# Spinner Grind 24" forks leaking oil



## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

The Spinner Grind 24" forks that came on my son's brand new Vitus Nucleus have been weeping some oil. Does this indicate something wrong from the factory? Something that might have gotten borked in transport? Normal for these forks? I've not experienced this with other forks.


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## airwreck (Dec 31, 2003)

Was that your boy whose picture I just saw from Shaums camp in B-ham doing the drop? My kid did one curb drop on that fork/bike and we ordered a Suntour to replace it. One issue is the seals, a seal that is tight enough to keep the oil in will also limit the suppleness of the fork. Welcome to the world of kids suspension!


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

One of my kid's friends has a Grind 300 that came on a Kotori 20. It leaks oil with brand new seals. Gross and unsightly, but the fork should still work fine.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

airwreck said:


> One issue is the seals, a seal that is tight enough to keep the oil in will also limit the suppleness of the fork. Welcome to the world of kids suspension!


Ahhh, that's an interesting point.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

RMCDan said:


> Gross and unsightly, but the fork should still work fine.


And if that's the case, so be it. The fork seems to work just fine for him. If it leaks a little, I guess that's no big deal.


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## Desertride (Nov 1, 2012)

I'd actually be less worried about the slight amount of oil coming out than the dirt getting in. You might want to do a earlier initial service to see if the oil looks very contaminated. In the meantime wipe off the stanchions regularly and keep the seals clean (spray silicone lube on stanchions, compress fork a few times, and wipe off the crud that comes up).


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## the.vault (Oct 11, 2006)

The spinner forks don't really have lower oil, just grease from the ones I have seen. Grease is basically oil held in some type of binder. The seals on Spinner forks aren't great to bad.

I'd say wipe off the grease. There will be some dirt getting pulled past the seals. It's quick and mostly painless to pull off the lowers and wipe the dirt out of the seals and add some new grease.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

the.vault said:


> I'd say wipe off the grease. There will be some dirt getting pulled past the seals. It's quick and mostly painless to pull off the lowers and wipe the dirt out of the seals and add some new grease.


Any thoughts on how often I might want to do this?


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## the.vault (Oct 11, 2006)

wipe off the grease every ride.

I just pulled the lowers off on son's bike. He's on a 20 inch. The seals were dirty. I put in some new grease and the fork felt the same. Kind of poopy. I think fresh grease and wiping the seals will mostly keep the stanchions from getting scratched. Not make the fork great. 

I don't have a great suggestion. Every 10 rides. When it's time to change a tire. If you're adventurous you can teach your kid how to do it.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

the.vault said:


> wipe off the grease every ride.


Sorry, I should have clarified, I meant for pulling the lowers.



the.vault said:


> I don't have a great suggestion. Every 10 rides. When it's time to change a tire. If you're adventurous you can teach your kid how to do it.


Cool, thanks.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

Replying to my own thread here to leave this useful info from forum member StanfordRacer that I found on this thread about how to service these forks: https://forums.mtbr.com/tooltime/spinner-grind-air-fork-manual-1103902.html



StanfordRacer said:


> This is an old thread, but I'll add some useful info since I came across this thread when looking for a Spinner Grind Air 24 manual. Spinner posted two very useful photo albums on their Facebook page:
> HERE for how to do a "small service" on the 24" fork
> HERE for how to do a more extensive service on a 20" fork. The 20" looks to be nearly identical to the 24", and some of the material is clearer in that album.
> 
> ...


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## StanfordRacer (Sep 29, 2008)

CascadiaPNW said:


> Replying to my own thread here to leave this useful info from forum member StanfordRacer that I found on this thread about how to service these forks: https://forums.mtbr.com/tooltime/spinner-grind-air-fork-manual-1103902.html


Glad that was helpful. I'll add the caveat that even after having done that service twice, including new o-rings, my son's fork is still leaking oil on the left (non-drive) side. I've gotten over it and just wipe it off after every ride. Fork still feels very smooth after 6 months of hard use, but only time will tell if it holds up to another year of my son and then a few years with my daughter after that.

BTW, the o-ring that is replaced in the Facebook small service is 14.5mm (inside diameter) x 3mm (thickness). Spinner replied to my email when I asked. I got a 10-pack on Amazon for about $7.


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## xprmntl (Oct 4, 2006)

RMCDan said:


> One of my kid's friends has a Grind 300 that came on a Kotori 20. It leaks oil with brand new seals. Gross and unsightly, but the fork should still work fine.


Could @RMCDan, or anyone else, tell me where to get proper 30 mm dust seals for the Spinner Grind 300? I tried some 30 mm dust wiper seals for a Rockshox XC30 (similar to Suntour XCM/XCT) but the seal body OD is too wide to fit the lowers. Body of the damaged wipers that I pulled out of our 300 are ~37mm whereas the Rockshox are ~39 mm.


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## Desertride (Nov 1, 2012)

I found this on AliExpress it seems to match those dimensions but the 30mm is out of stock. If you dig around you may be able to find from another seller. 








9.35US $ 12% OFF|Catazer 30/32/34/35/36mm Oil Seals Bike Bicycle Front Fork Dust Seal For Fox Fork|Bicycle Fork| - AliExpress


Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com




a.aliexpress.com


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## Desertride (Nov 1, 2012)

Looks like the same seller has an Amazon listing and there it's in stock
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PP6PYTK/


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## xprmntl (Oct 4, 2006)

Desertride said:


> Looks like the same seller has an Amazon listing and there it's in stock
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PP6PYTK/


Thanks for that. Yes, I did see the Catazer from Amazon and initially ordered one; and after they didn't ship it for a week, I cancelled and ordered a Rockshox 30mm (which I reported as too big). I assumed the Catazer 30 mm was similar external to the Rockshox as I saw they made them for the Suntour XCM and XCT (which I was able to crossreference at ~39.5 mm for the 30 mm). I did not see that Aliexpress picture for the Catazer showing dimension of the 30 mm internal with 37.3 external. This looks to be the one! I'm returning the Rockshox and reordering the Catazer (bonus, foam, "oil absorbant cotton?" rings!). Thank you, Amazon prime. Hopefully it'll be a bit more expedient this time around.


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## magnet79 (Jun 22, 2018)

xprmntl said:


> Thanks for that. Yes, I did see the Catazer from Amazon and initially ordered one; and after they didn't ship it for a week, I cancelled and ordered a Rockshox 30mm (which I reported as too big). I assumed the Catazer 30 mm was similar external to the Rockshox as I saw they made them for the Suntour XCM and XCT (which I was able to crossreference at ~39.5 mm for the 30 mm). I did not see that Aliexpress picture for the Catazer showing dimension of the 30 mm internal with 37.3 external. This looks to be the one! I'm returning the Rockshox and reordering the Catazer (bonus, foam, "oil absorbant cotton?" rings!). Thank you, Amazon prime. Hopefully it'll be a bit more expedient this time around.


Going through this now with my son's Spinner-equipped Nucleus... Just wondering if those Catazer wipers were actually an improvement or just a similar quality as far as rubber and stiction goes. I've already ordered the Rockshox set with the plan to just add the foam rings and see how that improves things. If the other wipers are really better I'll scoop them up as well. Thanks!


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## xprmntl (Oct 4, 2006)

The 


magnet79 said:


> Going through this now with my son's Spinner-equipped Nucleus... Just wondering if those Catazer wipers were actually an improvement or just a similar quality as far as rubber and stiction goes. I've already ordered the Rockshox set with the plan to just add the foam rings and see how that improves things. If the other wipers are really better I'll scoop them up as well. Thanks!


The wipers fit but were not a very tight fit in the lowers. As far as stiction goes, it comes from lack of lube. Slickoleum or Slick Honey will cure that. Foam rings will extend the life of the relube.


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## magnet79 (Jun 22, 2018)

xprmntl said:


> The
> 
> The wipers fit but were not a very tight fit in the lowers. As far as stiction goes, it comes from lack of lube. Slickoleum or Slick Honey will cure that. Foam rings will extend the life of the relube.


Thanks. Looks like I'll just go with adding the foam rings for now then.


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