Everytime someone posts a pic of a bike, such as the Cube Fritz, that has an exposed rear shock, the first reply is always along the lines how the rear shock is going to get very muddy.
Has anyone ever had a rear shock explode, develop play actual real-world problem as a result?
Mine have always got pretty muddy, I have a 1999 GT I Drive that still has the original rear shock, no problems. So is it really a consideration someone should take into account when picking a bike for UK mud/winter fun?
I think that a great deal depends on the type of dirt one rides in. I always start a ride with immaculate fork seals and stanchions, and on some trails sometimes they gather lots of crap and on some they don't. I would imagine that fine dust (or mud made from fine dust) is going to be most likely to breach wipers/seals than coarse/heavy dust or sand, although sand trapped behind a wiper can cause rapid damage to stanchions or shock pistons/shafts.
Basically, there are so many variables that it's impossible to say with any degree of certainty that an unprotected shock will not last as long as one which is left exposed, or, perhaps more pertinently, that the internal oil will degrade quicker; however, it makes sense to me to keep as much dirt as possible away from moving parts.
Yeah, I agree, but has anyone actually had ply in the rear shock, or a failed rear shock that is likely to have been caused by mud etc? I'm not being my usual sceptical self, I've just never heard of anyone with a rear shock issue like that ever.
Not really sure what you're getting at but I've snapped shock shafts, bent internals, blown shocks and had them fall apart/collapse while riding.
By play in a shock? do you mean knocking during compression/rebound or top-out/dead spot in the damping or play in the shock eyelet bushes? I've experienced all of the above. first two are often due to oil loss or internal parts damage.
shit can get past seals
shit is corrosive and will cause wear.
seals eventually fail, parts eventually wear through use.
stands to reason they'd fail/wear quicker if there's shit trapped inside.
hardly difficult to understand is it?
if you're worried make a crafty little mudguard from innertube to deflect most of the shit from the rear tyre (not a shock boot)
What happened to that magura effort that had the telescopic rubber sheath? There was a video of it on here ages ago, it looked great.
The anodising on shock sleeves/pistons is going to be visibly ruined long before there's enough wear to produce play between the sleeve/piston and the shock body.
There's probably more risk of failure from worn eyelet bushings. Again, the type of dirt (and amount of water) the bushing is exposed to is a considerable factor, but a grinding paste between the bushing and reducers/mounts can lead to play very quickly. Play at the bushings will also lead to increased wear on the sleeve/piston, although that takes me straight back to my first point in this post.
I use a trimmed down piece of drum head to protect my BB pivot bearings...
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...and a section of inner tube to protect my shock (and mounts)...
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Dirt will get in behind the seals sooner or later having the shock in the line of fire from the back wheel is likely to make it sooner.
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I find in my case, that 2000 miles is about it for a Fox shock.
