Gosh vince, what a job! Thanks for taking the time to post up the how-to for us. Enjoy that improved ride.
Sarah
Sarah
[DIY] How to mount a Maxton cartridge in a fork
Hello
I just received my Maxton cartridge, within 2 days delivery from England. It is well finished. The kit includes a damping cartridge, a spring, a plastic washer for the bottom of the spring.
First step : remove the right leg from the bike (see another tuto).
When the right leg is removed from the bike, I can remove its cap. I push down the spacer a little bit, put a modified washer between the spacer and the nut under the cap. With 2 key (14 mm & 17 mm), I can unscrew the nut :
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I can remove the cap and the spring.
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The, I drain the leg, pumping on the cartridge to drain it too. While the leg draining finishes, leg upside down, I begin to cut the spacer. Maxton spring and cartridge are different and the spacer must be shortened at a 117 length (outside of the centering part at its bottom).
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I also drill 2 holes, 25 mm from the top, to use later for spring compression.
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When the leg is drained, I put in a vice, with soft jaws and I try to unscrew the bolt in the leg foot. Not easy... As soon as it's a little bit unscrewed, the cartridge turns with the bolt... As the cartridge has a square top, I take a 30 cm alu tube, crush it a one end and use this end to block the cartridge rotation against the tube.
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Here are both cartridge side by side, (Maxton is the black one). You can see clearly, it's better built than the origin cartridge.
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I build another to mount the new cartridge. It's a 30 cm long tube, and I cut one end to fit with the top casting of Maxton cartridge. Then, mounting the cartridge is very easy : just push it in the tube and put the bolt in the leg foot and screw gently until it gets blocked.
![]()
I'm sorry, I have no photos from here, my camera battery died...
When the cartridge is mounted, I put back the leg vertical in a vice and I pour approx 400 cl of oil, viscosity 5. Then, I pump on the cartridge stem until it becomes difficult : the cartridge is ready. Using a syringue and a 140 mm hose, I set the right height for the air chamber.
I can then put the provided washer, the spring, the modified spacer and the nut on the stem. Then, I push down the spacer to compress the spring and when the nut appears on top of the spacer, I put temporarily my splitted washer to block everything.
I can then screw the top cap, screw the nut against it and remove the splitted washer. Then, I can screw the top cap on the leg and mount back the leg on the bike.
Stay tuned for the first test drive tomorrow. In the garage, when pushing on the handlebar, brakes on, I can feel that the rebound behaviour is better than before, we'll see...
I just received my Maxton cartridge, within 2 days delivery from England. It is well finished. The kit includes a damping cartridge, a spring, a plastic washer for the bottom of the spring.
First step : remove the right leg from the bike (see another tuto).
When the right leg is removed from the bike, I can remove its cap. I push down the spacer a little bit, put a modified washer between the spacer and the nut under the cap. With 2 key (14 mm & 17 mm), I can unscrew the nut :
I can remove the cap and the spring.
The, I drain the leg, pumping on the cartridge to drain it too. While the leg draining finishes, leg upside down, I begin to cut the spacer. Maxton spring and cartridge are different and the spacer must be shortened at a 117 length (outside of the centering part at its bottom).
I also drill 2 holes, 25 mm from the top, to use later for spring compression.
When the leg is drained, I put in a vice, with soft jaws and I try to unscrew the bolt in the leg foot. Not easy... As soon as it's a little bit unscrewed, the cartridge turns with the bolt... As the cartridge has a square top, I take a 30 cm alu tube, crush it a one end and use this end to block the cartridge rotation against the tube.
Here are both cartridge side by side, (Maxton is the black one). You can see clearly, it's better built than the origin cartridge.
I build another to mount the new cartridge. It's a 30 cm long tube, and I cut one end to fit with the top casting of Maxton cartridge. Then, mounting the cartridge is very easy : just push it in the tube and put the bolt in the leg foot and screw gently until it gets blocked.
I'm sorry, I have no photos from here, my camera battery died...
When the cartridge is mounted, I put back the leg vertical in a vice and I pour approx 400 cl of oil, viscosity 5. Then, I pump on the cartridge stem until it becomes difficult : the cartridge is ready. Using a syringue and a 140 mm hose, I set the right height for the air chamber.
I can then put the provided washer, the spring, the modified spacer and the nut on the stem. Then, I push down the spacer to compress the spring and when the nut appears on top of the spacer, I put temporarily my splitted washer to block everything.
I can then screw the top cap, screw the nut against it and remove the splitted washer. Then, I can screw the top cap on the leg and mount back the leg on the bike.
Stay tuned for the first test drive tomorrow. In the garage, when pushing on the handlebar, brakes on, I can feel that the rebound behaviour is better than before, we'll see...
