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Modern suspension forks are full of precision components. They have to be. Otherwise the air chambers, which used to be criticised as sensitive and insensitive, would never have managed to prevail over steel springs. However, with all the high-tech internals, many suspension fork owners have also become more wary of the technology. The suggested service intervals don't really help either. However, engineers have invested a lot of brainpower in ensuring that at least routine maintenance work can be carried out at home with little effort and without a great deal of knowledge. Two factors clearly speak in favour of the home service. Firstly, it saves money. The "small" service on a Rock Shox Reba shown here costs between 35 and 45 euros at the dealer - plus shipping and materials. Doing it yourself also minimises downtime. Half an hour's work instead of three to ten days' waiting time is certainly a good argument.
"Small" service of the Rock-Shox forks
- Service interval: Oil change/air chamber service every 50 or 100 operating hours
- Difficulty: Easy (with air chamber service: medium)
- Time required: approx. 20 min (air chamber service approx. 5 min more)
- Material costs: 15WT lubricating oil (120 ml, 5 euros), lubricating grease butter (20 ml, 9 euros), service kit (from 18 euros, included once with every retrofit fork), possibly press-fit sleeve (from 18 euros)
Info under www.sram.com/service/rockshox
The tools for the Rock Shox fork service:
Additionally for "small" air chamber service:
- Hexagon socket (24 or 30 mm)
- Seeger ring pliers
- Damper pump
This is how it works step by step:
You can find a large selection of Rock Shox suspension forks at these online shops:
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 10/2015 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
