Rock Shox Monarch RT Stuck Down

GSTim

Formerly M3Tim
So pissed. I went to ride Nassau after work last night, and after about 20 feet I had about 4 pedal strikes. I'm like WTF, look down and notice that the shock is down. Figured it somehow lost pressure, so back to the truck and it still had almost full pressure. A quick search online and it seems the seals failed and bled pressure over to the negative side. Looks like I need new seals and some Slick honey (per an @jimvreeland post a while back). Seems like this is a crap design, I had the same Fox RP23 on my HiFi for more than 6 years and did nothing to it other than check the pressure once every year (or two?). I know @jdog said to drop a DPX2 on it, but I thought that replacing an almost new shock was crazy. Now...:shrug:

End Rant.
 

Mathers

Well-Known Member
I have the same shock, I think this is only made for bike manufacturers. Which bike are you riding?
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
it happens, rebuild or buy a new shock and keep the stanchions clean after each ride to limit wear
Sweat it too long and you're missing out on riding time. Lots of guys here rebuilding their shocks/forks every 1-2 years
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
So pissed. I went to ride Nassau after work last night, and after about 20 feet I had about 4 pedal strikes. I'm like WTF, look down and notice that the shock is down. Figured it somehow lost pressure, so back to the truck and it still had almost full pressure. A quick search online and it seems the seals failed and bled pressure over to the negative side. Looks like I need new seals and some Slick honey (per an @jimvreeland post a while back). Seems like this is a crap design, I had the same Fox RP23 on my HiFi for more than 6 years and did nothing to it other than check the pressure once every year (or two?). I know @jdog said to drop a DPX2 on it, but I thought that replacing an almost new shock was crazy. Now...:shrug:

End Rant.
Just got the dpx2 and it is amazing balls

it happens, rebuild or buy a new shock and keep the stanchions clean after each ride to limit wear
Sweat it too long and you're missing out on riding time. Lots of guys here rebuilding their shocks/forks every 1-2 years[/QUOTE
1-2 years is not enough, I’m not sure what RS maintenance intervals are but 2 years is a long time.
 
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stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
What is the price tag on that?
Factory one is in the 5’s :oops: but the regular one is maybe in the 4’s? They are relatively hard to come by second hand because the Santa Cruz size is so popular but you do see them in the 3’s. I waited a long time for a second hand one.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have a few of these Tim....They came with my scalpel and failed somewhat often in 2012-2014...i was able to get a couple working temporarily again by unscrewing the aircan with a strap wrench and putting it back together...but ya, they arent great.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Generally the Rockshox stuff is fairly easy to service yourself if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. I have a RS Deluxe on my bike and I have serviced it twice over the past year. Takes about a half hour to disassemble, clean, install new seals, lube the air can and reassemble. The damper is more involved and I have never done that. Something else I do after every few rides or so is spray a small amount of silicon lube on the stanchion and cycle the shock a few times. This seems to work the dust out of the wiper seal and keeps things working smoothly between services.
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Just got the dpx2 and it is amazing balls

I am about to pull the trigger on a DPX2 myself. It's going to drive my OCD crazy though as the 2019s are only offered in Kashima and I have a Pike up front with black stanchions. I wish they offered the DPX2 in "Performance Elite"/all black.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
what were you using prior? this on the 5010?
Yes, the 5010 came stock with a performance float DPS.
I am about to pull the trigger on a DPX2 myself. It's going to drive my OCD crazy though as the 2019s are only offered in Kashima and I have a Pike up front with black stanchions. I wish they offered the DPX2 in "Performance Elite"/all black.
Didn't previous year models have a performance version? Or maybe they were just OE?
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
I am about to pull the trigger on a DPX2 myself. It's going to drive my OCD crazy though as the 2019s are only offered in Kashima and I have a Pike up front with black stanchions. I wish they offered the DPX2 in "Performance Elite"/all black.
Last year I was looking at the DPX2 for my Banshee Prime, but ended up with a DVO Topaz. I chose the Topaz as I heard its nice for those who like to tinker, but isn't as finicky as the CCDBs. All three are great choices.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Just got the dpx2 and it is amazing balls


I’ll stand with Kevin on this one. The RS isn’t awesome. Even at its best it just feels meh!

RS has their forks dialed, but their shocks have always fallen short IMO.

On my Hightower I upgraded to a Fox and the bike just came alive.

For some reason the RS on my Bronson is actually pretty darn good, but I think they actually designed the new Bronson around the RS rear shock. I’m actually surprised that I’ve kept it on there so long, but it does work well. The low VPP design works in a way they seems to rely less on sophisticated dampening circuits than the high VPP found on the HT.


Glad to order you a proper FOX shock today. We will have it next week (assuming they have it, but it’s a common size). I’d avoid used suspension parts anyway.

On that bike, I’d take the time to check all the pivot bearings too as it makes a huge difference in small bump sensitivity. They are free anyway from SC as they provide lifetime fee bearings on those bikes.

J
 

GSTim

Formerly M3Tim
I'd love to order a Fox but it's just not in the budget right now. Looks like I'll just rebuild it and see how it goes. I took it apart last night and it was pretty straightforward. Any words of wisdom when putting it back together?
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Didn't previous year models have a performance version? Or maybe they were just OE?

I think previous years had a performance version. I think the performance version might just be OE in 2019.

I’ll stand with Kevin on this one. The RS isn’t awesome. Even at its best it just feels meh!

RS has their forks dialed, but their shocks have always fallen short IMO.

On my Hightower I upgraded to a Fox and the bike just came alive.

For some reason the RS on my Bronson is actually pretty darn good, but I think they actually designed the new Bronson around the RS rear shock. I’m actually surprised that I’ve kept it on there so long, but it does work well. The low VPP design works in a way they seems to rely less on sophisticated dampening circuits than the high VPP found on the HT.


Glad to order you a proper FOX shock today. We will have it next week (assuming they have it, but it’s a common size). I’d avoid used suspension parts anyway.

On that bike, I’d take the time to check all the pivot bearings too as it makes a huge difference in small bump sensitivity. They are free anyway from SC as they provide lifetime fee bearings on those bikes.

J

I agree that the RS shocks are meh. The performance of my Deluxe has never really made me happy.
 
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