63
Maintenance
Suspension forks are components of sophisticated design and require a consid-
erable amount of maintenance and care. This has led almost all suspension fork
manufacturers to establish service centres where customers can have their forks
thoroughly checked and overhauled at regular intervals.
The following routines are essential for suspension fork maintenance:
- Whatever type of fork you have, make sure the sliding surfaces of the upper fork
tubes are absolutely clean (a).
- Have your local dealer regularly check all bolted connections on your fork.
Suspension forks are of sophisticated design. Have the maintenance and
repair work carried out by a service center authorized by the fork manu-
facturer. When checking the bolts of the suspension fork, please observe
the torques specified by the fork manufacturer and make sure you use an
appropriate torque wrench.
When buying a new tire for your front wheel, make sure it is not too large.
Otherwise it might drag on the fork crown when the fork is completely
compressed. In this case the front wheel can get jammed and throw you
off your bike.
Please read the enclosed manual of the fork manufacturer or visit their
website.
ii
Glossary suspension
Spring rate or hardness:
The force required to compress the spring a given distance. A higher rate indicates
a higher force requirement per unit of length. With air springs a higher rate means
a higher pressure.
Rebound damping (b):
The damping which controls the rate at which the forks extend after being com-
pressed.
Compression damping (c):
The damping which controls the rate at which the fork compresses (nothing to do
with how hard the fork feels).
Sag (d):
The distance by which the rear shock or fork compresses (should compress) when
the rider assumes his normal riding position while the bike is stationary.
a b c d
To Next Page
Loading...
