Stanchion wear

[Rambo_Ren_77]

Hi all 

So I have recently bought myself a fork with a touch of stanchion wear but great condition other than that. Now I am just wondering what do you guys do in general to prevent further wear from here on out. For now I plan on replacing the dust seals and doing an overall service just for peace of mind but don't know what else I can do to prevent it from wearing down even more. Is there a specific brand of dust seal that can help with this? What are some good dust seals/ service kits you guys would recommend for a rockshox sid/reba?

This is a bit of a question on the side, but what causes stanchion wear exactly? My other fork (fox) I've had for over 4 years that I used on a daily basis (commuting and mountain biking) but it never picked up stanchion wear. But I am just curious as to what does cause the wear, is it just dust seals' material that gets harder over time and causes more wear because you don't service the fork, fork oil that lube the seals that runs out?

Thank you all!

 

[BaGearA]

Its caused by a combination of many things 

 

Largest one old seals that had to be replaced weren't and this allowed dirt to go sit on the lip of the top bush , this grinds away until the seal is replaced. Extreme cases the bush itself can also be worn out then that dirt goes between he stanchion and bush and then the fork is likely poked 

 

Get the fork properly serviced and away for new bushes to be installed regardless there after make sure to do lowers and rebuilds in timely manners to keep a close eye

[dasilvarsa]

Once You Remove the Lowers You Will See Much More Wear.

It Ran Dry Without Lowers Oil For A Long Time.

 

[Marcv]

Hi

I have had stanchion wear from the foam oil ring folding over when the fork was rebuilt....only noticed it when the damage was visible. 

That said i have had two forks where there is/was stanchion wear, the way I prevented further wear was to clean after every ride and change oil in the lowers at least twice a year, i did this by learning how to do it myself. I have found that the wear doesn't cause any reduced performance until its really really bad and you can feel the lowers have play and tend to chatter as you ride.

At this point you can just get them replaced along with the bushings. look at ND TUNED STANCHIONS. i think there might be a couple shops installing these now.

good luck

[Wyatt Earp]

It all depends if you are seeing some rubbing from dry dust wipers, or perhaps gouges from dirt that got trapped in the dust wipers, causing wear.

The only way to determine stanchion wear is to drop the lowers and see what they look like lower down.

If you have wear there, it’s a sure sign that the internal bushings were never seated properly, they would have worn along with the wear to the stanchions, and would need to be replaced.

People tend to neglect the importance of a lower leg service, it’s normally left for “too late”

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Wyatt Earp

[Mongoose!]

I saw this :

Lefty carbon Ocho | Bike Hub

keeping an eye on this thread 👀

 

[madmarc]

I still run a FOX Float fork which is now over 10 years old - When i saw wear marks on the stanchions some years back i wanted to replace and the fork engineers told me, it if not leaking oil and has no play then it's good to go. I rode it for another 5 or 6 years but made sure i was doing the lower oil service 2 or 3 times a year.

Recently i pulled the trigger and had RBC replace the Stanchion & Bushings with complete service - it's like a brand new fork which i'm sure will last another 10 years 

[Rambo_Ren_77]

Thanks guys, I found your advice to be very insightful. Will definitely look into some of your suggestestions. 

[Rambo_Ren_77]

15 hours ago, Marcv said:

Hi

I have had stanchion wear from the foam oil ring folding over when the fork was rebuilt....only noticed it when the damage was visible. 

That said i have had two forks where there is/was stanchion wear, the way I prevented further wear was to clean after every ride and change oil in the lowers at least twice a year, i did this by learning how to do it myself. I have found that the wear doesn't cause any reduced performance until its really really bad and you can feel the lowers have play and tend to chatter as you ride.

At this point you can just get them replaced along with the bushings. look at ND TUNED STANCHIONS. i think there might be a couple shops installing these now.

good luck

I am just wondering how do they replace the stanchions? Is is something that slips over the old stanchion in some way or is it possible to actually replace the stanchion? 

Can the bushings on a sid/reba be replaced, I'm asking because most of the advice online indicates that only fox has replacement bushings.

Thanks for your advice 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Rambo_Ren_77

[madmarc]

22 minutes ago, Rambo_Ren_77 said:

I am just wondering how do they replace the stanchions? Is is something that slips over the old stanchion in some way or is it possible to actually replace the stanchion? 

Can the bushings on a sid/reba be replaced, I'm asking because most of the advice online indicates that only fox has replacement bushings.

Thanks for your advice 

Yes i'm sure they can be - Stanchions are pressed out and new ones pressed in - same applies to new bushings - I had mine done by RBC in PE (it was a FOX fork though) - I think they were the first local LBS to start doing it here in ZA - By now there are a few other guys who can do it.

They can also replace the steerer tubes.

Give them a call and ask.

Edited April 14, 2023 by madmarc

[Martin PJ]

I had stanchion wear on a fork, cyclelab replaced the stanchion / steerer tube part of the fork. Was not cheap, but basically you get a new fork for half the price of a new fork.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Martin PJ

[Wyatt Earp]

1 hour ago, Rambo_Ren_77 said:

I am just wondering how do they replace the stanchions? Is is something that slips over the old stanchion in some way or is it possible to actually replace the stanchion? 

Can the bushings on a sid/reba be replaced, I'm asking because most of the advice online indicates that only fox has replacement bushings.

Thanks for your advice 

Best route would be to book the fork in for a service and then a proper assessment can be done.

Biggest bushing issue I’ve ever had with RS (and not very often if I may add) was bushings not sitting deep enough, in other words flush.

[DieselnDust]

Not all rock shod forks have replaceable bushings in the stanchions. What Wyatt suggests is the best course of action.

[madmarc]

On 4/14/2023 at 12:27 PM, DieselnDust said:

Not all rock shod forks have replaceable bushings in the stanchions. What Wyatt suggests is the best course of action.

On RBC website they have ROCKSHOX ND Tuned bushings

I read somewhere that Rockshox no longer offer bushings as parts, only complete lowers, but i'm sure they can be replaced with aftermarket like ND Tuned 

[Rambo_Ren_77]

4 hours ago, madmarc said:

On RBC website they have ROCKSHOX ND Tuned bushings

I read somewhere that Rockshox no longer offer bushings as parts, only complete lowers, but i'm sure they can be replaced with aftermarket like ND Tuned 

I've seen them when I went to the site after someone mentioned ND tuned on here, I think I'm definitely going to send it to them to replace the bushings and do a good service for now. Very tempted to do the stanchion replacement but maybe a bit later down the line. 

Thanks for the sound advice, I've found it very helpful!

[DieselnDust]

5 hours ago, madmarc said:

On RBC website they have ROCKSHOX ND Tuned bushings

I read somewhere that Rockshox no longer offer bushings as parts, only complete lowers, but i'm sure they can be replaced with aftermarket like ND Tuned 

Yes they can be replaced. They got in there they can come out. It’s just as you say the parts were. It available. Robbie has recently started offering those especially for the newer rs forks where only lowers were available