downtube.j

Hi, I have few questions about downtube ixfs which I think is great folding bike.

1/
Has anybody taken the zoom 386 endura suspension fork apart ?
I was advised to use long 6mm hex alen key but it doesnt fit, the key is to big. What size is the bolt inside the fork ? is it really metric or imperial ?

2/
Where do I apply the Slick honey grease ? Do I have to take the suspension fork apart or just lift the sealing rubber rings and spread the grease under ? which I found a bit akward to do

3/
When dissasembling the fork do I have to watch for parts which can shoot out and spread all over the garage?



Thank you

J

Sammyboy

The bolt will definitely be metric. Try a 5mm maybe?

downtube.j

I bought these 7 piece extra long hex of ebay for relatively low price and 5mm should do the job ok. But felt a bit loose, maybe 5,5mm or even some imperial measurement, I'll refer later when I take the fork to bits. I tried to find some manual about dissasambling suspensions online but wasnt succesful. I hope that somebody can shed some light on it, which will be appreciated.

What I did so far is. I lifted the rubber rings which is easy then applied the Slick honey just where the silicon ring touches the fork and then putting the rubber shield ring back on the fork was pretty akward indeed , I only hoped the rubber wont snap or rip. Maybe there is some easy way how to do it ?

But have to say that the Slick Honey made the fork work better already.

Fat Boy

I found that the hardware (nuts and bolts) on my DT were of pretty poor quality. The headset bolt is destined to never to be removed from my bike. I rounded it out (5 or 6mm allen) using good tools and being very careful. The shock bolts stripped and I replaced a couple others because they looked dodgy.

Keep in mind I do all my own mechanicing and I've never ran into this type of problem before with any other bike. I was taking it apart to get it in a Samsonite hardcase. If you go this route, be careful.

snafu21

I'd be interested to see or read details of a Zoom fork strip, I can't find anything on the net either....

Und vat der heck is 'Slick Honey'?

downtube.j

das ist ein hilfe greasy muck which Mr Downtube1 advised me to use.

Can somebody explain how to correctly grease that suspension fork or even how to strip it down in easy language please ?

golden_foldie

You can get an exact duplicate of that Zoom fork for $59 on the Downtube site. (This is what I did, as I had the same questions you do, but I haven't gotten around to "exploding" the spare yet. Might be a few months 'til I do this, but I'll post pics when I get to it. I know you and I can't be the only ones who ever wondered about these forks, so it'll be a good reference for others. Or, if you beat me to it, here's to ya! )

jur

Usually there is a bolt at the bottom of each leg; undo that, watch for oil running out, and separate the bottom from the stanchions. Failing there being a bolt at the bottom, there could be one at the top under the top cap. Same deal, remove bolt, slide apart.

golden_foldie

This is the Zoom Swift 190 suspension fork on the 8H



If you look at the bottom of the outer legs, you see that they're threaded. The compression rods (5) screw into these. It only comes apart from the top.