Shangri la Posted November 27, 2013 Share I agree. And I have to add....screw Omnico - poor service, poor stockholding.Johan now you are no longer in the "game" who in Gauteng is as good as you were on Fox servicing??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i24 Posted November 27, 2013 Share Looking at my Fox Shock book I got with the bike these seem like the 30 hour maintenance jobs. Both front and rear have a 100 hour/annually service that is suspension fluid service for the rear stated as to be done by a FOX agent or Authorized center 30 Hours?? Eish !!!! At say 15km/h average on the trail, that is just 450km. My car has done over 160000km and it still on its original shocks... I bought a Giant Anthem with Fox CTD suspension on both ends about 5 months ago. How many chains can I wear out before I need to worry about the suspension? The bike has got barely 1000km on it and I don't ride like a motor cross racer. Should I be worried about something expensive going wrong before Christmas? Is this just Fox being super cautious, or do other brands of suspension require the same level of maintenance to prevent them from imploding. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted November 27, 2013 Share I24 - your average car has sealed gas charged dampers that are designed to go through millions of cycles with a weight far higher than that of your average biker and bike combo. They ate fit and forget items with no rebound or compression adjustment not to mention air pressure adjustment Due to the lower weight as well as the far higher sensitivity of the forks themselves (designed to activate on mere grams of pressure vs tens of kilos of pressure) as well as the amount of variables in a bike suspension fork it will by nature require smaller service intervals than your average car damper arrangement. It is more comparable to your mx or moto gp racer suspension needs than your retail car suspension. So yes. In order to continue functioning at 100% it needs those service intervals. A coil fork with just rebound adjustment will need less servicing than an air fork with low & high speed compression and rebound adjustment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted November 28, 2013 Share I24 - your average car has sealed gas charged dampers that are designed to go through millions of cycles with a weight far higher than that of your average biker and bike combo. They ate fit and forget items with no rebound or compression adjustment not to mention air pressure adjustment Due to the lower weight as well as the far higher sensitivity of the forks themselves (designed to activate on mere grams of pressure vs tens of kilos of pressure) as well as the amount of variables in a bike suspension fork it will by nature require smaller service intervals than your average car damper arrangement. It is more comparable to your mx or moto gp racer suspension needs than your retail car suspension. So yes. In order to continue functioning at 100% it needs those service intervals. A coil fork with just rebound adjustment will need less servicing than an air fork with low & high speed compression and rebound adjustment 90%... the main expensive wear item on forks, Fox in particular, is the stanchions and bushings. The lowers service - which is the 30 hour one - doesn't even touch the air spring, which is a double-sealed chamber and therefore pretty close to dust-proof. The main point of the 30 hour service is to inspect dust wipers - if they're still fine, replace oil and keep riding. If they're compromised, the crud that gets through will eat your stanchions in pretty short order. Basically - no difference in lowers maintenance between coil and air forks. The rest of your argument is spot on though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marshall Posted November 28, 2013 Share Johan now you are no longer in the "game" who in Gauteng is as good as you were on Fox servicing??? Tall ask to be as good as JB but I am pretty competent with both Fox and Rockshox. dave@spokeandspanner.co.za Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted November 28, 2013 Share Tall ask to be as good as JB but I am pretty competent with both Fox and Rockshox. dave@spokeandspanner.co.za Are you the Dave who used to work with JB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marshall Posted November 28, 2013 Share Yes, I have started up on my own now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp Posted November 28, 2013 Share Johan now you are no longer in the "game" who in Gauteng is as good as you were on Fox servicing??? Not many as good, but many that are better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathrix Posted November 28, 2013 Share When see threads like this I'm so glad I ride rigid fork, no service required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted November 28, 2013 Share When see threads like this I'm so glad I ride rigid fork, no service required. I assure you I'm cheaper than a dentist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 28, 2013 Share I assure you I'm cheaper than a dentist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i24 Posted November 28, 2013 Share The main point of the 30 hour service is to inspect dust wipers - if they're still fine, replace oil and keep riding. If they're compromised, the crud that gets through will eat your stanchions in pretty short order. As I understand this: With the front forks, both the airspring and the damper are in sealed isolated environments. They should not be at any immediate risk to any dust that gets through the fork seals. The dust that does get through the fork seals messes up the fork's sliding bearing surfaces. If they get damaged I presume you will eventually get excessive play in the forks which will require replacement of expensive components. But you won't immediately loose your air spring pressure nor your damping. What about the rear? Are the airspring and damper componants also isolated from dust that gets through the main dust seal? The rear suspension unit does not carry any side loads, only direct axial loads between the mounting pins. This is a much simpler loading case and I would expect them to be less susceptible to wear. Finally, if you do want to try a DIY 30 hour service, I suspect you need a spotlessly clean work area like they show on the Youtube videos. If you strip your suspension in a dusty garage you might do more harm than good. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathrix Posted November 28, 2013 Share I assure you I'm cheaper than a dentist... R0.00 spent on maintenance is a bargain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted November 29, 2013 Share As I understand this: With the front forks, both the airspring and the damper are in sealed isolated environments. They should not be at any immediate risk to any dust that gets through the fork seals. The dust that does get through the fork seals messes up the fork's sliding bearing surfaces. If they get damaged I presume you will eventually get excessive play in the forks which will require replacement of expensive components. But you won't immediately loose your air spring pressure nor your damping. What about the rear? Are the airspring and damper componants also isolated from dust that gets through the main dust seal? The rear suspension unit does not carry any side loads, only direct axial loads between the mounting pins. This is a much simpler loading case and I would expect them to be less susceptible to wear. Finally, if you do want to try a DIY 30 hour service, I suspect you need a spotlessly clean work area like they show on the Youtube videos. If you strip your suspension in a dusty garage you might do more harm than good. Ian Something like that, yes. Except some forks have open bath dampers, where the lube and damping oil are the same thing. Meaning that contamination in the lowers will affect your damping as well. To throw another spanner in the works, Marzocchi hold air pressure in the lowers too, so seal wear will cause pressure loss. (I wish I had a video of the moment I found this out...) This hardly ever happens to Marz though, cos they're made from something about as hard (and heavy) as a slab of marble, and have two seals per leg. Shocks - they're pretty bombproof, but the lube oil - like in any hydraulic system - leaks past the seal with every cycle to lubricate it, so it'll eventually run out. This is the point of the air sleeve service that you'll find on Pootube - replenish the float fluid and check the seals. If you do this regularly enough the seals last practically forever, they only need to be replaced once dust starts getting through the wiper. Damper oil has to be changed too, but not as often - it breaks down from being forced through the piston valves and makes gas bubbles, which mess up the damping and can damage the shims. Last one - yes, a clean work area is important. No point having all those seals if you're sealing all the muck in there from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 29, 2013 Share ..... so Droo ... do you guys test forks like this once you have serviced them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted November 29, 2013 Share ..... so Droo ... do you guys test forks like this once you have serviced them? Not *quite* like that, no... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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