Holes appearing in suspension fork
- Thread starter themadhatter106
- Start date
themadhatter106
100 W
They are magnesium, all of Rock Shox fork lowers are magnesium it says in the fork specs on their webpage. Apparently magnesium is one of the worst metals you can have as far as corroding.
MadRhino
100 GW
Corrosion on fork lowers is not a problem, I have been riding Boxxer forks for 20 years all year long in a country where melting agents are over used 5 months a year. Your problem is a casting defect, but now that you have grinded and exposed the bare metal, it is possible that surface corrosion might start to appear. I don't know if Rock Shox will replace a lower once it's been grinded like that, but you can find a used lower in good condition for cheap. I have replaced scratched Boxxer fork lowers with some used that looked like new for 50$ found on Pinkbike in the winter season.
themadhatter106
100 W
The cheapest I could find was $140 for new lowers on eBay. For that price I may as well buy a whole new fork!
Maybe I'll go bother my bike shop some more to call SRAM and get the factory price although I'm guessing it's going to be too much to bother. I can't find used parts, my guess is my fork is too cheap for people to bother to part out.
Maybe I'll go bother my bike shop some more to call SRAM and get the factory price although I'm guessing it's going to be too much to bother. I can't find used parts, my guess is my fork is too cheap for people to bother to part out.
themadhatter106
100 W
On second thought I think I need to do some deep cleaning of the inside of the fork lowers and take some high res pics to post, to evaluate just how corroded my fork really is.
I was thinking of cleaning out the inside with degreaser and then using a pressure washer to blast the inside of it. I need to loosen any cooroded magnesium inside to get a good look at how bad the corrosion really is.
I was thinking of cleaning out the inside with degreaser and then using a pressure washer to blast the inside of it. I need to loosen any cooroded magnesium inside to get a good look at how bad the corrosion really is.
Ive had good experience with Sram warranties, the normal procedure is for any LBS to accept it and ship it back. I just showed them my broken part (crank) and email from sram saying it was defective and they handled the rest. I'd strongly recommend trying another shop that is interested in trying to help you out. I'd hope at the very least, they (sram) would discount a comparable new fork for you, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent you a new one. It's little money well spent to keep you happy.
In the future, you could always get in the habit of smearing a little Judy butter on your stanchions every few rides in the winter.
In the future, you could always get in the habit of smearing a little Judy butter on your stanchions every few rides in the winter.
MadRhino
100 GW
Well, good cranks are garanteed lifetime, and forks usually one year. Yet I guess they should discount a new fork or replacement lowers.
themadhatter106
100 W
So I took apart my suspension fork again and gave it a deep cleaning with the pressure washer. Its pretty bad right around the seals on both legs. Further down on one leg the metal doesn't look pitted at all. On the other leg it is pitted but not huge chunks like the area around the seals.
Well I decided to pull the trigger and try again with the goodwill return at a much bigger different bike shop. I went to a different bike shop, the guy took a look at my fork and just went oh my god. I know you just want new lowers but I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you a whole new fork the way this looks. He had me fill out a form and took it with my receipt and documentation no problem. He said he will call me and keep me updated. It was a much better experience than the small bike shop I went to previously.
Here are some photos of the carnage.
View attachment 3
Well I decided to pull the trigger and try again with the goodwill return at a much bigger different bike shop. I went to a different bike shop, the guy took a look at my fork and just went oh my god. I know you just want new lowers but I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you a whole new fork the way this looks. He had me fill out a form and took it with my receipt and documentation no problem. He said he will call me and keep me updated. It was a much better experience than the small bike shop I went to previously.
Here are some photos of the carnage.
View attachment 3Hillhater
100 TW
holy crap !...they look as if they have been sat in a caustic bath for a day or two !!Something really nasty got into those !
speedmd
10 MW
Kids have a habit of riding these off of docks into salt water at times. Looks like this may have spent some time in similar conditions. I remember way back a tree man that drop'd his saw into the drink and it was too dark and tide too high to find it just a few feet from the seawall he was working over. When he fished it out in the next days, it looked very much like these forks and even much worse in spots. We could not believe how fast it dissolved.
themadhatter106
100 W
Well, I brought my fork in and they called SRAM. He said that they wouldn't warranty the fork because it was out of warranty and also because of the jb weld. I never asked for a warranty replacement though, I asked for goodwill. I just decided to forget it. Way too much effort for nothing. I just want to get my bike working again asap.
I asked the guy at the shop how much a new lowers would cost me and he said 2/3 of the cost of the fork. The ones I found online support this. It just makes alot more sense to get a new fork.
I bought a 2008 marzocchi 888 dual crown fork on pink bike for only $200, the same price as a new recon silver. This fork is way better; it has more robust lower seals, having oil seals and dust seals. The only bad thing is my old man mountain rack won't attach to the 20mm thru axle so I am going to need to make a clamp for the 1.7" lowers to attach my rack and battery.
I asked the guy at the shop how much a new lowers would cost me and he said 2/3 of the cost of the fork. The ones I found online support this. It just makes alot more sense to get a new fork.
I bought a 2008 marzocchi 888 dual crown fork on pink bike for only $200, the same price as a new recon silver. This fork is way better; it has more robust lower seals, having oil seals and dust seals. The only bad thing is my old man mountain rack won't attach to the 20mm thru axle so I am going to need to make a clamp for the 1.7" lowers to attach my rack and battery.
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