[macko]

So I was reading jeb's thread about his trip downhilling on Mammoth
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=162652

He had a nasty spill that seriously scraped one his fork stantions. I remember the days when almost all forks had the rubber accordian things over the stantions. Why are they not used anymore?

I understand that those rubber things were primarily to keep out dust & grime and were probably dropped due to better suspension and seal technologies...but why drop them altogether? Is it simply because they looks stupid? It seems to me that if jeb had rubbers on his fork those scrapes wouldn't be nearly as bad.

Someone educate me.

 

[Slugman]

All I know is that the last fork that I had those on, they did more damage than protection. They seemed to help trap the dirt and grime inside of them and wear on the stanchions like sand paper.

However I have similar (but less severe) scratches on my stanchions... and wish that there was something to protect them!

 

[vitox]

because they do mean an amount of unwanted compression damping, and with how big travel forks are now, they also mean that you have to factor in at least an inch of extra exposed stanchion so that there is space for the fully compressed rubber accordions, that in turn means either 1" less bushing overlap (flexier fork) or 1" taller forks.
plus, for a real crash, they dont do much, there are better solutions for that, some companies have stanchion guards that work great.

also, scratching a stanchion isnt that terrible, it can be fixed with a bit of nail paint and fine grit sandpaper, to the point of looking a bit ugly but not impairing performance or seal duration at all.

 

[jimmydean]

Shock boots are hell on off-raod shocks, I would think the same was true of fork boots.

Core Rat fork guards look like hell, but I have been told they work well. Not sure if you can find them anywhere anymore.

<edit> www.corerat.com Guess they still make them.

 

[Jim Mac]

because they do mean an amount of unwanted compression damping, and with how big travel forks are now, they also mean that you have to factor in at least an inch of extra exposed stanchion so that there is space for the fully compressed rubber accordions, that in turn means either 1" less bushing overlap (flexier fork) or 1" taller forks.
plus, for a real crash, they dont do much, there are better solutions for that, some companies have stanchion guards that work great.

also, scratching a stanchion isnt that terrible, it can be fixed with a bit of nail paint and fine grit sandpaper, to the point of looking a bit ugly but not impairing performance or seal duration at all.

You can also rotate your stantion after sanding it. I have a good gash on my Super T, so I did the sanding thing. My LBS also recommended the rotation so the minute scratches would not wear away on just one part of the seal, thus potentially opening up that seal to grime, water, etc.

 

[bjanga]

I believe it was because they did more harm than good by trapping all of the grit and holding it against your seals and stanctions.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Learn to spell it you pack of n00Bs!!

 

[Chunky Munkey]

I personally had them on my Manitou Dual Crown... but I removed them and put on the short seals they came out with later. After one year, and a ton of dirt, I deciced to put the old boots back on. Keeps more dirt out in my opinion. If you never clean your bike, YES you will get dirt in trapped but if you wash your bike a lot I prefer them. Screw what the bike looks like as to the cool effect. I have fenders on my bike and I get funny looks but I got leather seats that don't get mud on them and besides, how uncool looking is a mud line up your ass. Looks like you're an inmate. Shock boots are functional. I put mine back on. Screw what people think. FUNCTION, not what people think.

 

[BurlyShirley]

why can nobody in the freaking world spell stanchions?

 

[bjanga]

Learn to spell it you pack of n00Bs!!

why can nobody in the freaking world spell stanchions?

my apologies. I looked it up and got it right now

stanchion

 

[vitox]

I personally had them on my Manitou Dual Crown... but I removed them and put on the short seals they came out with later. After one year, and a ton of dirt, I deciced to put the old boots back on. Keeps more dirt out in my opinion. If you never clean your bike, YES you will get dirt in trapped but if you wash your bike a lot I prefer them. Screw what the bike looks like as to the cool effect. I have fenders on my bike and I get funny looks but I got leather seats that don't get mud on them and besides, how uncool looking is a mud line up your ass. Looks like you're an inmate. Shock boots are functional. I put mine back on. Screw what people think. FUNCTION, not what people think.

its okai in your case because your fork was designed with them in mind, but for almost all current forks that not the case.
if you were to put a boot on say a 888 or boxxer, youd be bottoming out against the fork boot and destroying it quickly and effectively and then getting plastic bits in your brake after the first few rides.

bottom line is that the tradeoff isnt positive, you gain sligthly better mud tolerance, but you loose fork stiffness (explained it in my post above) and also you add weight and compression damping.

 

[DHS]

vitox, you're not allowed to change your icon

 

[jebfour]

Shock boots are hell on off-raod shocks, I would think the same was true of fork boots.

Core Rat fork guards look like hell, but I have been told they work well. Not sure if you can find them anywhere anymore.

<edit> www.corerat.com Guess they still make them.

I'm going to be looking into those....

My three day repair on my fork is almost completed. I'll post a series of pics in a few hours.....