[Tedman]

That's definitely not true.
On a cold day in the alps (certainly not snowing or freezing), you can notice more damping and more seal drag at the top of the mountain. I notice it more in the shock, perhaps because my fork damper is sealed and separate from the stanchion/lower.

The oil used in sealed dampers has a relatively high viscosity index (i.e. minimal viscosity change over a temperature range), however if you look at the numbers you'll notice that even a high VI fluid has drastic changes in viscosity within the operating temperature range.

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Noted and true also. But that's not considered "normal conditions".
My fork and shock work the same all of the time unless I do something stupid like put it upside down and let all the oil drain down or subject it to cold temps. The OP didn't state temps so that leaves this as general conversation.
So in general, it all comes down to proper tuning and believe me, there are plenty of people who talk a good tuning game on here but don't know sh*t about suspension.
I've been tuning my own DH bikes for 15 years and seem to do pretty well on race day.
Granted, tracks change from venue to venue, and some minor tweaks are required. One problem I see is people over tuning. They change settings everytime they don't like a reaction and accredit it to tuning instead of their line choice and ability to compensate with their body english. People are too quick to blame suspension settings and never give themselves a chance to learn to ride their current settings. So they spend all day chasing the impossible...a perfect tune. There is no perfect tune for DH unless its a perfectly flat, paved highway.
So as I stated, my opinion is warm your body up and ride your f'ing bike!

 

[Wa-Aw]

Temperatures are not cold but very humid (might be a factor but I doubt it).

Tedman, everyday is warm-up-body and ride f'ing bike and that's an acceptable solution in the real world, but this is the internet and we're here to nitpick! Do you run an air fork? Some people are just more sensitive to they way their bike works. Not saying you don't know anything about your bike but some people are just a bit obsessive about these things.

I did recently get my fork serviced. When we opened it up it was practically water. Experienced mechanic told me it was due to the heat and the mostly humidity combined with rock shox's crap seals. Replaced it with oil more suited for the tropics and the fork is working much more consistent after several months of riding.

What I'm getting at with this "cool story" is that I noticed after the service that my compression cart was actually heating up A LOT (almost as hot as the piggy back on the shock) after runs and the fork felt awesome, feels like the best fork I've ever had. It's tracks the small stuff great but at the same time doesn't dive and it doesn't blow through it's travel on big hits. It behaves just about the opposite when I walk out the door, and as most Totem 2-Step owners would tell you, that's how it normally behaves, crappy small bump compliance, dives and blows through it's travel.

What I want to know is how would I get my fork to feel the way it does in it's prime all the time? Lighter oil like said above?

If anyone wants come stroke my fork to prove a point, I'll give you fair warning that it's a straight 1.5"er.

 

[Sandwich]

if it's just before your race run, why not sandwich a pair of those hand warmers on either side of the approximate location of the damping fluid? then just toss them aside for the run. I would imagine your seals would heat up real fast, like before the first turn. The damping fluid might take more time. You could do the same on the shock resi.

 

[Tedman]

Temperatures are not cold but very humid (might be a factor but I doubt it).

Tedman, everyday is warm-up-body and ride f'ing bike and that's an acceptable solution in the real world, but this is the internet and we're here to nitpick! Do you run an air fork? Some people are just more sensitive to they way their bike works. Not saying you don't know anything about your bike but some people are just a bit obsessive about these things.

I did recently get my fork serviced. When we opened it up it was practically water. Experienced mechanic told me it was due to the heat and the mostly humidity combined with rock shox's crap seals. Replaced it with oil more suited for the tropics and the fork is working much more consistent after several months of riding.

What I'm getting at with this "cool story" is that I noticed after the service that my compression cart was actually heating up A LOT (almost as hot as the piggy back on the shock) after runs and the fork felt awesome, feels like the best fork I've ever had. It's tracks the small stuff great but at the same time doesn't dive and it doesn't blow through it's travel on big hits. It behaves just about the opposite when I walk out the door, and as most Totem 2-Step owners would tell you, that's how it normally behaves, crappy small bump compliance, dives and blows through it's travel.

What I want to know is how would I get my fork to feel the way it does in it's prime all the time? Lighter oil like said above?

If anyone wants come stroke my fork to prove a point, I'll give you fair warning that it's a straight 1.5"er.

Well, I'm done with this conversation. I'm not here to nit-pick. I'm here to offer my two cents with as little as possible time investment.

My answer to your final question has two parts:

1- get rid of that Rock Shox garbage

2- if choosing to stick with RS, learn how to maintain the fork regularly. Because that's what these bikes require...especially RS products

Good luck with your bike.

 

[no skid marks]

I'm also in warm land Australia.
and I notice it. I think it's other things also, like brakes heating etc.
There's no way of heating it easily to whatever you think the oil grease, and seals optimum temperature is easily, so forget it. I also don't think t makes that much difference. Ride around a bit bouncing before your run, any heat won't dissipate that quickly.
Oh yeah, I'm with Tangentman, get ride of the Rockshox garbage.

 

[no skid marks]

That's what the forking eski's for.

 

[Lelandjt]

In sunny CO my issue is keeping the suspension (air at both ends) and tires cool before a run so they don't start out stiff.

 

[JohnnyC]

It's probably not a problem for these other guys who never ride but I am 100% sure the suspension is much more supple at the end of the run than at the start. The difference in stiction(sp?) is very noticeable and it's only after being beaten up a little I can say that I can feel much of the compression damping working, especially low speed. Not really a problem on fun rides but during races where you wait at the top of the hill for ages before finally getting on track, makes you feel a lot better (and faster) when the suspension feels 100% right out of the gate.

May also have to do with me on a relatively "crappy" fork, 2010 Totem 2-step, but it's in very good condition and it works great after a little warm. Feels like crap when you walk out the front door in the morning. It's recently been serviced too. I notice changes in the rear too but not as pronounced as the fork.

It probably has to do with oil not being totally clean or slightly seals, but I can't afford to take my fork apart as often as I should.

I would say the fork feels sticky at the start of the run because a rock shox fork has only about 20 (?) cc's of oil in each leg which will all have dribbled to the bottom, leaving the bushings dry. It takes a run to get the oil splashing around the inside of the fork properly. This will be even worse if the fork hasn't been serviced in a while as the oil will have degraded severely (you will probably see it has turned black inside there!)

The heat probably comes from the friction of the dry bushings getting worked over for a whole run.

My suggestion - service your fork more often, and then flip it upside down when you aren't riding or at least for a while before your first run.

 

[davec113]

I would say the fork feels sticky at the start of the run because a rock shox fork has only about 20 (?) cc's of oil in each leg which will all have dribbled to the bottom, leaving the bushings dry. It takes a run to get the oil splashing around the inside of the fork properly. This will be even worse if the fork hasn't been serviced in a while as the oil will have degraded severely (you will probably see it has turned black inside there!)

The heat probably comes from the friction of the dry bushings getting worked over for a whole run.

My suggestion - service your fork more often, and then flip it upside down when you aren't riding or at least for a while before your first run.

Finally, we have the real answer.

Totems...especially air Totems... feel like $hit when they have been sitting there unused. It is not because of a change in viscosity and tolerances due to temperature, it is simply not lubricated until it is used for a while.

Follow Johhny's suggestions, and also try using 30cc of lube oil instead of 20.