It’s a fact that if you don’t service stuff it wears out quicker. Considering the price of a decent fork these days, you’d have to be foolish or very rich to neglect it. Performing a regular, full service on your fork is the ideal scenario, but that’s probably not going to happen considering most people’s hectic lifestyles and limited budgets.
You can save time and money by servicing the lower legs and seals of your forks at home between proper overhauls. This focuses on the area of the fork which is often most prone to wear, saving you cash and time. Ignoring the manufacturer’s recommended service intervals might result in increased wear and may void your warranty, but if this guide gets your fork some attention then that’s got to be a good thing.
Most decent forks use some kind of oil bath in the lower legs to lubricate seals and bushes and this can become dirty quite quickly in UK conditions. By replacing this oil and cleaning out any dirt you can help reduce wear and enhance the fork’s performance.
Most RockShox forks use a sealed damper, making them ideal candidates for a lower leg service, as they can be dealt with separately. Be sure to check out the SRAM website to work out the oil weight and quantities your fork requires.
The 2010 Revelation Team featured here is still ahead of its game thanks to plenty of TLC.

For more on this maintenance job, check out the June 2013 issue of MBR, in the shops from May 1