Suspension on Forks are SOLID!

Hello,

I got a Kobe Grind a few years back just to get to and from school.
Now that I am 17, I’m getting into mountain biking, as I compete in cycle and motor trials, so mountain biking is a keep fit exercise for me.

I don’t need a new bike, so I just want to get everything running smoothly on my current one.

The suspension doesn’t move what so ever.
Here is a picture of the bike I have, (Image taken from google images, so it’s not actually my one)

Can anyone suggest anything?
Cheers, Danny.

yup – post a pic

I did, it’s the link, because it wouldn’t load when using the img tags.
I’ll try again.. here:

Can’t see what forks they are but google for a service guide and strip them down and give them a clean.

That or look on the classified for a cheap pair of second hand forks that do work.

Could be full of water as seals are crap on forks like that,

Unscrew if possible the topcaps on stations and turn upside down.

But probally will be best taken to your local shop

what are we looking for on the pic??

It’s a ‘zoom’ fork, wouldn’t pay for a service, not worth it. I would probably tear it down and try myself, then get fed up with it and buy something cheap, but hopefully working, off the classifieds.

Did the suspension ever work? If it did, and it’s seized solid then it might be possible to get them moving again – but it might not be easy. If they never worked in the first place it’s a different matter.

At a guess, I’d say it would be quite difficult to get those forks working smoothly, so it may be worth either getting some cheap 2nd hand suspension forks or a set of rigid forks to replace them with.

In more general terms, a decent clean, lube and tune of the drivechain will make it feel loads better; if you’ve been running it on road and leaving it outside at school, the chain etc may well be pretty gunked up. A service of the wheel bearings might not go amiss either.

Hope this helps

You should find 2 allen key bolts by the dropouts at the bottom of the fork. Turn the bike upside down, take the wheel out, undo the front brake lever, undo those bolts and pull off the fork lowers.

Clean off all the gunk and get some oil (I use car engine oil) to lubricate the stanchions. Put it all back together and try to leave a spoonful of oil in each leg. A syringe will help with this.

Got a video tutorial on this, :L ?

You don’t need one

at the bottom of the forks, there is something there, not allen key bolt it looks like a flat head screw. but nothing works….

@dannyg17

You really don’t need a video tutorial, but if you want to familiarise yourself with the process then simply look on YouTube for Rockshox oil service.

You’ll need some decent allen keys, a rubber mallet, an old bowl, some oil, some grease and lots of kitchen towel. To get the legs off the fork do the following:

1) Remove the wheel and brakes.

2) Loosen the allen bolts at the bottom of the lowers so that 1/4 inch of thread is showing.

3) With one hand lift the front of the bike by the fork lowers. With the other, tap the bolts with the mallet until the lowers appear to “give” and no more thread is visible on the bolts.

4) Loosen the bolts all the way.

5) Turn the bike back over and whip off the lowers, be ready with the bowl to catch any oil leaking out.

6) Clean everything, including the seals on the fork lowers. Grease everything and before you bolt the lowers back up tightly, use a small funnel to pour in a couple of tablespoons of oil into the bolt holes.

not trying to be rude or ‘orrible, but your problem is sh*t forks.

that level of fork always work for about a year, then pack up if used for anything other than towpath
the companies would be better off putting a rigid fork on, ’cause it will work like it was supposed to after a year!
SO

suggestions, in order of expense, lowest to highest

A) Put up with them.
B) pull them apart and see what you can do, if you CAN get them apart, give them a clean, and a grease all over the internals. it may be quite obvious what has seized.
C) Buy a rigid fork of appropriate length off ebay
D) buy a working fork off ebay
E) as C and D, but buy new

what are lowers :/

Hmmm…. Most of us aren’t familiar with those Zoom forks, although most forks (from Fox down to RST) seem to follow a similar pattern of fitting together.

Lowers = the bit that holds the wheel, brakes and has an arch at one end.

TBH, I do think that the best course of action is to bite the bullet and buy some secondhand forks…something like Marzocchi DJs or Rockshox Dart / Tora are dead simple if a little heavy. You’ll be able to source spare parts for them too.

ok thanks

if you can get some marzocchi MX comps, jump on them. to be honest ANY older mazocchis will be perfect, as they never require looking after. they just work.
you should be looking around 50 quid for a good pair.

anything with leaks or weeps, avoid, or ad 10 to 30 quid for new seals (depending on whether you do them yourself)

and the main rule of keeping forks in good working order is, the stantions, the tubes that slide into the lowers, MUST be PERFECT.

any nicks or scratches more than superficial will let dirt in and the fork wont last long unless you service it every few weeks to get the dirt out.

nice thing about the darts, toras, and Dirt jumpers suggested above, is hardned steel stantions, makes them damn hard to scratch. MX comps are alloy, and softer, so easier to damage.