Prehistorical Rockshox in London

[tamdool]

Hi, this is my first time here on the forum......so be kind!
I have a couple of questions I'd like some help with. I used to live in California in the early nineties and regularly mountain biked there. I moved around the globe with work got out of the habit and eventually arrived in London a few years ago. After clearing out my storage bins I came across my old bike and began to get the off-road urge again. The bike's in good nick even if the accessories are a little quaint. The main problem is the shocks are not kicking back up when they're pressed in. I took it to a couple of shops and they're "Evans" type places that only want to flog you a new bike and had no interest in helping fix them.
I like the fact that the bike is almost a time capsule and want to try and make it work with it's original shox, but even if that's not possible I was told that the sizes of new shox had changed and I probably wouldn't find any to fit my frame. I'm not an expert in any way so I'd appreciate some advice.
a) Can the shox be made to work? They're speckly gold magnesium with a serrated round black numbered dial on top of each fork that says"static lockout"
b) Is it impossible to find new shox for my frame? It's a Merlin titanium body the only writing says "Design 1 by Rob Vandermark"
c) Are there any sympathetic MB workshops in the London area? I know I have a decent bike and I know I'm not technical, I'd just like to get it going again.
Thanks
Tam

 

[legrandefromage]

helloooo

These look like MAG 20, I had a set many moons ago.

Undo the phillips screw in the dials and you'll see a little hole. This is the valve for a needle pump that puts air back in the fork.

Oil inside the fork legs acts as a damper. The dial opens and closes a valve which allows more/ less oil through to make them feel 'faster' or 'slower' depending on how much air is in them.



If thats a Merlin Ti frame - theres lots of fans of those here.

 

[JustKev]

The forks are almost certainly serviceable - they may just need greasing and pumping up. It sounds like the bike is a Merlin soft-tail? Better pictures would be great.

Welcome to the site - you'll get all the advice (and probably parts) you need here.

 

[pete_mcc]

If I was you I'd head down to Bicycle Magic in the east end. Back in the 90's this was the best independent shop that specialised in top end stuff like your Merlin (which is worth a mint by the way, so don't be fooled into selling it). The workshop used to be run by a guy called Scott who was a superb wrench. They were hit bad in the late 90s by Cycle Surgery et al and then moved into more general bikes but if Scott is still there maybe try them:

http://www.bicyclemagic.com/

or another indie shop worth it's weight was Yellow Jersey in Camden.

I'm sure there will be loads of other suggestions from the guys who actually live in town (I moved away a number of years ago), but whatever you do, don't give up on that bike!

 

[JustKev]

LGF has teh right idea however you need a 'needle type' RockShox pump rather than the high pressure pump pictured. What ever you do don't use football pump/valve :shock:

 

[tamdool]

Thank you all for this advice. At last, interested non bullshit suggestions. Another question. Where can I get one of those pump thingys?
BTW I got so excited by the replies that I ran downstairs and took some more pics for y'all. Enjoy.

 

[legrandefromage]

That is going to make a few people here quite moist.


My Mag 20's came with a specific pump that looked like an overlarge hypodermic needle.

something similar to this:

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.php?p ... 388&page=1

From memory, I used to run about 60psi, it was about two pumps and they were ready.

 

[cce]

as a test to see if they hold air you can use a football adapter and a normal pump.

it's impossible to get decent pressure control but it does at least test if the seals are good

 

[TSC.]

Bleedin' bike shops these days, somebody walks in with a proper Merlin & they can't even be bothered to help. Awsome bike BTW!

Used to have the Mag20's myself & remember having a problem when I pumped them up, I always ended up splitting the rubber valve where the 'needle' goes into the fork. Eventually I remembered to lube the needle (bit of saliva will do the trick) each time before inserting it into the fork.

A good tip that saved me lots of hassle with forks that wouldn't hold air & had to valves regularly replaced.

TSC.

 

[JustKev]

IME a football adaptor is too big and ruins the seals. I'd not recommend it.

Nice Merlin, I thinks its a 'Mountain' but someone will confirm. Definately worth some effort to restore.