Neox - Removing the Spring

There has been a lot of discussion anticipating the release of the Neox in relation to LRS and then since it's release almost the universal claim of it unsuitability once people obtained them and started using them. Most of the concern centered around the how free-flowing the rope is because of the wheel and the difficulty of the wheel to lock-up and catch a fall without a hand on the rope.

The Neox has a two-stage lock-up. The first is an offset pivot of the wheel itself which is normally kept in place due to spring pressure. When pressure is put on the wheel, it causes the wheel to pivot on it's axle and engage a catch which stops the wheel from rotating. This, causes friction by the rope sliding over the scallops on the wheel which causes the cam arm to pivot ala a Grigri which then pivots and pinches the rope. Ultimately it is the cam arm pinching the rope the same as a GG.

In this post I'll explain how I removed the cam arm spring which has a similar effect as disabling the spring on a GG 2019 (see my previous post). This allows the cam arm to immediately pivot and initiate locking up. The internal spring in the offset wheel is left stock and even though it runs freely without any pressure on it, will immediately engage as soon as the cam arm pivots and starts putting friction on the rope. 

Before I describe the process of how I removed the spring, I need to step back and discuss the implications of removing the spring and whether it's wise and the best device for LRS. It's likely that in the future with sufficient modification the Neox will provide a decent device for both LRS and TRS. And, that potentially there could be a seamless transition between the two. It's also possible that it could also provide potential protection for head-first falls. All this is conjecture at this point as experiments are on-going. However, if this does come to be a reality, it will only be possible through extensive modification of the Neox. Thus it will only be for a small subset of rope-soloers who are competent enough (or know someone competent enough) to make the necessary mods which aren't trivial. 

If the spring is removed, it is still possible to use it for normal lead and TR belaying. For lead belaying you may have to revert back to standard GG techniques which include thumb on the cam arm to keep it from too easily engaging. If you want the best performance for LRS and TRS, then the Neox is not the answer. That will still be a modded GG+ for LRS, switching it out for a Microtrax for TRS (of course both with appropriate back-sups).

If the only mod done is removing the spring, the Neox will only be able to be used in the HUR position for LRS and normal belay position for TRS.  It's possible (still experimenting) that with further mods, it could be used for LRS in any of three positions : HUR, Inverted, and normal hanging belay position. Each has benefits and drawbacks but will not be further discussed in this article. After further experimenting, a future blog post will discuss that.

Now, on to how I removed the spring. 

(in progress...to be continued)

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