maybe the ''s aren't appropriate, but the question is:
How often do you take apart and clean up your fork or shock?
How often SHOULD you take apart and clean up your fork and shock?
These questions comes up as I am overhauling bikes, and focussing on troubled fork, and shocks that could possibly use a rebuild (new oil at least)
1st Question/Issue
Issue: My 888 is showing wear on the stanchions as if the bushings are shot; these lowers are new, and have been on the bike for 12 days of riding, the last 6 at a very low intensity. I polished an extra set of lowers this season and rode them without issue for 6 days in early May before injury/surgery kept me off the bike until recently.
Can anyone propose what I did wrong? Im glad to admit guilt somehow if it solves the mystery.
- The lowers, seals, bushings were new and unused; they had been sitting in my closet for ~2 years, so maybe the material degraded being exposed for that long?
- I tore down, cleaned and reassembled the fork with an Ava cart and new spring which involved close handling/inspection of the parts and no issues were noted. The wear didnt become apparent until this Saturday (I admittedly didnt closely inspect since initially assembling)
- the only unusual thing I did this time was to extend the forks in the crown an additional 1/2"; MAYBE I went past the max mark and somehow caused binding that did the bushings in?
Maybe my wipers suck and muddy grit snuck past them at Snowshoe and I numbly overlooked? At one point I suspected contaminants from the stripping process, that maybe some stripper or some sand from the blaster made its way past the tape job, and also evaded my cleaning/washing, but then I ran it the 1st 6 days with zero issue, then cleaned and changed the oil (both sides) prior to recent use.
2nd Question/Issue
How often to rebuild a shock, and what's involved normally?
- New seals? Shims? O rings? What should be changed versus what must be? I figure that much like a fork that isnt leaking - a clean up and fresh oil will bring back the good performance, but I defer to the Monkeys.
- PUSH will tell you every year or 100 hours of riding, but then I have a PUSH'd RP23 and PIKE from early 2010 that still ride great -- maybe I just need to change the oil versus send it in for some $$ seals and shimzzz?
Theres no doubt that staying on top of your equipments health and 'freshness' will have a positive impact on performance and longevity, but Im curious to know where the real thresholds lie.
How often do you take apart and clean up your fork or shock?
How often SHOULD you take apart and clean up your fork and shock?
These questions comes up as I am overhauling bikes, and focussing on troubled fork, and shocks that could possibly use a rebuild (new oil at least)
1st Question/Issue
Issue: My 888 is showing wear on the stanchions as if the bushings are shot; these lowers are new, and have been on the bike for 12 days of riding, the last 6 at a very low intensity. I polished an extra set of lowers this season and rode them without issue for 6 days in early May before injury/surgery kept me off the bike until recently.
Can anyone propose what I did wrong? Im glad to admit guilt somehow if it solves the mystery.
- The lowers, seals, bushings were new and unused; they had been sitting in my closet for ~2 years, so maybe the material degraded being exposed for that long?
- I tore down, cleaned and reassembled the fork with an Ava cart and new spring which involved close handling/inspection of the parts and no issues were noted. The wear didnt become apparent until this Saturday (I admittedly didnt closely inspect since initially assembling)
- the only unusual thing I did this time was to extend the forks in the crown an additional 1/2"; MAYBE I went past the max mark and somehow caused binding that did the bushings in?
Maybe my wipers suck and muddy grit snuck past them at Snowshoe and I numbly overlooked? At one point I suspected contaminants from the stripping process, that maybe some stripper or some sand from the blaster made its way past the tape job, and also evaded my cleaning/washing, but then I ran it the 1st 6 days with zero issue, then cleaned and changed the oil (both sides) prior to recent use.
2nd Question/Issue
How often to rebuild a shock, and what's involved normally?
- New seals? Shims? O rings? What should be changed versus what must be? I figure that much like a fork that isnt leaking - a clean up and fresh oil will bring back the good performance, but I defer to the Monkeys.
- PUSH will tell you every year or 100 hours of riding, but then I have a PUSH'd RP23 and PIKE from early 2010 that still ride great -- maybe I just need to change the oil versus send it in for some $$ seals and shimzzz?
Theres no doubt that staying on top of your equipments health and 'freshness' will have a positive impact on performance and longevity, but Im curious to know where the real thresholds lie.
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