South Africa’s first mountain bike suspension service and tuning centre, RBC (Robbie’s Bicycle Concept), is beginning to fill a gap in the local market by offering rapid turnaround of suspension servicing and tuning.
The Port Elizabeth-based business, which services clients throughout Southern Africa via courier delivery, was started by mountain bike industry stalwart and suspension guru, Robbie Powell, and is now growing due to demand.
“South Africans tend to spend a fortune on mountain bikes but usually just ride the suspension as it comes. The problem is that while it works okay with factory settings, it never really gives the rider the full benefits. That’s where customised tuning becomes a key factor – and for those who are serious about their mountain bike racing, it’s a must if you want the best out of your bike. I love working directly with the riders, using my experience, to customise their suspension to meet the demands of the racing or riding they want to do,” explained Powell.
“Standard factory suspension settings supplied on all bikes are done for an average rider weight and skill level. So the settings tend to be the same on all sizes in the same model range of bike. So if you are a 65kg rider on a Medium frame, you are riding a factory suspension setting that is the same as that for a 115kg rider on an extra large frame of the same model bike. This is clearly going to affect how your suspension performs, which means your comfort and control aren’t quite optimal,” added Powell.
RBC is the official Push Industries Factory Tuning Centre for South Africa. Push Industries is widely regarded as the world’s leading suspension servicing, tuning and tooling company focusing on FOX suspension. Each Push Industries Factory Tuning Centre has direct access to all of the company’s resources including research, tooling, components, fluids, valving schematics and more.
Powell says that he’s had tremendously happy clients after RBC has custom-tuned their suspension.
“Some riders are very hard on their suspension, while others ride with more consistent finesse. Suspension performance plays a big factor simply between riding styles. A big part of the South African tuning RBC does, is to create a firmer lockout setting for rear suspension, and a firmer mid-range for front forks,” added Powell.
“The American mountain bike brands in particular tend to not have a firm lockout setting on their shocks. And in South Africa, where marathon and stage racing is so popular, a firm lockout is something most riders demand. We make that possible.”
Powell believes that he has probably the most advanced bicycle suspension workshop in the country, with appropriately qualified staff and all the relevant tools and equipment for almost any mountain bike suspension shock or fork. RBC also ensures it has all spares in stock at all times.
In addition to Powell’s significant qualifications, all the mechanics have recently completed the CyTech Level 3 certification course, confirming their status as advanced bicycle technicians.
“What sets RBC apart from other bicycle shops is that we specialise in suspension servicing, tuning and sales. There’s a lot of new suspension technology available these days and we’re right up to date with that, both in terms of know-how and spares. Our workshop is geared to servicing all types of bikes, forks, shocks but of course we specialise in full-suspension bikes,” said Powell.
RBC offers a 48-hour turnaround on any shock or suspension fork, using courier delivery from both bike stores and customers.
“We aim for a 24-hour turnaround from collection to return because we know that nobody wants to be stuck without a ride for too long. But we obviously have some external factors that we don’t always have control over, so have set our commitment to 48 hours,” said Powell.
Suspension brands that RBC services and sells include FOX, Rock Shox, Lefty, DT-Swiss, X-Fusion, and Suntour.
Powell has worked in the mountain bike industry since 1988, virtually from when it began in South Africa. He has raced downhill internationally at elite and age-group level, has worked in retail, wholesale and design and was one of the founding members of the South African Mountain Bike Association (SAMBA), which is now under Cycling South Africa.
To find out more about RBC, or to book your suspension in for a service or a tune, visit www.robbiesbicycleconcept.co.za.
