Suspenders

Bryan came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

Well I've finally joined the modern age (steel can be bent backinto
shape but there is a limit to the number of times this can be done :-),
and got myself a 'new' mtb with some decent forks. I've got myself a
rather nice Stumpjumper complete with RS Duke XC forks. Now these
things are new to me, after years of elastomer ones, and I got to
wondering:

How dificult are they to service following the Rockshox service
instructions? (I'm a reasonable mechanic)

Do I really need to use Rockshox RedRum and fork oil, or will any
decent fork lube and oil do? (RS prices £10-£15, other brand £5), If I
use other oil will something like Stendec or Weldtite do?

Almost any fork oil is good. There is little difference between 'cycle name
branded' oils and others simply because they don't actually make the oil,
just buy it in and brand it. What I do is match up the viscosity and SAE
numbers from the branded stuff and find el cheapo of similar gradings.

What some brands do is add colourants that can actually degrade the
performance of the oils ... allegedly. 😉

Quoted message said:

Are Lizard skin fork boots worth it?

Absolutely. We use them on our mountain bikes and our Trials Motorcycles
and they stop _everything_. Well worth the cost, IMHO and far better than
the corrugated plastic 'boot's.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

Quoted message said:

How dificult are they to service following the Rockshox service
instructions? (I'm a reasonable mechanic)

I'll be honest - I don't really know - but I reckon it really can't be
that hard. After getting quotes for servicing my Bomber Z3s (£60,
anyone?) I'm going to do those, and I've never serviced a fork before.
I'm very much a 'take it apart and see' type mechanic....

One word of advice though - make sure you get a good manual, either
from a bike mag or online, as the manufacturer-provided leaflets tend
to be pretty useless...

Nick

"Paul - [censored]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bryan came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

Are Lizard skin fork boots worth it?

Absolutely. We use them on our mountain bikes and our Trials Motorcycles
and they stop _everything_. Well worth the cost, IMHO and far better than
the corrugated plastic 'boot's.

I've heard mixed opinions about this, some say they're great while others
give dire warnings of the problems they create by retaining water & muck.
I'd imagine that if you do use them it's a case of removing them when the
bike's stored to prevent water/muck retention and condensation problems.
My Pace forks didn't have them and didn't appear to suffer. The Manitous I
had next had the rubber boots, I used to religeously dry them after use and
they are still as good as new (in my garage going begging if anyone wants
'em). My current Rockshox don't have 'em and don't look any the worse.
I did see a pair of Manitous years ago with pitted stanchions and I know the
owner never dried the boots which I think led to the problem.
The jury's out.
--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

Peter B came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

"Paul - [censored]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bryan came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

Are Lizard skin fork boots worth it?

Absolutely. We use them on our mountain bikes and our Trials Motorcycles
and they stop _everything_. Well worth the cost, IMHO and far better
than the corrugated plastic 'boot's.

I've heard mixed opinions about this, some say they're great while others
give dire warnings of the problems they create by retaining water & muck.
I'd imagine that if you do use them it's a case of removing them when the
bike's stored to prevent water/muck retention and condensation problems.
My Pace forks didn't have them and didn't appear to suffer. The Manitous I
had next had the rubber boots, I used to religeously dry them after use
and they are still as good as new (in my garage going begging if anyone
wants 'em). My current Rockshox don't have 'em and don't look any the
worse.
I did see a pair of Manitous years ago with pitted stanchions and I know
the owner never dried the boots which I think led to the problem.
The jury's out.

Good point. 🙂

Actually, I think a lot also has to do with the use the forks get. If you
use all the travel regularly, then I guess the action of the fork seals
wiping oil over the stanchions is it's own best maintenance. Certainly,
being small yet plump and of a heftier weight than I should be, my forks get
used to their full extent quite a lot and my seals regularly need changing,
but I've never had pitting on any bike, motor or pedal.

What flavour Manitou's are they? Where are you, what do you want for them?
Ahead steerer tube or threaded and length, diameter? etc etc I'm after
something a bit newer than my current (no-name French copy of RockShox, but
were really rather good) forks which are about five years old but I'm too
tight to buy new .. 😉

The reply address I use is mine and working, but I never check it unless I
know I have mail.
--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

Bryan said:

Well I've finally joined the modern age (steel can be bent backinto
shape but there is a limit to the number of times this can be done :-),
and got myself a 'new' mtb with some decent forks. I've got myself a
rather nice Stumpjumper complete with RS Duke XC forks. Now these
things are new to me, after years of elastomer ones, and I got to
wondering:

How dificult are they to service following the Rockshox service
instructions? (I'm a reasonable mechanic)

Do I really need to use Rockshox RedRum and fork oil, or will any
decent fork lube and oil do? (RS prices £10-£15, other brand £5), If I
use other oil will something like Stendec or Weldtite do?

Are Lizard skin fork boots worth it?

Bryan

Yea I got my watch strap stuck in one once in the early seventies after
much fumbling ...............Er, hang on........ Sorry I thought you
were talking about something else........sorry.
Sean.

Quoted message said:

--
Bryan

On 2 Aug 2005 10:22:12 -0700 someone who may be "sean"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yea I got my watch strap stuck in one once in the early seventies after
much fumbling ...............Er, hang on........ Sorry I thought you
were talking about something else........sorry.

Why were you wearing a watch:-)

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

in message <[email hidden]>, Bryan

(') said:

Well I've finally joined the modern age (steel can be bent backinto
shape but there is a limit to the number of times this can be done :-),
and got myself a 'new' mtb with some decent forks. I've got myself a
rather nice Stumpjumper complete with RS Duke XC forks. Now these
things are new to me, after years of elastomer ones, and I got to
wondering:

How dificult are they to service following the Rockshox service
instructions? (I'm a reasonable mechanic)

Don't know about Dukes, but I've done RockShox Psylos and they were easy
(but rather shockingly poorly made), Fox Floats (minor pig to get back
together, otherwise easy), and various others. None were really hard,
and I didn't feel at all out of my depth. Mind you, I haven't so far had
the guts to strip down either of my Lefties.

Quoted message said:

Do I really need to use Rockshox RedRum and fork oil, or will any
decent fork lube and oil do? (RS prices £10-£15, other brand £5), If
I use other oil will something like Stendec or Weldtite do?

What's critical is the viscosity of the oil (and, I suspect, how
viscosity changes with heating, although unless you're doing something
very dramatic fork oil isn't going to heat that much). More viscous oil
is going to give more damping for a given damper valve setting.

Quoted message said:

Are Lizard skin fork boots worth it?

If you use them, don't forget to clean inside them regularly. I've seen
horrid damage to a rear shock which had been 'protected' by a lizard
skin which had filled up with mud and grit.

I strip back the boot on my Lefty after every wet ride, and get any water
out.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Windows 95:
You, you, you! You make a grown man cry...
M. Jagger/K. Richards

Thanks all for the advice, just wait for the 'where does this bit go' message in a few weeks :-)

Bryan

David Hansen said:

On 2 Aug 2005 10:22:12 -0700 someone who may be "sean"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yea I got my watch strap stuck in one once in the early seventies
after much fumbling ...............Er, hang on........ Sorry I
thought you were talking about something else........sorry.

Why were you wearing a watch:-)

Teenagers have to time themselves, apparently.

--
Ambrose

David Hansen said:

On 2 Aug 2005 10:22:12 -0700 someone who may be "sean"
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

Yea I got my watch strap stuck in one once in the early seventies after
much fumbling ...............Er, hang on........ Sorry I thought you
were talking about something else........sorry.

Why were you wearing a watch:-)

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

Pheeww. I thought you was going to ask me why I was wearing
suspenders.... oops.
Sean.