I’ve run Bluto forks on my ICT pretty much all year round for the last 3.5yrs. full fat in winter, 29+ in summer

note: (a steel 29″+ hard tail, with 100mm travel on 50mm rims with high volume Chronicle 29+ tires really is my goldilocks bike, but thats a whole other topic) – see below, gawd I love that bike

Have not serviced them due to either baulking at extra cost / being something that I’ve never tried to do at home / running big fat tires masking any issues with performance.

Following the SRAM you tube videos and pdfs (extremely good), and bodging some tools, got the lowers off, seals replaced, foam rings replaced & new ones soaked, and appropriate fluids added.

Funniest bit was when releasing the lowers, I had been warned by a mate to have the bucket ready to catch the flow of fluid. What actually followed was a pathetic drip of about 2ml of very dirty/bitty/yucky stuff. Hmm, that might explain the lack of performance. Plus the removal and binning of 2 very black and somewhat perished foam rings and knackered looking wiper seals.

And, strangely enough, I now have a fork with suspension again. Quite astonishing how nice it is, and how relieved I was not have 2 wiper seals exploding and fluid ejecting in an arc on the first ride 🙂

been in a similar situation with not servicing forks, then having them done after about 5 years (oops!)

wow… the difference was crazy… and they didn’t feel that bad before

Someone told me a long time back, if your forks feel better after a service you’ve left it too long. Mine always feel better after a service

Getting the lowers off was a bit of a bugger – I really had to bang the bolts really hard, several times (and my hand at least once!) to ‘persuade’ the lowers to release.

Difference really is remarkable.

Now that I’ve done it, it can be added the list of jobs that are for sure a little more involved but that when following proper process is well worth the outcome.

That and the fact that I’ve got a litre of 15wt suspension fluid when I only needed 10ml for the service 🙂

that is why you can’t have nice things

It’s common for Rockshox forks to have hardly any oil in from new. So if you’ve never had them apart, there’s a good chance that they’ve been pretty dry from new.

So who’s got the oldest unserviced forks then? I’ve got a set of stratos FR4 (think that’s what they were called) from around 2000/2001 that have not been taken apart for almost 15 years.  I did buy a spare stanchion when one got a bit scratched and started to leak past the seal but it buffed out ok.

Fox vanilla 125r? Do you need to service spring forks?

Liking the ICT 29+. Have a puffin, tempted by a Wednesday. ICT seems a bit too much fat for me but can see the appeal.

Well you’re the only one. I’ve had my ICT frame up for sale for over a month now and not a tickle. I’ve even got a bluto sitting unused in the shed and most of the bits to build it up again. Too busy playing with the full-sus at the moment, but if nobody buys it off me soon I can see a set of 29+ wheels in my future.

How much was it again? I did see it for offer.

@RP oh that sounds interesting!

@root-n-5th. Not sure, but I guess it must have been too much 🙂 Feel free to make me an offer. I think they want £900 for them new now, which is just crazy.

Just the frame? Phew.

Well frame and (rigid) forks. They’ve never been cheap, but I’m sure it was closer to £700 when I bought it. It’s all irrelevant though as they are only worth what someone will pay for them, which right now seems to be bugger all 🙂