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Avalanche boxxer upgrade kit out! Will fit majority of forks!

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
2010 and yeah I upped the air a smidge, I'm curious as to the new air cart. Mine survived almost a year and half no service and the upper had no oil in there but still kicking. So knock on wood I won't change it if it takes that kind of beating.
You mean pressure? I ride with the highest possible pressure that still gives me traction but it still could ride a bit higher. Mine also survived 1.5 seasons but after this year mozine trip the dust got it and it didnt go back for the last 10mm of travel. Easy fix but I really want an updated spring. My friend is experimenting with a home made dual air in his 32mm boxxer and even though his damper is obviously worse the spring characteristic feels waaaaay better. Especially in a bermed track full of g-outs.

btw. Tried a woodie on his v10 and Im really tempted to get one for my legend ;)
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
You mean pressure? I ride with the highest possible pressure that still gives me traction but it still could ride a bit higher. Mine also survived 1.5 seasons but after this year mozine trip the dust got it and it didnt go back for the last 10mm of travel. Easy fix but I really want an updated spring. My friend is experimenting with a home made dual air in his 32mm boxxer and even though his damper is obviously worse the spring characteristic feels waaaaay better. Especially in a bermed track full of g-outs.

btw. Tried a woodie on his v10 and Im really tempted to get one for my legend ;)
Air PS I up slow speed comp down rebound up a smidge. Was kind of a balancing act but dialed in now. Yeah the solo air cart is interesting I'd like to take a new one out and play with the settings (PSI) and see how or if I acts more solid and consistant.
 

frgeoff

Chimp
Feb 3, 2009
60
6
I recently had my LBS purchase the AVY cart for my totem solo air. I had it installed and went to diablo freeride park for a sampling. So far, this is the most disappointing modification ive made to the bike, I need to run way more air pressure (spring) than ever before and still the fork continues to bottom out. It is nowhere near as good as the stock totem felt... I adjusted the comp knob to max compression and it still wasnt enough. I guess its time to learn how to change shims

edit: http://www.avalanchedownhillracing.com/Cartridge Kit/Cartridge Kit Revalve.pdf looking like i need to learn a lot. if anyone has advice for some totem setting please advise!!!
 
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Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,028
1,165
El Lay
Excessive bottoming is definitely not something my Avy cart has problems with.

I am guessing you have a spring side problem or possibly way too low damping oil level.
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
I recently had my LBS purchase the AVY cart for my totem solo air. I had it installed and went to diablo freeride park for a sampling. So far, this is the most disappointing modification ive made to the bike, I need to run way more air pressure (spring) than ever before and still the fork continues to bottom out. It is nowhere near as good as the stock totem felt... I adjusted the comp knob to max compression and it still wasnt enough. I guess its time to learn how to revalve shimstacks.. not how i wanted to spend sunday but I need to get this cartridge working right otherwise the stock totem cart is going back in (of course its already drilled out :hammer: )

edit: http://www.avalanchedownhillracing.com/Cartridge Kit/Cartridge Kit Revalve.pdf looking like i need to learn a lot. if anyone has advice for some totem setting please advise!!!
If you got your shop to install it, an internally adjustable cart probably isn't for you.
Best to keep perceivable negative comments about a product you don't understand to yourself on the net.
You've bought a product that can pretty much be set up how you like. It's not Avalanches fault if you've handed over duties of getting it installed to somebody else. Avalanche cart can be fine tuned after instillation, Best to learn it and do it yourself so as to not have someone else have to diagnose your diagnosis.
External adjusters are for low speed damping(pedaling, body movements), high speed damping is changed by adjusting the thickness of shims(like a washer)that bend under pressure to allow oil to pass. The faster the front wheel hits something, the higher the pressure. The higher the pressure the quicker the shims bend. by changing/swapping/adding thicker shims, this can be retarded, and the forks speed slowed down.
Oil height if set correctly can also be changed to create a smaller air chamber by adding more oil, this will ramp up making the force to compress the fork greater also. It will also make the resistance greater as the air gets denser under compression.
Oil weight(thickness) can also be changed. Thicker oil has more resistance.
The damping piston(the plunger with shims in it) that pushes through the oil to create resistance, has little to no effect if it passes past the oil. This is probably what's happening with your fork.
Sorry, I have to run, that's all a bit mixed up and can be added too and rearranged for easier reading. I'll edit it tonight.
Don't blame the chop stick manufacturer if you can't use chop sticks.
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
19,002
9,669
AK
The avalanche cart adds MORE bottoming resistance to virtually any fork, due to the fact that it has an anti-bottoming hydraulic cone for the last part of the travel as part of the system and that it DOES NOT modify your existing spring/bottoming control (IE oil level in a marzocchi, or spring, bottom-out bumper, etc).

Sorry to add to the fray, but you know not what you speak of.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,760
5,666
Did your bike shop give you any spare parts, like an oil lock ring after install?

I'd rip the top cap off and remove the air spring and cycle the fork to check the shop put enough oil in it, I ran stock RS oil volume and I had ample compression damping and I'm 220lb.
 

frgeoff

Chimp
Feb 3, 2009
60
6
thanks for the feedback. Im just posting up my experience did not say anything negative or inflammatory. I am well aware of the benefits this cart offers thats why i dropped the coin for it. Also aware a learning curve is involved with something like this. As soon as i get the fork working right ill post my setup and maybe it will help others? To be honest, I was blown away how well my totem worked out-of-the-box (of course the mid range wasnt there so thats why i went to the avy setup).

Are any of you guys running this cart in a totem solo-air?
 
Also aware a learning curve is involved with something like this. As soon as i get the fork working right ill post my setup and maybe it will help others?

?

Seeing as how you live near Diablo you might want to send the fork to AVY so you know its installed correctly. Not trying to dog your LBS but most shops are near clueless with rebuilding suspension.
 
Just want to say that the AVY kit installed in my boxxer race - feels amazing! What a performance upgrade!!!! Wow! Craig has really done an excellent job on these!

That being said, I must sadly sell mine... because of sponsorship conflict... but If anyone is interested in buying my 2010 boxxer race/world cup (white fork) with Avalanche kit installed and also comes with world cup air spring and top cap assembly (brand new) if you want to convert it to a world cup (I liked the feel of coil spring better.) let me know... Hate to sell this, but I've been running dorado, and have 2 2012 dorados coming... Stancions are clean, fork is in good condition, only been ridden about 5 times with the AVY kit in... feels like Butter! Shoot me a PM. Not sure on price yet, but was thinking 800.00 for everything????
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,760
5,666
Cool lookin bike, I now have some 888's so I can start messing with the Totems to try and get the cart to align properly.

Pretty pleased with the 888's they make the Totem's feel like rubbish, my bike is now Sram free and it works every time I get on it.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,760
5,666
Have a look back a few pages there's some pics of the install, machining in the lowers was off and it kicked the damper at an angle. I need to try the sanding trick post earlier in this thread to try and get it right, not sure if there is a need for the Avy cart in the 888's, they feel pretty good.
 
Sep 6, 2011
19
0
looking for some advice/explanation.

my cart makes a knocking sound mid travel, im pretty sure its not the bottoming cone as its not low enough in the travel. any idea what it is? not spring tapping before its suggested.

i get a harsh noise on bottoming, like the cone isnt doing its job. any ideas? ive had the cart back out to see if theres any marking and i cant find anything.

the low speed dampening almost seems non existent, riding steep tracks the fork was just diving through the travel, i tried a stiffer spring but not having the right sag just meant i was loosing grip.

the rebound was consistent so im guessing its nothing to do with the fluid foaming?
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
looking for some advice/explanation.

my cart makes a knocking sound mid travel, im pretty sure its not the bottoming cone as its not low enough in the travel. any idea what it is? not spring tapping before its suggested.

i get a harsh noise on bottoming, like the cone isnt doing its job. any ideas? ive had the cart back out to see if theres any marking and i cant find anything.

the low speed dampening almost seems non existent, riding steep tracks the fork was just diving through the travel, i tried a stiffer spring but not having the right sag just meant i was loosing grip.

the rebound was consistent so im guessing its nothing to do with the fluid foaming?
As far as clunk mid stroke id say its the spring after having mine apart and tuning there really isn't anything that can make a clunk sound. The oil lock ring holds the main cart in the upper and the shaft to the lowers. If theres no contact marks then the clunk more than likley isn't the cart.
Possibly if your oil lock ring is loose or your c-clip made contact allowing the ring to move then there would be some marks on bottoming cone, clip or ring.

Check the oil lock ring for marks make sure its tapered side down, check to see if spring is loading then popping sideways into stanchion.

Just a couple thoughts if i think of anything I'll post up.

As far as mid speed or slow speed sounds like you may need a bit more stack on compression side if your comp is on all the way.
 
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Sep 6, 2011
19
0
cool, ill have another look for marks. ive been meaning to replace the shrink wrap so ill see if that makes a difference.

thought it would probably need re-shimmed but i put in the riding description steep rocky tracks such as Glencoe and Fort William, so the last thing i was expecting was an under damped setup. ah well

cheers
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
cool, ill have another look for marks. ive been meaning to replace the shrink wrap so ill see if that makes a difference.

thought it would probably need re-shimmed but i put in the riding description steep rocky tracks such as Glencoe and Fort William, so the last thing i was expecting was an under damped setup. ah well

cheers
It happens though steep and rocky here vs steep and rocky over seas can be quite different.
I reshimmed mine the stuff we were riding and cutting in this summer was ridiculous steep loose rocky and no fun for the first several runs (too much loose, debris, rocks etc) but I did shim per craig and the front stayed up where I needed it.
That said I had mine set up for speed and chop more single track with good high speed for bigger hits, I did more mid speed and more slow speed.
Keep it posted though I'd be curious to fi d out what it is and also to assist future peeps.
 
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no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
Oil level right? I had similar diving, reshimmed etc thinking medium 888 spring should be right for my 70kg, I was wrong, after much fluffing about with shims and oil, turned out to be the spring was too soft, now I need to reshim back to Craigs first shim stack dang it.
Are you running the mid stroke shims?
 

bullit398

Chimp
Oct 21, 2007
69
1
Neptune, NJ
Mine was bottoming to easy and it turned out I had air trapped in the cartridge. Craig had me over fill it and cycle the rod until the dampening was consistent all the way to top out. The I removed the excess fluid to 90mm from the top. It seemed to work. Not sure if thats your problem though.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
19,002
9,669
AK
Im reshimming in a few days, got the parts comming. I'm about 40lbs lighter than when I got the fork and it's making a pretty huge difference. Gunna have to do the rear shocks too, I'm thinking it might actually not be that hard with the DHS, given it's bladder reservior (no IFP depth, etc), just have to order the showa pin-spanner.
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Im reshimming in a few days, got the parts comming. I'm about 40lbs lighter than when I got the fork and it's making a pretty huge difference. Gunna have to do the rear shocks too, I'm thinking it might actually not be that hard with the DHS, given it's bladder reservior (no IFP depth, etc), just have to order the showa pin-spanner.
Congrats on weight loss (if not injury related).
I quit lifting and started cardio down almost 20 lbs my self between diet and workout change.

Keep me posted on tuning the dhs as far as ease of use.
 

chakies_c

Chimp
Dec 6, 2011
2
0
It will perform any way you like, the adjustments make a difference and of course spring rate and or PSI.

The biggest issue is spring rate and PSI, I slacked out my head angle and had to lower PS I as well as back off the compresiion a smidge.
I'm 140 with gear and now running stock spring from Boxxer RC.
What spring did you suggest the best? I don't want a fork dive on it, should i had the med valve for the avy cart?
 
Sep 6, 2011
19
0
thanks for the advice, ill check the oil height and try the air thing. i never really cycled the cart much when i installed it.
 
Sep 6, 2011
19
0
Right, oil levels are fine. no damage to the piston rod. there was a hairline scratch on the bottoming cone, turns out the lock ring was upside down, woops, was certain it wasnt. anyway, click/clunk is still there. it seems to happen right at the start of the rebound stroke around about when the 'box' is just covered by the lowers.

pushing the stanchion in and out slowly doesnt cause a clunk but fast it does. obviously the forks will never be moving that slow on the bike though.

ive got a vid uploading, taking a while though

edit: here we go:

Untitled on Vimeo

its right at the transition between compression and rebound
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
19,002
9,669
AK
And I need to figure out how to dissasemble my DHS...two holes on the front of the shock. Thinking pin-spanner. Is it that simple? (yes, deflate the bladder obviously). I got the tools to dissasemble my Avy cart, hope to do these two at the same time.

In my experience, rebound-clunk means that the rebound glide-ring is broken (like my stratos S8) or the valve is malfunctioning like on my curnut stuff. Otherwise oil level too low, but obviously that's rare.

Here's a cool Avalanche article I found with google in the meantime: :) http://www.haascnc.com/cncmag/customer_article.asp?VolumeNo=-2&IssueNo=45&ArticleID=411
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
And I need to figure out how to dissasemble my DHS...two holes on the front of the shock. Thinking pin-spanner. Is it that simple? (yes, deflate the bladder obviously). I got the tools to dissasemble my Avy cart, hope to do these two at the same time.

In my experience, rebound-clunk means that the rebound glide-ring is broken (like my stratos S8) or the valve is malfunctioning like on my curnut stuff. Otherwise oil level too low, but obviously that's rare.

Here's a cool Avalanche article I found with google in the meantime: :) Haas Automation, Inc. | Haas Customer Success Stories| CNC Machining Magazine |

Good info on possabilities and great article.

Well got the bike all avy'd out now, need some tuning on the chubbie from the Sunday it was valved for a 300# spring and now overpowered by a #450 and the totem cart will get a stiffer mid speed as I put a softer springin. Man the difference between the blue totem spring and the yellow is pretty huge as the yellow ramps up hard and hurts the wrist.

Sunday has avalanche chubbie and avy cart in 2011 wc
Canfild one has avalanche woodie and avy cart in 2010 totem




 

BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
Good info on possabilities and great article.

Well got the bike all avy'd out now, need some tuning on the chubbie from the Sunday it was valved for a 300# spring and now overpowered by a #450 and the totem cart will get a stiffer mid speed as I put a softer springin. Man the difference between the blue totem spring and the yellow is pretty huge as the yellow ramps up hard and hurts the wrist.

Sunday has avalanche chubbie and avy cart in 2011 wc
Canfild one has avalanche woodie and avy cart in 2010 totem
Sell that Chubbie to me *wink wink* besides I ride a 300lb spring on my Sunday and just blew out my DHX(not even while riding) and I've been really curious about how the Avy would perform on the Sunday.

Does the Chubbie not fit flipped like the the Fox/Vivid/BOS with the reservoir on the bottom?
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Sell that Chubbie to me *wink wink* besides I ride a 300lb spring on my Sunday and just blew out my DHX(not even while riding) and I've been really curious about how the Avy would perform on the Sunday.

Does the Chubbie not fit flipped like the the Fox/Vivid/BOS with the reservoir on the bottom?

It probably would with the boss link from pearce cycles, I don't mind it flipped up.

I can't really say I want the valving changed aside of rebound it feels deep and smooth, better than the roco wc I had on the last one..had the avy in pretty varied terrain and bottomed 2 times on nasty hits upped the high speed comp and it softened those 2 spots out nicely.
That's what's nice about the leverage and the avy with lots of oil it damps the rear out and can be tweaked but doesn't spike via high speed.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,760
5,666
slipperysalmon, to me that sounds like air in the cart, are you 100% sure you have enough oil in there?