[Closed] Fork boots

Decent ones do a good job, but are a right fiddly faff to clean and sort out. Otherwise they let grit in which marks the stantions and damages the seals....

Most modern forks have seals good enough to not need them. If you're the sort who properly cleans your bike after every ride they may provide some extra protection, if not I'd avoid.

That said I manged to score my Fox forks on the INSIDE of the stanchions!!!!!

These are lizard skins. Seem decent enough but I remember them being a faff before. Know what you mean about the inside of the Fox's, quite a common issue

Shite with a capitol SH for forks

Only thing id do with them is stick it round a dropper post

Shite with a capitol SH for forks

Only thing id do with them is stick it round a dropper post

yes then you can destroy it in no time....

I think they are a good idea. Though I don't think anyone is spending any time to develop a decent one. They neoprene ones can dry the area out, which can be a problem on forks.

I have a Lizard skin on my rear mech.

Bad idea.

[i]yes then you can destroy it in no time....[/i]

I took the fork boots off a set of some manitou forks ages ago and they are now on my Joplin seatposts...they work a treat and I've run my Joplins through winter with minimal maintenance so far whereas, without the extra protection, they normal die at the sight of mud.

Im not so sure they are that bad.

If you put them on before a really muddy ride, then after the ride take them off there will be little or no mud on your forks. Chuck them in the wash with the rest of your riding kit.

If your a bit slack and leave them on or dont fit them properly or dont check after a ride, mud may get under them and cause problems.

But if you take a bit of care you will be fine.

Not everyone takes the same care with stuff, so they will only suit some riders.

Don't mean to hijack the thread - but on a closely related topic....

I don't use fork boots - prefer to just wipe them clean after each ride and add a little dry teflon lube to the stanchions. However, I am using a rear shock boot - the lizard skins neoprene one (though there are similar from Endura and others).

My logic is that the rear shock on my Trance is low down in a very exposed position, and especially when I ride on gravelly rail trails, gets a good sandblasting! I take the boot off every couple of rides and wash it to get rid of the dust, and so far no signs of rub induced wear on the shock.

So whats the take on rear shock boots then?

Any thread on fork boots always misses the point.

Jumpupanddown

Your just prolonging an inherrantly bad design anyway so its largely irrelevant: joplins are sealed so bad i found loads of mud inside a customers jamming it up his now has inner tube round the shaft and seat - no further issues ......

Any thread on fork boots always misses the point

Oh ok then, I'll bite... What [i]is[/i] the point then...

The problem with fork gaiters is that they are very rarely designed or fitted properly.

Because they expand and contract with the movement of the fork they suck and blow just like the good set of bellows they are. If there's crap flying around they'll suck it in.

To stop this happening they need to have a vent to another air chamber (approx coke can size) to increase the total air volume to reduce the differences in pressure (ie less suck and less blow), and it should have an air filter to the atmosphere (bit of oiled foam does the job). Done like this there will be virtually no muck sucked in and the forks will remain clean for a very long time.