Removeable covers for my front fork legs?

unixnerd
unixnerd Posts: 2,864
edited November 2010 in MTB workshop & tech
My last set of forks had rubber gaiters around the upper fork legs and they worked a treat. New set don't, just bare legs. As a result all the crud in the world gathers around the seal and I'm having to clean them all the time to stop them sticking.

Ideally I'd like some rubber gaiters that I can easily remove without having to take the forks to bits. Any ideas? I could make my own out of old inner tubes at a push.
http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    Not required, just mess up the stanchions.

    Learn to love cleaning your bike, it'll last a lot longer.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Not required, just mess up the stanchions.

    Learn to love cleaning your bike, it'll last a lot longer.

    Prevention is better than cure :-)

    It's OK in the summer, but the bike is getting really filthy every run at this time of year.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • Neily03
    Neily03 Posts: 295
    unixnerd wrote:
    Not required, just mess up the stanchions.

    Learn to love cleaning your bike, it'll last a lot longer.

    Prevention is better than cure :-)

    It's OK in the summer, but the bike is getting really filthy every run at this time of year.

    They're a bad idea, the get dirt inside and ruin the stanchions.
    Transition Covert.
  • leaflite
    leaflite Posts: 1,651
    I dont know how good they are, but lizzardskins sell them. Ive seen 1 or 2 bikes with them on
    GT Hardtail
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    Titus FTM Carbon
  • bennett_346
    bennett_346 Posts: 5,029
    Clean your bike, takes me 3 minutes.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    lovely way to trap crap onto your fork legs and then act like sandpaper.

    the reason your old/cheap forks had them was the seals were crap.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Andy!
    Andy! Posts: 433
    but if you had something that sealed around the bottom of the crown and the top of the damper/spring assemblies properly there would be no chance of crap getting in.

    I suspect they don't fit them due to:

    1. rubber gaiters look a bit crap

    2. forks would last longer
    Merlin Malt 2
  • lesz42
    lesz42 Posts: 690
    intill the rubber splits, leftys weak point
    Giant Trance X0 (08) Reverb, Hope Hoops 5.1D, XT brakes, RQ BC, Works Components headset 1.5
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    but if you had something that sealed around the bottom of the crown and the top of the damper/spring assemblies properly there would be no chance of crap getting in.

    That was pretty much the case with my old Manitou forks. 13 years old and the stanchions were in perfect nick. In fairness I've no idea how much wet weather use they saw before I bought the bike, but I certainly got them filthy often enough. And you don't hear of car or motorbike owners having to clean their shock absorbers every time it rains.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Todays seals are designed without gators in mind. A few reasons for this. One is that it was found that in many cases the gators trapped in mud and grit which damaged the stanchions. Also they tended to compress filth onto the seals forcing it through, and finally they stop the fork compressing fully.

    Just wiping around the seals after a ride is normally enough, and to lube the foam rings every so often.
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  • Andy!
    Andy! Posts: 433
    unixnerd wrote:
    but if you had something that sealed around the bottom of the crown and the top of the damper/spring assemblies properly there would be no chance of crap getting in.

    That was pretty much the case with my old Manitou forks. 13 years old and the stanchions were in perfect nick. In fairness I've no idea how much wet weather use they saw before I bought the bike, but I certainly got them filthy often enough. And you don't hear of car or motorbike owners having to clean their shock absorbers every time it rains.

    there is loads of parts on bikes that I think are stupidly designed which results in poor reliability and stupidly expensive parts.

    Poor dirt sealing is a big one and if you asked an engineer from another field to build a bike from scratch it would end up a lot different.
    Merlin Malt 2

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