series SC72UL SC92UL OWNERS MANUAL Fork Log Owners Name: Address: Phone: Purchase Date: Purchase Location: Serial # : Located on backside of right fork leg Fork Model: Steer Tube Length: Bike Brand: Frame Size: Safety 1.) NEVER REMOVE STEER TUBE FROM CROWN. THIS IS A PRESSED IN PART, REMOVING IT WILL RENDER BOTH CROWN AND STEERER INOPERABLE*.MAKE SURE YOUR FORK CAPS AND ALL FORK HARDWARE (brake studs, pinch bolts, etc.) ARE TIGHT 2.) DO NOT PERFORM ANY MODIFICATIONS OR ADJUSTMENTS THAT ARE NOT OUTLINED IN THIS MANUAL. SEE THE TUNING SECTION OF THE MANUAL FOR MORE DETAILS. 3.) INSPECT YOUR FORKS BEFORE EVERY RIDE. INSPECT THE CROWN, TUBES AND AXLE SEAT AREAS FOR ANY SIGNS OF FATIGUE, BENDING, CRACKING OR OTHER DAMAGE. IF YOU NOTICE ANY TYPE OF DAMAGE, DO NOT RIDE ON THEM. RETURN THEM TO YOUR DEALER FOR A COMPLETE INSPECTION AND NECESSARY REPAIR OR WARRANTY STEPS. PLEASE REFER TO THE WARRANTY SECTION OF THIS MANUAL. 4.) PERFORM ALL RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE ACCORDING TO THE MAINTENANCE SECTION OF THIS MANUAL. FAILURE TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE COULD DRASTICALLY REDUCE YOUR FORKS LIFE AND PERFORMANCE. 5.) WHITE BROTHERS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU WEAR PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT EVERY TIME YOU RIDE, INCLUDING A APPROVED BICYCLE HELMET. NEVER RIDE AT NIGHT WITHOUT LIGHTS! * IF SERVICE BECOMES NECESSARY OR REMOVAL OCCURS, PLEASE CALL WHITE BROTHERS CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR PRODUCT EVALUATION AND DIAGNOSIS. TABLE OF CONTENTS: SECTION ONE...................Applications ..............................................PAGE 1 SECTION TWO .................Fork Installation.................................PAGE 2 SECTION THREE..............Tuning .................................................................PAGE 3-5 SECTION FOUR................Maintenance.............................................PAGE 6-8 SECTION FIVE...................Exploded Views...................................PAGE 9-10 SECTION SIX......................Warranty..........................................................PAGE 13 Applications Thanks for purchasing your new White Brothers Fork. You are in for the best ride of your life. Our forks are designed to give you the level of performance you need to ride at your absolute peak. The White Brothers Ultra Light Series forks features a lightweight air damper design. This damper is very easily adjusted for a wide range of riding requirements. Additional tuning can be accomplished by adjusting negative spring preload or changing the negative springs to a different style. Steering accuracy is improved over conventional MTB forks by the utilization of superior materials and design. These include oversized 31.75mm fork tubes, a torsion box design steering crown with pressed-in tubes (SC72/92UL models), an extruded magnesium heavy duty brake bridge, and extra-thick machined drop-outs. Fork travel has been chosen to offer the best performance possible for each forks intended use. Every possible effort has been made to make the White Brothers Forks very light in weight and perform at a level superior to other forks on the market. To insure peak performance, proper installation and periodic maintenance is required. Please read this manual in its entirety to familiarize yourself with the fork and insure your satisfaction with this product. White Brothers Forks are designed for offroad use only. They are not equipped with proper reflectors for on-road use. If you are going to use your forks for road use, have your dealer or mechanic install reflectors that meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (C.P.S.C.) requirements for bicycle standards. If you have any questions concerning C.P.S.C. Standards, please talk to your dealer. When using your forks on public land and trails, please respect the rights of other users and stay on established paths and trails. By mounting biking responsibly, you help to insure the future of our sport. 1 Fork Installation White Brothers Ultra Light Series forks features a 1 1/8" threadless steerer tube. If you have a threaded type fork on your bicycle, consult your dealer for the appropriate upgrade parts necessary to convert to a 1 1/8" threadless steerer tube. 1.) Remove old forks from the bicycle. See your bicycle's owners manual. Measure the diameter and length of your old forks steerer tube to insure that the White Brothers fork steerer tube is the correct diameter and has sufficient length for the installation. 2.) Remove the crown race from your old forks.Note: Replace the bearings if there are any signs of wear or corrosion 3.) Press the crown race onto the steerer of your White Brothers fork (figure 1). 4.) Preassemble headset by: Sliding fork steerer tube through headset bearings. Then install top headset, stem spacer (optional),and steerfigure 1 ing stem onto fork steerer tube. Refer to headset owners manual if you have any questions about this preassembly. 5.) Mark steerer tube at top of steerer stem. Steerer must then be cut 3mm (1/8") below this mark. Consult a dealer or mechanic if you do not have the proper tools for cutting the steerer tube. 6.) The special star fangled nut must now be installed into the steerer. We recommend dealer installation of this part since a special tool is required. 7.) Clean and grease all headset bearings and races to prepare them for assembly. figure 2 8.) Now assemble headset as done in Step 4 (figure 2). 9.) Install the steering stem (threadless type is required) and handlesteering stem bars. Set your bars to your desire height. 10.) Install the threadless mounting cap. Tighten the top threadless spacer (optional) top race stem bolt until there is no play in the fork tube. The forks should headset bearings rotate freely in the head tube. Secure the pinch bolts on the steering stem. Consult the installation instructions for your threadless bearing set to insure correct installation and tension of the headset. 11.) Install your front brakes and adjust following the manufactures specifications. headset bearings 12.) Adjust quick release hub on your front wheel to clear the secondlower race ary catches of the forks. The quick release must be tightened after it is properly seated into the dropout counter bores. Insure that there is sufficient thread engagement (5 or more threads with the release adjusted to lock) due to the thicker White Brothers fork dropouts. Install front wheel to bicycle per manufacturers specification. 13.) Check to see that your brakes are adjusted and working.Make sure brake cable doesn't foul on any part of bicycle when fork is compressed and released. 2 Tuning To get the most from your White Brothers Pro Forx it is important that you tune the forks to fit your style of riding and the conditions you ride in. Initial break-in period Your new fork is designed to break-in over a period of 10 hours or more of riding. As all of the parts bed into each other, the stiction (friction) of the forks will reduce and the forks will absorb the bumps better. After this initial break-in, fine tuning the spring preload and cartridge damper may be beneficial to achieve the best possible fork performance for your weight and riding style. Adjustment and Maintenance . Valve wrench (provided) . 4mm allen wrench . rear shock pump or other high pressure pump (WB pn 97-725) . Air Tight Adapter (WB pn 97-726) . Neutral Shaft Retainer Pin Spanner (WB pn 97-716) The White Brothers Ultra Light Series forks has been fitted with Total Air cartridges for spring and damping. Total Air cartridges are lightweight, adjustable air-sprung shock absorbers which screw into the fork stanchions at the crown. The following guidelines for checking and adjusting your cartridges will enable you to enjoy maximum performance from your fork. 1) IMPORTANT! Always before riding the fork, push down on the bars hard with all your body weight to check for sufficient air pressure in your Total Air cartridges. The fork should not bottom out easily (if more pressure is needed, see No. 4 through 6 below). 2) Test ride the fork first over easy terrain. If after riding over a variety of terrain you decide that tuning is necessary, go on to the next section. Before beginning, make sure you have the necessary tools. Compression Adjustment 3) The compression or overall "spring" of the fork can be changed two ways; by changing air pressure and by resetting the adjuster. Either change requires re-inflation of the cartridges. Rebound adjustment is done by changing adjusters. 4) If the forks feels too soft or firm, try changing the air pressure as follows: SC72UL Rider Wt. (lbs.) 100-120 120-140 140-160 160-180 180-200 200-220 220SC92UL Rider Wt. (lbs.) 100-120 120-140 140-160 160-180 180-200 200-220 220Plush Ride 110-140 psi 130-155 psi 140-165 psi 150-175 psi 160-185 psi 170-190 psi 180-195 psi Plush Ride 105-110 psi 110-125 psi 125-140 psi 140-155 psi 155-165 psi 165-170 psi 170-180 psi Firm Ride 125-150 psi 140-160 psi 150-170 psi 160-180 psi 170-190 psi 180-200 psi 190-210 psi Firm Ride 115-125 psi 125-135 psi 140-150 psi 155-165 psi 165-175 psi 175-185 psi 185-195 psi 3 5) Unscrew each of the dome-shaped dustcaps so that the schrader valve stem is exposed (figure 3). 6) A high pressure shock pump is the best way to inflate cartridges. WB recommend you purchase the BTI High Pressure Air Pump (pn 97-725) and the BPP Air Tight Adapter (pn 97-726). Install the male part of the BPP Air Tight Adapter into th ehose end of the BTI High Pressure Air Pump. The pump is ready to use. Thread the pump with adapter onto the fork's schrader valve stem(figure 4). Pump the BTI High Pressure Air Pumpuntil the air pressure is up to pressure recommended on the chart (page 3) for your weight prefrence and type of fork. Unthread the Air Pump from the schrader valve stem. Repeat this procedure on the other fork leg. After pressurizing is completed, reinstall dome-shaped dustcaps. 7) Further tuning can be done by resetting the damping adjuster in each cartridge. Deflate both cartridges. Brush away any dirt or sand around the schrader valve and unscrew it with the tubular socket wrench provided. Set the schrader valve aside only on a dust-free surface. 8) The adjuster setting is measured in "turns out" or counterclockwise turns , from the fully closed position. Your adjusters are preset at 6 turns out. 9) Insert the long end of a 4mm allen wrench through the schrader valve hole (figure 5). Rotate it slightly while pushing down until you feel it seat in the top of the adjuster. Turn the wrench clockwise counting the turns until you reach to fully seated position. NOTE: Do not turn the adjuster hard clockwise against its seat, only turn it until it lightly touches its closed position. Failure to follow these instructions can damage the adjuster spring. 10) Now, screw the adjuster counter clockwise to the setting you need. Fewer "turns out" will result in a firmer ride, more turns out will provide a plusher ride. The following guidelines may be useful. NOTE: Never set the adjuster at more than 8 turns out from bottom. SC72UL Rider Wt. (lbs.) 100-120 120-140 140-160 160-180 180-200 200-220 220SC92UL Rider Wt. (lbs.) 100-120 120-140 140-160 160-180 180-200 200-220 220- figure 3 figure 4 figure 5 Plush 8 7 1/2 7 6 1/2 6 5 1/2 5 Plush 8 7 1/2 7 6 1/2 6 5 1/2 5 Medium 6 1/2 6 5 1/2 5 4 1/2 4 3 1/2 Medium 7 6 1/2 6 5 1/2 5 4 1/2 4 Firm 5 4 1/2 4 3 1/2 3 2 1/2 2 Firm 6 5 1/2 5 4 1/2 4 3 1/2 3 Air Cap O-Ring Piston O-Ring Adjuster Adjuster O-Ring Negative Spring 11) When replacing the schrader valve in the air cap, make sure that the o'ring on the schrader valve is free of dust or hair and in good condition. Warning: Use only the tubular wrench to tighten the schrader valve; ordinary wrenches or pliers can overstress the threads in the nylon air cap. Spring Spacer Compression Valve Valve Spring 4 Rebound Adjustments figure 6 12) Rebound is governed by the size of a small hole in the adjuster. The adjusters installed in your cartridges are rated for "medium" rebound. In the small bag included in the package are adjusters rated for "slow" and for "fast" rebound damping. 13) Adjusters are coded to distinguish them. Slow rebound adjusters are marked #1, medium are marked #2, and fast are marked #3 figure 7 (figure 6). 14) To change an adjuster, deflate both cartridges and remove the schrader valve stems. Insert the long end of a 4mm allen wrench through the hole and into the top of the adjuster. Rotate the adjuster counterclockwise several times until it finally comes loose. When the adjuster is free, it can be withdrawn on the end of the allen wrench by tilting the wrench slightly and pulling it up through the valve stem hole (figure 7). Caution: Just under the adjuster are the compression valve and spring; these may fall out if the fork is turned upside-down while the adjuster is out. If they do fall out,first install the spring, then seat the tapered end of the compression valve in the adjuster and carefully re-install the adjuster into the ca ...