Fork lower service, why did I not think of this!!

Why oh why have I never thought of this! When servicing a fork lower, fork horizontal and knock foot nuts, remove, pull lowers down, attach sandwich bag (remove sarnie first), put fork into vertical position and let drain!
Bags in bin, clean and job jobbed!

While you’ve got them apart Tcut and polish the stanchions, the last ones I’ve done are night and day noticeable for reducing stiction.

Worth draining those bags into a bigger container and then once that is filled, get it disposed off at a suitable disposal/recycling centre. My assumption is this means it doesn’t get poured down the drains or chucked into landfill to leak away…

+1

Drain the oil into a waste oil container, don’t put it in the bin.

Otherwise we’ll be back here in 40 years “my local landfill has been leaching into the groundwater for decades, it’s a scandal, someone should have done something”.

Have you seen the drain valves on the new Push Industries fork? You don’t even need to take them apart to chain the lube in the lowers.

got a 5l container that gets emptied when full at the tip – don’t panic!!

Hang them up on the trees along with the dog poo bags for a bit of variety 👍

Even better idea is to use olive oil in the forks then you can reuse it as salad dressing.

Rockshox Radish salad mmmmmm…

I just let mine drip into a large reusable oil pan, which that gets poured into a container for tip runs.

This reduces waste from single use plastic bags, unless they are going in the bin already.  In which case use a Tupperware for your sandwiches…

While you’ve got them apart Tcut and polish the stanchions

Use an abrasive paste on my delicate stanchions??! I don’t think I’ll follow that tip myself!

Need to do mine. Not touched them in years. Did the rear shock recently and that was clean as a whistle.

Fill old inner tubes with the oil, then throw into a tree.

Fill old inner tubes with the oil, then throw into a tree.

I like the cut of your jib. I was thinking of using dog poo bags and hanging them up in a bush

I just use one of those foil turkey roasting trays under the fork to catch all the oil; then drain it into a bottle that will at some point in the distant future get taken to the recycling centre.
I’ve had the same tin for about 10 years.

We’ve recently replaced all our pots and pans to induction spec in the kitchen, so I now have a wide selection of saucepans and trays in the garage for just such an occasion, also when draining oil from mower engines.

I do however sometimes use some waste oil on a rag to start a bonfire…

Not really a silver bullet.

You’re supposed to get into the lowers with some clean rags and clean out all of the debris that collects around the inner legs, bushings, and the wiper seals.

Have you ever found a load of grit in the bottom of a saucepan if you’ve cooked some veg or shellfish and not washed it properly?!

You can pay the bill upfront and take the lowers off, do it properly, or pay the bill later on when the stanchions start wearing from all the grit that’s building up… I dislike maintenance so try to have a) nice tools to make it easy, b) convenience by having all my suspension servicing stuff in 1 place and c) keep a log book with a reminder that in x (3) months you have to do it again.

Stevelol

Free Member

Not really a silver bullet.

You’re supposed to get into the lowers with some clean rags and clean out all of the debris that collects around the inner legs, bushings, and the wiper seals.

Have you ever found a load of grit in the bottom of a saucepan if you’ve cooked some veg or shellfish and not washed it properly?!

Eerrr, what?

I drain the dirty oil out in to the saucepan and go about the rest of the cleaning of the forks/engine/gear case (delete as appropriate) with the correct solvents/cloth etc. Finished the service and then replace with fresh oil. I’m not decanting the oil out of the saucepan back in to the fork!

I use a big tub, those under the bed size ones, room to stick all parts of the fork in and put the lid on if your service is interrupted.

I just put a bucket under them and let them drip.

Going to be honest, I don’t think about the disposal at all, it’s a few ml. If I’ve got an oil pan convenient then I’ll do that but otherwise it just goes in the bin. I send way more oil to landfill on dirty rags etc.

Eerrr, what?

think he was talking about the Push forks having drain valves.

also – one of these makes cleaning so easier:

https://www.provac.co.uk/product/vikan-5378-tube-brush-500mm-40mm-diameter-hard-in-9-colours/

Here’s another tip: bike up against the wall, balanced on the rear wheel, prop/retain the bike in this position. You can leave the fork and brake set on and slowly pull off the lowers. Saves having to drop the fork out the frame.

If you’re a bike shop maybe you could assemble something based on the principle of this

Two old bottles cut in half, upside down.
Rubber bungee threaded through a hole in one side of them, to clip onto the fork legs.
Pipes from the bottle down to your 5L container which can rest on the floor.

Yep. That’s so much easier and cheaper than an oil drain pan/ bowl/ any old foil container.🤔

Better than sticky plastic bags, elastic bands, and trying to pour oil from plastic bags into a 3cm bottle opening?

OP’s idea is neat but I think there’s probably an improvement to be made on it, although my suggestion probably isn’t it.

I just have an old washing up bowl, a funnel, and old 5l container…

Doesn’t everyone use an oil drain can?

Otherwise we’ll be back here in 40 years “my local landfill has been leaching into the groundwater for decades, it’s a scandal, someone should have done something”.

This is a foregone conclusion for landfills irrespective of a bit of not-terribly-bad-or-persistent-oil.

Set your stand up over the grid outside your house bosh no mess straight down the council drain!

Got any old fork oil? TIP IT DOWN THE SHOWER DRAIN.

Got any old foam rings, tubeless sealant? YOU FLUSH THEM DOWN THE TOILET

Amateurs! Let it form a puddle on the floor, than unwittingly stand in it, then traipse it the through the house. The carpets will do a very effective job of getting it off your shoes.

I wouldn’t use T Cut on the stanchions but a fine polish is a great idea indeed.

I like the sandwich bag idea. I made a spectacular mess a couple of months after I thought i drained all the oil of the lowers. Only to find there was another 17 litres to come out…

also – one of these makes cleaning so easier:

https://www.provac.co.uk/product/vikan-5378-tube-brush-500mm-40mm-diameter-hard-in-9-colours/

Ordered! Had been struggling to get into the legs with what I had available at home and kept forgetting to order something!.