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Ok I know its a retrotastic idea but....for winter slop/Fox forks. A sort of ghetto-neopreme version that sits over the stanchions attached to zipties around the fork boss?
Inner tubes wont work will they.
Don't Lizard Skins already do these? The concept is sound, as long as you take them off after every ride and wash them. Otherwise, they'll collect grit and cause more damage than they prevent.
they keep the wet in!
They are more hassle than they are worth, Hora... This from somebody who lost a set of Mag21s a few years back when I thought the boots were a great idea.
They look shit too! 😉
just keep em well looked after; fork juice or similar every ride, keep a clean rag just for your forks, whip the lowers off and give the seals a clean and the foam rings a bit of float fluid every 3 or 4 rides and they will be schweet as throughout the winter. dont use a hose on them either, wash em carefully by hand being careful not to force dirt down the seals.
That is one concern- the grit you dont want trapped half in your seals might also get left/unseen if you don't religiously remove/clean.
The slop comes from the rear primarily, or the front and/or above? Hmmm. Possible to make something similar to the ghetto fork mudguard but only one strip of inner tube held by a ziptie round the lower and one fixed around the top of the crown/boss????
Get home turn bike upside down cycle forks and wipe off sanctions then clean as normal.
Kept my floats sweet for 5 winters..
you could give it a try, i tried similar things to keep a ks i900 seatpost running smooth over the winter. the problem was they only work so well, crud will find a way in everywhere and they are no substitute for maintenance.
Seen an old bit of inner tube used on a shock, if you have a very thin inner tube (road tyre one) you might be able to feed it up from the bottom carefully (heat it in hot water first?)
though as above I wouldn't recommend it
I've done something similar for my rear shock but it's more of a flap than a boot. Enough to keep some of the spray off but not enough to trap anything. I can get under there for cleaning without any bother and it doesn't make contact with the shock shaft.
why the **** would a bloke who obviously never ever takes his bike out of the house want to make fork boots to stop muck ingress........... 😉
I guess you never have forks for long enough to worry about cleaning them?
why the **** would a bloke who obviously never ever takes his bike out of the house want to make fork boots to stop muck ingress
Err I said over a month ago I'd go to the Marple ride. Thought I'd said inbetween if I was or wasnt ❓ Anyway, you have a new bike for everyride SirTon 😉
Eurika- you run a strip of inner tube flap down he back of the stanchion only. Stops slop mid-ride which is part of the wear and tear?
it was shyte anyhow, you would have hated it.............. 😉
SirTon, now i like the sound of that, log on name mebbe.
Slightly OT- I had some white wine in the Indian restaurant last night- why do I STILL feel slightly queezy now?
Imagine if fork manufacturers wanted their product to last. They'd design a 5mm lip above the lower's seals and a 5 mm lip below the junction of stanchion and crown and it would be possible to ziptie an old 23mm tube almost airtight to stop winter grit destroying their product and your purchase.
But they don't. I'm unfashionable and wrap my rear shock in a lizard skin during winter. It comes off after every ride and gets washed like the rest of the bike. I've never seen a buildup of abrasive grit in there, it's spotless. When I've ridden without, the shock shaft is covered with semi dry liquid sandpaper.
I can send you some .75mm thick EPDM (flexible stretchy rubber) material if you really want to make some shock boots.