Hello all! I have some Magura Menja forks which I like very much, but they appear to have some play between the uppers/lowers, and I can’t work out whether this is ‘normal’ or not – in other words, whether I should send them for a service or not.

My old Rockshox Tora’s were rock-solid with absolutely no play between uppers/lowers. The Magura’s have some (very) slight play between the uppers and lower on both legs, and a more noticeable play on the leg with the damper cartridge, which can cause a slight clunk when rocking the bike with the front brake on. This more noticeable play seems to become less pronounced when the fork is compressed.

Has anyone else with experience of Magura forks noticed this? I would be particularly interested if anyone else has experience of both Magura and Rockshox forks.

I have asked on the Magura service forums and was told the following:

yes your forks should have this very small bit of bushing play. When in motion, the gap between bushings and stanchions is necessary to fit the lubrication oil.

and

The clunk you hear is probably the damping unit

An explanation followed that the play will only be felt on the damping leg, because the pre-load in the air-spring leg will remove any play there.

I have also read of one person experiencing a strange knocking noise on the first part of the forks travel – they were told

Possibly this is when the piston comes loose from the top out elastomer…. It shouldn't do harm really.

Finally, I contacted the Magura UK office and it was suggested that I send them in for a service and potentially a bushing replacement. The gentleman was very helpful and suggested that there is always a bit of play in the bushings in Magura forks, but that he hadn’t ever heard a clunk before. He went on to say that it might be worthwhile to check that the damping unit not broken. I presume it’s OK though, since I’m sure I would notice…

So am I being anal, is it just due to different fork designs?

Yeah I've got / had various RockShox and Magura forks – and not had any detectable play in either make…

Also, when playing with a friend's bike which has Menjas on, nowt in the way of play in those.

Hope that's of use.

Yeah, it is thanks! I should say that if you were to just go and ride the bike you probably wouldn't notice the play. I only notice it when testing the headset for play (front brake on, rock the bike back and forth) or grabbing the fork uppers in one hand an lowers in the other then flexing it.

My Thors do it occasionally. they've been serviced, and still do it, doesn't seem to affect them really, just a bit annoying.

I don't have play in my old Ronins. Their service centre gives a fast turn-around, if that helps sway your decision.

Interesting – neither 100mm Asgards or 120mm Durin Marathons appear to do this but the longer travel Menjas and Thors do, maybe it's to do with leverage?

poppa. They obviously need a service with parts replacing. As I said before- speak to the STW seller and ask him for a contribution towards the costs. The knock that you describe most certainly wouldnt have occurred in wrapped packaging would it?

The 'knock' explained above is top out on the Thor only fork- at the top of the travel.

I have run Vidars for years with no problems at all.

I have used their UK service centre for both brakes and forks and have found them to be fantastic in their service.

As others have said maybe worth a try.

Seller has been great and is willing to help out if something is wrong – I would not hesitate to recommend him to others and I want to leave him out of this. I just want to avoid sending the forks back unneccesarily.

Send the forks back to Magura.

See what they say. Then decide whether to speak to seller or not. Worn forks have play in them. All the best.