MacRetro chat and rides thread

Re: Re:

clubby":3d0jnihs said:
https://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/bearings/mtb/frame-bearing-kits/specialized


As long you know the year, you should find it there.
Bought and paid for, thanks Clubby ;)
 
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Anyone around these parts got the thingy for me wotsit?
I'd like to take a Cannondale head shock apart to see what's going on in there (old coil/elastomer Headshock I believe).
 
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What year and when you take the top cap off what does it look like?
If it’s two pin holes then the tool’s really hard to find. Sold mine with the bike. If it’s four slots then OCP may have a castle tool that will fit.

Don’t be too keen to pull the whole thing apart, if the bearings come out you’re in deep doodoo.
 
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1994 I believe. Its the Headshock ELS, elastomer damped. Think it's just the two holes on the cap underneath, I'll check though.
I've seen various guides and folk manufacturing their own tools, I'd rather use the one specifically designed for the job if possible though.

It works and feels OK in use, but doesn't feel quite as smooth as I'd expect, and there's a slight knocking Eg when going over cobbled Street. Maybe the top out bumper that's the issue.
Or maybe I'm expecting too much from 25 year old suspension :LOL:
 
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I've got a old full sus Cannondale frame which I bought off here when I first joined RB
Its been sitting for years due to the forks needing rebuilt :?
 
Re: Re:

RobMac":3llvaju1 said:
Its been sitting for years due to the forks needing rebuilt :?

Not the fact you cannae find it under the pile of other frames you’ve got?
 
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clubby is correct, don't rush into taking yer Headshok apart. The bearings need to be kept in place as you dismantle it, till you can get it to the stage where you can carefully remove them so that you know where they go on re-assembly. You don't want to mix them up as some of them are different thicknesses.

I also have as he says a couple of castle tools, a 2-part one I bought to remove the damping cartridge from my Titanium Lefty, which it did fine, but didn't fit the earlier Lefty I had too. That required another so-called universal castle tool that was sold as fitting ALL Headshoks and Leftys, it feckin' doesn't. It should be OK to dismantle most Headshoks I have bar maybe one or two. There are almost as many different tools as Headshoks and Leftys, most impossible to get a hold of.


Jim, I bought a knackered Headshok from the Edinburgh Bike Station last year for a tenner as it had good headset cups and bearings. It has Fatty decals but I can't find a Fatty that has a coil spring and elastomer though. You can have it if you want, the elastomer looks OK, but bearings could be completely effed. It would do as spares though. I've a few Headshoks I bought as spares with the intention of rebuilding a couple but never had the bottle to start the job. Having a couple of Leftys on my Cannondales meant there was no incentive either. The thing is though nearly all Headshoks and Leftys can be rebuilt like new by replacing the bearings and the races with new ones which are available if you know what you need/want.

But that all changed when I decided to build up a non-disc F700 frame I've had for years after I found a set of Magura hydraulic rim brakes in good nick in the Perth Bike Station for 8 quid :mrgreen: . So taking apart the effed coil/elastomer Fatty was good practice for doing an actual good disc Headshok that I needed for the F700. The Fatty has the 2 hole cap on top so I could use a Park pin-tool on it. Since I wasn't worried about terminally damaging the Fatty I experimented with a method of holding the bearings and the races in place as I don't have the proper tools. Bogroll tubes..........a couple cut lengthways, slipped over the steerer races with a few elastic bands to hold in place. I also used another couple inside the outer tube part of Headshok to hold the races and bearings together, again cut lengthways, pushed inside each other then into tube with tissue/bit of rag stuffed inside them to jam them in place. I was probably helped in dismantling the 2 parts as the bearings were very stiff and there was no danger they would just easily fall apart like a properly functioning Headshok. I could move it apart taking my time working out the next step. It's still in a box with the bogroll tube bearing/race retaining tools in place. :LOL:
As I say you can have it if you're ever down this way again.

Rob, which full-suss Cannondale frame do you have, thought you sold the Jekyll frame?
If you've read this far I'll tell you about the disc Headshok I dismantled and rebuilt earlier this year for the F700 mentioned above. As you know I've a few Headshoks I have collected but have never got round to taking any of them apart. As I needed a good one for the F700, I had a Headshok Ultra that I'd got cheap off ebay as damper rebound adjuster rod inside was broken but also had another Headshok with a good damper. I dismantled the Ultra very carefully, laying out the races and bearings in order and orientation with the other parts of Headshok on newspaper on the table in conservatory. Think I also scribed identifying marks on races away from bearings surfaces to be on safe side just in case. NOBODY was allowed to touch or go near the table... :evil: Yes, Lorna's patience got a bit frazzled....... I then cleaned each part thoroughly in an almost OCD way. :oops: before the nerve wracking process of re-assembly. I did manage to get it wrong and broke one of the plastic needle-bearing carriers, lots of swearing before I remembered another Headshok I'd completely forgotten about that came to me in bits, just moved the needle-bearings from broken carrier over to another good plastic carrier minus it's old needle-bearings. Semi dismantled it again and carefully, successfully got it all back together without further eff-ups. Well apart from the damper. The one I was going to use wouldn't fit, ie it wouldn't screw in, then it dawned on me, different screw threads on dampers :facepalm: , feckin' Cannondale. They looked almost the same but different enough not to work. Luckily I had another good damper, it fitted fine plus it was an upgrade from 70mm travel to all of 80mm :shock:

Fitted it to the F700, built it up with the Magura rim brake on rear and a Louise disc brake on front. Used the rear Louise disc lever for the rear hydraulic rim brake. Works fine. The rest of bits came out of my stash, Hope 5-bolt disc hubbed wheels, rear minus the disc of course, cannae mind all the rest of bits, it's jist quality crap from stash.

As I told Keith, it's only a dry weather XC bike, that's been confirmed after I rode it at the Meedies through a wee puddle. Nearly shat myself when applying the rear brake on a wee DH bit of trail. I had completely forgotten just how bad rim brakes are with wet rims compared to discs. :shock:

So, do you want me to offer my services as a qualified Headshok bodgineer? :facepalm:
 
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Cheers for all that info OCP :shock:

It is the two pin head shock under the cap, I do have a Park Pin spanner (green one I think) so that might get the top end off?

It's just Elastomer on bearings I believe... I'll see if I can fathom it out, probably next weekend, and see what looks like it might be effed...
 

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