[bighitfsr]

How does a 2002 White Brother DH3 compare with similar new forks like dorados, shivers ... etc?

What maintaince is required and how regularly does the fork need rebuilding?

How often does the sealed damper cartridge need to be serviced?

What keeps the fork lubed, oil or grease?
Reading the WB DH3 manual it seems that the bushings and seals a lubed with grease only. I thought the DH3 was semi bath like new dorados (fork oil for lube).

I'm looking at a 2nd hand set of DH3s this weekend as replacements for my very worn xvert carbons.

I ride DH in Australia with plenty of drops n jumps, I weigh 180lbs.

Also how to the 2002 DH3s compare to the new DH2.0 and DH1.8?

Thanks in Advance.

PS: I have done searches, found quite a bit of info but the more the better.

 

[vitox]

the 02 dh3 is pretty much identical to the new dh2.0

only difference is in the spring stack and in the material of the lower legs (they are now easton but no big deal)

just be sure you get yours with the newer spec valve core and metal bushings and you should be fine

you can lube it with oil or grease, its got proper oil seals in there, only problem could be that if the previous owner used grease and no oil, the seals could have worn down from lack of lube and you would need to replace them, they are pretty cheap as the rebuild kit consisting of metal bushings, oil seals and dust seals retails for around 30usd.

my experience with lots of those dampers under racing conditions of very high reliability, just be sure it has the newer style valve in there, if its been to eko sport or was assembled by them when new, it should.

service intervals are not like on a marzocchi but less frequent than a boxxer, xvert, or dorado.

i would pick one of those over a dorado any day

weight is 3,6 kilos

 

[kidwoo]

Originally posted by bighitfsr
How does a 2002 White Brother DH3 compare with similar new forks like dorados, shivers ... etc?

What maintaince is required and how regularly does the fork need rebuilding?

How often does the sealed damper cartridge need to be serviced?

What keeps the fork lubed, oil or grease?
Reading the WB DH3 manual it seems that the bushings and seals a lubed with grease only. I thought the DH3 was semi bath like new dorados (fork oil for lube).

I'm looking at a 2nd hand set of DH3s this weekend as replacements for my very worn xvert carbons.

I ride DH in Australia with plenty of drops n jumps, I weigh 180lbs.

Also how to the 2002 DH3s compare to the new DH2.0 and DH1.8?

Thanks in Advance.

PS: I have done searches, found quite a bit of info but the more the better.

What vitox said.

PLUS

The fork is not open bath. The damper cartridge is sealed/closed and the spring leg is just that, springs, bumpers and grease. Ecko tells you to just use a thin grease (slick honey etc) and White Brothers said put motor oil in each leg. While the motor oil thing sounded a little odd to me, I do put some thin fork oil or syn lube in each leg which just sits on the seals and helps make everything a little smoother.

As a comparison to other forks, I think they are the best inverted designs out there. They are light, stiffer laterally than shivers, stiffer fore and aft than dorados and are pretty much tune and forget. The only time mine ever felt as smooth as most shivers is when the seals get a little worn.....but the trade off in stiffness is worth it to me. It also seems to me most dorado owners have to stay on top of maintenence a lot more than I do to keep things working ideally.

Due the nature of the inverted design, It won't be as stiff of a cornering fork as something like a 888 or a boxxer. It will be stiffer in really rough, "straight line" riding though.

It should be a noticable improvement over your xvert.

and 3,6 kilos is probably around 7.4 lbs. That's what mine weighs.

 

[bighitfsr]

I'm thinking that 20wt fork oil (silkolene) would be the best lube to use as heavier oil should do a better job than grease and not be so thin that it weeps past the oil seals.

Also it seems that servicing the cartridge is something that can be done by the user since the cartridge has a schrader style valve and can be pressurised with a shock pump.
Has anyone serviced the cartridge themselves?

Sounds like a nice fork.
If it even comes close to a dorado I'm happy.
The price is really good so provided it will fit I'm going to be running a DH3 very soon.
Its gonna look rad on my blue bighit (its a blue DH3).
I'm getting the fork cheap enough that $30 for new seals and bushings is a non-issue.

Its Good to hear that you can run fork oil.
The reason for the new fork purchase is that my 01 xvert carbons legs are badly worn, I feel that the grease lube system wears out the finish on fork legs much faster than a semi bath system.

Thanks for the Advice.

 

[vitox]

you can run motor oil also, this has worked really well for a couple racer friends of mine.

the cartridge normally doesnt need service, think about it as a rear shock but its not exposed to the elements and doesnt work leveraged. a rebuild once a year maybe, if your good at wrenching then you can do it yourself i guess but its not often so no big inconvenience in sending it out once a season or so.

there are some blue dh3`s with composite bushings, be sure to switch to metal in that case.

a friend of mine had a small blue bh-dh with a blue dh3 ill see about some pics.

 

[bighitfsr]

I'm guessing motor oil is thicker than 20wt fork oil.

 

[toughguymagee]

I had WB DH3's and I liked them. I now have Durado's and like them more. I have to agree with everyone in this post. They are great for maintenance and they are a consistant fork. The changes thatWB/Ecko has made to the forks now really make a difference.

 

[vitox]

Originally posted by bighitfsr
I'm guessing motor oil is thicker than 20wt fork oil.

its available anywhere, cheap (free-ish) and is a really good lubricant.