Fork Lube

hellsteeth54

Ok, I give up...

I want to keep my forks in good working order, in the past I have just given them an occasional squirt with an aerosol teflon lube, but from other threads that seems wrong due to solvents contained within.

I've scanned the internet, rockshox webby as well as bikeradar, but can't find a definitive answer as to what I should use. People advise rockshox fork oil, but can only seem to find redrum, will this do?

There are other branded fork oils around, but then I'm confused as to what weight to use. Does it matter? I assume I should use the same as the fork contains? But according to rockshox tech docs, one leg is 5wt and the other 15wt!

You advise is appreciated, the forks are Tora Race Solo Air

nicklouse

any cycle fork oil will do as it is only for a lube.

stubs

I use Brunox Deo its a Rockshox recommended fork lube. So far (2 years) its kept my Reba seals nice and smooth it costs £4.75 + p+p. its only a small aerosol but you only use a tiny bit each time so the tin lasts for ages.

Unfortunately the link doesnt take you straight to the Deo page you have to click shop online then scroll down


http://www.brunox.co.uk/index1.html

JxL

Avoid all aerosol lubes, they tend to rot the seals.

All you need lube is to clean the crap from around the seals. The fork has its own lube inside, so stanchions do not need to be lubed.

Method:

Apply teflon based lube (not aerosol) around the stanchions.
pump the forks 20 times
clean stanchions with a wipe
oil the stanchions again
pump another 20 times
wipe off, and leave the stanchions clean without any lube left.

stumpyjon

Actually the stanchions are lubed by the foam rings under the wiper seals. I've just stripped and rebuilt my Rebas according to the manual and you're supposed to apply 15 wt fork oil to these foam rings. As for the different weight oils, on my Rebas the damping circuit uses 5 wt oil and the lowers on both sides use 15 wt oil.

hellsteeth54

I've had a look at that Brunox stuff, it sounds good.

But its an aerosol, so would it affect the seals? Surely not if its recommended by RS?

Tim.s

The guys at TF suggested using chain lube because it contains teflon.

I just use a couple of drops of Finish line.

Grimy

stumpyjon wrote:

Actually the stanchions are lubed by the foam rings under the wiper seals. I've just stripped and rebuilt my Rebas according to the manual and you're supposed to apply 15 wt fork oil to these foam rings. As for the different weight oils, on my Rebas the damping circuit uses 5 wt oil and the lowers on both sides use 15 wt oil.

+1

I also run Reba's and I just clean the stantions off after each ride and bounce the fork a litte. If the felt wipper rings under the seals are sufficently wet with 15w oil then the legs will be left with a nice film of fork oil on them. If not, then you should be thinking about servicing the fork properly which is a simple enough task. Just spraying or wiping teflon oil on the stantions to hide the fact the felts are running dry isnt really a substitute (although better than nothing) and will soon wear off on the trail, where as a well serviced fork will keep the stations well lubbed throughout your ride.

Think sram recomend a minor service and lube every 50 hours. Worth learning how to do and buying some basic equipment to do so, if your concerned about the wear life of your fork .

stubs

hellsteeth54 wrote:

I've had a look at that Brunox stuff, it sounds good.

But its an aerosol, so would it affect the seals? Surely not if its recommended by RS?

If you go to a MTB race in europe there is usually a Rockshox stand and they always sell Brunox Deo. A guy at the Rockshox stall at the Herta MTB races in Berlin a few years back sold me my first can I am now on my second can.

Just because its an aerosol it doesnt mean its going to rot the seals. When people talk about aerosol lubes rotting seals they mean GT85 and WD40 which contain a lot of solvents and other nasties designed to penetrate rust and release siezed bolts definately not what you want on your delicate fork seals.

Some chain lubes also contain nasty solvents and surfactants which are basically detergents designed to break up the surface tension of the lube and help with penetration of the lubricant and to help the dirt fall off the chain.

supersonic

The foam rings can and do dry out. Oiling the stanchions and pumping the fork can restore some function and is something I recommend. Servicing the fork every 50 hours is better.

fenboy369

supersonic wrote:

The foam rings can and do dry out. Oiling the stanchions and pumping the fork can restore some function and is something I recommend. Servicing the fork every 50 hours is better.

Or doing both? Wipe down after each ride and a couple of drops of oil and a service every 50 hours.

timaxzone

Brunox Deo or get under the wiper seals with a syringe with 15wt shock oil.

sponges dry out and compact up.... changing them alone for new oil soaked ones can make so much difference to a pair of forks!



Proves there's life in the old forks yet!

Tank-slapper

supersonic wrote:

The foam rings can and do dry out. Oiling the stanchions and pumping the fork can restore some function and is something I recommend. Servicing the fork every 50 hours is better.

Serviced my Reba's last week and the foam rings were dry, even with lubing the stanchions and inside the dust seal after every ride. This was after less than 100 hours of riding. The forks now feel completely different, much smoother.

Dirtydog11

TFTuned recommend storing the forks upside down in order to allow the oil in the bottom of the stancions to lube the bushings.


TFTuned............ This one's for all you peeps with '01 onwards Manitou, RockShox, Fox & the lighter Mazocchi models

This one's for all you peeps with '01 onwards Manitou, RockShox, Fox & the lighter Mazocchi models. All these forks rely on oil-bath lubrication to keep them smooth.
This small amount of lubricationg oil or Red Rum/Float Fluid tends to collect at the bottom of the lower tubes after several hours of riding. It's pretty useless here as it's meant to be up between the bushings and the upper tubes. A simple tip is to leave your bike upside-down when stored. This way, the oil/Red Rum/Float Fluid can get back up between the bushings and upper tubes to give you a smoother ride. It also increases the service life of your fork. Please note that some RockShox U-Turn forks may leak from the U-Turn adjuster as this mechanisim is not sealed that well.

hairy_boy

I used this stuff for servicing my Toras and have decanted some of the leftover 15wt oil into a small bottle with a drip top to use for lubing the stanchions after cleaning.

£5.99 for 500ml has to be good value:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... odelID=112

Jimbo.

Not particularly good value. The same stuff is £3.49/500ml from your local motorcycle shop. Comes in a Rock Oil bottle

Northwind

Yup, I silkolene motorbike fork oil, it's cheap and I had a bottle in the garage anyway, plus it's a pleasing shade of blue.

GSDog

Is Weldtite Fork Oil any good to use on the stanchions?

nicklouse

GSDog
if it does not include any swelling agents then yes it will be fine.

Dazzza

You just need to make sure it's 7 weight synthetic fork oil, that's what rs red rum and float fluid is.

I know fox fluid is also torco rsf medium.

Here we go, silkolene rsf 7.5wt

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-827-silkole ... fluid.aspx

Or you can use redline medium at 10w, there's little in them tbh.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60184-red-l ... fluid.aspx