OWNERS MANUAL FOR DH<2 DOWNHILL WHITE BROTHERS CYCLING A DIVISION OF EKO SPORT, INC. 580 NORTH WESTGATE DR. GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81505 WWW.WHITEBROTHERSCYCLING.COM Owners Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Purchase Date: ___________________________________________________________________________ Purchase Location: _______________________________________________________________________ Serial # __________________________________________________________________________________ Located on the backside of the right axle clamp) 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 FORK 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 YOUR FORK.. RETURN IT 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 FORK'S LIFE AND PERFORMANCE. 5.) WHITE BROTHERS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU WEAR PROPER SAFETY EQUIPMENT EVERY TIME YOU RIDE, INCLUDING AN 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. 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 DH-2 fork features lightweight, dual rate coil springs and an externally adjustable hydraulic damper. This technology is borrowed from motorcycling and offers the best possible suspension action. Steering accuracy is improved over conventional MTB forks by utilizing dual billet aluminum steering crowns, oversized 31.75mm fork tubes, inverted stanchion/slider design and large 20mm axle. Fork travel has been set at 6.10" (155mm) to offer the best performance for downhill racing terrain. An optional 7.09" (180mm) kit is available if longer travel is desired. A combination coil spring and high-cushion bottom bumper is used to minimize hard bottoming. Every possible effort has been made to make the White Brothers Fork very light in weight and perform at a level superior to other forks on the market. To ensure peak performance, proper installation and periodic maintenance is required. Please read this manual in its entirety to familiarize yourself with the fork to insure your satisfaction with this product. White Brothers Forks are designed for offroad use only. They are not equipped with proper reflectors for road use. If you are going to use your fork on the road, 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 fork on public land and trails, please respect the rights of other users and stay on established paths and trails. By mountain biking responsibly, you help to ensure the future of our sport. Copyright 2001, Eko Sport, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FORK INSTALLATION White Brothers DH-2 Fork 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. NOTE: Some frames are not adequately reinforced to handle loads applied by stiffer dual crown forks. Check with your frame manufacturer to verify dual crown fork compatibility. 1.) Remove old fork from the bicycle. See your bicycle's owner's manual. Measure the diameter and length of your old fork's steerer tube to insure that the White Brothers Fork steerer tube is the correct diameter and has sufficient length for the installation. NOTE: Add .65" (16mm) to length if you are upgrading from single crown fo rk to dual crown model. 2.) Remove the crown race from your old fork. 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, top crown, stem spacer (optional), and steering stem onto fork steerer tube. Refer to headset owner's manual if you have any questions about this preassembly (figure 2). 5.) Read step 11 and check tire clearance prior to cutting steerer tube. 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. NOTE: The DH-2 fork will not work on frames with head tubes longer than 5 1/2". NOTE (IF INSTALLING WB MX BAR MOUNTS): Preassemble headset by: Sliding fork steerer tube through headset bearings. Then install top headset, top crown and 5 to 10mm stem spacer. Mark steerer tube at top of stem spacer. 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 cutt ing th e s tee rer tu be. 6.) The special star fangled nut must now be installed into the steerer. We recommend dealer installation of this nut since a special tool is required. 7.) Clean and grease all headset bearings and races to prepare them for assembly. 8.) Now assemble headset as done in Step 4. 9.) Install the top steering crown. Install the steering stem (threadless type is required) and handlebars. Set your bars to your desired height. 10.) Install the threadless mounting cap. Tighten the top threadless stem bolt until there is no play in the fork tube. The fork should 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 tens ion of th e h ead set . 11.) TIRE CLEARANCE: The fork tubes can be adjusted up or down in the fork crowns to adjust ride height and steering geometry. NOTE: At full extension of the fork, a minimum of 6 1/2" (165mm) clearance must exist between tire and the bottom of the crown (w/fork equipped with 6" travel internals). If fork has been modified to 7" travel with WB option kit, a minimum 7 1/2" (190mm) clearance must exist between tire and the bottom of the steering crown. NOTE: DH-2 Fork has approximately 3/4" negative travel. Pull up to fully top out fork to make this measurement. WARNING: Any less clearance than this will allow the tire to contact the bottom of the crown when the fork is fully compressed. This could stop the wheel from revolving throwing the rider and causing possible injury or death. Next check to make sure the top of the fork tubes fit all the way through the top steering crown. If insufficient clearance exists, you must switch to a smaller diameter front tire. Tighten upper and lower crown pinch bolts to secure fork le gs int o p osi tio n. 12.) Install your front brakes and adjust following the manufacturers specifications. See additional instructions below. NOTE: Only disc type brakes can be used with the White Brothers DH-2 Fork. 13.) RIM CENTERING: See your dealer or professional wheel builder to have the rim of your choice laced to your downhill hub. The wheel builder will need to lace rim so that it is directly centered between the fork legs, If you are using a 110mm hub you will need to supply your wheel builder with the 10mm axle spacer (supplied) to achieve correct wheel alignment. 14.) WHEEL/BRAKE INSTALLATION: The White Brothers DH2 Fork is designed for a downhill type hub utilizing a 20mm axle. Install front wheel with disc rotor next to left side of fork. Slide axle all the way through. Make sure disc rotor doesn't contact left fork axle seat when axle is tightened fully. If it does, a custom spacer will have to be fabricated to space hub/rotor away at least 3mm from left fork axle seat. At this time the brake caliper should be mounted and alignment checked with the disc rotor. Follow the disc brake manufacturers installation instructions to insure correct brake rotor, brake caliper alignment. 15.) FINAL WHEEL INSTALLATION: Lightly grease front axle and install front wheel to fork. Tighten axle completely. Now tighten both left and right fork axle seat pinch bolts. Follow the disc brake manufacturers installation instructions and recommended torque for mounting brake caliper to left fork leg. 16.) Route hydraulic brake cable up to the brake lever. Make sure that cable is routed so that it cannot foul on tire, fork crowns, or steering stops through full up and down fork travel and side to side steering radius. 17.) Check to see that your brakes are adjusted and working. 18.) STEERING CLEARANCE: Due to the White Brothers DH-2 double crown design, the fork tubes or fork steering crowns will contact the bicycle frame at full steering lock to the left and right. To eliminate the chance of damage to the fork or frame, a cushion stop must be fabricated to eliminate metal to metal contact. Fork bumpers, elastomers or thick pieces of rubber will work fine. Secure in place to the frame or fork with zip tie or glue. steering stem spacer (optional) FIGURE 2 FIGURE 1 bicycle head tube headset bearings lower race TUNING *To get the most from your White Brothers fork, 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 fork will reduce and the fork will absorb the bumps better. After this initial break-in, fine tuning the spring preload and hydraulic damper may be beneficial to achieve the best possible fork performance for your weight and riding style. Tuning Y our Springs There are two ways to adjust your fork. The first is by changing the changing the spring for a completely different rate. The spring basically controls the quality of the ride. A stiff spring handles major obstacles and dropoffs better, but doesn't give as smooth of ride over braking bumps and other small obstacles. Your White Brothers Fork comes with a standard rate spring installed. For the majority of riders, this should give a compliant ride, yet remain resistant to bottoming. If forks are too stiff or too soft with the spring supplied, WB offers an optional Soft (pn 97-3518) and Heavy (pn 97-3508). Contact your WB dealer to order these. A fine tuning adjustment for you fork is spring preload. As delivered, the spring preload is correct for most riders. Spring preload is the amount of pressure that the spring has against it at the full extended position (spacers are used to adjust spring preload, see items #8 and #10 on the exploded view page 8). With the correct preload on the spring, with no load on the bike, the fork should come within 3/4" to 1" of returning to full extension after being compressed. Too much sag, add (1) 2mm or 5mm spacer. Too little sag, remove (1) 2mm spacer. Note: if your fork has an excess of stiction, complete basic service first before preload adjustment. Tuning Y our Hydraulic Damper Adjusting the hydraulic damper should only be done after you are completely happy with your spring choice, and the proper spring preload has been set. Your White Brothers DH-2 fork comes with the damping adjusted in the middle of its range. The standard setting is 3 turns out from all the way in (clockwise). Use the following guidelines to determine if further adjustment is needed. A) If your fork rebounds too slowly, turn the adjustment screw on the top of the right fork leg one turn counter-clockwise (8 turns out is the maximum)(figure 3). The fork should absorb and return fast enough to absorb the next major obstacle. A sign that your fork is rebounding too slowly is if it feels like it pack-ups or continues to compress as you go through rough sections. B) If your fork is rebounding too fast, turn the adjustment screw on the top of the right fork leg clockwise 1/2 turn at a time. A sign that your fork is rebounding to quickly is if the fork deflects and the bicycle is hard to hold in li ...