- [Doddy] Mountain bike suspension is something
we've all come to rely on as such
an essential part of mountain biking these days.
And while it's really reliable
and works very well once set up correctly,
it's all about the maintenance to
ensure it stays working that way.
So here's some top maintenance mistakes
that some of you make, and how to avoid that.
(swooping beat)
Now watch the suspension forks like the forks
that you see here.
It's gonna continue working whatever the conditions.
It is all about the maintenance.
And to make this fork work well, it's A, gotta be clean,
and B, it's gotta be well-lubricated.
So on the lowers of the fork, I have 10 ccs of oil.
That oil is purely to lubricate the bushes
and the seals on the inside.
So soon as the forks start drying up,
you're gonna get other damage occurring.
The seals themselves, they're gonna dry out,
and you're gonna start getting scoring
on your stanchion tubes.
So if you do get scratches on your stanchion tubes
like this fork here, that's really expensive.
Because although you can get an individual stanchion
pressed into the crown, really when you get these
on warranty replacement or you have to buy a new one.
It's the whole unit, and that's about a 1/3
of the price of an entire brand-new fork.
So, make sure you look after your seams.
Keep them lubricated and keep them clean.
So the foam rings and the wiper seals
are actually fairly cheap to replace.
You can do this yourself at home
when you perform a fork lower leg service.
There's not too much of a problem if your bushes wear out.
Not only is that a problem for your stanchion tubes
and the scoring on those, these are quite hard to replace
and you'll need to get these done
at a suspension centre like Mojo.
Which is where we're at now.
What you want to look for, as well as the dryness of these
to replace is you're looking for a knocking
in the upper leg and the lower leg.
So, there's always gonna be a minute amount
of movement otherwise, the legs simply wouldn't slide
over the top of this.
But as soon as you get excessive movement,
then you definitely want to get these replaced.
And put your fork in for service.
Don't continue to ride them like this.
You've got to look after these things.
They're expensive.
Let's chat to Chris Porter.
He is a shock wizard, and he's gonna tell you everything
he advises you to do.
Give me three tips on looking after your fork.
- All forks out there are easy to look after.
And the first thing you should do is look online,
find videos of how to do seal and lowers maintenance.
All of them will allow you to drop the lowers off,
clean and grease the seals, and re-lubricate the lowers.
It's normally a 10 minute job.
It's a 1/2 an hour if you've never done it before.
And it's really simple to do.
- Okay.
That was one, so, give me another one.
- Well, I mean, we don't get dry summers often in Britain,
and but we do.
And like you see, Neil's been out
and he's got quite a lot of dust here.
I've still got shorts with pockets
and I always carry a little rag and I'll just
every now and again, just give 'em a little go.
If I'm about to hit a descent or
I've paddle up to the top we'll be sat chatting.
Just give 'em a little wipe.
Because all that dust absorbs all the lubrication that
you've put there from the fork action
that's on the stanchion.
It absorbs all that lubrication
and makes everything dry.
And it's the same effect as putting cement on an oil slick.
And so if you can just keep them clean
and it's half the battle.
- Perfect. Okay.
What about the bushes on the inside,
sometimes you get that knocking.
How long do they last and do you,
- If the bushes are knocking,
normally that suggests that they're dry.
Most of the bushes run,
you know a .1, .2 of the mill clearance,
and if that's coated in oil
and then the film strength is enough
that you won't feel any movement.
If you can feel knocking, it's already dry.
It's time to do something.
- It's time for new bushes.
- Well, you might get away with it,
but if you've run them dry, then they'll polish.
You know, you just gotta, you know accept that,
Oh, I had to do another week's ride in there in Morzine
and they were already dry.
You know you're gonna need to spend some money probably.
(laughing)
- Okay, so there's a whole bunch of reasons there
to look after your suspension.
To get it set up right in the first place.
So hopefully you enjoyed the video.
Don't forget to subscribe
by clicking on the globe right here.
- And you can find a link to a lower leg service here.
- And also another video on
trail bike suspension set up here.
And don't forget to give us a thumbs up
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