|   "squishy" Duke XC | c.a.
Aug 15, 2003 2:37 PM | | Last year, i purchased a new specialized stumpjumper with Duke XC forks. This year, unfortunately, the bike has been in storage for about 2 months; now, when i compress the shocks, i hear this weird, liquidy, "squishy" noise. It's at 120psi, and seems to work well. Anyone know if this is a problem or not? I've just moved to Montreal, where it's pretty humid; could that have anything to do with it? thanks in advance for any (attempts at) help. |
| You "hear" it?... | Fat-tire
Aug 15, 2003 2:58 PM | | sounds like your wipers/seals are dry. Get a safety pin or a tack, and carefully pry back the wiper (be careful not to scratch the stanchion). Then, put a drop or three of triflow to relube the wipers? |
| Ee-gads! No! Read the manual. | Sprocketeer
Aug 15, 2003 9:10 PM | | I wouldn't prick the wiper seals with a pin, but Fat-tire is right in saying that your wiper seals are dry.
I have the Duke XC also. The wiper seals are exactly that--they wipe and they seal. As Shakespeare or some other immortal writer wrote, "If you prick [your wiper seals] do [they] not bleed?!" There's no need to prick them. Clean the stanchions--a rag will do, a chamois is better--then spray them with some teflon or teflon based lube (like Finish Line Teflon-Plus) and bounce hard on the fork about fives, then wipe off the excess.
I also recommend Lizard Skins fork boots--except in really gooey mud that's flying all over the place because it piles up under the boots. In dusty conditions, absolutely, use the fork boots.
One other thing. About once a month, store your bike upside down overnight--according to RockShox--because the oil in the shocks gets all packed up in the bottom and turning them over will re-cycle the oil evenly through the system.
Happy bouncing. |
| wipers are there for a reason, to stop stuff entering the fork! | adam
Aug 17, 2003 10:19 PM | | Don't wimp out with half-assed lubrication on the stanchions, if your wipers are working the lube shouldn't enter the forks anyway. Turn the forks upsidedown as suggested and push on them a few times. If this doesn't fix the problem, do the job properly and pull the seals out of the lowers and clean and relubricate the wipers and sponges from the inside like they're suposed to be done. Don't waste your time with fork boots, that's why rockshox invented tripple x seals. |
| I have a Duke Race... | pimpbot
Aug 15, 2003 3:04 PM | | ...with air springs. I get a noise like that all the time. No biggie. OTOH, I'v ehad that squishy noise since I got it. If this is a new noise, leave the bike right side up for a while. I would recommend shooting the seals with triflow and bouncing it up and down before wiping off the excess after each ride. It helps lube the seals.
Maybe some water got absorbed into the damping oil, like what happens in hydraulic brakes on cars. If you have more than say 100 hours of riding, it couldn't hurt to do a servicing on it. You gotta do it every now and again anyway or the bushings wear out and the fork gets sloppy.
If you' re handy, do it yourself. It's not too tough. I did mine, but I got pos and neg air springs and took me aorund 3 hours. Yours should be easier. |
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