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Hi, am looking at 100mm suspension forks for a 29er with tapered steerer and 15mm QR.
Obviously there's lots, but the key thing I need is one that's very low-maintenance which I have to prioritise somewhat over performance.
So what would be your recommendations for a fork that has the longest/easiest service intervals but still has reasonable performance?
Thanks in advance...
I thought DT Swiss came out best in this respect?
How long do you want to own them for? I've seen everything unserviced for years and they still limp along.If you can throw them away after 2 years then anything will work.
How long do you want to own them for? I've seen everything unserviced for years and they still limp along.If you can throw them away after 2 years then anything will work.
Actually that may well be a viable option for me. I just don't have anywhere close to me that I would be confident to service them (am living in Africa). A yearly service when I visit the UK might be possible, but not sure. Simple oil changes might be possible locally, but doubt I can get any parts like seals etc.
Are there some makes/models that would be better than others in terms of continuing to perform reasonably with no servicing at all?
PS - Thanks for all the great advice I've received on this forum, it's been so useful to have such expertise available for someone who doesn't have that option locally.
Back to the serious voice...
You can do a service in your garden, oil is the same as motorbike forks and seals can be mail order and may only need doing once a year. A normal drop lowers clean and refill with oil will not take you that long for RS or Fox (the 2 I have done recently)
The forks on my genesis altitude (Rock Shox I think, white ones) have never been touched, they are three years old and ridden a lot.
The forks on my Stumpy are around 7 years old. They are Fox ones. Again, I have never, ever touched these but reckon they are probably due a service.
The large majority of forks these days are pretty bomb proof. By keeping the seals clean after each ride you'll do 99% of the work of keeping them going. Then yearly dropping the lowers and replacing the oil is pretty much the other 1%
If I can do it, anyone can
[i]Simple oil changes might be possible locally, but doubt I can get any parts like seals etc.
[/i]
When you buy the forks, also get the service items - and based upon ownership of Fox, Magura and RS; buy RS.
All my forks have had a service interval of "never". Had to replace one, mind you it was a seven year old Suntour.
Have a set of Pike Airs which have passed their eighth birthday and are doing just fine...in all that time they've been to TFT for a service twice and I've stripped, cleaned and fitted new seals once. I needn't have bothered really, they were spotless inside and the seals were in reasonable nick.
They're about due for another service in the next six months or so...
Best Forks I have had were PACE ones you still see people about with them nearly 15 years on. Such a simple design and easy to maintain. IMO forks have not improved in that time...
Agreed servicing is pretty easy, seals etc available online, my SID's even came with a spare set.
Thanks guys. Seems perhaps I've got unnecessarily scared by talk of 15/20/30hr service intervals that I've been reading about on Foxs etc. Seems lots of you aren't doing much at all to your forks and they're OK.
FunkyDunc - Member
Best Forks I have had were PACE ones you still see people about with them nearly 15 years on. Such a simple design and easy to maintain. IMO forks have not improved in that time...
apart from getting stiffer, massively tougher and better damped and generally able to handle the alps as opposed to bridleways, or did they sell them off for another reason#?
It might be worth speaking to a good mechanic out there to see if he thinks the local conditions are particularly aggressive on suspension( cars & motor bikes).
Clean after use & change oil regularly usually looks after stuff.
It might be wort speaking to a good mechanic out there to see if he thinks the local conditions are particularly aggressive.
I'm mostly riding on hard-packed red dirt, so sometimes a bit dusty. Sometimes it gets a little muddy after a rain, but seeing as I'm lazy I tend not to bother when it's all that wet...
Clean after use & change oil regularly usually looks after stuff.
What does changing the oil actually entail disassembly-wise? Any special tools required? Are some forks easier than others on that?
No special tools normally, socket and big spanner. A torque wrench can useful if your hamfisted.
Normally let air out, undo lower nuts, remove lowers clean and replace oil. Add some grease to the seal areas and thats a basic service.
Thanks again for the advice... In the end I got the Suntour Epicon 2014 model, mostly due to price - they were half the price of Rebas - although I ended up getting ones that were preset to 120mm by mistake(!). They have travel-adjust so eventually I'll try to get around to doing that. They seem decent though and the QLOC2 axle system is very nice to use.