# forks are seized up !



## p0n3y (Sep 17, 2008)

picked up a used trek 4300 from a pawn shop and the forks are seized up.
they dont budge at all.
ive tried to turn the adjusting knobs on top, but nothing works.
can this be fixed with maybe some penetrating oil ??


its also in need of tune up. can you recommend some good " how to's " on front and rear derailur adjustments ?


thanks


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## LandoCommando (Feb 26, 2009)

What kind of warranty do pawn shops offer nowadays?






In actual advice....... I dont know.


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## p0n3y (Sep 17, 2008)

LandoCommando said:


> What kind of warranty do pawn shops offer nowadays?
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

penetrating oil is for loosening things that are rusted or corroded together. A seized fork is most likely some other mechanical problem and I would suggest taking it to a bike shop that can service it properly


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## p0n3y (Sep 17, 2008)

yeah, i didnt think of that. ill take to bike shop. thanks for the input


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## f3rg (Aug 29, 2007)

Toss the fork and buy a cheap rigid one. No more worries about it seizing up, since it'll come that way on purpose.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

I was Gonna give you some crap for not maintaining your fork....but oh well chuck it and get a tora 318 you wont be sorry......


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

Hard to say what you might be able to do with the old fork, since you don't even tell us what fork it has, but DO NOT use penetrating oil. If you can find the service instructions on the fork manufacturer's website you might be able to figure it out...or take it to the lbs. The rigid fork idea isn't a bad one depending on your needs/budget... As to general maintenance info try looking at www.parktool.com in the repair section...or figure out specific things you need help with and look around some more on the forums...


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## swl (Apr 19, 2009)

You can have you suspension forks "re-built" if it is warranted by a good LBS mechanic that knows how to take them apart. If you have a nice Fox fork, not a factory, then maybe would be warranted.


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*Huh?*



swl said:


> You can have you suspension forks "re-built" if it is warranted by a good LBS mechanic that knows how to take them apart. If you have a nice Fox fork, not a factory, then maybe would be warranted.


I don't know what to say, so I'll just say huh, again. Huh?

Nearly all bike parts (including suspension forks) have some sort of warranty for manufacturing defects.

Rebuilding an older model of any fork isn't a warranty repair, regardless of the brand.

To the OP: You didn't tell us what type of fork is on the bike but I agree with most people here: Buy a rigid fork. Buy a new suspension fork.


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## swl (Apr 19, 2009)

My point was i know nothing about this bike. If you have $1500 in dual suspension upgraded Fox forks, the heck with a new one, you find someone that knows what they are doing and you get they can be totally revived. I didn't say it would be free, but well worth it if the hardware is deserving.


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*If it were a Ferrari....*



swl said:


> My point was i know nothing about this bike. If you have $1500 in dual suspension upgraded Fox forks, the heck with a new one, you find someone that knows what they are doing and you get they can be totally revived. I didn't say it would be free, but well worth it if the hardware is deserving.


If it were a $100,000 sports car, your opinion would be equally true but your advice would have been just as incorrect, given the information that the OP provided.

It's a used Trek hardtail that sold for around $400 new. The OP could spend $100+ for a fork rebuild and still have a crappy, low end fork following your advice.


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

swl--I think you need to spend some time expressing your thoughts more clearly, let alone making comments on a bike you have no idea about (try bikepedia.com if you have no idea what bike it is next time). In any case it seems you meant warranted as in deserving rather than warranty as Ken took it. A fork that comes on a Trek 4300 is going to be a fairly low end fork (these bikes retailed new in the range of $350-425 depending on year) but OTOH we have no idea what it means when the OP says they are "seized".

On the other hand in this sentence "_If you have a nice Fox fork, not a factory, then maybe would be warranted_", your use of factory would be better expressed as OEM fork, obviously Fox forks are made in a factory too (it's actually their corporate name Fox Factory Inc). Same for the sentence in your latest post where you use "get" which makes little sense, probably you misspelled bet but who knows.


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