Stopping winter messing up my bike...!
neilus
Posts: 245
Just got back from a quick raz in the snow and muck which is great fun but I do worry its pushing my new Trance 1 into early retirement. All that gunk surely cant be good! Brakes and chain can be cleaned fairly easily but im kinda worried about the shock, fork and dropper post.
How good are the seals in keeping crud out?
Are there any products to keep these parts in good nick?
Of course winter crud isnt magically more damaging than summer crud but the frequency is much higher in winter.
Any tips much appreciated!
How good are the seals in keeping crud out?
Are there any products to keep these parts in good nick?
Of course winter crud isnt magically more damaging than summer crud but the frequency is much higher in winter.
Any tips much appreciated!
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Comments
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Seals are pretty good at keeping the crap out. Mountain bikes are for use in all conditions so don't worry about it too much. Give it a clean down, a good dry and a lube up after every winter ride if it's playing on your mind. Just Google suspension fork lube etc and you'll find plenty of products. Use a decent microfiber drying cloth, they work wonders
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As above, its all designed to cope (or not for nasty cheap stuff I guess), what you describe is no less likely to get past the seals than the muddy water we see the other 51 weeks of the year!Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0
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Great, bring it on! But im wondering if fork lube is anything different to normal lube? I found a few threads on other forums, as usual no definite answer...0
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If your bothered about rear shock getting scratched up etc then fit a mucky nutz cheap mud guard or something similar and same for front, there easy to clean and mount with some velcro strips.
You could go invisframe the whole bike but cleaning after rides and oiling chain you'll be fine.0 -
What is normal lube? Bearing grease, fork oil, GT85, engine oil, chain lube (wet dry or waxy), water, chocolate, Diesel fuel, all are lubes....all are normal in certain applications
A wipe with a cloth damped in Fork oil or the Fox fork juice in this case is the lube you want. The aim is just to leave a damping of the surface, son' leave it dripping!Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
The Rookie wrote:What is normal lube? Bearing grease, fork oil, GT85, engine oil, chain lube (wet dry or waxy), water, chocolate, Diesel fuel, all are lubes....all are normal in certain applications
A wipe with a cloth damped in Fork oil or the Fox fork juice in this case is the lube you want. The aim is just to leave a damping of the surface, son' leave it dripping!
Do you mean the same oil thats inside the fork?0 -
http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/p/37539/Juice-Lubes-Fork-Juice?kw=&fl=1000&ci=54665507441&network=pla&gclid=CI-BpKDKn8oCFUESGwodZAcKAw
Is what I use. No idea on the quality of that V's other brands though.. May want to await opinions on that before buying.0 -
Yes, after all its that oil in the lowers that is lubricating the fork (bushing and seal) as it compresses.....The Rookie wrote:What is normal lube? Bearing grease, fork oil, GT85, engine oil, chain lube (wet dry or waxy), water, chocolate, Diesel fuel, all are lubes....all are normal in certain applications
A wipe with a cloth damped in Fork oil or the Fox fork juice in this case is the lube you want. The aim is just to leave a damping of the surface, not leave it dripping!
Do you mean the same oil thats inside the fork?Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
Cheers. Ive been doing a bit of reading up on the subject and im wondering if the stanchions are lubed by a) the foam ring just below the seal and b) the oil "bath" inside the lowers, why should it be necessary for further external lubing?
RS say you should remove lowers and replace oil bath every 50 hours...I guess they know more about it than i do, but does it really need doing so frequently?0 -
Because a wipe on the uppers protects from possible oxidation and helps lubricate the seals, that's why.
The current lube will leave a light smear on the stanchions which you clean off when you clean the winter gunge off the bike!
50 hours covers the worst case use, the 2009 SIDS I bought I don't think had ever been done and the foam rings were hard and brittle, the stanchions had only the lightest of wear marks even then.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
I have just serviced my lower legs on my Rebas, not much use but had issues with sticion, from reading it appears that quite often forks aren't very well lubed from the factory and a service is a good idea even on newish forks. I fitted low friction seals from TF Tuned with their own lube which has transformed my forks. My foam rings were twisted and quite dry.0
