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Fox Rebuilds


Jonathan's picture

By Jonathan - Posted on 26 May 2013

Hi there everyone. Im thinking my fork and shock are due for a freshen up. Is there a scientific way of knowing when its due or is it just a yearly thing i must do.

Also, i no its not to hard a job to do but where is the best place buy the seals and fluid?

And do i need any speciality tools?

Cheers,

Jono.

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Cotic Tony's picture

Hi Jono
I did this a while back as my suspension hadn't been serviced for a few years (apart from cleaning & lubing the wipers)& was starting to feel a bit off. Both ends now are very plush again.

The fork is easy, replace the wipers/seals clean & lube. it's a half hour job unless you see damage.
Expect to pay around $55 for a low friction wiper kit & then you need the correct oil.
I also use the heavy Fox blue shock fluid to soak the seals in.
The rear is more complicated & more risky due to the air pressure within the can. I've now done the seals a few times myself & as long as you do the job methodically it's fine.

There are plenty of u tube clips detailing the tools & work required so take a look & decide yourself, just bear in mind that you will need to buy all of the fluids as well (the rear kit may come with a small grease pack) so the initial saving may not be as great as you expect.
I found the seal kits available locally but you can get them online.
http://www.mountainbikesdirect.com.au/fox-forx-l...

T

Jonathan's picture

Thanks for that, it almost doesn't pay me to do it myself especially as i don't have time. Can anyone recommend anywhere on the north shore to get it done in house? I no most places just send it off to fox.

Also with fluids can i use a lighter fluid to get more low speed bump sensitivity?

muvro's picture

Belrose Bicycles or Northern Beaches Cycles. I do my own, but these guys are the only ones I'd trust.

GW's picture

Hey Guys,

Could I ask for some feedback on what the pro's/cons of the LBS sending your forks/shocks back to fox to be serviced are ?

Cheers,
Gavin

hawkeye's picture

Cons: longer turnaround, higher cost as it passes through an extra set of hands adding their margin
Pros: You'd hope they'd be more likely to know what they're doing!

GW's picture

Hi Hawkeye,

I appreciated your response and feedback, I've been a member here for a long time. I've read a lot of your posts. I and agree with, and respect your opinions.
Do you think we could start a new tread on this and request more members to get involved ?
I'm extremely passionate about Fox as a brand and a product, I am in a position to take this feedback to Fox who are always striving to improve customer satisfaction.
New ideas are always welcome there, hopefully it would benefit both mountain biker's and Fox.

Thanks Again,
Gavin

hawkeye's picture

Sure, go ahead. So long as it's done in the right spirit (ie, genuinely seeking feedback and not as a forum for spruiking Fox product or services) I don't see a problem.

Just so you know, while I probably have some influence on the culture of the forum, I'm not the administrator here and you don't have to seek my permission. Rob is the site owner and if you are concerned about crossing any boundaries a PM to him would be a good idea.

The fact you are concerned about crossing boundaries is puts my mind at ease, but Rob has final say.

In relation to your question, the organisation I work for is fairly heavily into Cohen-Brown's customer service school of thought and has recently achieved number one in customer service satisfaction in its markets. CB's material is aimed at setting and managing culture in large organisations (and ours is large, 50,000 plus) but there's lots of good stuff in there and I'd commend it to you.

Paraphrasing, the key things customers are concerned about are Accuracy, Timeliness, and Reliability, with accuracy being number one for developing trust: do it right first time.

Andy Bloot's picture

On a slightly different matter
I had a constant creak in my bike that my bike shop assured me was the Fox forks - creaky crowns are a feature of a lot of their forks
They were sent back to Fox and the creak was still in the bike when they were put back on

2 years and the bloody bike still creaked every ride
I obsessed over bottom brackets, pedals - pretty much every component
Eventually a bloke told me about Loctite and how he used it to silence his creaky Fox forks
I was dubious but did some research and I felt that it may in fact be the forks after all
I tried the Loctite cure and voila - it worked - unbelievable
2 years of being driven past insanity and all along it was those ******* Fox forks

I would like to ask Fox:

1. Why such a well known fork manufacturer is also known for their creaky crowns
How, after all their experience they can't make a fork that will be assured not to creak
And how does a customer have to resort to loctiting their fork to quieten the absolutely maddening creak

2. What did they actually do to address the creaking crown when I sent them back
Or because it was still a warranty did they simply not bother

I've always really liked the look and feel of Fox forks
But I'll be giving Rockshox a look in when upgrade time comes after reading how common this is

bmar560's picture

Andy, Where did you apply the loctite to make the forks silent ? and which loctite did you use ?
My Fox Forks creaks !

Andy Bloot's picture

i couldn't believe how well it worked, Bmar
If you google creaky Fox forks there's stack of info including a youtube video which convinced me it was my forks

I got some wicking Loctite 290 from ebay - $18 delivered
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/120918148501?ssPageNa...

Turn the bike upside down and apply a ring of loctite to each stanchion where they meet the crown (top of the fork)
Allow to wick for a while before removing excess from the crown especially and leaving the bike upside down overnight
Flip the bike over after about 24 hours and leave for another few days or so

My mate said to also apply some around the steerer, but this was a pain and i thought i would wait and see if the other worked
Incredibly it did and they are still silent

I reckon that a creaky bike saps at least 30% of energy
I'd just finish rides because i had enough of the creaking and trying to trouble shoot
I was actually close to calling the bike a lemon and buying something else

Hope it works for you mate - let us know how it goes

bmar560's picture

Thanks Andy, going to order the loctite hopefully that will get rid of my creaks

StanTheMan's picture

how did you go with the creak? Mine does that too.....thinking of having a go at fixing it.

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