[locoyokel]

This damage happened in a single ride yesterday (23mi 5K):

The grooves are easily noticed when running your finger over them, with abrupt edges to the lower parts of the grooves. So do I find a good shop, or am I hosed and it's time to start looking for a new shock? ('07 Fox Float 120 RL)

Thanks!

 

[reptilezs]

need new uppers and maybe bushings. definitely needs seals. serious lack of maintenance here

 

[Neily03]

That's what happens when a fork runs out of oil.

 

[bear]

New uppers can be had for much less than a new fork, fwiw. Add seals, maybe bushings and service and you're still a bunch under a new fork.

Of course, never say I told someone *not* to get new bling for the bike, that'd be just dumb.

 

[mtnbiker72]

I'm guessing that fork never saw any maintenance...

 

[ravewoofer]

This damage happened in a single ride yesterday (23mi 5K):

The grooves are easily noticed when running your finger over them, with abrupt edges to the lower parts of the grooves. So do I find a good shop, or am I hosed and it's time to start looking for a new shock? ('07 Fox Float 120 RL)

Thanks!

This happened to my forks after three years of hard riding and no rebuilds. I did clean the stanchions and spray some lube on them after every ride. In the end, I brought the fork to my dealer who shipped them of to Fox. Fox offered a rebuild including new stanchions for $ 340, or a brand new fork at a crash replacement price of $344. Hmmmm, I've got a brand spanking 2010-2011 Fox on the front end of my bike now. :thumbsup:

 

[bad mechanic]

As people have said, that happens when you don't do your maintenance. That wasn't the result of a single ride, that was the result of a lot of neglect.

I really don't understand why people think they can stick a mechanically complex fork on the front of their bike, and then never to any maintenance on it. I mean, you do oil changes on your car, right? It's just needlessly destructive.

 

[PMK]

Other than degrade performance over the three years, you are close to breaking even service wise.

Assuming two services per year, over three years time, some replacement parts for wear and tear, would put you close to the 344 you spent.

While those forks are bad, I'm to the point of just handing back some of the rear dampers I am asked to work on and say buy a new one. Less than a Dixie cup of fluid, hammered to snot, and the owner says it was working fine, just needs fluid...anodize is worn through, air valves stripped, trashed bushing, most of the oil has puked out the seal and has ejected via the air spring shrader valve, broken shims, no nitrogen.

And then they get upset when they hear how much a new damper costs, so what do they do, buy a new bike and the cycle begins again.

Comical but sad.

PK

 

[bad mechanic]

Assuming two services per year, over three years time, some replacement parts for wear and tear, would put you close to the 344 you spent.

Uh, how do you figure? My oil changes cost me about $5 each. Even if I replace my Enduro seals once a year (generally I get three years out of them), that will only cost me $105 over three years. Maintenance is a lot cheaper than repair and replacement.

 

[boomn]

I mean, you do oil changes on your car, right?

Sure, but do you do oil changes on car's shocks? People are trained to know that their engine needs oil changes, but for the rest most still think of their cars as not really needing maintenance besides oil, brakes, and tires

 

[PMK]

Sure, but do you do oil changes on car's shocks? People are trained to know that their engine needs oil changes, but for the rest most still think of their cars as not really needing maintenance besides oil, brakes, and tires

Seriously, excellent way to look at it. Just consider, your car seldom uses full travel or deals with major high speed movements.

The cars, or better yet, trucks that are used off-road, get a fraction of the mileage before replacement of the same setup used on-road.

Still though, since starting to work on bicycle suspension rebuilds in the mid 90's, I have explained to many how the dampers need service every 6 months for most riders or yearly for a casual rider.

15 years later, the same riders, many still refuse to believe it and run their stuff until trashed.

PK