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Just had to bin my 3 year old Revelation 426's due to stanchion wear. Just ordered new forks and would welcome any suggestions for a preventative regime. Ride in damp and muddy conditions but do clean bike after most rides.
Tom
Just had the same happen but to Fox 90RLs (same age). New forks on the way.
Just caught my Pikes in time as a little patch was appearing in the coloured finish. Make sure you refill the oil resevoir once a year otherwise the seals run dry and cause the wear. Get a shop to do it if you can't. Shop charges about £50 IIRC but much cheaper than new forks. If you don't have them done after 12 months it invalidats the warranty.
Lesson learned...!
Spray some lube on the stanchions now and again after washing and cycle the forks up and down a couple of times. The amount of dirt it will lift out of the seals surprised me. I'm also using some juice lubes fork juice (as I got a couple of cans free) it certainly leaves a residue on the forks which is nice and slippy but no idea if it'll actually help stanchion wear, logic would say it should though.
When you get the forks, take the lowers off and check theres enough lubricating oil in there. Mine (rockshox) didn't, i've heard other forks of varying brands are the same.
Last time I serviced my revs I poured oil in with the stanchions just past the seals (& upside down) - in the hope that it would stay above the top bushing and keep it lubed for a bit.
No idea if this worked...
would welcome any suggestions for a preventative regime
Service the forks regularly!
Easy job, takes half an hour. My 5 year old rebas are still like new.
I was in the habit of lubing the stanchions after washing with a silicone spray. Glenh, how frequently do you service them? I suppose it depends on the nature of your riding but some idea would be helpful, it is Rebas I have bought!
Tom
Follow the recommended service regime - ie clean & re-apply lube to wipers/sponge every 15-20hrs of riding, esp in winter. Bit of a faff but simple enough to do.
Either that or buy some forks with better seals/warranty (DT or Marzocchi currently I think)
Servicing and enduroforkseals are keeping my fox talas's stanchions perfect. You can tell they work because when you service the oil it's clear, not the cloudy brown colour it used to be with the cr*ppy fox seals.
@bumbly1 Do you still have the old ones? I might be interested in some of the parts ...
Tom - perhaps it's all that maintenance that's the problem? My forks seem to be thriving on neglect!
holyhutzpa, they are spoken for I am afraid!
Epicsteve, life is just not fair!
Tom
I change the lowers oil every so often in my magura's, the oils always clear even after 6 months hard use if I've been slacking.
Its another bit of maintenance to stay on top of, but in the grand scheme of things I don'd do that much. hose the bike down after a ride if it's with the LBS (who have a hose) and lube the chain, other than that I've come to the conclusion that most of the stuff I used to do is pointless, after 10 years riding I can name most squeeks as they occour and sort them out that way.
how frequently do you service them?
Probably every 6 months or so.
Servicing revelation is really simple. I did it for the first time last weekend. Undo a few bolts remove uppers, lubricate, reassemble, fill with oil and tighten bolts before pumping up. Not something to fear and takes about 20 minutes. I'll probably do it every couple of months.
More nervous about Fox though, the instructions look a lot more complicated.
Nahh, fox oil service is dead easy. Mojo have videos to show you how if your not sure. Takes 10mins max when your used to it.
jonb - fox are really not any different. The only thing that can be slightly tricky in comparison is the top adjuster knob as it contains small parts.
So for lower leg removal, no difference to RS really.