Ok having taught myself how to build a bike from scratch, bleed disc brakes,serviced a reverb, rebuild a ck hub and swao groupsets over, the last taboo is servicing my own suspension forks… never done it but thinking i might give it a try on a set of fox floats I have.. anyone else had a bash …. is it all voodoo in there or is it a straightforward process? any good tips or advice appreciated.

I do, a bit of googling finds you most service manuals and there are youtube guides for the more popular forks.

Find somewhere dust free to work, take it slowly, keep a few containers for small nuts/spings/clips and crack on.

It’s the same as everything else on the bike. Relatively straightforward, lots of ‘how to’ info on the web just follow the instructions carefully, use decent tools, buy in the right grade oils and lubricants and service bits before you start and it’ll be fine. Then you can get round to building your own wheels 😉

It’s simple if you’ve got tools to do the job and basic mechanical ability. As above there are enough videos on t’interweb to tell you what to do.

If you’ve got a few pairs or actually want to keep up with the servicing times of Fox forks, motorbike fork oil is much cheaper than bike stuff

not complicated but there’s a lot of oil involved and it will get everywhere if you tip things upside down / undo things at the wrong time. Which did not happen to me, ever.

Yes, but I’ve got RS forks and they’re very pro home servicing, they provide great, easy to follow instructions online, they don’t use any specialist tools and they even give you a full seal kit with new forks.

With my Fox stuff I stopped at a lower service, which was easy enough, but I get the impression they’d rather you didn’t open the damper or spring side – I suspect it may be because once you do, you realise there’s little or no voodoo involved – just rubber seals you can pop off if you want, or just clean an grease.

removing the lower legs, changing the oil, and seals and giving it all a clean is pretty straightforward, as long as you can follow instructions and gathered everything you need beforehand.

I wouldn’t want to touch the rest though if I’m honest

Yes, I have 2 pairs of 2002 Bomber Z1s that get a full strip and oil change once a year. I Don’t know if I would want to service a modern fork, the internals look rather more fragile.

I use one of those oven rack soaking trays to catch all the drips.

Yes, I even play about with shims in the charger damper on rockshox pike. I’d love to get into my Fox x2 rear shock but the tools are silly expensive.

Lots of great videos around these days. Done it lots on my RoxShox but still got to try Fox forks but will definitely give it a shot. For seals/oil change it is a bargain.

Straightforward enough, manuals and videos are available online, parts are easy to come by.

fine until you get to the nitrogen charged rear shocks

I service my Pikes. Worth investing in some decent tools. Proper circlip pliers (not the ones with the interchangeable heads) and a set of picks are worth getting.

+1 Rockshox here, so pretty straightforward.

+1 circlip pliers.

Nopes… I do not. Outside of my comfort zone i admit.

One of my favourite jobs, but I only work on Marzocchis. Probably because that’s the only make of forks that I use….

No, it on my to do list along with shocks. Would love to go on a day to be shown how.

Never touched my Fox forks but need to.

Was happy doing my old Marzocchi forks but they rarely needed servicing as they were Bomb(er) proof !

Given it a go on a Fox Float 32 and knackered the thread on one side. Tried giving a bit more life to some knackered old Rockshox Recons Golds and gained an extra 20mm of travel. Generally for me it’s too oily, and requires too much cleanliness. One of two jobs I pay for someone else to do, the other is wheel truing.

ill give it a go an report back on progress!

Generally easy if mechanically able, but be wary of YouTube vids.

Some are great, but there are plenty that are passing on bodges someone got away with as ‘how tos’. If you’re new to the subject then watch a few before starting but importantly read the official service guide on the mfr’s site as well.

Very simple to service forks if you have a smidgeon of mech knowledge/sympathy, i find a large plastic seed tray helps to avoid oil dripping over the coffee table and ensures all the parts don’t disappear behind the fridge (everyone services their bikes in the warmth of the house don’t they?)

Large seed/growbag tray such as this

Yes, but it is my least favourite bike maintenance task, so not as often as I should. So easy to get oil everywhere.

I’m too scared to open up my lefty…

Yes, Suntour forks are a POP. I haven’t ventured inside a damper (yet) though. I haven’t done a brake bleed yet, more from being-arsedness than fear or lack of kit.

All of the above+ buy a large box of disposable gloves

Very simnple and straightforward – a service is just an oil change. Seal changes are repairs to leaking forks. I do all mine every year or so. Takes about half an hour

I’ve tried it twice.. Both times the forks didn’t feel right afterwards and I ended up taking them to the lbs.

It looks easy enough.. But it’s the only job I don’t do myself..