A mountain bikes suspension is arguably one of the most important components that play a hand in overall ride performance. Your bike’s suspension allows it to essentially float over dips, whoops, rocks and any other obstacles while keeping the tires firmly planted to the ground and provide the much-needed traction that’s required to brake, corner and stay glued to the trail.
Before the introduction of mountain bike suspension, we were subjected to the harsh chattering, jarring and poor traction that came from a full rigid setup. Since it’s inception, mountain bike suspension has allowed us to achieve much higher speeds, clean sections of trail that were previously unrideable and push the limits of big air jumps.
Though it may be easy to think of a mt. bike fork as a burly piece of hardware that can take some pretty serious thrashing, a suspension fork is a relatively delicate component (it can certainly be one of the most expensive) when compared to some of our other components, and requires a bit of commitment on our part in order to not only get the maximum performance out of it, but to get the maximum life out of it as well.
Here is a list of the most important things to do, in order to get the most life out of your mountain bike suspension fork.
1. Keep it Clean
One of the worst things for the internal workings of a suspension fork is, dirt and grime. Although it may appear that the stanchions and lowers are sealed and nothing can get in, it can be truly surprising to tear down an overdue fork and see just how much crud makes it’s way past those seals.
Once inside, this dirt is carried about by the suspension fluid causing it to become very abrasive. Where the fluid was originally intended to get in and lubricate seals and working internals, it now acts to slowly grind away at those moving parts, almost like liquid sandpaper.
Even worse, much of this mud and dirt gets trapped in the wiper seal where it then causes tiny micro scratches in the stanchion, wearing through that fancy “super slick” anodizing causing air leaks and stickiness during compression and rebound.
Furthermore, when this crud makes it’s way deeper into the fork (such as the air chamber or damper) it creates a nasty sludge that doesn’t easily pass through the tiny ports and valves that are so important to the performance of a suspension fork.
Ride long enough with this goo blocking everything up, and it won’t be long before the extra workload begins to take a toll on all those small internal parts. And that can get costly.
A great way to minimize the amount of crud that gets into your fork is by first; keeping it clean.
- hose off any caked on dirt and mud after every ride
- use a soft microfiber towel with mild soap to remove any remnants before you ride
- make sure the wiper seals are clean as well, use a SOFT toothbrush to loosen stubborn gunk
- the less grime that sees the stanchions, the less chance of it getting into the fork
- a shiny fork is a happy fork
2. Take Care of Your Stanchions
A forks stanchions are pretty vital to the performance of your suspension fork. Any imperfections; scratches in the coating, dings, dents, and gouges will all negatively affect your forks ability to do its job.
Whether you’re riding your bike, storing it, transporting it or anything in between, always be aware of what’s coming into contact with the stanchions. Though the anodizing is relatively harder than the tubing that it covers, the right type of material (ie; steel, hard rocks, the traction pins on buddies new pedals, etc.) and not much effort can leave a nasty gouge in the coating.
Stanchions are an expensive repair as they are sold as an entire crown/steerer/upper tube assembly and cannot be purchased individually. Keeper your stanchions away from hard materials is a great start.
3. Install a Fender
Though it’s arguable just how effective an enduro style fender is at keeping your face grime free, there’s no question that they do wonders for keeping your forks upper tubes and seals clean.
These fenders can be had for relatively low cost ($12-$20 bucks on Amazon) are ridiculously easy to install, come in a multitude of colors, and look downright trick on almost all mountain bikes.
4. Service the Lowers
Most suspension fork manufacturers recommend servicing the lower leg assemblies once every 50-75 hours or so. Servicing the lowers is a relatively easy job for the DIY mechanic which takes maybe ½hr. or so, with most lower service kits in about $15-$25 range.
This service gets rid of any dirt and mud that was able to make its way into the wiper seals, as well as into the lower assembly and suspension fluid. Generally, you’ll want to service your lower legs 2 times before doing a complete rebuild which will be a more thorough include servicing and bleeding of the damper, air chamber (for air spring models) as well as replacing the stanchion bushings if needed.
5. Service the Damper & Air Spring Assembly
A more extensive rebuild of the entire fork is recommended by around the 100-200 hour mark, depending on manufacturer and fork model and costs anywhere between $30-$50 for the kit, plus the cost of the suspension fluid your particular fork requires.
There are a multitude of different forks out there that require varying service intervals as well as parts kits to rebuild them, so it would be nearly impossible for us to list every make and model, but here are a few tables for you to quickly reference some of the most popular models.
Manufacturer | Model | Lower Service | Upper Service |
Cane Creek | Helm | 50 hrs. | 100 hrs. |
DVO | all | 50 hrs. | 100hrs. |
Fox | 32/34/36/40/49 | not specified | 125 hrs. / 1yr. |
Marzocchi | Bomber | not specified | 125 hrs. / 1yr. |
Öhlins | RX34F / RX36F | 50 hrs. | 100hrs. / 1yr. |
Suntour | all | 50 hrs. | 100hrs. / 1yr. |
Rock Shox | – | – | see separate chart |
X-Fusion | all | 25 hrs. | 50 hrs. air chamber 100 hrs. damper |
*these are the manufacturer recommended minimum service intervals. For those who ride lift-accessed DH, Park, or Extreme Freeride or in extremely wet/muddy or dry/dusty environmental conditions where trail debris is sprayed onto the fork or shock while on the trail, manufacturers encourage riders to perform maintenance earlier than recommended above as needed.
6. Use the Correct Tools for the Job
All too many a project has gone awry due to the use of improper tools, and fork maintenance is no exception. There are a few fork specific tools that are available that can save you loads of time and headaches when servicing your fork.
One such tool is a chamfer-less socket. This socket is designed to not slip off of the, already shallow, top cap nut, which can cause it to strip or even gouge into the fork crown making for some very unsightly marks. Worst-case scenario, your round of the head of the top cap, making it a chore to remove and should be replaced.
These sockets can be picked up from Amazon for around $20-$30 depending on which one your fork requires. If that’s just not in the budget right now, you can grind a standard socket down till just past the chamfer. Either way, you choose, your fork will be happy for it.
Another tool you’ll want to invest in is a seal driver. These high impact polymer drivers properly align the wiper seal with the lower legs as you tap it in with a hammer. Not only do these help you get a nicely seated seal, but many of them are tall enough that they keep the hammer well away from the lower legs and fork brace when tapping in the seal.
Many a fork lower have been whacked by a ball-peen from not having such a tool.
7. Track Your Hours
It can be pretty surprising to see just how many hours we actually put on our bikes. Without the help of an odometer or hour meter, we can easily underestimate the amount of saddle time we have put in over the last several months of riding.
It’s a great idea to keep a running log of your rides (time, miles, location, etc.) to have a better idea as to when your next service interval is coming up. Would you trust yourself to ‘guesstimate’ how many miles you’ve put on your car since it’s last oil change if you didn’t have an odometer?
8. If It’s Broke, Fix It
Suspension forks, shocks included, have a whole bunch of tiny little parts inside them, and each one has a very specific purpose. If any one of these parts fails or breaks, it can easily become dislodged and begin floating around inside any of the multiple chambers inside the component, wreaking havoc on the internal surfaces or even taking out other vital components. Costing you even more money in repairs.
Additionally, the tiny ports and pathways the suspension fluid is meant to travel through can easily become plugged if any material other than the intended fluid is being forced through these openings. This could make for an underperforming fork at the least, and a downright unsafe one at the most.
If you know your suspension fork is damaged, your best to stay off the trail until you can get it fixed. It’s not worth the risk to yourself, or your equipment to keep running it when you know somethings wrong with it.
9. Keep the Axle Greased
Your front fork see’s a lot of water, muck, dirt and possibly a little manure every now and then. These conditions can accelerate the spread of corrosion , especially in areas where you have two different types of metal in contact with each other.
Most fork lowers are made of aluminum or magnesium, while most axles are made of steel or another alloy. When these two metals are combined, they tend to generate corrosion much sooner due to electrolysis.
When this happens, it can be a bear to remove your front axle, and you could end up snapping it off if the threads become seized.
As a precaution, make sure to fully coat your thru-axle and threads with a quality water-proof grease before each time you reinstall it.
10. Too Much Bottoming Out is Bad
Although suspension forks do have internal bump stops that keep the fork from destroying itself during bottoms outs, they are not designed to be constantly banging off of it. Internal damage is sure to happen if you ride this way for too long.
If your fork is constantly bottoming out, and you’re positive you have the proper amount of sag, it might be time to throw in some air-chamber reducers. These will reduce the volume of the negative air chamber in your fork, causing it to increase resistance the further you get into the travel. Thereby reducing the number of bottom outs you experience.
You’ll still get that nice plush feeling on small bumps, but the added benefit of a ramp up when you get further into the travel. If your only bottoming out a few times during your ride, then you know you’re getting close to the proper settings.
11. Use Factory Replacement Parts or Better
We can all be guilty of wanting to pinch a penny here and there on maintenance items. Sure it can be easy to a drop basket of cash down for a shiny new 12-speed drivetrain, or splurge for the latest carbon bars to hit the market, but let’s not forget to also insist on quality when it comes to replacement parts to keep it in top running shape.
Using factory replacement parts and service kits is a sure way to be confident that your fork is going to function just like new.
There are even some great aftermarket suspension companies out there such as; Push Industries, Vorsprung and Traction-Works that cannot only rebuild your fork for you, depending on your setup, they may even have some pretty cool upgrades for your fork.
12. Use Quality Lubricants
This one partially echos number 12, but you’ll not want to skimp on suspension fluid or lubes either. Especially if you’re a rider that tends to go a little over your recommended service intervals.
Many of the top shelf lubricants out there tend to break down and degrade at a much slower rate than many off-brand fluids. Quality lubricants are just as important as the components they protect.
13. Flip Your Bike Before a Ride
If you’ve ever seen a mountain biker stand their bike up on the rear wheel or set it upside before a ride, you’ve probably witnessed a fellow fork nerd.
It has become common practice to tip the bike up before a ride. This allows the suspension fluid to work it’s way up to and lubricate the foam oil rings that rest just below the wiper seals, which in turn is said to help keep things moving freely.
14. To Lube, or Not to Lube; That is the Question
There are a few different chemical manufacturers out there that offer suspension lube. These lubes are intended to be applied to the stanchions of your fork or shock, and are claimed to reduce stiction & wear.
Lubing the stanchions is certainly not a new concept, but the opposition claims that the foam oil rings under the wiper seal are more than adequate at achieving this.
I personally have run Finish Line’s suspension lube on my fork for 3 years now, and have noticed no ill effects. I couldn’t tell you just how much stiction is reduced, but it does seem to smooth out the action of the fork a bit.
+1 Leave Some Room on the Steerer
Now if you’ve bought a bike pre-assembled, you might not have this option (that’s why we gave it a plus one) however, if you are assembling your bike yourself or installing a new fork, make it a point to leave a little extra length in the steerer tube for two reasons.
- This will allow you to raise and lower the height of your handlebars by varying the number of spacers above or below your stem. You will then be able to set up your bars for different trail conditions; higher for more downhill and lift days, while lower for more uphill or seated peddling
- many riders keep a good set of components and just swap frames every couple of years (this saves buying a new bike). If you plan to take this route, you’ll want to make sure you have enough steerer tube remaining on your fork to fit frames with larger head tubes.
Conclusion
So there you have our 14 + 1 best tips to get the most life out of your suspension fork.
Please leave us a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.