Need a new fork for a Vision VR50

First off, I am completely new to this site, and to the world of recumbents in general. In fact, I have not yet even ever ridden a recumbent. But I am here because I just received a hand-me-down Vision VR50 from a neighbor. For the most part, it seems like it's in decent shape, but my benefactor told me going in that I would have to replace the front fork. Because of the under seat steering bracket being connected to the fork, I began by hunting for a direct replacement for the original fork. No luck. Then, I thought about switching to over seat steer and using a name-brand fork, but there seems to be very few 20" suspension forks with 1" threaded steerer tubes available anywhere. My son works in a bike shop in Denver, and he is opposed to the idea of jerry-rigging an OSS solution because of the probably-negative effect on steering geometry and handling. I'm inclined to agree with him (he's very smart, if I do say so myself), but I don't know how to proceed. Anybody have any good sources of OEM-style forks, replacement forks, OSS retrofit parts or anything that will get this bike on the road and me in the (much more comfortable, I hope) seat?

 

Your son is right, don't do any "rigging" of any kind. What might be a super sweet ride can easily turn in to a nightmare when and if you start messing around with stuff that "ain't natural". Also, my husband is a frame builder and we have numerous types of forks that can be used in case you need one. He can do the proper calculations on trail etc.IF in deed it needs replacing but that is a big IF. Ask you neighbor why he thinks it needs replacing. Look the fork over closely? Is it cracked? does it show any signs of metal fatigue? Has any of the dropouts been bent? Has the fork blades been crushed or twisted in any way? Is there chips/cracks in the neck are where the head tube meets the fork blades? I'd also check with Art Hagood, like AD mentioned.

 

To be honest, I didn't disassemble the fork to see what the problem was, or even whether the shocks are air dampened, fluid dampened or just elastomer or spring. The donor told me that they were "blown" and that a LBS told him he was lucky they hadn't caused him to crash. Visually, they look fine except one of the adjusting knobs looks like it took the brunt of a wipeout. They don't move up or down at all, regardless of how I adjust them. A good cleaning and lube MIGHT be all it needs, but I'll have to wait for the weekend to get a chance to check it out thoroughly.

My son's opinion is that low-end shocks (the ones that are just springs and/or elastomers) aren't worth the weight or complexity on a bike intended for road use, and that high-end shocks are usually not worth the cost for a road-only bike. I'm inclined to agree, but having never ridden a 'bent yet I don't know how much the inability to lift out of the seat might change my mind

I've found a rigid Sunlite fork that is supposed to be for recumbents, and it has the 1" threaded steerer that I need, along with both V and disc mounting spots. I also found out that RANS sells the risers and handlebars that come on their Rocket model, but I don't know if this setup would be compatible with the geometry of my Vision. After having read online that OSS is easier for first-timers and seeing for myself the way the USS causes the handlebars to disappear under the seat in a turn, I'm wondering if the under/over conversion might be worth the investment regardless of the repairability of the fork.

 

That article on rebuilding makes me want to attempt a rebuild, but after having now watched a video and reading that article, it seems that cleaning and lubing an older shock is considered repair. I would prefer calling this level of maintenance "reconditioning". But what if I want or need to replace the elastomers in the fork? I know that they are made from some pretty tough stuff, but I imagine that it can dry out and get brittle. Does anybody anywhere carry replacements? I also would like to replace one of the red furled preload adjustment knobs. It looks like about 1/4 of the knob was worn off by a wipeout. It may be only cosmetic (which would bug me in and of itself), but what if it was damaged and prone to failure some time down the road (pun intended)? I haven't checked yet to see if the manufacturer is still in business. I think I'll do that and see if parts are available. I'm also a big proponent of reconditioning and reusing whenever possible, but I prefer refurbishing better than new whenever possible to minimize future repairs.

 

Well, over the weekend I attempted to refurbish the suspension portion of the front fork. Below is a simple before/after photo showing the condition of the components as found and after I applied the elbow grease (if I can upload it).

If you can see the picture, you will see three dust seals next to the stanchion on the 'clean' side. After de-gunking the other stanchion, I found that the largest seal was missing. I can only guess that it completely disintegrated over time. Something else that is not in the picture I discovered very quickly as I was disassembling the fork: galvanic action had fused one of the v-brake bosses pretty thoroughly in place. I had to use a vice grip to work it loose. It was reusable, but not the best cosmetically at this point, and I think one more disassembly is probably all it has left in its usable life. Looking online, I couldn't find anything like them, even though v-brake bosses are readily available.

I did finish cleaning and reassembling everything, but I would really like to replace the missing dust seal before I start actually riding. As seems to be standard for this bike, I couldn't find any dust seals that looked anything like what was used on this fork. I am considering trying to use some PTFE tape of the proper width to replace the seal, but I have no idea whether something like that would even work at all, much less last for any length of time.

I'm back to thinking about replacing the whole thing with a rigid fork and OSS, but my son pointed out that the biggest obstacle will be finding a rigid fork with the same length from the bottom race to the axle line. I suppose another option would be to convert my suspension fork to a rigid fork, but I'm not sure what that would entail, either.

So I'm open to more suggestions, or a good Samaritan with a used or OEM Vision VR50 fork laying around.

 

The picture seems to have loaded. I tried to contact Art, but I haven't seen any response yet. It occurred to me that the only important part of this setup for my situation is the crown. The tightening bolts that hold the stanchions in place are also used to attach the bracket that holds the handlebar stem. If I could find another 20" fork that had a separate, removable crown, I might be able to use everything below the crown to replace those components on this fork. That is IF the stanchions have the same diameter, and the same distance between them...

 

I don't have other pics of the bushings/seals, but I can say that they were a thin, dense plastic, and that the two larger rings were split (by design) with a diagonal cut across their face. The middle one in the photo fit between the two ribs at the left end of the stanchion tube, and the larger one on the right was a bit wider and seemed to have a flair along one edge. I couldn't tell for sure where it went because of the way it came out, but it seemed to fit in a slightly wider section of the bottom tube, and was 'forced" into place as I tightened on the threaded aluminum top ring of the bottom tube. My guess is that you would have to find some O rings that were very thin (ID and OD almost the same) in order to fit between the stanchion tube and the bottom tube without adding serious drag. The lower bushing/seal was about 1/16" thick and the upper was, if anything, even thinner. BUT... enough very thin O rings stacked together might work.

But today I revisited the George Hines rebuild page (his 'before' looks better than my 'after', LOL) and I noticed that the spacer rods also had green elastomers which were completely missing from mine. Again, probably dissolved to black paste. So I have to see if I can come up with something that will work as replacements for those, too. Fortunately, I have a pretty good neighborhood hardware store. I'll see if I can find some likely candidates over there tomorrow.

In the mean time, I noticed that the RST Capa T10 20" fork has specs that are promising. I contacted the company today to ask if it was possible to either remove the crown and steerer without damaging the stanchions, or if all the components below the crown were available separately. If either is the case, it might all fit into my current crown, which is still in perfect shape.

 

Well, the last week has NOT been fruitful. I have tried to get specs on several other 20" suspension forks to see if any could be used to replace everything below the crown. I have gotten zero responses. I was even considering buying a used fork and cutting off the crown, but without even knowing key measurements I have decided not to attempt that. I considered having a rigid fork custom made to the proper dimensions, but that looks like it would be cost prohibitive. I am going to get pricing from a local machine shop for producing a few copies of the sleeve bearings. I'll get enough of each made to be able to replace the ones on both sides, have some spares, and maybe offer a few for sale to other people who have this fork. Not going to try to make a killing - just recoup some of my cost to get them made. This actually looks like the cheapest option! More later...