Noleen Mega Air... Yikes

[will]

Simon, Andrew, anybody...

Just pressed a new headset in and mounted the new MegaAir fork. It's very pretty and pretty light.

I took it partway apart to fix a turned down dust seal and chickened out on anything else. It's complex.

Are both legs compression springs, or is one rebound and one compression?
What kind of pressures would be appropriate for a 200 pound rider?
Does the whole thing have to go to pieces to get the travel restrictors out?
And Simon, do you have a link to that fork rebuild instruction website?

Any help would be much appreciated.
Will

[Simon]

Hi Will,
Recommended pressure for a rider of 160-200lbs is 65psi in each leg,start from there,sag should be set
at 15mm,

looking at the manual right leg is the air spring
left leg is rebound damping (adjustable via allen key though hole in lower leg bolt)with pre-set non adjustable compression damping.

I could explain how to remove the spacers here but it will easier with the proper instructions to follow,if I can't find a link soon I'll scan my manual and e-mail it to you.

But heres something that will probably sort you out,
http://idriders.com/proflex/resources/2001_VTO_upgrade.pdf

opps here's the manual
http://idriders.com/proflex/resources/00_AirForkManual.pdf

its a very simple fork to work on you won't have any worries.

Simon.

[will]

Thanks Mate!

I'll give it a try this week. (Gotta dig myself out of a pretty big hole at work first.)

With 2# off the front end after the fork swap, the waybig 856 feels like she's down around 27# now. If I get those Formula brakes sorted out, she may get down to 25-26#.

TTFN,
Will
PS Had a decent cuppa today. Elizabeth must have learned something over there!

[Frankd3000]

Good stuff, Will!!!!

Mine with the steerer tube (already) cut down to 8 3/8" is an HONEST sub-3-pound fork..... 2.997 to be exact. [smiley=laughing.gif]

Follow the link's Simon posted. Good stuff. I haven't cracked mine open yet simply because it's already set to 100 mm and i'm simply too impatient to get a ride on the new rig.

While the compression damping is pre-set, you can technically adjust it by removing something, however at 200 pounds, I think you'd be best to leave it in. Reportedly, those that HAVE tried it say you blow through the travel way too easily and bottom the fork out too frequently.

Have fun with the rebound damping! (you'll see what I mean when you start playing with it.... the rebound damping that is)

[Frankd3000]

Sorry, almost forgot - make sure you have the grease injector!!!!! Better get used to the idea of fork maintenance. I know, I know, something practically unheard of with a CrossLink. [smiley=laughing.gif] Just give the legs a shot or two on a regular basis. You'll want to clean them out every so-often, too.

Hey, it's a small price to pay.

Enjoy!

[Simon]

Ahh yes the grease ports,
word of warning (top tips from carbonangus)
don't over grease,all you end up doing is filling the
lower legs up with grease which is of no benifit to the fork,and you add weight [smiley=laughing.gif]
just means you'll be stripping the fork more regular
to clean out the gunk,I do couple of pumps each leg
every 2 or 3 months depending on use,
second, use a thin grease, he recommends slickhoney,
haven't found it over here but found an alternative.

Simon.
P.s glad your getting a good cuppa now [smiley=laughing.gif]
yep 25lbs is a good weight to end up at,personally
don't think you can go much lower without starting
to compromise function/strength/reliability on these
frames,more than happy with mine at aound 25lbs considering its 108mm rear travel setup,
must weigh it properly one day.

[Vexableman]

Dude.  It looks complex but is not at all.  It is a piece of cake to service as all you are dealing with a bunch of O-rings.  I think there are only 2 or 3 different sizes.  You can find all the replacements you need in the plumbing area of your local hardware store. There is one O-ring at the bottom of each slider leg and you will need a spanner to unscrew the plugs at the bottom of the sliders  Unscrew them and replace the O-rings. As far as fork grease goes, get some Slick Honey.  It rocks.  If you don't have the grese injector, no worries.  Just get some on your hands and lightly lube the sliders.          

[will]

Vex,

That's great advice. You hit dead on some of the questions I didn't ask. (like, do I need a pin spanner?) Sounds like you've "been to school" on this.
Much appreciated.
Happy New Year!

[Vexableman]

Yeah Will, I got 2 of the things so I've become pretty familiar with the fork.  I even came across the actual Noleen pin spanner and picked it up for way cheap.  

I've read lots of horror stories on the net regarding leaking Mega Airs.  Solutions range to wrapping teflon tape around threads to wishes for aluminum caps (leaks are blamed on cheap plastic construction) when in reality what they really have is a fork with dry old O-rings.  Grab a beer, put on some music, hoist the bike on your rack, take all of 20 minutes to disassemble the fork and pull off all the old O-rings. I love the things because all is have to do is spend mere pennies on new O-rings, replace, grease it and that is about it.  I hope this next part makes sense but I've found I appreciate the fork's performance so much more because I am the one servicing the thing. It helps make for a satisfying ride.