Stuff you learn(t) the hard way by being your own mechanic

[Hairy]

I don't get it .... seals and foam rings are cheap compared to a stanchion that is ruined through dirt and grit that passes by a worn seal to the foam rings where it forms a nice abrasive paste wearing down the wall of the stanchion to allow even more gemors into the system.

[GrahamS2]

Fork service wasn't that expensive afterall. I desided to keep the dust wipers and only replace the foam rings.The bike shop said that with my type of fork it isn't necessary to service the damper because it's a sealed cartridge damper and dust cant get in (but isn't it not the same with all shocks?)

 

Lower leg.... R300

Fork service.... R550

 

I was charged R300. I don't think they charged me for the foam rings. Next year Ill get myself new seals then it will cost 600+-

I order seal kits on ebay. Costs R300 for 2 full rebuild kits for my Pike. Oil was another R100 and a tub of sram butter another R180. Labour is free since I do it myself (it's not exactly rocket science, you just need a clean environment to work in). So for under R1k I get 2 full rebuilds with all seals, wipers, o-rings, etc. and enough old to do a change every 6 months. Basically buys me 5 years of riding the fork.

[droo]

I order seal kits on ebay. Costs R300 for 2 full rebuild kits for my Pike. Oil was another R100 and a tub of sram butter another R180. Labour is free since I do it myself (it's not exactly rocket science, you just need a clean environment to work in). So for under R1k I get 2 full rebuilds with all seals, wipers, o-rings, etc. and enough old to do a change every 6 months. Basically buys me 5 years of riding the fork.

 

Please share where you're getting these, that's less than half what we spend on one kit.

[dasilvarsa]

I don't get it .... seals and foam rings are cheap compared to a stanchion that is ruined through dirt and grit that passes by a worn seal to the foam rings where it forms a nice abrasive paste wearing down the wall of the stanchion to allow even more gemors into the system.

Everything has a design life.

I had a case where the bike shop wanted to replace a steel cassette @ 1500 Km, along with fork seals an brake pads. All components were inspected and found to be OK.

[GrahamS2]

Please share where you're getting these, that's less than half what we spend on one kit.

Will do. Let me find my last order

[Josh_the. Man]

Is your mechanic also trying to sell you a rigid fork?

No ????

[daniemare]

Please share where you're getting these, that's less than half what we spend on one kit.

It will be. He is not going through the local shark, I mean anti-competitively geo-locked protected agent.

[Simon Kolin]

I don't get it .... seals and foam rings are cheap compared to a stanchion that is ruined through dirt and grit that passes by a worn seal to the foam rings where it forms a nice abrasive paste wearing down the wall of the stanchion to allow even more gemors into the system.

I really don't get where this fallacy comes from. Dirt in the foam rings, especially if they are well lubricated DO NOT make an abrasive paste and wear the stanchions. It's just not correct.

 

Below are the foam rings I took out of my 2013 Fox Evo forks. This was from the 2017 service. It's obvious that there is dirt in the foam rings, but because the foam is well lubricated, the dirt is kept in suspension and can't cause any premature wear. The fork stanchions are still perfect.

 

I suspect that if the stanchions are wearing badly, it's probably due to, (1) the fork never being washed, (2) the foam rings not being kept wet with foam fluid and (3) maybe poor tolerances of certain seals that don't seat correctly and rub rather than wipe.

 

Now I'm not saying that foam rings should not be replaced, but it's not correct that dirty foam rings cause stanchion wear.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Simon Kolin

[GrahamS2]

Will do. Let me find my last order

Seems things have gotten expensive in 18 months. I ordered 2 Rockshox solo-air basic service kits on ebay, and they came to US$30.20 for both, including shipping. The supplier was in Taiwan. I see the cheapest option now is AU$29.95 for one. 

[droo]

Seems things have gotten expensive in 18 months. I ordered 2 Rockshox solo-air basic service kits on ebay, and they came to US$30.20 for both, including shipping. The supplier was in Taiwan. I see the cheapest option now is AU$29.95 for one. 

 

The basic kit is just wipers, which will set you back R 325 a pair here. The full kit with the internal seals is about R 800. There is an intermediate kit, but it was only supplied with new forks from about 2014 to 2016.

 

Thanks for checking though.

[droo]

I really don't get where this fallacy comes from. Dirt in the foam rings, especially if they are well lubricated DO NOT make an abrasive paste and wear the stanchions. It's just not correct.

 

Below are the foam rings I took out of my 2013 Fox Evo forks. This was from the 2017 service. It's obvious that there is dirt in the foam rings, but because the foam is well lubricated, the dirt is kept in suspension and can't cause any premature wear. The fork stanchions are still perfect.

 

I suspect that if the stanchions are wearing badly, it's probably due to, (1) the fork never being washed, (2) the foam rings not being kept wet with foam fluid and (3) maybe poor tolerances of certain seals that don't seat correctly and rub rather than wipe.

 

Now I'm not saying that foam rings should not be replaced, but it's not correct that dirty foam rings cause stanchion wear.

 

Believe what you like, but if your foam rings look like that your wipers are shot.

 

If you're changing oil every 25 hours and not washing your bike or riding in the wet you might be ok for a while, but you're eventually going to write your fork off.

[stefmeister]

I really don't get where this fallacy comes from. Dirt in the foam rings, especially if they are well lubricated DO NOT make an abrasive paste and wear the stanchions. It's just not correct.

 

Below are the foam rings I took out of my 2013 Fox Evo forks. This was from the 2017 service. It's obvious that there is dirt in the foam rings, but because the foam is well lubricated, the dirt is kept in suspension and can't cause any premature wear. The fork stanchions are still perfect.

 

I suspect that if the stanchions are wearing badly, it's probably due to, (1) the fork never being washed, (2) the foam rings not being kept wet with foam fluid and (3) maybe poor tolerances of certain seals that don't seat correctly and rub rather than wipe.

 

Now I'm not saying that foam rings should not be replaced, but it's not correct that dirty foam rings cause stanchion wear.

 

A lubricant can only reduce friction and heat, and therefore reduce wear on parts. 

The presence of any abrasive will still cause wear. Just think of cutting and grinding fluids in metal working - oil will actually help drilling, tapping and grinding processes of metals.

Edited September 26, 2019 by stefmeister

[MrJacques]

I recently broke a spoke and I'm going to try and fix it myself. There might be a few lessons involved

[Simon Kolin]

Believe what you like, but if your foam rings look like that your wipers are shot.

 

If you're changing oil every 25 hours and not washing your bike or riding in the wet you might be ok for a while, but you're eventually going to write your fork off.

That's not factually correct. The wipers are not a 100% seal, so dirt that is in suspension (riding in the wet) or very fine dry dust will get past an end up in the foam rings. Thats the point of the foam rings...to collect the contaminant that gets past the wipers.

 

Also, I never said that the wipers didn't need to be replaced.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Simon Kolin

[Simon Kolin]

A lubricant can only reduce friction and heat, and therefore reduce wear on parts. 

The presence of any abrasive will still cause wear. Just think of cutting and grinding fluids in metal working - oil will actually help drilling, tapping and grinding processes of metals.

Depends on the size and quantity of the abrasive agent in the lubricant. 

 

Um, not sure what cutting and grinding fluids have to do with the fork foam rings.

[droo]

A lubricant can only reduce friction and heat, and therefore reduce wear on parts. 

The presence of any abrasive will still cause wear. Just think of cutting and grinding fluids in metal working - oil will actually help drilling, tapping and grinding processes of metals.

 

Also, in forks one of the biggest causes of wear is water ingress. The emulsion of oil and water causes far more friction between the stanchions and bushings, which means that you can wear both out without any abrasive contaminants, though usually the water brings other muck in with it.