Germana-A AIR-FORCE SLR User manual
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
Instruction manual rear suspension german : A.® AiR-force SLR
1. Safety Instruction............................................................................................................... 2
2. Mounting Instruction.......................................................................................................... 2
2.1. Product description....................................................................................................... 2
2.2. Assembly dimensions................................................................................................... 3
2.3. Assembly bearings ....................................................................................................... 3
2.4. Variation of the valve of the negative chamber............................................................. 4
3. Adjustment.......................................................................................................................... 5
3.1. Primary filling................................................................................................................ 5
3.2. Spring rate.................................................................................................................... 5
3.3. Negative travel.............................................................................................................. 6
3.4. Rebound damping ........................................................................................................ 6
4. Modification and servicing................................................................................................ 6
4.1. Cleaning and maintenance........................................................................................... 6
4.2. Inspection..................................................................................................................... 7
4.3. Warranty....................................................................................................................... 7
5. Imprint ................................................................................................................................. 7
Before assemblin
g
please read the mountin
g
instructions!
made and manufactured in germany
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
1. Safety Instruction
Ignoring the safety instructions will lead to the termination of the warranty.
1) Servicing is only to be done by skilled personnel.
2) When servicing always use protective goggles. Because of the construction of the
damping unit a sudden pressure release can occur during disassembly.
3) Before filling the damping unit with air please read the manual of the pump you are
using.
4) The customer is responsible for the collision-free function of the damping unit. The room
needed for the function of the damping unit is to be provided in every travel status!
5) The damping unit is not to be put under any load when it is not filled with air!
Compression of the damping unit without the use of force (point 4) is an exception.
6) The fixing eyelets are not to be rotated to each other counter clockwise, because many
of these connection points are connected through screws for better servicing that could
get loose because of this movement.
7) The eyelets of the damping unit are to be positioned through clockwise rotation.
2. Mounting Instruction
2.1. Product description
Valve main chamber
Valve negative chamber
A
ir c
y
linder
Oil chamber front e
y
elet
Damping unit
rear eyelet Tension ring
Rebound control
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
2.2. Assembly dimensions
Before you mount the AiR-force SLR to your bike you have to check that the shock absorber
has enough room to work without collision with the frame or other parts of the bike in every state
of travel. The following draft shows the most important dimensions:
2.3. Assembly bearings
The mounting area of the shock absorber should have a minimum width of 11 mm.
There are two types of bearings for your rear shock absorber: a) with standard-bushings b) with
radial joints (ball joints). These are especially recommendable if you have a single link rear
suspension system, because they compensate the movements coming from the bearing play of
the rear suspension what significantly prolongs the life of the shock absorber.
When using radial joints the usage of rubber joint rings is obligatory.When using standard
bushings these are optional.
Figure 1: A set of radial joints together with bushings
Dimensions of the AiR-force SLR:
L = Assembly dimensions with 30 mm travel: 153 / 165 mm
L = Assembly dimensions with 40 mm travel: 165 / 170 mm
L = Assembly dimensions with 50 mm travel: 190 / 200 mm
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
2.4. Variation of the valve of the negative chamber
If the shock absorber does not have enough room to work because of the valve position or
when this valve position makes the filling of the air chamber impossible, you will have to change
this.
The change of the valve position is only possible when the shock absorber is not under any air
pressure. (Read chapter 3.1 to learn how to reduce the air chamber pressure.)
When the AiR-force SLR is absolutely pressure free, you can unscrew the mounting ring of
the air chamber (one rotation is enough – clockwise thread). Now you can rotate the valve
clockwise and define its position relatively to the shock absorber fixing eyelets. When you have
achieved a satisfying position of the valve you can screw the mounting ring on again by hand.
Do not over tighten!
If the position of the shock absorbers eyelets is not aligned, change their position through
turning clockwise. Now you can refill the shock absorber with air.
Do not turn parts of the shock absorber counter clockwise to each other because you might
unscrew parts of the shock absorber (threaded connections).
Bearing with standard-bushings Bearing with radial joints
Eyelet Rubber ring
Bushing
Bushing
Radial joint (inside of the eyelet)
Bush bearing
-PTFE material-
(inside of the eyelet)
Width of the frame flap
Bolting M6 / M8
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
3. Adjustment
3.1. Primary filling
The AiR-force SLR is already filled with air when you receive it from your dealer. To adjust the
pressure or for testing the clearance of the shock absorber or for the adjustment of the valve
position it might be necessary, to remove the air from the shock absorber.
When removing air from the shock absorber: First remove air from the negative chamber!
When filling: First fill the main air chamber, then the negative chamber.
NOTE! Please check, if your air pump has an adapter for filling shock absorbers, which
makes the removal of the pump possible without loosing air pressure!
Pressure main chamber in ba
r
Pressure negative chamber in ba
r
58,5
6 10,2
7 11,9
8 13,6
9 15,3
10 17
11 18,7
12 20,4
Air pressure Air-force SLR (only recommended values)
The minimum air pressure in the main chamber is 5 bar, the maximum pressure is 20 bar. The
negative air chamber should have a minimum pressure equal to the pressure of the main
chamber and a maximum pressure of 1,7-fold main chamber pressure (up to 4 bar more than
the positive chamber).
3.2. Spring rate
The spring rate defines the firmness of the ride and is varied by changing the air pressure. If
you are a marathon or cross-country rider you will probably prefer a firmer ride, while comfort or
free rider would prefer a rather soft ride. The best spring rate cannot be precisely defined by the
manufacturer because of these different riding styles. If you want to make the shock absorber
firmer, you have to increase the air pressure in both chambers. If you want to soften the shock
absorber, do vice verse.
Large amount of negative travel = Soft spring rate (for free ride, downhill and comfort)
Small amount of negative travel = Hard spring rate (cross country and marathon)
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
3.3. Negative travel
The negative travel is defined through the compression of the shock absorber when the rider is
normally seated on the bike. Using the AiR-force SLR the negative travel is about 20-30% of the
maximum travel.
You can use a binder or rubber ring on the oil chamber to measure the negative travel.
Max. travel
Negative travel 15%
(at shock absorber)
Negative travel 20%
(at shock absorber)
Negative travel 25%
(at shock absorber)
Negative travel 30%
(at shock absorber)
30 mm 4,5 mm 6 mm 7,5 mm 9 mm
40 mm 6,75 mm 9 mm 11,25 mm 13,5 mm
50 mm 8,25 mm 11 mm 13,75 mm 16,5 mm
Variation of negative travel according to maximum travel
3.4. Rebound damping
The rebound damping is adjusted by the adjustment wheel located near the rear eyelet:
•Counter clockwise rotation reduces rebound damping,
•Clock wise rotation increases rebound damping.
4. Modification and servicing
4.1. Cleaning and maintenance
You can clean the shock absorber with detergents usually used for bicycles. When cleaning the
shock absorber, be sure to have valve caps screwed on both air chamber valves. The usage of
aggressive detergents and thinner can attack the surfaces and stickers of the shock absorber.
The surfaces of the shock absorber are anodized. These surfaces react to ultra-violet light.
Especially at surfaces covered by the frame or under stickers this can lead to “shadows”. This
does not reduce the function of the shock absorber in any way.
With the help of a service kit a complete servicing is possible (removal of dirt from the inside).
Service kit for the air chamber of AiR-force SLR Very extreme example of removal of dirt inside (mud)
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG, Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany WEB:www.german-a.de
state of the art bike technology
®
4.2. Inspection
The rear shock absorber is object to general wear and tear, so that a servicing every year or
earlier depending on ride conditions is obligatory.
Even storage of the shock absorber leads to the aging of the seals (oil loss, smacking and
slurping sounds, shock absorber failure) and makes a servicing necessary!
An inspection consists of an oil change (silicon oil) as well as a change of all seals and small
function parts. This has to be done by professional personnel. To do this you have to send in
the shock absorber together with the receipt as well as a assignment in writing either over your
local dealer or by directly sending it to german:A.. The time needed for servicing is 5 workdays
from the date of arrival. The cost of servicing is posted on our website at http://www.german-
a.de.
4.3. Warranty
Applicable are the general terms and conditions of German Answer as well as the warranty
rules defined by law. Above this German Answer is ready to tolerate special cases.
The warranty is not applicable if un-purposeful usage takes place or:
•Ignorance of safety precautions defined by chapter 1
•If the shock absorber is disassembled for reasons that don’t include servicing
•Broken valve casings
•Over tightened and therefore broken threads of the valve casings
•Flow and normal function sounds when all seals are working
•Worn bushings
•Parts that are object to wear and tear (seals/bushings/surfaces)
•Mechanical injuries / bent dials
•Mechanical injuries of the surfaces
The warranty also expires when the serial number is removed, the receipt is missing or when
the servicing intervals have been ignored.
5. Imprint
GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG
Hefragstr. 6, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 6036 / 983600 *Fax +49 (0) 6036 / 983610
HRA 1723 AG Friedberg, Geschäftsführer: Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Thomas Kamm,
creative sport products GmbH, Sitz Wölfersheim, HRB 2845 AG Friedberg
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