Suspension Bike At-Home Maintenance Tips
Mountain bikes have become fairly complex over the years and maintaining them can be daunting, especially if you are new to suspension bikes. Your bike's fork and shock should be properly maintained, much like pumping your tires and lubing your chain, to ensure proper function and safety. Here are a few tips on how you can easily and effectively keep your suspension running smoothly and get the best ride quality out of your bike.
To Do Before/After Every Ride
Before Every Ride:
+ Check tire pressures
+ Lube chain
+ Clean dust wipers
After Every Ride:
+ Clean buildup from dust wipers with a clean, dry rag. This one practice helps prevent excessive wear of internal and external parts and keeps everything sliding freely.
+ At the very same time, you can wipe down your stanchions and check for damage. Dirt left on the wiper can migrate inside and wear deep grooves into your stanchions.
To Do Every Month Or Sooner
+ Clean the bike frame with mild soap and water (Be careful not to get soap on your brake rotors!)
+ Inspect visible seals and sliding parts for damage. Nicks in the stanchions, from a crash or rock strike, can cause damage to internal seals, and possibly cause oil or air loss.
+ Re-check air pressures
To Do Yearly or 125 hours of use (whichever comes first):
+ Bring to Allspeed for Annual Service
+ Check linkages/pivots for smoothness while shock is out of bike for service
+ Re-check sag measurements once fork/shock is reinstalled.
When Should You Schedule Suspension Service?
The industry recommendation is to do a complete overhaul of the fork and shock every 125 riding hours, or annually, whichever comes first. If you are a particularly aggressive rider, if you ride more than average, or ride in especially muddy or dusty conditions, more frequent service is advised to maintain optimum function and control.
What do we do to your bike when we are overhauling that fork and shock? Click below to find out more!
If you are having an issue, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Yearly tune-ups are recommended but if you are riding your bike daily you might need two tune-ups a year. Annual or bi-annual tune ups are recommended. It’s all about how much you ride. Repair estimates are always free.