Caring for your forks: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:fork seals2-10.JPG|150px]]

First of all, make a habit of cleaning your forks regularly to remove any road grime/bugs. For the dings, take some 200 grit sandpaper and cut it into strips. Create a cross-hatch (go up & down & round & round) on the entire length of the fork that the oil seal slides over. This will knock down the edges on the rock dings, clean off imperfections, and allow the seals to last longer.

First of all, make a habit of cleaning your forks regularly to remove any road grime/bugs. Extend the forks fully by getting the front wheel [[Supporting Your Bike While Servicing|off the ground]]. For the dings, take some 200 grit sandpaper and cut it into strips. Create a cross-hatch (go up & down & round & round) on the entire length of the fork that the oil seal slides over. This will knock down the edges on the rock dings, clean off imperfections, and allow the seals to last longer.

The important part of all this is that there should be no sharp burs from rust that will cut your seals... light scratches will be less damaging to the seals than seriously raised edges.

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[[Image:fork seals2-9.JPG|150px]]

[[Can I get fork tube protectors/gaiters?|Fork guards]] can help reduce this problem.

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 [[Image:fork seals2-10.JPG|150px]]
-First of all, make a habit of cleaning your forks regularly to remove any road grime/bugs. For the dings, take some 200 grit sandpaper and cut it into strips. Create a cross-hatch (go up & down & round & round) on the entire length of the fork that the oil seal slides over. This will knock down the edges on the rock dings, clean off imperfections, and allow the seals to last longer.
+First of all, make a habit of cleaning your forks regularly to remove any road grime/bugs. Extend the forks fully by getting the front wheel [[Supporting Your Bike While Servicing|off the ground]]. For the dings, take some 200 grit sandpaper and cut it into strips. Create a cross-hatch (go up & down & round & round) on the entire length of the fork that the oil seal slides over. This will knock down the edges on the rock dings, clean off imperfections, and allow the seals to last longer.
 The important part of all this is that there should be no sharp burs from rust that will cut your seals... light scratches will be less damaging to the seals than seriously raised edges.
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 [[Image:fork seals2-9.JPG|150px]]
+[[Can I get fork tube protectors/gaiters?|Fork guards]] can help reduce this problem.