>ok you must all have been smashing it with your new forks over the weekend? How is it?</p>

Anyone else keep reading the name of the product as 'spamshot' ?

I'm really liking mine after a couple of rides. A bit of noise from the spring but grip is fantastic and fork feels really plush.

Really pleased;

Much more comfortable through rocky sections, as I'm able to run less compression damping but able to control the amount of travel used off drops and heavy landings with the "Bottom out" adjuster. Plenty of mid stroke Pop for hitting jumps as well - can't go wrong! Haven't noticed the weight increase so far to affect my enjoyment of trail riding.
Got a bit of noise from the top out spring preload but that's getting cured - Steve at Vorsprung has been great at responding to questions and setup and TF are providing their usual excellent service.

Get one - forget the weight increase, it's the ride characteristics that count.

cheers. I have got one, just not fitted yet!

cheers. I have got one, just not fitted yet!

Before assembling the parts(and covering the shaft with heat shrink) pay particular attention to the preload on the top out spring - make sure the top out spring turns easely, otherwise you'll need to fit a different preload spacer to the top out spring (a kit will be available from TF very soon). In the meantime making sure there's no preload at all on the main spring reduces the noise/clunk to hardly noticeable.

I think I may well fit one of these to my Hightower soon, £100 less than Push makes it more appealing, though it's about 140g heavier than the Push.

My 29er came with 150mm forks rather than the standard 140mm, so I may take the Smashpot as an opportunity to set it to the factory 140mm to see if it makes the bike more manageable on steep technical ups. Easy enough to set it back to 150mm with this kit if I prefer the longer travel.

@cyclelife someone else is fitting it for me 🙂

Got a bit of noise from the top out spring preload but that’s getting cured – Steve at Vorsprung has been great at responding to questions and setup and TF are providing their usual excellent service.

To be clear for the others, I did not think that the top out on your fork when I tried was any worse than my ACS3's - you hear it if you depress the fork a few mm but not after deep compression.

how are we getting on my smashpot brothers and sisters?   I'm taking mine for a super quick test on saturday morning before leaving for finale where i can really test it.

Anything to think about? How many clicks from fully closed are you running for bottom out? and changes to other settings? any changes to tyre pressure? Damper settings?

bump. enjoying mine!

3 rides in for me. So far it feels great. I've wound full bottom out resistance on as a startign point and notice that I have 20mm left to go after the rides so far. I've left my damper as before, it's a Charger 2 damper upgrade (originally tuned for a Debonair spring) so assume it may need some fiddling to get it to its best.

Tyre pressures stay the same (based on my normal of mid-twenties) I'd suggest you really need to know your onions before things like that would be affected.

The one issue for me is that I seem to be getting a spring rattle mid stroke. Initially I thought it was the rear coil spring (new bike build) but it's not that so I'm thinking it's the fork. I paid extra for TF to assemble the Smashpot so all I had to do was drop it in so am happy that all is put together correctly.

I guess this is just the spring flexing under compression and rattling on the inside of the stanchion and nothing to worry about.

Not getting any rattling on mine, and i assembled it myself.
Mine went into a new Yari chassis, with the upgraded 'YariUp' damper and smashpot fitted.

I had to return the spring and go for a lower LBS rate as it was way too stiff. Even the one which is 5lbs lower than the chart recommends is pretty stiff. I may even get another one to test which would be 10lbs lower than suggested.

So far it feels great, but hot hugely different to my other coil forks (Ohlins coil in the trail bike, and previous marzocchi 55RC3 ti on the enduro bike)

I reckon, with a lower spring rate, dialling in more bottom out resistance and with a reasonable level of mid speed compression (available on the YariUp) using very little slow-speed compression, it'll sit very nicely into the mid travel without blowing through too quickly, whilst being very compliant over the small to mid sized chattery stuff.

Great upgrade for an air fork, to bring it inline with coil plushness, but not a miracle-in-a-box.

I've only one a couple of rides for me (in a 2015 Fox 36) but really appreciating it so far. I've often had coil trailbike forks before- Lyriks for a long time, and I built a coiled Revelation blackbox out of Sektor parts- and, well, it's like those really. That version of the 36 was quite a sticky fork anyway and I was never totally happy with that but I really like the damping, so it's a best-of-both solution for me.

Still got a slightly gimped wrist from a break last year, and it makes a whole lot of difference to fatigue, that alone's totally worth it and while I'm mostly noticing it because of the dodgy wrist, it'll always be there.

All in all- glad I did it, wish it was cheaper. I dropped down a spring rate to 40, because the 45 that I wanted was out of stock and I was between the two, tbh it might be slightly too soft but the recommendations weren't far off.

Stu, got any old boxxer springs with the wrappy plastic still on? Might help the knockers.

Scruff, was going to put another wrap or two of heat shrink on the spring, just waiting to hear any tips TF have.

what kind of bottom out resistance settings are people using? i'm finding i can use less h and lsc , which is grand . fox 36 from 2018

I've got one for my 160mm 2018 Lyrik, fitted by TF. I'm approx 88kg kitted so they have suggested a 55lbs spring.

I've been out on it today, and it really doesn't feel good, way too harsh as it feels that the spring is too hard and ramps up really quickly even with the bottom out thing fully open. In fact on a set of trails where i normally get 140-150mm travel uses, I managed 72mm today! I'm not quite 100% back from an injury, but even so I would have expected to get through most of the travel on some sections.

Calling TF tomorrow, who are great to deal with, so hopefully they can resolve. But there's so much ramp up, I'm thinking I could drop to a 50lb or even 45lb. Anyone else surprised by the ramp up? In open mode I was expecting it to be much more linear than it is.

after giving mine a few runs down my local jump spot/drop-off spot at the weekend, i can confirm that i will be going with a 10lbs lighter spring than the chart recommends.

I'm still running only 3 clicks from fully soft on the HBO, and getting only 20mm away from full travel (180mm fork) on sketchy landings.

I will have come down from 60lbs, to 55, then now will order up the 50lbs to check that out. Fork feels plush and active, but def oversprung still.

I'm 110kg

The Vorsprung charts are WAY off (at least in the 50-60lbs range)

Did both of you get your desired sag with your current springs? Would be a pain in the balls if you had to compromise on the sag you use by using a softer spring

I got a 45lb fitted to my pike (which already had a FAST 3 way damper), which is right according to the first version of the charts, but should be 40 according to the 2nd. Rode it for a few weeks, but felt it was too harsh, sothen got a 40 which I found really horrible in berms etc - had to dial in a load more LSC which ruined the small bump. Back to the 45 spring now but with the LSC wound almost right out and it feels about right. Still haven't bottomed the thing, but it feels great for most stuff, so pretty happy.

I'm about 10-10.5 stone or thereabouts.

I do get a slight clunk when I completely unweighted the fork sometimes, but I can't work out the source of it- everything is done up to torque spec inside.

The first 60lbs spring was giving me about 15% sag, the 55 version is in there now, giving around 20% but i prefer to run at least 25, preferably 30%.

So when the new 50lbs one arrives, I’ll post back the findings.

Btw- I’ve not seen 2 versions of the chart, just the one on TF tuned site.

There’s a new one?

Ok- so just looked at Vorsprung site chart, which has revised the weights down by 5lbs for my category, I still think the ‘soft’ setup option is more like the how the medium should be, but it’s closer now.

Are the springs swapped out or is each different rate purchased outright?

Just the spring, which is about 60 quid. Pretty easy to undertake yourself as well.

hi this is kind of why i asked about the bottom out setting. i feel i'm not getting max travel but the sag is right.  it's fantastic off the top, roots etc   took it to the bike park on saturday but it was only the tamer trail open due to snow.   wondering if my spring is correct

Due to the spring rate chart being ‘out’ by quite a bit, TF Tuned have changed my spring (1 of them so far) for free.

Good service from them as usual.

ok may contact them

am currently in contact with Vorsprung and yes turns out my 55lbs is wrong and it should be 50lbs.

Hope i dont have to fork out for a new one.

anyone have a 50lbs spring they want to sell or swap for a 55lbs?

I have a 55lb spring in my 2019 Yari 170mm, am 95kg kitted up with rucksack & water etc, went for that spring as on an e-sommet get about 20% sag early days in testing but seems good

Yes i'm 80kgs fully kitted up, 150mm fox and their new table says 50lbs. I'm pretty peeved and this is gonna cost me another 70 quid to get it working as it should . Vorsprung said there is a  theoretically a 9% difference in spring rate between springs.

I didn't fit it myself. it's an easy job to to just pop out the old spring and put in the new one?

HI all, I didn’t fit my smashPot myself, now it’s time for a lower leg service on my 36. Anything to think about / do different?

Same procedure just more oil in the spring side.

Cheers ok

thread resurrection here! two things:

i need to change from 15mm travel to 170mm, its an easy job right.. take it apart and move some stack spacers?

Also, my bottom out adjuster seems to now only move approx one full turn, no clicks, and it doesn't do anything. any ideas?

Easy enough to change the travel but you'll need some heatshrink to replace the stuff you'll have to cut of.You need to change the number of small inner spacers and the large outer ones to change travel.
Not sure about the bottom out. Is the adjuster shaft bent?
Take it apart and have a look. Again easy to do, just take note of how the shims are stacked.

cheers, good point about the heatshrink..  will need to source some of that

How often are people doing a lower leg service on their forks with the smashpot fitted?

Holy thread resurrection, batman! I've never done one of these before, kinda proud to do so 🙂

Really thinking hard about this for my Pike on the hardtail. My favouritest fork ever was a coil lyric BITD on a bike that got nicked. Want to recreate that feel, and as I am a heavy bugger I reckon this is a good call.

@lardman if you got the 50lbs spring, 10lbs lower than recommended, how did that feel?

I'm 120kg fully kitted, and it was reckomending the 75lbs spring. now, given the fork pressures I run have always been way lower than what RS recommends, and your comments, I'm thinking 65lbs would be more realistic.

thoughts appreciated!

Cant say much about the spring weight, but your Pike plus this kit (with its hydraulic bottom out) should be grand for you.

I was also thinking of resurrecting this thread with a different question - I rushed a spring change recently and my previously silent fork is now clunking. Suspicion is lack of preload (its not a topout clunk) as per the manual - anyone else gone through similar? Easy fix, but better to check before draining the oil and pulling it apart

Yes, had this when I swapped springs out once.

Yeah that’s the bit I’ve been looking at too. I’m now on 10mm so time for another washer. A tad annoying that the want you to put the spacer in at the bottom

Easy fix, but better to check before draining the oil and pulling it apart

No need to drain the oil to adjust the preload.
Just undo the topcap and compress the fork then adjust.

Mine came back from having an Andreani piston fitted and had a pretty bad clunk/rattle.
Tried altering the preload with no luck.
On closer inspection the heatshrink had wound it's way up the spring.
Re fitted some new stuff further down the spring and now it's silent again.

Edit.
Just seen your new post.
Unless you can get the big spacer out somehow you will have to drain the oil and take the assembly out.

@big_scot_nanny when I got mine I was told to go by body weight, not fully kitted weight, as the chart accounts for this. I went for the lower of the two options I was near and it’s been great. Shop offered a free spring swap after a couple of rides if needed. As far as the chart goes, Vorsprung are based in Whistler and their idea of hard riding may be very different to a UK rider’s.
It’s on my ebike which doesn’t see a big jumps so haven’t been using full travel, even with HBO fully open. Have just rebuilt them with a couple of the shins moved to lighten up the end stroke, but haven’t had a chance to text the difference yet. You can also run lighter oil to accomplish the same thing, although the shop has already recommended using 15wt instead of 20wt.

@clubby that's really helpful, thank you. And @mashr - great to have the affirmation, thanks!

I was advised to go to a 55 spring by TF and Vorsprung, currently on a 45 spring, with 10wt oil

About 78kg to 80kg body weight here.
50lb Spring and 2 clicks of HBO from open using 20 weight oil.
50lb spring and a lot more clicks of HBO from open using 10 weight oil.

The forks have just been sold with the bike they were on and replaced with a an Ohlins air RFX 36 M.2.
The Ohlins is good but not as good as the Fox 36 Rhythm with the Smashpot.

Does anyone know the specs of the heatshrink? You can buy it from TF Tuned but even they agreed it’s the most expensive heatshrink in the world when you buy it that way

P.S. the stuff covering my spring has clearly been for a wander too, so the preload may be fine after all

I've used this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273312888267

If you're bored have a read of this https://www.mtbr.com/threads/vorsprung-smashpot-coil-conversion.1090922/

I emailed the Vorsprung guys and they gave me the speck for the heatshrink.
Was a while ago and I cant remember what it was now.

bruneep
Full Member

I’ve used this

Ordered thanks

I'm changing travel and I want to source heat shrink myself. What size do I need?

Spring:
2:1 singlewall polyolefin non-adhesive, with an initial (non-shrunk) diameter of 1.25" (32mm). 1.5" (38mm) initial diameter will also work.

Outer tube:
2:1 singlewall polyolefin non-adhesive, with an intital (non-shrunk) diameter of 3/4" (19.1mm)

Holy thread resurrection, batman (again).

Just going through setting up my smashpot in a 180mm Yari. Vorsprung table/guide recommended 45 or 50 lbs springs (I'm circa 95kg). Having spent the last 2 weekends at bike parks I've only used about 60% of travel. 417 last weekend used 100mm travel, on the 50lbs spring. Swapped for 45lbs during the week and BPW today has used maybe 120-130mm.

HBO wound fully off, LSC and MSC basically fully open, no HSC on the Yari UP damper.

Should I keep dropping spring weights until I hit a point where I'm at a deeper sag and occasionally using full travel? Or should I look at changing HBO oil to something lighter (can't remember what's in it currently). Is there anything else I should be looking at?

If anyone has a 40lbs spring they're willing to part with (for cash), PM me. Likewise if anyone wants a 50lbs spring PM me.

I'm 83kg and use a 45 lb and get full travel. How much oil do you have in Latest volume is 90ml the MTBR thread said to start at 50ml and add more as you feel you need.  top of head I have 70ml of 68k oil not sure where the HBO is. Have you moved the HBO shims about?

Watching with interest as I'm finding my Fox 38 too progressive and was wondering if a Smashpot might be the answer.