I purchased a VERY used 2003 26inch K2-Zed 1.0 (Small Frame) from a guy for $10 and am attempting to restore it for my 15 year old daughter who says she has outgrown her 20 inch bike. The front forks had a decal on the side (Noleen ATS Comp 26) were in bad shape and were completely frozen when I got the bike although I was able to get them moving slightly again after much rust remover/disassembly/cleaning/lubricating (trying to keep it as original as I can as the bike is as old as my daughter which I thought was cool). The bike was in various stages of disrepair and the forks came with plastic one fork tube cap (threaded) and a spring with two plastic attachments on either side. One side of the fork tubes is threaded at the top so I assumed that is probably where the spring goes but my question is what, if anything, goes on the other side and does it require fork oil when I'm reassembling it (if so, how many cc)? I have searched the starting with their company site but so far I can't even find specs on the forks, much less a diagram. Anybody out there know how these forks were put together originally? Thanks in advance for any time you spend helping out and let me know if pictures of the disassembled forks would help.
1 Answer
Bikes that sold in the price range of the Zed were sold with very simple front suspensions. The forks consist of a spring (sometimes only on one side), some type of plastic slide or bushing and some rubber bumpers on the end of the springs. Very few service parts, if any are available. There is no rebound adjustment (this is the rate that the fork extends after compression). The preload adjustment is done by tightening a long bolt that passes thru the spring and shortens the spring as the bolt is tightened. The usual cause of failure is rust on the uppers or the plastic bushings wearing out. If you have completely disassembled ,cleaned and relubed both sides it is likely as good as it going to get.
