Whilst perusing a blog today about a certain single speeder winning a certain Pisgah race this weekend, looking at his suspension fork and the beating it probably took reminded me of an email our inside sales manager Heather sent out last week. Briefly, it was a reminder that not only is our service center pretty gnarly handling warranty issues and fixing busted Campy Chorus shifters from the late 90s, it’s also a fully bonded and accredited* suspension repair “workshop”. Most shops can fix forks and get them ride-able but with the deluge of non-suspension related repairs sometimes taking precedence, simply popping a fork in the post and sending it to our suspension guru Tony for some hands-on attention can save the shop time and keep the customer happy. Each fork upon its arrival is whisked away and nestled into a custom-molded mahogany casket lined with Serta mattress foam. A warm bath of lavender scented mineral oil is prepared while the stanchions and seals are exfoliated with peppermint Decleor Parisian embalming gel. Fresh cucumber slices are applied to the lowers to reduce puffiness, compression dampers are marinated in a white wine vinaigrette while the dust seals are sung hauntingly beautiful lullabies. Thus ends the pre-service spa treatment. Actual WORK on the fork then commences by a team of experts flown in from the finest clock makers in Zurich. Under the oppressive and watchful eye of Tony, the forks are disassembled, cleaned, re-lubed, re-oiled, re-calibrated and then blessed by a Zoraistrian high priestess (Donna, in accounting). Here are some simple suspension service intervals to keep in mind:

If an average rider spend 3 hours on their mountain bike a week they should have the oil bath changed once a month. At that rate a fork should be fully serviced every 4 months but for most people once a year is great practice.

Maintenance interval
Clean dirt and debris from upper tubes                 Every ride
Check air pressure (air forks only)                         Every ride
Lubricate dust seals and upper tubes                     Every ride
Remove lowers, change oil bath                              25 Hours
Clean and lubricate air spring assembly                 50 Hours
Change oil in damping system                                 100 Hours
Clean and lubricate coil spring assembly               100 Hours
Complete rebuild                                                      100 Hours