How often to service suspension forks and shocks when you ride most weekends
If you ride most weekends, your fork and shock work harder than the calendar suggests. Here is how to think about servicing them, and how to tell when it is time.
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How often to service suspension forks and shocks when you ride most weekends
If you ride most weekends, your fork and shock work harder than the calendar suggests. Here is how to think about servicing them, and how to tell when it is time.
Suspension is the part of a mountain bike most riders forget until it starts to feel wrong. It sits under you on every root, rock and landing, and it does its job quietly, so the slow decline is easy to miss. Seals pick up grit, oil breaks down and spreads thin, and a fork that felt plush in spring feels harsh or vague by the end of the season.
No single interval suits every rider. How often a fork or shock needs attention depends on how much you ride, how hard you ride, the conditions you ride in and what the maker of your suspension recommends. The manuals for your fork and shock set out recommended service intervals for that model, usually by hours of riding, and they are the right starting point. If you are out most weekends you will reach those intervals sooner than you expect, so keep a rough log of your rides.
Riding around Queenstown adds its own wear: fine dust in dry spells, mud and water in wet ones, and long descents that keep the suspension working hard. Regular care keeps the bike consistent, protects expensive parts from avoidable wear and keeps the ride feeling the way it did when it was new.
What a suspension service does
A suspension service is not one job. There are broadly two levels of work, and knowing the difference helps you decide what to book.
- Lower leg serviceThe lowers come off the fork, the dust seals and foam rings are cleaned or replaced, and fresh lubricating oil goes back in. It is the regular, lighter job that keeps grit away from the stanchions and keeps the fork moving freely.
- Full serviceA deeper job that goes inside the damper and the air spring as well. Damper oil is replaced, internal seals are checked or renewed, and the fork or shock is rebuilt to the maker's specification.
- SealsSeals keep oil in and dirt out. Once they wear or take on grit, dirt gets past them and scores the stanchions, which is far harder to put right than a set of seals.
- OilSuspension oil lubricates the moving parts and, in the damper, controls how fast the fork or shock moves. Over time it gets dirty and loses its properties, and the damping feels less controlled.
- Air cansOn an air fork or shock, the air can and its seals need cleaning and fresh grease so the spring holds pressure and moves smoothly. It is a big part of keeping the back of the bike feeling right.
Riders who are out most weekends usually need the lighter service more often and the full service less often. Your manual gives the recommended interval for each.
Signs your suspension is due
Between services, your bike will tell you when something has changed. These are the signs worth acting on.
- It feels differentThe fork dives more, the shock packs down on repeated hits, or the bike rides harsher than it used to at the same pressures and settings.
- StictionThe fork or shock is slow to start moving, or catches before it gives. Push down on the bars at a standstill: it should move smoothly from the top of its travel.
- NoiseSquelching, knocking, hissing or clunking as the suspension compresses or rebounds means something inside needs attention.
- Oil on the stanchionsA faint film after a ride can be normal, but oil rings that build up, or oil running down the stanchions, usually point to worn seals.
- Losing pressureIf you are topping up the air more often than you used to, the air seals are likely due for a service.
- Marks on the stanchionsScratches or scoring on the stanchions or shock shaft let oil out and dirt in. Get them looked at before they get worse.
Wipe your stanchions and seals with a clean cloth after every ride, and check your sag and pressures before you head out. It takes moments and catches problems early.
Book your suspension in
Book your service online.
Mountain bike servicing
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Suspension service is one of the jobs on our workshop list in Queenstown. If you have noticed any of the signs above, or you are near the interval in your manual, it is time to bring it in.
Choose a service, pick a date and tell us about your bike. Note what you have felt or heard on the trail so we know where to look.