lots of people think that after cleaning your bike, you should put some oil on the stanchions and cycle the suspension a few times…..to get the dirt out of the seals.

does the dirt come out, or is the dirt just as likely to go in?

Cleaning gets the dirt out. Lube makes them smoother

IMO (and this is using silicon spray, not ‘oil’) yes.. dirt does come out. You can prevent dirt going in by wiping the stanchions clean before you spray on the silicone.

I have suspension lube spray by Fenwicks, think it helps a little, better than oil as it doesn’t attract muck

Some oil on the stanchions after cleaning and before every ride, and I service the lowers every few months.
The seals are pretty good although the smallest bits of dirt still get in and could build up under the seal.

Yeah you clean the stanchions first then silicon spray (or a dry lube) them and cycle the suspension and a ring of dirt should lift out (wipe it off after obviously…), not sure if it actually helps much and I only do it on a proper clean (rare) but as it only takes 10 seconds I figure every bit helps.

Can someone (with science/logic) please explain how the dirt “comes out”.

Are forks one way ? Seals one way ? Magic lube ?

I regularly change my lowers and dont lube my stantions at all. They dont seem to need more than a clean and lower service. I ride all year on one bike several times a week. I cant understand how lubing them will result in the dirt comming out one way.

especially as every STW mechanic knows better than to turn the bike upside down.
the lube must make the muck anti-gravity?

I really think its marketing and a lack of science.

/\ What him said.Keep em clean ,drop the lowers regularly and leave the bike upside down periodically (I’m going to burn in hell aren’t I?).

Trimix – Member

Can someone (with science/logic) please explain how the dirt “comes out”.

No idea tbh. Tidal effect I guess, lube moves into the seal then moves back out and carries the dirt with it. Either that, or the dirt ring is just dirt that was on top of the seal but escaped cleaning, but I’m unconvinced about that.

Thing is- obviously something happens. If you doubt it’s doing anything useful because of the lack of Science, what is the alternative?

What about this……

If dirt has worked its way under the seal but not gone all the way into the fork (iv never seen dirt inside a fork Iv serviced) its safe to assume that the dirt has met some impenetrable barrier. This is probably the bottom bit of the seal inside the lower leg which is pushing more firmly against the stanchion than the lip of the seal outside (because the seal is a tight fit inside the lower leg). Its likely that oil from inside the fork cant get past this point either otherwise you would loose all the oil.

It should be easier however to introduce oil from above the seal past the looser fitting lip the same way the dirt got in.

If you put oil on the stanchion and compress the fork some oil should get past the lip and stick to the dirt inside the seal – but not get past the tighter part of the seal. when the fork is released the stanchion will move past the oil bringing it back out into view.

I dont know if this is correct
but if it is the stickier the oil the better.

TBH last ime I had my forks apart very little dirt had gotten past the seals, that’s really half their job (the other half being to keep oil and air inside the fork)

The only reason to apply silicone lubricants is to minimize friction between the Seals and stantion and keep the fork moving freely…

If you see a bit of grime caught in the lubricant when you cycle the fork it’s just the stuff you missed when you cleaned it, it’s not magically pulling dirt out from inside the fork or anything…

Dirt doesn’t have to get past the seals to cause problems though, it only has to get stuck in the seals to threaten wear.

I’m toying with drilling and tapping a hole in some old forks above the oil seal and below the dust seal.

Grub screw out, compressed air in to blow the dirt out, drop of oil in and grub screw back in again.

Obviously I’ll die because of the stress raiser but at least I might die with clean seals 🙂

Err yeah I’m not doing it thinking it magically lifts dirt out from the seals themselves, it’s just the dirt ring trapped on top of the seal. To me that’s the stuff likely to get pulled into the seal if left so if you’ve just spent 20 minutes cleaning the bike you may as well spend another 20 seconds spraying silicon lube on the stanchions, cycling the forks and wiping off the dirt ring with a paper towel.

Err yeah I’m not doing it thinking it magically lifts dirt out from the seals themselves, it’s just the dirt ring trapped on top of the seal. To me that’s the stuff likely to get pulled into the seal if left so if you’ve just spent 20 minutes cleaning the bike you may as well spend another 20 seconds spraying silicon lube on the stanchions, cycling the forks and wiping off the dirt ring with a paper towel.

OMG………paper towel NOOOOOOOOOOOOO its too harsh you should be using the finest organic cotton cloth 😉 😀

^^
I use old boxer shorts.

DrP

EDIT – my old boxer shorts…

Something that concerns me is that I’m told not to use products like WD40 on seals (presumably because of the solvents in it), but some cycle oils seem to contain solvents too (judging by the texture and smell – not very scientific, I know).

I may be wrong, and it may be irrelevant. So maybe someone can clear that up?

A little virgin oil on the stanchions after a good clean? …mwah…parfait, monsieur… 😀

I may be wrong, and it may be irrelevant. So maybe someone can clear that up?

Use this.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=80655

Use this.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=80655

As logical as that answer is, I begrudge paying premium prices on oils for each part of my bike. You never knwo when you’re being taken for a ride. (Pardon the pun)

(iv never seen dirt inside a fork Iv serviced)

Does the oil come out the same colour it goes in?

As logical as that answer is, I begrudge paying premium prices on oils for each part of my bike. You never knwo when you’re being taken for a ride. (Pardon the pun)

I do sympathize with that mindset and am myself keen not to pay premium prices needlessly. In this particular case I just couldn’t be bothered, even though I’m sure there are decent on-the-shelf alternatives if you know what to look for, so hopefully someone can answer your question.

I use fox float fluid after every couple of rides, defo helps to keep em smooth.

Don’t oil your stantions, use silicon spray then cycle the forks a few times after you clean the bike.

Pretty much all the wear i see on Fox forks in the workshop is to the left leg (air spring) and to the front of the stantion where the upper bush wears a grove in the left hand fork stantion – this can be mitigated by placing more than the the recommended amount of oil in the air spring side – fox recommend 20ml but i generally put 25 to 30ml in and i recommend that folk leave their bike upside down for a few hours each week to soak the bush and foam seal.

I see fox forks every week in the workshop with some form of wear to the left stantion but despite me reminding folk to get them serviced regularly and to take care of them they still seem surprised when a 6 month old fork that hasn’t been serviced and ridden hard needs £350+ of new stantions and crown/bushes seals etc.

It is a design fault, they could solve it in one easy swoop by placing a small grease nipple on their fork legs and using a very low viscosity grease to lubricate the seal and bushing but i doubt Fox would ever consider this as it would be an admittance of poor design, despite this i still bought a set of 2013 140mm Kashima Talas but then again it’s no hassle for me to strip them down every few weeks to change oil/clean seals etc as it takes 20mins all in.

Fox and Rockshox (any most other forks) are basic same design!
Lower forks sliding up and down the upper stations, the lower forks have “bushing” in them that needs to be lubed and serviced.

Yes Fox is known for bad wear on the station, but I seen rock shox with the same type of wear, it down to poor cleaning, poor servicing, lack of lube to start with, no oil in the form rings.

Also there is the small design and martial differences between each fork.

Out of interest, where can I find instructions / diagrams for servicing Fox forks ?

What can I do to prolong the life of my RSI Revelations between service?
Is it possible to ease up the dust covers to clean and lube?

Best to remove the lowers, to carry out lower services

A lower service takes 20 mins tops. Its about as hard to do a fixing a puncture.

Its so easy you wonder what all the fuss is about concerning wear and seals and lubing your forks.

wouldn’t know where to start with a lower service but I’d like to learn.?!

Search on Youtube

Trimix – Member
Can someone (with science/logic) please explain how the dirt “comes out”.

Are forks one way ? Seals one way ? Magic lube ?

It’s quite simple really. There is a greater barrier to dirt going down into the fork as it gets trapped in the foam rings (if present) and sits on top of the bushings due to the fine tolerance so if you do (and you will) get dirt past the wipers and it sits above the bushing. When you put a light lubricant on the stanchions and cycle them up and down it gets past the wiper seals and wets the dirt sitting below and then on the upstroke the dirt has an easy path back up through the wiper seals.

And yes the wiper seals are in a way one way, or more 2 way with an upwards bias. This is due to the way the lip extends upwards like a cantilever so dirt has an easier path back up through the wiper than downwards into the fork. Also something stopped the dirt so it’s probably going to be easier to go back out the way it came.

Some fine dirt might get past the bushings but a lot of the oil discolouration is probably particulates from the bushings and seals etc.