Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 128 total)
  • Fox stantions wear.
  • juan
    Free Member

    Well to be honest I can’t see why fox would be bothered about the UK market.
    As an american company, they are mainly interested in USA market. Plus it’s very likely that the number of fork sold in the UK is very small compare to the number of fork sold in the USA.
    As for mojo, I found it very disturbing that nothing came out of them. No press release, no upgrade etc etc.
    My vanilla were fine on my RM in the south of France for several years, but died after 6 month in the UK… I couldn’t be bothered to do anything so just changed the seals and sod off. I can’t real see them failing in a catastrophic manner, specially on a XC bike. They just leak oil on the left side now.
    With some interest down here, my LBS only have problems with Talas not owrking and float not taking full travel (32’s). Never have any problems with wear on the other hand, it rains about 3 weeks a year. Funnily enough, RS fork spend their time being sent back for warranty. Apparently they can’t stand rocky and steep descent even lyrics or whatever they are.

    glenh
    Free Member

    I took the lowers off my rebas after 2 years or so of filthy peat/grit riding to discover that the foam rings under the seals were slightly dirty.

    the_lecht_rocks
    Full Member

    can’t believe the haters on here.
    all you’re exhibiting is an inability to wield a couple of spanners a hammer and a syringe full of fork oil !

    to perform inspection and foam ring maintenance takes 15 minutes of stress free effort.

    as said before, do it with a cup of tea and enjoy it.

    once a week if necessary, it’s 15 minutes !!!!!

    less once you get proficient !!!!

    fwiw, i also apply a small amount of suspension grease around the wiper seal on re-fitment which aids the buttery smooth action of my already buttery smooth fox forks.

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    flowmtbguy
    Free Member

    I just changed my oil and cleaned the seals on my 36 Vans – oil was nice and black inside there – stanchions were OK though… would have been a 20minute job had there not been a slight defect on the LH nut meaning it was twisting the pushrod instead of tightening against it – got it in the end though. forks feel lovely now.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    The issue is IMO that most fox forks have a cartridge damper and only 15 ml of oil in one side as a result. this is insufficient oil to splash lube the top bush on that side.

    Inverting the bike after each ride allows this lube to get to the top bush.

    I believe a 15 hr service interval is totally unrealistic and is put in the spec purely to prevent warrenty claims.

    The older set of vanillas I got ( pre worn for pennies) I simply put 100 ml of oil in the non damper side. No alteration to function ( maybe a bit of ramp up from air compression in the dead space) and well lubricated top bush.

    The only answers are to either follow the fox maintenance instructions closely, try over filling with oil as I have done, buy open bath forks which don’t have this issue

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    >I believe a 15 hr service interval is totally unrealistic and is put in the spec purely to prevent warrenty claims.

    I feel dirty, I have just agreed with something TJ has posted.

    HairyHarry
    Free Member

    There is a cheap and very effective method of keeping your forks running pretty much maintenance free. Enduro Fork Seals, check out http://enduroforkseals.com/

    I have a pair of 2006 Fox Vanilla Forks which replaced some Talas where the stanctions had worn. I fitted Enduro Fork Seals and never looked back. Ok, they are light blue but have done a sterling job. Decided to replace them winter 2008 and my LBS mentioned the stanctions were as good as new and the oil inside nice and clean. They cost around £28 including postage. The only negative is they make your warranty null and void by fitting them. So in almost three years my forks are as good as new and maintenance costs minimal.

    Worth considering….

    ajf
    Free Member

    but the enduros are blue??? otherwise a winner!

    I am cack handed with a spanner and to do the Mojo thing. It is easier, cleaner and generally more fun than cleaning the chain and rear deraiiler and cassette. Takes roughly a beer and a half.

    I still don’t get why people think forks should be fit and forget? They are usually the single most expensive piece of kit on your bike so should be treated accordingly. Follow the instructions for smooth feeling forks.

    People tend to be finding the stanchion marks where ther stanchion is rubbing in the lowers. This suggests dirt has got in the seal and also it is bone dry (lack of oil) so it unsuprisingly scratches stanchions. Again follow the instructions for non scratch stanchions.

    If someone who only just changed their first brake cable the other week on my commuter can do this then any monkey with a tool kit can do.

    ajf
    Free Member

    I believe a 15 hr service interval is totally unrealistic and is put in the spec purely to prevent warrenty claims.

    Its not a service interval. A service is different and more indepth, This is a quick clean, wipe and lube.

    But yes i agree that 15 hours is erring on the side of super cautious to prevent warrenty claims. Rockshox allows an extra 5 hours of riding before you have to do the same so it ain’t just Fox

    TheLittlestHobo
    Free Member

    I think £28 for a couple of rubber seals and a couple of foam wipers is an absolute rip off.

    Why dont the manufacturers charge a reasonable amount for these items and people would be more likely to change them every year. Save them their reputations at 18mths-2yrs when the snachions wear.

    TheLittlestHobo
    Free Member

    £35 for the RS version from CRC.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    I still don’t get why people think forks should be fit and forget? They are usually the single most expensive piece of kit on your bike so should be treated accordingly. Follow the instructions for smooth feeling forks.

    coz my 2006 marzocchis are fit and forget and from the sound of it the newer rockshocks too
    my foxes are lovely light smooth and stiff but they take lot more looking after
    im just gonna keep riding them till they die

    mentalalex
    Free Member

    “Had this after 4 months with my Fox Forks
    Mojo will say as above have said-it’d then whether you can persuade them to show a bit of discretion
    Have now bought fork oil and float fluid
    Best way(IMO) is to take the lower legs off(every 15 hours or so)
    Lets you inspect for any dirt ingress and clean/lubricate the foam rings
    It’s easier than trying to lift the seals(and to get them to reseat afterwards)
    Not sure whether there have been design changes but stripped my lads 3 years old Fox Forks down at the weekend and the foam seals were still lubricated, no dirt and no stanchion wear-maybe some are just better than others
    Talk to any LBS and they will all have stories to tell on Fox”

    I stripped them down actually not you…..have slight wear on one of them. and one of the seals was fairly dry.

    so cleaned them and lubed them

    Scienceofficer
    Free Member

    The rush to save weight on suspension forks has resulted in most of the companies reducing the volume of oil in their open bath systems.

    Fox is 25ml? rockshocks is actually 16ml, I think manitou is 20-25ml too.

    This is all well and good, but some of these forks are designed to use more oil than others in use – fox being the prime example. The reason they specify re-lubing every 15 hours is that hey expect the reserve of oil in the leg to be pretty much spent or contaminated.

    In UK conditions, the oil gets used more quickly. More so if the foam rings aren’t lubed by inversion, and we end up with lots of dry bushes and worn stanchions.

    Inverting the fork with provide lube to the foam ring, allowing the seal to work effectively for longer, but depleting the oil quicker.

    IMO, inverting the bike is a pre-requisite to ensure to seals function as they’re meant to, and adding a bit more lube could extend the service interval too.

    This principle works with Manitou’s and Rockshox too.

    AFAIR, Fox seals have only one integrated oil seal in the dirt wiper (Black ring) and sacrifice service interval for reduced stiction and improved compliance, Manitou have two integrated oil seals on their evil genius wipers (possibly three, since theres and internal garter spring too), whilst Rockshox shave at less two integrated seals and a further, designated oil seal.

    IME, the number of seals directly corresponds to service interval requirements – Fox have always been needy, Manitou less so and Rockshox the least of all.

    That said, last time I stripped my pikes they were a touch away from being dry and that was over 8 months.

    the_lecht_rocks
    Full Member

    inversion after every ride + cleaning the dust seal / stanchion interface will also help.
    it’s not the greatest idea to overfill TJ…. this will lead to an element of ramp up….i tried it and it’s not the solution….the solution is to regularly keep them cleaned / serviced…

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    The vanillas I did this to are basically fubared anyway. I actually found the ramp up beneficial as I thought they blew thru their travel easily. I was concerned that they might blow seals from the extra pressures developed but it hasn’t happened. If you want a bit more resistance at the bottom of the travel it might be worth trying but for sure its a bit of a bodge

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    I don’t think one should attempt even the wiper cleaning procedure unless very confident, and that means not encouraging people to do it themselves. Here’s why:

    I’m generally OK with maintenance/repairs so after reading this thread, I thought I ought to do the wiper lube/clean procedure before my stanchions get scratched. So tonight I first tried the remove leg method which completely failed – as far as I can tell, I’m whacking an immovable nut/bolt and can’t see how this “releases” the lowers so gave up after 30 minutes of whacking.

    So I next tried the lever-up-wipers method – after 15 mins of levering with multiple tapings of my screwdriver, the air shock side wiper came up but in the process, I have marked the lowers quite a bit 🙁 There was little dirt and it was still oily. I tried the damping side and after 15 minutes of gentle wiggling it was still stuck. But then I slipped slightly and the screwdriver has put a nice scratch in the stanchion

    I am now extremely angry because I have borked my expensive forks while trying to implement a pointless maintenance procedure.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Buzz – you did loosen teh nuts before whacking them?

    It is really simple to strip the fork like that. Dunno what you were doing wrong – loosen the nuts a turn or two and give ’em a thwack this breaks the interference fit between the damper rod and the lower- damper rod is then loose in the lowers. Remove nuts and pull the lowers off.

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    So really, as my 36’s have slighly worn uppers, I could buy Enduro Seals, fit them and forget any worries? Would it be difficult?

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    “Buzz – you did loosen teh nuts before whacking them?”

    yep

    james
    Free Member

    Whats actually wrong with having worn stantions?

    MTB-Idle
    Free Member

    Hairychested – Member

    So really, as my 36’s have slighly worn uppers, I could buy Enduro Seals, fit them and forget any worries? Would it be difficult?

    i have fitted enduro fork seals, it still happens

    DezB
    Free Member

    Bit late for buzz-lightyear now, but the Enduro instructions give another method for loosening the nuts – there’s a possibility they can rotate on the rod (and therefore not loosen), compressing the fork stops this. I used a couple of big zip ties.
    I actually checked out 3 lots of intructions off the web before touching mine, for different tips, just to be sure I didn’t miss anything. Seemed sensible, even though they were only £100 off ebay.
    Also bought some touch-up paint in advance, in case I scratched the lowers.

    AverageMark
    Free Member

    My Vanillas’s have exactly the same wear as MTBidle’s, looks identical. Is this caused by dirt getting in the seals as well?. I must admit i would probably retire my set after the summer anyhow, 3 years of riding through all sorts of crap is probably the limit. though i must admit they do work luverly ……..

    the_lecht_rocks
    Full Member

    before twatting the nuts on the lowers, fully remove the nuts and save the crush washers for re-use !!!
    then refit nuts a turn or two and give a good firm bashing 🙂

    adstick
    Free Member

    Fwiw all cartridge forks are prone to this problem. This week I’ve had 2 sets of rockshox into the workshop with bad stnchion wear. Not much fun on a £900 totem…

    If you don’t want to do the maintanence buy an open bath fork, simple really.

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    I’m going to ride the forks to the ground and then replace upper and lower legs with a full service. £400 but new forks. Or might sell them on ebay soon…

    Bimbler
    Free Member

    open bath fork

    such as?

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    “before twatting the nuts on the lowers, fully remove the nuts and save the crush washers for re-use !!!
    then refit nuts a turn or two and give a good firm bashing”

    Yep, did that.

    BTW. Nail polish – will that heal my new scratch?

    seth-enslow666
    Free Member

    Good question is which forks are open bath? Why no upside down forks anymore. How about some upside down open bath coil forks for 2010?

    best and most reliable forks were the old single crown Marz shivers.

    brant
    Free Member

    I believe a 15 hr service interval is totally unrealistic

    My chain needs lubing more frequently than that. Is that unreasonable too?

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I was really sorry to see my old Z1 forks go. They were great. After nearly eight years of riding them, the stanchions were looking a little lighter near the seals than the rest of the stanchion. Hardly any wear at all.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I’ve been pondering something here. Now I run enduro seals on mine, there’s a bit of space inside the foks between the oil seal and the dust seal. I was wondering what would happen if I drilled a little hole here and fitted a small grease neipple. I could then inject Manitou M-prep or similar which would purge any dirt from the wiper seal but he oil seal should keep it out of the internals.

    Any thoughts?

    the_lecht_rocks
    Full Member

    onza – possibility of lubricating oil spilling through, esp when stored upside down…..

    richc
    Free Member

    is that likely? I thought that the enduro seals actually ‘sealed’ so that shouldn’t be a problem.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Buzz Lightyear – the scratch is unlikely to ruin your forks.

    Were you holding the forks by the sliders when whacking the rod-ends?

    hora
    Free Member

    If its not a common occurrence on other manufacturers forks- then I think you are very reasonable to request a free replacement. Its a defect/manufacturers design problem no? Fox would have to prove that other manufacturers suffer the same.

    enfht
    Free Member

    Am gutted for you Buzz, did you remove the nuts and washers, screw the nuts back on then use a rubber mallet as suggested? The first time I did the recommended service I convinced myself that the lowers were welded to the bolts and gave em a good few whacks before they finally gave way. I think in the end I needed to yank the lowers whilst standing on the bars (bike upside down). The same process seems easier now than the first time around

    giantjason
    Free Member

    can someone send me a linky to the the Fox method of removing the lowers please.

    Where do people get the oil for the forks?

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Hora – fox will say its not a problem if the servicing schedule is followed correctly – and it probably isn’t. thus no claim of unfit for purpose could be made

Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 128 total)

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