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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Reverb diagnosis

    My wife had an older externally routed reverb dropper post on her mountain bike. The return was a little slow but the dropper still functioned just fine. It worked on a month long trip into S Utah and N Arizona and when we got back home I decided to sell it and get her a brand x. I was straight forward with the buyer and let him know that the dropper works but has slow return. A bleed wasn't fixing it but a rebuild might. I sold it for cheap and the buyer said the local bike shop owed him a favor and he'd have them do a rebuild on it. Prior to packaging it up, the post worked just fine.

    The guy gets the post and takes it to the shop. They call him today and say they can't get it to function at all after "a charge and a bleed".

    I have owned two reverbs - this one and one that is on my Stache. I don't like their cold weather performance but otherwise they have been reliable. Had anybody had anything happen like this with a reverb? Can they just stop working with no way to get them working again?

    Is it reasonable to ask him to take it to another shop for diagnosis? WWMD?

    At the end of the day I've told him I'd take it back if they can't get it to work. I'm trying to put myself in his shoes. Just feels like this shop may have either done something or just not be familiar with reverbs...

    Any input would be appreciated.

    Seth

    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

  2. #2
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    Sorry to say , Theyve had a lot of issues. Most shops have worked on them a ton and should be familiar with them. most of the time its just a bleed. Theyre bleed machines.
    This is just from a coupme days ago and should give you a good impression
    https://m.vitalmtb.com/product/guide...t-reviews/3841

    Sent from my SM-G950W using TGR Forums mobile app

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    So ahead of time, he knew:

    - The post was slow to return
    - It needed either a bleed or a rebuild
    - He was buying a used Reverb

    Given the pre-purchase conversation, I'm not sure I'd feel the need to do anything to help the buyer to be honest. He was well aware of the condition, acknowledged it, and even said he would take it in for a rebuild. It doesn't sound like his shop knows what they're doing, either.

    Reverbs are absolute garbage, I can't believe there's a used market for them.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by smmokan View Post
    So ahead of time, he knew:

    - The post was slow to return
    - It needed either a bleed or a rebuild
    - He was buying a used Reverb

    Given the pre-purchase conversation, I'm not sure I'd feel the need to do anything to help the buyer to be honest. He was well aware of the condition, acknowledged it, and even said he would take it in for a rebuild. It doesn't sound like his shop knows what they're doing, either.

    Reverbs are absolute garbage, I can't believe there's a used market for them.
    I completely and totally 2nd this.
    You were honest and forthcoming. The end.

    Man remembering back to my old reverb external, the thought alone gives me nightmares.
    Do I detect a lot of anger flowing around this place? Kind of like a pubescent volatility, some angst, a lot of I'm-sixteen-and-angry-at-my-father syndrome?

    fuck that noise.

    gmen.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    Give me his address and I'll send him mine. Then he'll have two pieces of shit that don't work.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by smmokan View Post
    Reverbs are absolute garbage, I can't believe there's a used market for them.
    Once I switched from the button to the paddle, both of mine have worked flawlessly.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Did he pay more than $100 (less shipping) for it? If not tell him he bough an "as is" post.
    Sometimes when a post is on the verge of dying, like a seal is sloppy and slowly leaking but but still functional, all it takes to push that post to deadsville is to top up the air pressure and blow the seal out completely.
    Some Reverbs are just dogs, for some reason some of them don't work right and dont hold their air (and oil).
    I'm not being anti Reverb, but they can be hit or miss. Out of 4 bikes in my garage 3 have been flawless, one for over 7 years, one for over 5 years, and one has been warranted twice, rebuilt 1 and ready for a rebuild again. I'm contemplating buying a C1 and rebuilding the other one on a rainy day as a back up.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    North Vancouver/Whistler
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    I've actually made slow Reverbs fast again but only after rebuilding and/or bleeding. It's the shop

  9. #9
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    Jan 2008
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    A bleed will only effect the lever release and return speed to a certain degree. The fluid in the lever, hose and the actuator on the bottom of the post are a separate system to the air and oil in the internals. The only other way a consumer can adjust the posts function (aside from a rebuild) is to adjust the air pressure.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dee Hubbs View Post
    Did he pay more than $100 (less shipping) for it?
    No, much less. $67 shipped.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dee Hubbs View Post
    If not tell him he bough an "as is" post.
    [QUOTE=Dee Hubbs;5987165]
    In this guy's defense, he hasn't been pushing for me to pay him back for the post. I think he probably hoped I would on my own accord, which is why he let me know about the problem, but he hasn't asked me to. Putting myself in his shoes, I would be bummed (which is how his messages have come across) if I had just spent any amount of money for something that the shop tells me isn't working. From that perspective, I don't want to leave this guy hanging and I would hope that if I was in the position in the future, somebody else would take care of me - I've definitely been treated this well by Mags.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dee Hubbs View Post
    Sometimes when a post is on the verge of dying, like a seal is sloppy and slowly leaking but but still functional, all it takes to push that post to deadsville is to top up the air pressure and blow the seal out completely.
    This is the information I'm hunting for - wouldn't a rebuild fix this (blown seal)? They are stating that they can't get the dropper to work at all. In my mind this suggests that the remote isn't working properly and a bleed would fix it. That said, I'm not as familiar with the inner workings of the this post. When I speak to the shop today, I'm going to ask about what they've tried and the experience that they had, but it seems like short of some sort of internal catastrophic failure, replacing seals, resetting the IFP level, replacing oil of a rebuild should make this dropper work and that shipping from Montana to Maryland wouldn't cause damage that couldn't be fixed by replacing of seals and oil.

    If somebody knows otherwise, please let me know. In all fairness, I haven't checked out the link above but will do it now.

    Seth

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    785
    $67 shipped is super cheap, but a proper rebuild of an A1 Reverb from an experienced shop should be about $160 u.s.d. including new seals. It’s like 1.5-2 hrs of labor, which I think for most shops is more than a “favor.”

    Selling used bike parts can be such a headache...

  12. #12
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    1.25 hrs labour ($75). Rebuild kit ($40 Wholesale, or $70 retail).

  13. #13
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    Jan 2017
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    I don't think you owe him anything. Bought a used post with known issues that have massive reliability concerns and now his shop won't fix it on the "favor" price so he is probably looking to just recoup his money. His thought was i got a dropper post for $67 and a free fix when in reality if they are charging him he could have bought a working (better) dropper.

    How long until a non working reverb shows on pinkbike for $70 plus shipping?

  14. #14
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    Shit you can buy a new takeoff C1 for $200. $67 post + $70 rebuild kit your 70% towards a C1 without any labour.

  15. #15
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    Sep 2007
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    Talked to the shop and the synopsis was essentially - he brought in the post and they put it in a frame and tried it. It didn't drop. One of the techs *might* have performed a bleed, but I don't have confirmation yet. They stated that generally they could fix it with a rebuild, but that it was on borrowed time - i.e. it would have to be bled or rebuilt again in the future. This is different than what he communicated to me.

    When he bought the post he understood that it was slow to return and was planning on having the shop do a rebuild. I'm thinking that Sandbox is correct and that the shop didn't offer to do it for free. I'm still thinking a bleed could fix it as it was working fine before it shipped.

    Seth

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dee Hubbs View Post
    Shit you can buy a new takeoff C1 for $200. $67 post + $70 rebuild kit your 70% towards a C1 without any labour.
    Yeah, except the dude was specifically seeking out an externally routed post. Those things are actually getting harder to find options of. It’s KS Lev country...

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    FWIW PNW Components also has an external post available.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by One (+) Sentence View Post
    Yeah, except the dude was specifically seeking out an externally routed post. Those things are actually getting harder to find options of. It’s KS Lev country...
    Add $3.00 for a drill bit to put a hole in your frame. Internally routing problem fixed.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by John_B View Post
    FWIW PNW Components also has an external post available.
    Yup and it works damn well.

  20. #20
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    I had one of those external cable pnw's too. Worked like a top. Zero issues Mine was 125mm but i think they come in 150 and possibly 170 now and have other improvements. Smokkan gave me a code. Maybe he still has a code?

    Sent from my SM-G950W using TGR Forums mobile app

  21. #21
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    I think I got a little bit off track - I spoke with the guy and he is being very cool about it. He's not asking for money back at this point and recognizes that he took a chance on it and it didn't work. Because I feel partially responsible, we came up with a plan to make sure he gets some sort of partial coverage if he can't get it working so that we're both in it equally.

    Other than people not really liking Reverbs (because of reliability issues), I haven't found that anybody has had one of these "seize" - at least not that lasts through a good bleed. Anybody here have that experience?

    Seth

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Anyone need a what was working reverb, 125mm off my old Hightower LT? The hose got scrunched up and failed, so I just cut it to get the thing out. So, it needs a new hose and obviously a bleed. $50 + shipping
    www.dpsskis.com
    www.point6.com
    formerly an ambassador for a few others, but the ski industry is... interesting.
    Fukt: a very small amount of snow.

  23. #23
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    Reverb diagnosis

    Quote Originally Posted by grskier View Post
    Anyone need a what was working reverb, 125mm off my old Hightower LT? The hose got scrunched up and failed, so I just cut it to get the thing out. So, it needs a new hose and obviously a bleed. $50 + shipping
    Is it an A1, A2 or B1 model?
    If you don't know, you can just answering the following questions.
    Stealth or external?
    If Stealth, dose it have gold a Rockshox logo printed on the stanchion just below the seat rails? Or is there no logo on the stanchion.
    If external, does it have a black or silver speed adjust knob on the trigger?
    Last edited by Dee Hubbs; 05-22-2020 at 09:10 PM.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Carbondale
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    12,478

    Reverb diagnosis

    Stealth, no gold, but rockshox printed at the top of the stanchion


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR ForumsClick image for larger version. 

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    www.dpsskis.com
    www.point6.com
    formerly an ambassador for a few others, but the ski industry is... interesting.
    Fukt: a very small amount of snow.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    XXX
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    610
    Bumping this thread in honor of my Reverb since it completely shit the bed in the middle of a long weekend biking in the Sierras. I had noticed it squishing down a couple inches on my last ride before the trip but didn't have time to do anything about it. By the end of day one it wouldn't stay up at all, leaving me to ride from the "circus bear on a tricycle" position most of the day. Given the hour we backtracked to an REI and they performed a bleed that didn't solve the problem. Day 2 was Downieville - no climbing position needed. Afterwards, Downieville Outfitters bled it a second time, causing it to stay fully erect even when I thought about baseball or grandma. Yuba Expeditions had a rebuild kit and spent 2 hours replacing seals etc. before declaring it proper fucked. Day 3 started with an unplanned expenditure on a new dropper.

    So, IME, yes, these things are pieces of shit that can become unfixable. I was going to send it in to SRAM to have them try, but to spend another $150 on this thing seems ridiculous when someone will sell me one for $67 and I can bitch at them when it doesn't work.
    Everybody's gotta have parkas. I'm talking custom parkas. Two words: "client development." They see all of you out there cutting the powder in your matching Schweikart & Cokely parkas, you'll make an impression. You will thank me later.

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