Fork Lube Yay Or Nay?

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I use it on dropper, Forks and shock too. Just before loading the bike on the car. As well as lubing the chain. I cycle them few times, then when I get to the trail wipe it off. I find it helps draw the crap out of the seals from the previous ride and softens them, so less stiction. It might be placebo, but I also think it helps prolong seal life for the sake of about £14 per year.
 
Fork juice from juice lubes on all bouncy bits. Does it make a difference, I don't know. It's just part of my washing routine.
 
Service the lowers every 50hrs.
Most lowers have 5-10ml of oil in them. They have a foam rig under the seal that you see.
Put the bike upside down at least an hr before you ride. This allows the foam rings that are soaked in oil to deposit most of their oil to the top of the foam ring. It also allows oil in the lowers to replenish the foam rings.
Fork lubes, are a waste of money. They can leave reside on the stantion and attract dust and drag the yuk into your forks.

If you don’t believe any of this the stop using lube and start turning your bike upside down. I bet you won’t notice any difference in doing this and not using lube.
 
You are supposed to wipe down the lube off the stanchions before cycling them to avoid this.
 
R120 said:
You are supposed to wipe down the lube off the stanchions before cycling them to avoid this.
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So you put the lube on and wipe it back off before cycling the suspension?
What benefit is there then if you just wipe it off ? Surely there is more to it ?‍♂️
 
No you wipe it down so its only veered in a very thin layer - like I said earlier in the post I spray onto microfibre cloth then apply to stanchions. Like everything else you down want to over lube.

I dont know enough about the science behind it, nor do I pretend to, but it definitely helps, especially int he winter, or if your bike has been sitting for a while. Seems to have most effect on the dropper post.
 
R120 said:
No you wipe it down so its only veered in a very thin layer - like I said earlier in the post I spray onto microfibre cloth then apply to stanchions. Like everything else you down want to over lube.

I dont know enough about the science behind it, nor do I pretend to, but it definitely helps, especially int he winter, or if your bike has been sitting for a while. Seems to have most effect on the dropper post.
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Ok cool, so you wipe off any excess. Still could attract dust imo.
Could you try turning the bike upside down an hour before you ride and compare to using lube ?
 
outerlimits said:
Ok cool, so you wipe off any excess. Still could attract dust imo.
Could you try turning the bike upside down an hour before you ride and compare to using lube ?
Click to expand...
I reckon that would work too to be fair although I'm not sure oil would get past the wipers to lube the seals. Also I don't have the space or forward planning nature to turn my bike over an hour before a ride. The lube definitely sucks gunk out when you cycle the forks, and this stuff would just sit between seals and wiper on a ride possibly causing friction and wear. I oil the chain anyway before putting the bike on the car rack, so it's just an extra minute to do stanchions. I can't say for sure if it works but makes me feel better when I see the gunk removed.
 
I use fork juice on forks, shock and dropper. When I bought my last bike (Giant Anthem) the guy that did the bike fit and setup said to store it upside down to keep the seals lubricated, kind of makes sense to me.
 
steviedsolve said:
I use it on dropper, Forks and shock too. Just before loading the bike on the car. As well as lubing the chain. I cycle them few times, then when I get to the trail wipe it off. I find it helps draw the crap out of the seals from the previous ride and softens them, so less stiction. It might be placebo, but I also think it helps prolong seal life for the sake of about £14 per year.
Click to expand...

I do exactly this, except I use an ordinary wet lube. When I send the fork/shock for a service I never get a bad report.
 
using a small amount of whatever lubricating oil you have for your lower fork servicing needs will achieve exactly the same results.
 
I use a synthetic light grease on my dropper and the action is way better, like new. I’d think about a tiny amount in the fork after washing just hope I don’t lose all rebound.
 
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