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[Closed] Fork and Shock servicing - Do you bother? Quick poll

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[#1645771]

Do you;

1) Religiously send your forks and shock to Mojo / TFT every 12 months

2) Bodge your own service with an online guide and seal kit, maybe checking the air can every now and then

3) Not bother ("I replace my bike every 2 or 3 years, or it gets nicked, so what's the point").

I was in camp 1, but am moving down the list, I'm just not sure it's worth it, even with the rising price of forks.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:17 pm
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Somewhere between 2 and 3 for forks; I haven't owned a full sus since 2004.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:20 pm
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I sent my forks off to TFT when the lockout went after 2 years. So erm....option 4?


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:22 pm
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3, replace bike every year, can't be bothered. I did have a set of Reba World Cups which were spot on for about 3 years, decided I ought to send them away, they came back horrible, never felt as nice!


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:23 pm
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Have been 1 but due to move to the Lakes for the summer living off my savings so likely to move towards 2.
TBH, buying forks for £400-600 doesn't make £100 every year a sensible investment - just encourages buying new and selling the old ones on Classifieds. I'd prefer to buy something I like and use them till they totally wear out


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:23 pm
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4) do it properly myself*

*With the exception of damper service on shocks, since I don't have any means of nitrogen charging of course. Air can service is a piece of wizz though.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:25 pm
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#2 without the bodge thank you! probably should do it more often, but last time i cleaned my forks they weren't dirty at all, same with the rear shock.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:33 pm
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4) do it properly myself*

*With the exception of damper service on shocks, since I don't have any means of nitrogen charging of course. Air can service is a piece of wizz though.


Im in this cat too...and im just about to get shot of my rp2 as i can home service a monarch.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:35 pm
 marc
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5. Wait till it stops working, then worry about it.

Isn't this standard operating proceedure?


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:49 pm
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marc - you're lucky if you hang on to your bike long enough to reach that stage!


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:55 pm
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I do my forks properly too. Fox floats and its easy to do.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 5:57 pm
 Tim
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Not having any workshop/garage/shed space and a tiny house makes it a faf, but i try and do it all myself.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 6:00 pm
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Kind of on the subject, new bike arriving in the next few days with Fox forks on, is it worth storing it upside down as I've seen mentioned before?

And I'm a 5 normally 😳


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 6:04 pm
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I've got Maverick SC32's on all my bikes, they're a piece of piss to service and no specialist tools are required, so mostly a 2.
As for shocks, keep them clean and send them back to Mojo when there's a problem


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 6:07 pm
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2) for me.

Just serviced 2 forks in the last 2 weeks - was my first attempt. I changed all the oil and gave them a good clean, but didn't change any of the parts or o-rings. I'm not sure they needed the service (only about 2 years old each), but I was worrying what horrible mess might be lurking inside. I needn't had worried, so I might be moving to the 3) category.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 6:36 pm
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Service mine properly every month or two! Just done my pikes, 30-40 minutes. Will do my air can service tomorrow as well I think.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 6:45 pm
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Been using a Fox Float and RP23 for nearly 3 years with just a seal and oil change in the fork.Still working perfectly well.Hate to think what i'd have paid in servicing charges.
I keep the bike upside down and every so often pour a small amount of fork fluid into the shock pump and blow it into the fork and shock.


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 7:23 pm
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I recently found some instructions online for servicing a DHX 5.0 coil shock. I can't wait to have a go at that one!


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 8:17 pm
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This what happens if you don't service your air can often enough. 😳
[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yfext5&outx=600&quality=70 [/img]


 
Posted : 26/05/2010 8:57 pm
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Been using a Fox Float and RP23 for nearly 3 years with just a seal and oil change in the fork.Still working perfectly well.Hate to think what i'd have paid in servicing charges.

You think they work perfectly well, but in reality the rp23 oil will have degraded slowly so you dont really notice. Fresh oil and it'll be night and day. Unless you only ride it a few times a year...
.
.
I recently found some instructions online for servicing a DHX 5.0 coil shock. I can't wait to have a go at that one!

Dead easy, just make sure you get the right oil.


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:05 am
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Perhaps a stupid question but "air can" refers to the rear shock right?


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:15 am
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4) do it properly myself*

*With the exception of damper service on shocks, since I don't have any means of nitrogen charging of course. Air can service is a piece of wizz though.

ditto


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:15 am
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the air can is part of the rear shock - it's the big bit you can unscrew, then clean all the bits inside.

you can usually unscrew it by hand...


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:18 am
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Used to be a 3 but now taking tentative steps to 2


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:19 am
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There's a really funny video on the Magura site.

Clip 1 - showing how to do a lube service is a full instructional video.
Clip 2 - showing how to do a major service is a video of a bloke putting the fork into a cardboard box and posting it off to Magura.

Who says the Germans have no sense of humour?


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:19 am
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I have serviced my Reba's twice - the first time as I thought it was about time I did it & the second time as they were losing oil from the damper into the lower leg (lockout stopped working).
Been fine since, but discovered the other week that oil pours from the seal at the top of the u-turn leg when upside down so that seal must have gone. So - will be taking them to bits next time I get the chance.

The Fox forks on the new bike haven't come apart yet, but will be getting a 'lowers' service soon.
The rear can I will probably get serviced every 12 months or so for the first few yrs. I intend to keep this bike for a while so can't really afford to neglect key components.


 
Posted : 27/05/2010 10:22 am