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Mountain Bike Suspension Servicing Guide: Keep Your Ride Smooth
Keeping Your Suspension Plush: A Maintenance Guide
In our previous articles, we looked at how to set up your suspension and basic terms. Now, we want to look at keeping your suspension working and how to get the best from it. All of this work is fairly easy but will be time-consuming to do correctly.
Look After Your Stanchions
Your stanchions are the cool bit on your fork legs—the part that has likely been anodized a cool color and feels slippery to the touch. If you don’t look after them, they can slowly be ruined by dirt becoming trapped under or around the seals, leading to a "sticky" feeling.
Ignore forum advice about "nail varnish fixes" or cheap re-coating. While you can buy new stanchions, they come as a pair attached to the fork’s crown (CSU), which is an expensive repair. Preventative care is significantly cheaper. Always wash your bike after a ride, and never leave mud to dry on the seals. Under no circumstances should you use WD-40.
Clean the Dirt from Your Fork Wipers
You’ll need a few things to do this:
- Bike cleaner
- A soft cloth
- A cotton bud
- Shock lower lube kit (non-spray preferred)
After washing the bike, apply a few drops of lube around the fork wipers. Wait a few minutes, then cycle the suspension (push down on the bars). You will see a ring of dirt on the stanchions—wipe this away with your cloth. Repeat with a cotton bud around the seal lip until it comes away clean.
What about the rear shock?
This technique also works on your rear shock. Depending on your frame design, you may need to turn the bike upside down so gravity doesn't pull the lube away from the wipers. Cycle the shock by sitting on the bike rather than pushing the bars.
Performing a Lower Lube Service
The Tools You'll Need:
- • Allen key set
- • Rubber mallet
- • Clean cloths/rags
- • Lower lube oil
- • Measuring syringe
- • Suspension grease
- • New seals/foams
- • Clean workbench
- • Small vice
- • Oil container
- Remove the fork and pull off the rebound adjuster cap.
- Secure the fork horizontally in a vice by the steerer tube.
- Loosen the foot nuts but do not remove them yet.
- Tap the foot nuts with a rubber mallet to separate the stanchions from the lowers.
- Remove the nuts and slide the lowers off. Drain the old oil into your container.
- Clean the inside of the lowers with a clean cloth.
- If replacing seals, pry out the old ones carefully. Soak new foam rings in oil before installing.
- Slide the lowers back onto the stanchions partially.
- Inject the manufacturer-specified amount of oil into the bottom of each leg using your syringe.
- Tighten foot nuts, refit the adjuster, and reinstall the fork.
Looking After Your Air Can
Tools:
Vice (soft jaws), Allen keys, shock pump, lube, and cloth.
- Remove shock and hardware from the body end.
- Place the shock in the vice (use the eyelet, not the shaft).
- Release all air pressure. This is critical for safety.
- Unscrew the air can and slide it off the body.
- Clean the seals and body with a fresh cloth.
- Apply fresh lube, slide the can back on, and hand-tighten only.
- Re-inflate and refit.
Servicing FAQs
How often should I perform a "Lower Leg" service?
Most manufacturers (Fox, RockShox) recommend a basic lower leg service every 50 hours of riding. If you ride in muddy or extremely dusty conditions, you should reduce this interval to every 25–30 hours to prevent stanchion wear.
Do I need a full factory service every year?
Yes. While you can do lower leg and air can services at home, a "full service" (every 100–200 hours) involves bleeding the internal dampers and replacing nitrogen charges, which usually requires specialist tools and an authorized service center.
Can I use engine oil or generic grease?
No. Suspension fluids have specific weights and chemical properties that won't degrade the rubber seals. Generic greases often contain lithium, which can cause seals to swell or stick. Always use suspension-specific fluids.
