Damaged fork stanchions (Pictures inside)

bigdrew1

Quick bit of advice, Brought a bike from Ebay (Unseen the the description read as very underused / amazing condition) I paid an average amount for it.

Pulled it out the box and find these scratches on the stanchions.



The fork is a 2011 Rockshox Sektor solo air, and the scratches are on the non air side. Damper is a turn key one.

I'm happy to have a go at nail polishing them / flatting them back.

I just wanted to know if it is likely to reduce the life of the fork significantly, Is there anything under that leg which is likely to be damaged by it..

Secondly the above dent is on the lower. It doesn't cause any binding (I've let the air out and it moves smoothly) Can anyone see this causing any problems?

Andy.

poah

I'd not be riding those forks - any damage to the legs could cause them to collapse. scratches on the stations will cause oil issues

jfry94

What dent all I can see is the power bulge and some heavy scratches?

Dick Scruttock

jfry94 wrote:

What dent all I can see is the power bulge and some heavy scratches?

Better go to specsavers.

I'd not be riding them, I would have sent them back when I opened them.

apreading

I wouldnt buy forks like that but if I had done the damage myself to my own I wouldnt stop riding them - they dont look too bad. I have some light scratches on my stantions from a stone that got wedged between the stantion and fork lower - have ridden hundreds of miles since, in all kinds of slop with no oil issues.

Both problems *could* cause issues, hence why I would not be happy buying them like that, but they may not.

bigdrew1

Thanks all, I'll replace the seals + oil and ride them until they die and put it down to buying a bike unseen!

Rightarmbad

I'd try something like a really fine knife sharpening stone to knock off any high spots.
If you go the sandpaper route, make sure you put it on a block.
Your foam rings will get dirty in a shorter period of time so a regular removal of the lowers to change oil, clean replace foam rings and seals will cost you a but more in time materials to make ownership just a bit more expensive.

I'd go to the fork manufacturers website for an exploded view to see if that dint has the possibility of interfering with movement of any floating pistons, if not, no probs as long as there is no stanchion alignment issues indicating more serious damage that may make the fork unsafe.