Clay and stones flicking upwardly and taking chunks out of a fork leg is a problem when you ride off-road, a trouble which can crusade leaking fork seals. Does it hateful an endless loop of fork seals replaced, new stanchions or an expensive repair is needed? Not necessarily…

The front end finish of our bikes are often the hardest hit when information technology comes to stones and clay flying upwards from bikes in forepart and, believe information technology or non, from our own front bicycle. Radiators, expansion pipes, headlights, and definitely our knuckles have all taken those roost hits from the rider in front end.

The exposed down tubes on upside-down forks, the stanchions, are specially vulnerable. By blueprint, they should perfectly smooth then the fork seals can exercise their job. Merely look closely at your fork legs and are they perfectly smooth? Especially as we clock up the hours, the tiny nicks and marks start to appear, increasing the chances of fork oil leaking by.

Reverse to what you might think, that harm is virtually often beingness washed to the inside of your fork leg stanchions past clay and stones flying off your own spokes and tyre. It's the area which is non protected by the fork guards and is particularly prone to those footling nicks and scuffs on the surface which tin lead to damaged or leaking fork seals.

Our local intermission specialist showed us a simple way to clean up those lilliputian marks and a solution that avoids bigger and more than expensive fixes.

Check your fork stanchions

The offset thing to do is check your own fork legs. After cleaning, remove the front wheel – take the fork leg out the triple clamps if you like – and cheque the exposed fork stanchion surface for impairment past eye and by running your hand over the surface to feel for any modest raised points or spikes.

Where tiny nicks (for want of a better word) sit higher on the fork leg surface and the stanchion is less than perfectly smooth, it gives the fork seal a harder time running up and downwards and sealing the oil inside. The more than prominent that nick is, the more than likely it is for the fork seal to allow oil through each fourth dimension it races past that spot on the leg.

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A gentle rub is all you need

What tin can you practice about information technology? The technique is simple plenty and was handed to the states by an experienced suspension specialist. His solution is simple: a gentle rub with a pocket-size engineering stone, lightly across the surface of the fork leg.

The idea is to take abroad the tiny raised piece of metallic standing taller on the surface and, crucially, do no more than just that. If you do as well much you'll gamble creating a depression and more of a problem than you started with.

So do not rub hard or for also long – it just needs a gentle castor across the tiny raised surface area a couple of times with the stone earlier checking again with your paw to see if the 'nick' has been removed. Do not rub hard enough to take away the coating or create a depression or pigsty.

What is this magic stone?

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The stone can besides exist called sharpening stone, rubbing stone, scythe stone or polishing stone. They come in different grades so choose quite a light form, not as well gritty or harsh equally to be too ambitious on the fork leg surface. Again, it is worth making the indicate the idea is to gently take the protrusion away and not to hack away at the bodily fork leg surface.

We tin all acquire a bit from listening and watching experienced people who've raced and been service coiffure at the highest level in enduro. Golden nuggets learned from years and thousands of hours in the sport are the best means to larn ourselves and this one felt like it was worth a share.

Enduro21 clocked this "top tip" while getting a gear up of forks serviced at Dr Shox Suspension Eye.

Photo Credit: Enduro21