Play in front suspension

magibob

Hi.

I have a Decathlon hybrid with Suntour suspension forks at the front.

It's done a few thousand miles in about 5 years, with a lot of weight on it, (Mine.)

I've noticed recently that there is some lateral play in the front forks. If it was a rigid set of forks, I'd say it was a loose headset, but looking closely if I put the front brakes on there is definite play where the stanchions go into the sliders.

SSoooo, Should I ignore this, or worry a bit, or not ride it till it's been fixed?

Also. What sort of a job is it to replace the suspension forks with rigid ones? I only ride on roads and bike paths, so the suspension forks just add weight and noise to the bike.

TIA.

Andy

mattyfez

I'm no expert but I had a similar issue and it turned out to be stem bolts, was able to nip them all up a good half turn with hardly any force so they were definitely loose, I nipped them up a bit tighter than that to be safe.

I suppose it's a matter of isolating the issue by checking the easy stuff first, wheels sat correctly in drop outs, any play in the wheel hub? Stem bolts too obviously!

cooldad

They are probably not worth fixing, and it's a ten minute job to replace the forks.

The Rookie

Bush wear on cheap forks is not exactly an unknown.

As long as it's not extreme, keep riding, but be prepared to replace (with more suspension forks or rigids) sometime soon.

Easy to fit rigids, make sure they are suspension travel corrected by looking at the 'A2C' (Axle to crown) height, Mosso lightweight aluminium forks are great.

magibob

Thanks for the replies folks.