How to upgrade your old RockShox air fork to take Bottomless Tokens
Get that 'ramp up' feeling on your old fork
Get that 'ramp up' feeling on your old fork
One of the biggest advances in recent suspension technology has been the introduction of spacers to change the air volume of your fork, or Bottomless Tokens as RockShox calls them. These make your suspension curve less linear, that is, it is softer at the start of its stroke then gets harder as you get closer to bottoming out.
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If you’ve been stuck on an older 32mm Solo Air fork you’ve probably listened on enviously to your friends as they drone on about how they ‘love the ramp-up feeling’ however now you too can join in as RockShox has released a new top cap that will allow you to retro-fit tokens to your fork.
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To make the change you’ll need to buy a new top cap (R8012006A) that costs £17 and the tokens themselves that cost (R8032002) that cost a further £13. You’ll also need a driver, a 24 mm socket, some allen keys, a bit of suspension grease and a shock pump.
First you want to remove the top cap from the fork. Deflate your fork fully then unscrew the top cap using the socket and driver. You may want to make a not of your pressure before you start though as this will help you set-up your fork later.
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Screw as many of the new bottomless tokens as you want on the new top cap and secure them with an allen key. make sure your threads are clean and that you have greased the threads and o-ring then you’re ready to put them in.
Tighten the new top cap to 7.3Nm, re-inflate your fork, put the dust cover back on and you’re good to go. You’ll probably have to change your pressures at some point, but using the same as before gives you a good base level to start at.