Retiring a set of Pace RC36 Evo IIs.

[kerryn]

I finally decided to retire my 1999 Pace RC36 Evo IIs.

The forks are in fairy decent condition as they weren't used between 2002 and 2008. However with no service support where I live I have given up trying to maintain them as where I live now (the rocky foothills of the Colorado Front Range mountains) is just too brutal for them.

The forks are disk mount only. Still hold air, but the shock damper keeps on blowing its seals and filling the air chamber with damper oil. It probably needs a full rebuild with seals and what-not, which I have done before but needs it again. However, its just too much hassle for me now living in the States - so I bought a very non retro new Rockshox SID instead.

So I am wondering what to do with the forks. I think I have three options:

1) Mount the forks in my garage as a trophy of its former glory. I like this option as I have fond memories of this fork and what it represents (my former days of biking in the UK with - once upon a time - top notch british kit).

2) Sell the forks to someone on this forum if the price was right any they paid shipping (probably prohibitive $).

3) Keep the forks, overhaul them again, and use them in a couple of years on my kids' bikes. My children won't be riding the rocky trails that I do, so they should hold up much better, and still be a better fork than what comes on most kids bikes. I wonder if I can still get a light weight spring..?

Did I miss any other options? Turn them into a light stand perhaps?

I kind of like option 1 and a possible chance to go to option 3 down the road...

 

[stevetait]

Either speak to Tim Fork English and get the bits to restore them yourself or make a never seen before, one of a kind piece of furniture / officeware from them

I like the latter... you can gaze at them lovingly across the room

 

[gtRTSdh]

I could understand going from too brutal for pace and fitting Z1's, but SID's? I just can't quite imagine a super light fork standing up to brutal very well? Marzocchi Z1's perhaps. . . or am I missing something?

 

[dbmtb]

3.

Every time.

 

[Anthony]

I could understand going from too brutal for pace and fitting Z1's, but SID's? I just can't quite imagine a super light fork standing up to brutal very well? Marzocchi Z1's perhaps. . . or am I missing something?

Current SIDs have 32mm stanchions, so they're going to be a lot stiffer than an Evo II's 28mm or even a Z1's 30mm, as well as havng a hugely more capable action than either.

I seem to recall Tim saying at some point that the Evo II wasn't one of Pace's best designs from a reliability point of view. I expect he could supply the parts to fix it though, if carriage both ways across the Atlantic isn't a viable proposition for him to do the work.

 

[kerryn]

I've spoken to Tim about doing a total overhaul and even a spring conversion in the past, but as it would cost me a minimum of $250 to do this what with shipping across the Atlantic it wasn't really cost viable.

Consider that I just picked up a new set of SIDs for only $480 and then I have a whole new, stiffer yet plusher, warranted and serviceable fork it was really a no brainer.

I loved the classic look of the Pace fork and if I was still living in the midwest with their smooth rolling dirt single-track I would probably keep it going. But with 1000ft descents through boulder fields with your average rock being a 4-5 inch pointy lump in the trail, that I'm hitting at speeds up to 30mph a 13 year old Pace fork can't cope - and it blows out its oil-seals.

The SID should be able to handle this. Why not a longer travel fork? Well my Boulder starship being a 1996 bike can't handle forks with more than 100mm travel and the SID is one of the best in that travel range for 26" forks.

 

[dbmtb]

Doing the spring conversion should be pretty straight forward. The oil version isn't exactly rocket science to take apart - it's the resealing the leaky parts that you need Tim for (!).

But he doesn't have any spring kit upgrades at the moment. I could do with one myself......

 

[kerryn]

Doing the spring conversion should be pretty straight forward. The oil version isn't exactly rocket science to take apart - it's the resealing the leaky parts that you need Tim for (!).

Yeah, it's not that difficult but it is time consuming. I replaced the seals last year, but they still leak. First, not by much then a little here and there and then a lot.

Basically I am down to stripping the fork every couple of months if I ride it hard. It comes to the point of, yes I can maintain it but do I want to?

Having a retro bike is like having an MG. You spend as much time repairing and maintaining it (if not more) as you do riding it.