I have a 1999 trek hardtail mtb and the forks are in pretty bad shape. The stanchions look worn, gold gone to silver and they feel reluctant to move up and down. They still move but not well, I would ideally just replace them but on the older v brake 26 bikes these forks are harder to come by I know from past experience trying to find some. I have had a search and they can be worked on. With the stanchions being worn like this is it still worth the attempt? They are Judy XC100 model.
No, although on the upside, they still won't perform much worse than new!
The elastomer internals will be perished, parts will be unobtainable, and it wasn't a great fork anyway.
I still have my 26" Judy, quietly rusting behind the garage. It was my first bike upgrade, and a continual source of disappointment.
Maybe a good time to upgrade to a front disk. Just need the brake and a new hub. Both will be pretty cheap, hub especially if it an older standard. Plenty more forks to choose then
With the stanchions being worn like this is it still worth the attempt?
No, just buy some used forks and throw the Judys in the bin.
I had a non working pair of '96 Judy XC and I sold then last year for £30 to a guy who wanted to hang them on the wall in his man cave.
Thanks for the advice, I have the fork oil and sram butter at the ready but am going to give this attempt a miss then.
I may end up getting rid of the frame and parts, I still need chain, mechs cassette and a couple of bits. Getting the forks may be a bridge too far. I am about to build a 27.5 hardtail bike but just wanted this as a run around to be honest.
There is a chap on Retrobike that sells replacement elastomers, although I think it’s actually MCU. That said, stick them on eBay, you may get a bot of dosh for them.
I think I’d prefer a rigid fork and big tyre than trying to bring them back to life.
Yes, on bikes of this vintage the rigid fork is far less hassle and a much safer bet for sure.
The suspension is a living thing that does die and need replacing or service work for sure.