You are hereForums / By Discipline / Mountain (off road) / MTB Gear / Fork rebuild
Fork rebuild
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Just had my fork rebuilt and wow what a difference... Fork has compression once again and MUCH more responsive, absorbs all bumps better then it ever has. Ended up doing all bushings, dust wipers and seals. How hard is it to do myself because it took two weeks turnaround!! and an arm and a leg to pay for.
Thanks.
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Tags
An arm and a leg being???? Should cost less than $150
Depends on what fork you have? Some are easier than others, but none are too hard really.
I've got Rockshox across my 3 bikes ('07 Reba on my commuter, '09 Reba on my XC, and '09 Totem on my DH), and their all pretty easy to service. Every 6 months I do a full clean & fluid change (spring, damper & lowers), and every 12 months I do the dust wipers (unless they need doing before hand).
Each fork is just about to get a full seal change (as in the O-Rings), and given the quality of the weather this weekend, today might be the day!
SRAM has plenty of great info, both on their site, and in videos on Youtube. You can download full service manuals & spare parts lists/exploded diagrams. They're quite easy to follow, just take your time and do it step by step. I recommend printing the particular sections of the PDFs you need, as it's easier than constantly looking back at the PC when you've got grease and oil all over your hands...
Hope that help!
Ive got a fox f120r So its air not coil.
No worries. Have a look on the fox website www.foxracingshox.com and you should be able to find a wealth of service information & tech documents.
Fluid amounts you'll need depend on the year/model of your fork. Most of the Fox forks use what is called an "Open Bath System", whereby the inside of the stanchions are "open" to the fluid in the lowers. Some of the newer ones, the FIT models, use a closed system for the spring & damper, kind of like a cartridge in the stanchions. If you've got an open bath system, you'll need to clean the spring and damper when you pull the lowers off (as all the oil comes out). If you've got a FIT fork, you can change the dust wipers & lower fluid without doing anything with the spring & damper side.
Oh, and when I say spring, it's a generic term for both air & coil spring systems
Have a look on Fox's site for the tech docs, and read through it to see if it seems like something you can do.
Good luck mate! And don't hesitate to post if you have any more questions
Thanks for the help. I just had the rebuild done so hopefully i wont need to do it for a little while now.
Are you a suspension tech? Do you have the tools and the know how? If the answer is no then the answer is no, you cannot do the work yourself. You might be able to figure out how to do seals, foam rings and oil but there is no bloody way on earth any person can change bushings on a Fox fork at home.
And why all the whinging? Crikey, you've shouted the benefits of getting the fork serviced and then complain about the time taken and the cost. Incredible. Do you think that the people that service these items are unskilled muppets? Working for a low wage? And are they sitting poised for your fork to arrive?
For those who dislike the cost of maintaining their bike then choose another hobby as this is not a cheap sport. May I suggest reading, knitting or, for the out doorsy types, working in the garden...
I'm about to attempt my Rockshox Recon. I already have a torque wrench and most tools that are needed for working on a car. I have read through the instructions and it seems relatively easy to me. I also have medical syringes from the hospital I work at so I can measure the oil accurately!
Am I missing something? Or is that post just above me a little sour... (I do realise that I have SRAM, not Fox)
Question 2... Can I change my spacers to make my 4inch forks into 5 inch? The instructions seems to suggest so.
The time issue wasn't because of fox but because of the shop i used. I dropped it off and from fox receiving the fork it was a 3 day turn around, but the bike shop i took it to sat on there ass for a week. I gave it to the shop on a saturday straight after my ride, hoping they would post it off by monday so i could have it for my saturday ride but i called them thursday and it was only getting picked up late that afternoon. Eventually i picked it upn the friday after.
And last time i checked $180.00 is a lot of money especially being a student. You can get car suspension rebuilded for similar to that and thats bushings and all 4 times over, plus labour!!
Sounds like you have everything you need to do a basic service, fluids, seals, wipers etc. You do need specialist tools to do bushings though, as they're a bit trickier, both on the removing & installing part. I'm sure someone with better tooling skills than me could whip a couple of bushing tools pretty easily though. That said, I've never needed to do any of my bushings yet.
That will depend on your fork itself. I'm not familiar with the Recon range, but you'll find out if you can when you remove the spring assembly. Basically, if there's already a spacer in the spring, then you should be able to remove that and gain some extra travel. If there's no spacer though, you won't be able to get any more travel.
It's my view that LBS labour charges are fair, but parts charges are over the top. For example, Fox rear shock seals can be acquired in the US for US$6, but by the time you go to your local bike shop, they've become A$24. Something wrong there.
Delicious, easy mate.
The guy's a student - time rich (relatively) and cash poor.
I'll retract some of my statements. Many mechanical bike tasks are within the scope of the home mechanic. With suspension, be it forks or shock, be certain that you're able to carry out the required work, have the tools and parts on hand before beginning. Once again, be certain. A mistake can be very costly. I've seen too many customer abortions come in where it's expected that we can magically fix their stuff up. Plus, drop what we're doing in order to do so!
By all means carry out your own maintenance. A suspension unit (shock or fork)really only needs doing twice a year, one minor (about $90) and one major (about twice that) so that sort of thing (if you're unsure/unexperienced/untooled) is best left to the pros.
The cost of things (anything - not just bike stuff) will always be less in the US. Everyone has to get over this! There is 300 million people there contributing to that economy. The ongoing argument about the cost of parts here is silly. Everyone on the way has to make money. Everyone has to make a living. I'd reckon that most reading this earn a fair slab more than what I do. I've even had a disgruntled customer call me a loser for working in a bike shop at my age! Don't begrudge people making money and a living. If you don't like the price, go elsewhere. Simple. That's capitalism. Choice, options. That's what the internet is for. What I hate is when people pick my brains then go buy the item online. Incredible. The least one can do after receiving my know how is buy the damn product from me and contribute to my income. I have a job to do and like any sales person in any industry I have to sell, sell, sell and justify my existence to my employer. The online stores are awesome. Go for it. But when one doesn't know about something and they feel they need a shops help, then these workers plus the suppliers are people with lives and families and V8 Commodores and Ducatis to pay for. For those obsessed with US prices and cannot obtain it mail order, go live there. Good luck.
So, to recap. Home maintenance is the domain of those who have the ability to do so. If you can, great. If you can't, go to a shop. If you can't and want to learn, there's resources out there for that. I didn't always work in a shop y'know. I had to start somewhere and I've been through plenty of discouragement and setbacks. Doing your own work is rewarding. Becoming set up to so can be costly and is time consuming. Take your time and best of luck.