# appropriate lubricant for fork and rear shock?



## FreakFlag (Aug 2, 2011)

What is the appropriate lubricant for Fox forks and rear shock? I did a search on this forum and google but couldn't find definitive answers.

The guy at my LBS says clean/floss the pistons with a rag, then just use a few drops of teflon lube on the piston and pump the fork/shock.

Is teflon lube ok? I read about shock oil, but also read that shock oil is a scam. Thanks.


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## osmarandsara (Jun 26, 2006)

The shock's internals have oil that constantly lubricate all the moving parts as you ride and compress it. If your seals are worn it is possible to lose oil then in that case you would have to have it serviced. 

Lubricating the shock with anything other than what is recommended by the manufacturer is probably not a good idea....if the seals are worn its possible you could contaminate what is already in there...

Instead of lubricating the seals externally, just place the bike upside down for a few minutes...the oil will flow down towards the seals and should be enough to lubricate anything that might be dry.


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## jeffgre_6163 (Jan 23, 2010)

I would suggest you read this thread.
It presents both sides of the suspension servicing debate.

If you cant be bothered the main points are this:
- Forks and suspension cannot be lubricated any where near adequately externally
- Service intervals for Fox suspension are around 50 hours
- READ the service manuals
- Neglect service intervals at your own financial risk - forks can and do fail permanantley due to poor/incorrect servicing

http://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-corner/care-feeding-forks-739538.html


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

jeffgre_6163 said:


> I would suggest you read this thread.
> It presents both sides of the suspension servicing debate.
> 
> If you cant be bothered the main points are this:
> ...


+1 :thumbsup:


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

bad mechanic said:


> +1 :thumbsup:


+2

Think it's a good idea to let mud dry, then wipe off before your next ride with an auto detailing brush or paint brush instead of mushing the mud around with a rag while wet.
Most seals don't do well with petroleum based lubes. Take an unused rubber o-ring and spray some spirits on it and see how much it grows.
Don't use a lube that's too tacky, like some chain lubes, or thick, like grease, so it doesn't attract dirt and dust.


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## Hutch3637 (Jul 1, 2011)

FreakFlag said:


> What is the appropriate lubricant for Fox forks and rear shock? QUOTE]
> 
> Finish Line Stanchion Lube, judy butter, or buzzy's slick honey. Most lbs's carry them.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

For external lubrication you can use chain lube, have been doing it for years.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

DiRt DeViL said:


> For external lubrication you can use chain lube, have been doing it for years.


What, exactly, are you lubricating externally?


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

bad mechanic said:


> What, exactly, are you lubricating externally?


After a wash I drop some chain lube on the fork legs near the wipers.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

DiRt DeViL said:


> After a wash I drop some chain lube on the fork legs near the wipers.


Don't do that. They don't need it, and the lube will only attract dirt. There's nothing on a fork or shock which can be lubricated externally.

It is, however, very important to keep up to date with maintenance.


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## silgot (Aug 6, 2010)

bad mechanic said:


> Don't do that. They don't need it, and the lube will only attract dirt. There's nothing on a fork or shock which can be lubricated externally.
> 
> It is, however, very important to keep up to date with maintenance.


I agree, if fork and rear shock are ok they don't need external lubrification


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## vaelin (Sep 3, 2009)

Actually, even with proper oil levels and such, all four of my Rock Shox forks (SID RLT Ti, Reba SL, Totem 2-Step, Boxxer RC) need a few drops of teflon oil on the wipers if they've been sitting for a week or longer, even upside down. The upper wipers dry out and until the suspension cycles several times, oil doesn't get up there. Even inverting it only gets oil up to the lube retention ring. The wipers are fairly tight from the factory, and if you just put a drop or two (then wipe away) before a ride, they'll maintain that tight tolerance. That means they'll be way more efficient for way longer at keeping dirt and grime out of your fork internals. Just wipe the excess away before riding.

It's the main cause I've seen of at least RS forks failing, as the dried out wipers cause micro-abrasions on the stanchions that become premature wear on the wipers and stanchions.


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## CHUM (Aug 30, 2004)

slick honey (as mentioned above) every once in a while...

and if someone comes on here and states that it's a paintball gun lube and not for suspension stanchions i am gunna strangle them....


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

Vaelin, you should check to see if there's any grease inside the wipers. There should be, and if they're dry, then it's going to cause stiction, and you'll see the symptoms you're seeing. It's better to grease them properly, then to try and lubricate them from the outside.


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## vaelin (Sep 3, 2009)

I used Judy Butter in the little cavity of the wipers. It's the upper portion of the wipers that dries out after the fine dust of NorCal works its magic.


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## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

In regards to motorcycle forks, the most common reason for seals leaking seem to be water spots. Either from riding or washing and not cleaning the sliders afterwards. 

I'm going to assume that proper cleaning of water spots off the sliders on bicycle should also be a concern as well. However, I don't ever see this recommendation made.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

The 50 hour service interval for a fork and shock is unrealistic. I'd be doing a fork and shork service every month, maybe every three weeks. 

I clean my fork and shock as carefully as possible, lube the clean shaft with Teflon lube weekly ( a little goes a long way) prior to riding and everything is good. 

For forks, I service them about every six months, ditto for a shock. That equals over 200 hours of riding time. My stuff performs ok and the fluid is used but not crazy dirty and no unusual wear has been noted.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

STT GUY said:


> The 50 hour service interval for a fork and shock is unrealistic. I'd be doing a fork and shork service every month, maybe every three weeks.
> 
> I clean my fork and shock as carefully as possible, lube the clean shaft with Teflon lube weekly ( a little goes a long way) prior to riding and everything is good.
> 
> For forks, I service them about every six months, ditto for a shock. That equals over 200 hours of riding time. My stuff performs ok and the fluid is used but not crazy dirty and no unusual wear has been noted.


Servicing your equipment once a month isn't unreasonable considering how little time it takes and how cheap it is. Especially extending the service interval to 200 hours is seriously rolling the dice. Personally, I wouldn't risk a $1,000+ worth of suspension components because I can't spare 20 minutes once a month.


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

bad mechanic said:


> Servicing your equipment once a month isn't unreasonable considering how little time it takes and how cheap it is. Especially extending the service interval to 200 hours is seriously rolling the dice. Personally, I wouldn't risk a $1,000+ worth of suspension components because I can't spare 20 minutes once a month.


Dang.. you can srvice a shock and fork is just TWENTY minutes?! You are the man.

Your posts while mildly entertaining seem somewhat flawed. Please allow me to explain.....

Sure if I service my fork every 30 to 50 hours it might last for say six or seven years. However, why would I be interested in a fork lasting six or seven years?? I keep a bike for two or so and in that two years it's going to have 1500+ hours of riding on it. I will have put 12 chains on it brake pads, cables, grips, plenty of tires, lots of Stans sealant and a cassette and middle chainring and maybe a small as well. Oh ya, maybe a crash repair or two as well..LOL!!

Sorry to be the Suspension Curmudgeon, but there is no friggin way I am performing thirty to fifty fork and shock services on my bike in two years. Heck even even at your claimed world record time of twenty minutes for a service that is about sixteen hours of time spent servicing just my suspension in two years if I did it myself. I bet it would take me at least an hour or more so noe I'm at 40 to 60 hours for servicing my suspension in two years!! I have my awsome LBS do my fork and shock service so lets look below.

Let's reduce this to the ridiculous for a moment. Let's say that my LBS charges $30 each for a front and rear service for a total of $60. My thirty front and rear suspension services cost me $1800. Now let's add two round trips to my LBS at 18 miles at .52 cents per mile, that's an additional $9 per service. So now we are at $2070 total. Pssssssst..that's 50% of the cost of a very good entire new bike!

My math tells me that it is more cost effective to service the stuff either A) every six months during the two years or B) when there is an obvious sign of a need. I typically go with "A" as I have been pretty fortunate because our conditions are favorable to long seal life.

Let's do the math&#8230;. $60 times four = $240 doing it my way. Let's subtract my way from "your" way and I have $1794 left over doing it my way versus your way, so my way gives me a brand new shock and fork about every 18 months. After two years/1500 of riding a fork and shock are going to be pretty tired and need complete rebuilding, meaning most or nearly all of the internals to bring it to "nearly new" and that's a lot of money. Bottom line is that I'd rather save the cash on the thirty to fifty services and have brand new stuff every 18 to 24 months. YRMV:thumbsup:

Beautiful day here is SW Utah... headed out to ride now.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

I can't do both in 20, but I can easily do either in 20 (if it's just oil, a fork in 10). So can just about anyone; it's not hard to do.

Any bike will be expensive if you take it to the shop for all maintenance (and you certainly built a worst case scenario there). Doing standard maintenance on a fork or shock is easy, and it's why I strongly advocate people do it for themselves. If you look at my other posts, you'll see that to be the case. Doing your own suspension maintenance is cheap, easy, and fast, and it will keep your suspension working well for a long time.

Reasons to make your suspension last:
- So the guy you sell the bike to won't have problems (I'm assuming you're not just throwing the bikes away).
- A good fork is a good fork, and worth keeping it running well. One of my favorite bikes has a 7 year old Fox on it, and it still works great.
- I hate to go green, but it's more environmentally sound to keep your fork working well, then to throw it in a landfill somewhere.


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## SlowerThenSnot (Jul 16, 2004)

bad mechanic said:


> I can't do both in 20, but I can easily do either in 20 (if it's just oil, a fork in 10). So can just about anyone; it's not hard to do.
> 
> Any bike will be expensive if you take it to the shop for all maintenance (and you certainly built a worst case scenario there). Doing standard maintenance on a fork or shock is easy, and it's why I strongly advocate people do it for themselves. If you look at my other posts, you'll see that to be the case. Doing your own suspension maintenance is cheap, easy, and fast, and it will keep your suspension working well for a long time.
> 
> ...


Ummm pretty impressive the 20 min thing...

doing a through job on both is an hour job, sure there is the green thing but certain fork manufacturers don't stock parks for stuff that is 3-4 yrs old


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## STT GUY (May 19, 2009)

bad mechanic said:


> - I hate to go green, but it's more environmentally sound to keep your fork working well, then to throw it in a landfill somewhere.


Oh don't you worry about this..... I use the old forks for a couple of years to beat ATV riders found on our singletrack to within an inch of thier life THEN toss em out in the landfill.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

SlowerThenSnot said:


> doing a through job on both is an hour job, sure there is the green thing but certain fork manufacturers don't stock parks for stuff that is 3-4 yrs old


So far Fox has been great about parts for old forks, RS has been very good, and so far I've had good luck with 'zoke as well. Manitou is the one I haven't had much experience with.


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## jeffgre_6163 (Jan 23, 2010)

shashaply said:


> It's better to grease them properly, then to try and lubricate them from the outside.


Clearly you have not read through the whole thread or have an indepth knowledge of servicing suspension components.
I would suggest that you read through the thread noted below
Hey.. you never know you may actually learn something that you clearly do not know already



jeffgre_6163 said:


> I would suggest you read this thread.
> It presents both sides of the suspension servicing debate.
> 
> If you cant be bothered the main points are this:
> ...


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