The front fork of mountain bike is designed for us to ride better! The function of the fork is actually to reduce the external impact of our bicycle and make the tire better grip!! In short, the performance of a good bicycle is reflected in many aspects! But for the whole bicycle structure! I think fork should be the first!
So how can we extend the life of our front fork? The most basic thing is that the usual maintenance should be in place!
First: the fork should be clean! Every time you come back from a trip, you should wipe it with a clean, oil-free cloth (preferably a lint free towel, stained with water or soapy water. In order to try not to let water flow into the fork, I usually turn the car upside down! In order to avoid damaging the oil seal and dust seal after water enters the dust seal, wipe it with a dry towel after wiping it with a wet towel! It will soon dry)! Pay special attention to the cleaning of inner pipe and dust seal! When the dust is cleaned, the wear of the inner pipe and dust seal is reduced! Otherwise, after a long time, too much dust will accumulate, and the inner tube will rub more and more brightly! Finally grind off the Teflon coating! Expose the aluminum inside! Performance will also be greatly reduced!
Second: it is recommended to buy fork dust cover. There are many such things on Taobao! You can buy a couple for a few dollars! A better one is dozens of yuan. Clean the fork and fix the dust boot! This will protect your front fork inner tube well! It not only avoids the impact of hard objects on the inner pipe, but also avoids the invasion of dust! Your chances of cleaning are reduced!
Because our front fork is doing reciprocating friction movement when working, and the inner pipe is rubbing the dust seal oil seal! It will wear out over time! The fork will have the feeling of oil leakage and dryness! Reduced lubricity! It will be too late to carry out maintenance at this time!
So how do we use grease? It's simple! Let's clean up the inner pipe of the fork and the dust seal first! Then touch a little lubricating oil at the junction of the dust seal and the inner pipe! Apply evenly one circle! About two centimeters high! Don't wipe too much! Then compress the front fork several times! Finally, cover the dust cover of your front fork, so it's OK! (you can wipe some on each ride, and then clean it with a clean cloth when you come back. If there is no dust, you don't have to wipe it.) add grease to the dust boot! You must pay attention!
If you ride normally, the fork will rarely have problems within a year! When something goes wrong, your fork should also pass the warranty period! If you go for maintenance again, you should pay for it yourself! Major maintenance includes changing damping oil inside the fork, cleaning and replacing dust seal and oil seal. Ordinary car stores can't do this kind of major maintenance! Have to send it to an agent or a professional authorized repair point for maintenance! If we ride a flat road normally, our forks can be maintained once a year and a half! Just change the oil and clean the dust seal!
So we usually do the above basic maintenance, which is enough to prolong the life of your front fork! Do you remember to lubricate the dust boot?
These are my own summary of some common sense.
Avoid by all means: it is forbidden to apply some machine oil and chain lubricating oil! These things will damage the oil seal and dust seal of your front fork.