# Fork care.



## Motozulu (17 Dec 2012)

Talk to me 

So in this crappy, gritty sand/mud time of year how should I be caring for my forks?

After every ride the bike gets a swill down with the hosepipe, quick application of muc off to dissolve the crud around the drivetrain, a light chain lube and a generous application of WD40 on the cables and other moving parts, but what should I be applying to the fork uppers?


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## Cubist (17 Dec 2012)

Try a d keep solvents away from the stanchions. Rinse off any mud or grit, dry them off, and either a light wipe with a lube, or cycle them a couple of times to get oil from the foam rings onto the stanchions. 

Check makers guides for frequency of service and learn to do a lower leg service. Rockshox need doing every 100 hours or so. If nothing else it'll mean the foam rings always have some oil in them


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## GrumpyGregry (17 Dec 2012)

wash, dry, drizzle seals with extra virgin olive oil* pump em wipe again.

*other more appropriate lubricants are available. Like Fox Float Fluid.

Here's a Tech Tuesday for the OCD sufferers amongst us. I never go that far.


Well, hardly ever.


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## Motozulu (17 Dec 2012)

lube as in a chain lube?


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## Cubist (17 Dec 2012)

Given the level of faffage in that guide, I reckon a lower leg service would take about the same amount of time and result in fewer gouged stanchions. Besides which I'd probably stick the screwdriver blade straight in my eyeball. Again.


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## Motozulu (17 Dec 2012)

good linky Greg - especially as my new bike will have a fox up front


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## Cubist (17 Dec 2012)

Yes


Motozulu said:


> lube as in a chain lube?



Yes. I have a bottle of 15 wt fork oil, but a solvent free chain lube would be just as good. Its only got to act as a rust inhibiter. Thestanchions are lubed by an oil soaked glide ring just under the seal, so as long as this is still wet with oil the fork looks after itself.


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## Motozulu (17 Dec 2012)

Thanks for the info.


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## lulubel (6 Jan 2013)

GregCollins said:


> wash, dry, drizzle seals with extra virgin olive oil* pump em wipe again.


 
Just bringing this post back up to check that it's really OK to put olive oil on my forks.

When I first got the bike, the upper part was quite heavily coated with oil, but that's obviously been wiped off by now, and I don't want to damage them by running them "dry".

If olive oil is OK, is extra virgin definitely better than the lighter stuff? Or are we talking, the thicker the better? (We have about 4 different types of olive oil in our kitchen to choose from.)


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## billflat12 (6 Jan 2013)

Cubist said:


> . Thestanchions are lubed by an oil soaked glide ring just under the seal, so as long as this is still wet with oil the fork looks after itself.


 
Always a good idea to store your bikes upside down for this reason


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## 02GF74 (6 Jan 2013)

wipe the stanchion with a soft cloth, then use a toothbrush to remove and muck/dirt between the seal and stnachion.


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jan 2013)

lulubel said:


> Just bringing this post back up to check that it's really OK to put olive oil on my forks.
> 
> When I first got the bike, the upper part was quite heavily coated with oil, but that's obviously been wiped off by now, and I don't want to damage them by running them "dry".
> 
> If olive oil is OK, is extra virgin definitely better than the lighter stuff? Or are we talking, the thicker the better? (We have about 4 different types of olive oil in our kitchen to choose from.)


Olive oil isn't the best cycle lubricant but it is a long long way from the worst.


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## lulubel (6 Jan 2013)

GregCollins said:


> Olive oil isn't the best cycle lubricant but it is a long long way from the worst.


 
The alternatives we have are some very old wet chain lube, or some very thin Shimano dry chain lube (which I don't like very much, but was the best the lbs could do after offering me a tin of GT85 to lube the chain).


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jan 2013)

lulubel said:


> The alternatives we have are some very old wet chain lube, or some very thin Shimano dry chain lube (which I don't like very much, but was the best the lbs could do after offering me a tin of GT85 to lube the chain).


Wet for me. dry lube seems counter intuitive in this context.

TFTuned, a well known UK suspension specialist recommend finish line green chain lube iirc.


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## lulubel (6 Jan 2013)

GregCollins said:


> Wet for me. dry lube seems counter intuitive in this context.
> 
> TFTuned, a well known UK suspension specialist recommend finish line green chain lube iirc.


 
I've got a feeling our bottle is finish line. I'll dig it out tomorrow. (We don't use wet here because it really clogs everything up when it mixes with the dust. The best maintenance method I've found for the drive train is to wipe the whole lot down with baby wipes after every ride, and re-lube very sparingly with a thickish dry lube.)


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jan 2013)

lulubel said:


> I've got a feeling our bottle is finish line. I'll dig it out tomorrow. (We don't use wet here because it really clogs everything up when it mixes with the dust. The best maintenance method I've found for the drive train is to wipe the whole lot down with baby wipes after every ride, and re-lube very sparingly with a thickish dry lube.)


lulubel meet the mickle method.


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## billflat12 (6 Jan 2013)

chains ??  !! prefer kmc with finish line chain cleaner kit , best way to go especially in uk. conditions. The gadget with degreaser removes any gritty mud or fine metal filings & the spray-on dry lube with teflon helps stop any grit re-sticking after the chain has dried off. .


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jan 2013)

billflat12 said:


> chains ??  !! prefer kmc with finish line chain cleaner kit , best way to go especially in uk. conditions.* The gadget with degreaser* removes any gritty mud or fine metal filings & the spray-on dry lube with teflon helps stop any grit re-sticking after the chain has dried off. .


runs from the room, screaming....


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## billflat12 (6 Jan 2013)

Clean rag helps as any residue of degreaser left would defiantly cause a problem


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## GrumpyGregry (7 Jan 2013)

billflat12 said:


> Clean rag helps as any residue of degreaser left would defiantly cause a problem


That's the problem... the degreaser has already got into the links, deep inside them, where it sits waiting to devour the lube you then apply. No rag can touch it.


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## lulubel (7 Jan 2013)

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say, Greg. The reason I use baby wipes is because the lube and the dust combine to form a sticky, gritty paste, so you have to remove the lube in order to remove the dust. The dust is also very fine, and it works itself deep into the links, so you need the "wetness" from the baby wipes to get in there and dislodge it. My chain is silent at the beginning of a ride. After a couple of hours, you can hear it grinding as you pedal.

I clean after one ride and re-lube before the next, giving the chain plenty of time to dry, so the fresh lube doesn't immediately get driven out.

I've tried the dry cloth method (I used it all the time in the UK). It works if you only stick to the roads and don't encounter dust, but not when you're riding up mountain trails.


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## GrumpyGregry (7 Jan 2013)

I'm sayin'

degreaser is a complete and utter no-no on any bike chain
no amount of wetness from a cloth will remove grinding paste from within a chain
the mickle method works fine all-year-round off road, dry and dusty or wet and wild, if you do it right
chains are consumables off road


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## lulubel (7 Jan 2013)

GregCollins said:


> I'm sayin'
> 
> degreaser is a complete and utter no-no on any bike chain
> no amount of wetness from a cloth will remove grinding paste from within a chain
> ...


 
Well, I guess you have to do what works for you, and I have to do what works for me. We do ride in very different conditions, after all


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## GrumpyGregry (7 Jan 2013)

lulubel said:


> Well, I guess you have to do what works for you, and I have to do what works for me. We do ride in very different conditions, after all


I should hope so or else what would be the point of living in Spain?


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## lulubel (7 Jan 2013)

GregCollins said:


> I should hope so or else what would be the point of living in Spain?


 
Precisely. I'm actually VERY scared if it gets a bit wet under the tyres. I went for a walk in the woods above town today, looking for singletrack. There are hundreds of footpaths crisscrossing them, but not all suitable for cycling unless you're a much more capable MTBer than me. I found a couple of tracks that I think I might try in the spring, when it's a bit drier. They looked far too slippy for me!

I also briefly saw some DH MTBers, as they flew past me. Forks so long and raked they looked almost horizontal, saddles right down on the seat tube, full face lids, and knee and elbow pads over the lycra (which did make me laugh after they'd gone because it looked a bit odd). I heard them coming, so I moved as far back as I could to get a good view as they came down. I'd been studying what I thought was a massive steep bit/almost a drop and wondering if I and my Cube could get down it in one piece (one day, after a lot of practice!), and they went over it as if it wasn't there. Then I carried on further up, and found the - loosely termed - path they'd ridden down. (The wet tyre marks on dry rock were the giveaway.) I was having to use my hands in some places to scramble over the rock. I can't imagine how anyone could ride a bike down that, but they obviously did. I've been trying to find something similar on YouTube, but haven't found anything to compare yet.

And on the note of me being a total wuss, here's a sample of my conversation with myself on yesterday's ride:

"Move over that way a bit, I don't like being near the edge .... I don't like sand much either .... or rocks .... What do you like, then? The road?"


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (7 Jan 2013)

I found the mickle method works exceptionally well once you get the hang of it. and that bit is key.
I used to use one of those 'devices' before I went off on tour - used it on my MTB and if I was lucky I got 1,000-1,500 miles from cassette/chain & sprockets. Once I sussed the mickle method on tour it got much easier and it is almost the only method I use now. The tour covered some pretty hot temps (35-40C on dirt tracks in Sweden(!) and 30C in Finland on their dirt tracks, so I know the fine stuff you mention. I use old bath towels/hand towels cut up into smaller sections, just watch the cut edges because they can get caught on the chain. 
Now on all 3 bikes (or 6 if you count cleaning my OH's bikes) it is mostly what I use with very little lube left on the chain afterwards otherwise you get that build up of thick 'sanding agent' that kills chains in no time - so I tend to run the chain dryer but not to the point of rusting or squeaking even after a full day of riding. 

From time to time a chain is left in a pan of oil and this is warmed gently to a simmer and taken off the heat for the chain to cool again in the pan and I have found that it works really well for getting crap out of the inside of the chain and oil back into it where it is needed. 

I will confess to using the same oil on all our bikes no matter what the conditions - Shimano PTFE lube. A little goes a long way. I use a separate thinner oil as the 'cleaner', no degreasers. Which reminds me, I need to order some more. 1 pot usually lasts me around 6-12 months of cycling for 2 of us, and it is 12 months since the last expenditure... It was recommened to me by a bike shop in Fishguard early on in our tour and was expensive enough to kill my old habit of putting too much oil on the chain afterwards.


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## Motozulu (7 Jan 2013)

Thanks for the Mickle method Greg.

It's too late for the Merida (I've used the degreaser gizmo several times now) but I have literally just gone into the garage and binned the chain cleaner gizmo.

When the new bike comes in feb I'll be Mickling for all my worth.


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