Inmotion V11 Multple shocks loosing pressure

[madhatt]

Hey All, I've been having issues with my shocks and I'd like to hear if others are too.

 

I ride alot, I mean alot!  Usually with a 60/40 mix of road/off road.   Typically, I can get about 1000-2000 miles out of a brand new shock before I'm forced to refill it to 150psi before every single ride, sometimes multiple times during one ride.  As if this wasn't annoying enough, I am only able to screw onto the valve stem maybe 100-150 times before the threads wear out and I'm forced to buy another new shock for $60-80.

As an example, the last shock I have installed was installed on 7/6/2022, it's now 10/13/2022 and my shock looses about 60PSI within minutes to a 1-2 hours of riding, wo/ jumps

I now am the owner of no less than 3 sets of shocks and i'm getting tired of it.   Like everyone else, any time I would let air out of the shock lubricant would flow out as well.   However, after just a few times, no more lubricant is ejected.

 

I'm not overly rough on my wheel, and even less so when I know the shock is starting to leak.   I want to maybe buy the new v13 but if the shocks have not changed, I don't see how it would be a good buy.

 

So I'm curios, are others having this issue?  I would think with me having to replace the shock 6 times, others would also be seeing this and may have a solution that doesn't perpetually put money into inmotion's pocket for a crappy shock design (imo)

[John Jones]

What do you weigh fully geared up?

[madhatt]

215lbs

[John Jones]

7 minutes ago, madhatt said:

215lbs

I’m about the same. Brand new v11, so I’m interested in how this works out.

I haven’t had a problem with my shocks, but I am concerned about them. Haven’t checked my tire pressure in a while either. 🤔

[Paul D]

The top chambers on both sides don’t hold air for long and I think they never did. The bottom 2 seem to be doing well. Around 220lbs geared up and 2000 miles in the past 4.5 months. Ewheels will be sending me new ones when they get them in stock. 

[mrelwood]

@madhatt, does your V11 have a noticeable play in the suspension rails? Power on the wheel and shake the handle front to back. Does the handle shake? If yes, that will result excess wear in the top chamber’s seal, which will surely fail soon.

 

On 10/13/2022 at 7:38 PM, madhatt said:

Hey All, I've been having issues with my shocks and I'd like to hear if others are too.

Things to try with a leaky shock, that you didn’t mention if you had tried:

1) Tighten the valve core. Don’t go crazy, but it can be put pretty tight. You need a special tool for this. Don’t try with a plastic one or the ones that are only the size of a valve cap.

2) Remove the valve core, and give the core and it’s receptacle a good clean and a little lube.

3) Replace the valve core. They are available from most places where you can buy bicycle gear.

 Only if the those don’t help would I look at other solutions, since it would then mean that it’s the seals that fail.

 

On 10/13/2022 at 7:38 PM, madhatt said:

I am only able to screw onto the valve stem maybe 100-150 times before the threads wear out and I'm forced to buy another new shock for $60-80.

This issue, like anything you screw into anything, has two sides. I have also noticed that the shock threads wear out fast, but that makes them useless only for pumps that have worn threads as well. The pump that was included with the 1st batch V11 was a joy to use, but it wore out fast as well. I now have a pump with steel threads, and it threads just fine to my old resigned shock as well.

Also, since the threads are aluminum, the way you use the pump has a huge effect on how they wear:

1) Never tighten the pump on the valve, just screw it’s as long as it goes until it starts to get tighter. (Different pumps may behave differently here though.)

2) Before unscrewing the pump, close the valve and release the pressure from the pump. Only then screw out the pump. If you don’t have a pump with a two-step system, buy one.

 

On 10/13/2022 at 7:38 PM, madhatt said:

I now am the owner of no less than 3 sets of shocks and i'm getting tired of it.

Each shock you have, whether bought separately or not, has or had a warranty. How come you haven’t used that? Besides saving a huge amount of money, each warranty case is the best possible message to the manufacturer there is that the quality is not good enough.

On 10/13/2022 at 7:38 PM, madhatt said:

Like everyone else, any time I would let air out of the shock lubricant would flow out as well.

That is normal. There is a little excess lubrication inside, and the amount that doesn’t fit in a cavity inside the shock gets pushed out when you deflate the bottom chamber.

 

On 10/13/2022 at 7:38 PM, madhatt said:

I want to maybe buy the new v13 but if the shocks have not changed, I don't see how it would be a good buy.

That is a worthy point. I hope we’ll learn more about the V13 suspension soon.

 The V13 suspension system is more complex in that it has a second tube on each side for rebound damping. But I guess it would be possible to use the exact same air spring from the V11. That would be disappointing though.

[mhpr262]

6.000 km on my V11, 270 lbs, everything seems to be working fine so far. I go very easy on my wheel though, not even curb drops.