How to maintain your shocks

You know that feeling when your bike just doesn’t seem right? Maybe it’s not holding air like it used to, or the suspension just feels off? You can hear it, feel it—something’s up, but you’re not entirely sure what it is. If you’ve got fluids leaking from your shocks or your clicker adjustments don’t seem to make any difference, it’s time to face the truth: your suspension might need some love. This isn’t something you can ignore if you want to keep your bike running smooth, especially if you’re in tune with how it normally rides. But don’t stress, suspension maintenance and/or a rebuild is normal. Over time—whether it’s wear and tear from regular use or just age creeping in. When it comes to the tech stuff, the folks over at SuspensionWerx are dialed in. They’re the ones bike shops call when things get too complicated. We asked James Downing some questions to get the full scoop.

How do I know if I have an issue with my shocks (rear or front)?

In most instances you can feel or hear a difference in performance, but it does depend on how in tune you are with your bike. Some obvious signs would be if suspension is leaking fluids, not holding air pressure, or if there is no difference in performance when you change the clicker adjustments from one end of the range to the other.

What causes these issues?

In most cases it’s use or age, sometimes a combination of both. Suspension cycles hundreds of times while riding, as this happens multiple surfaces of metal, seals and bushings are moving together. While there is grease and oil in the suspension, overtime it will break down, seals become dry causing wear and leaks. Your performance reduces if it’s not used.  On the rear shock for example there is a nitrogen charge inside the shock that will naturally dissipate over time. After lying up for a while, when you do go to ride, the oil inside the shock will push against an internal floating piston (IFP), which in turn compresses the nitrogen. When the nitrogen expands the IFP will not push back to the same place, giving the oil more room to move around  and change the damping flow rate.

Why does SuspensionWerx exist?

SuspensionWerx was set up in 2008, at a time where the only option for suspension servicing was to send it to the brand distributor via bike shops. I saw a need for customer-direct service. I wanted to not only offer personalized set up, but to share knowledge with riders for an optimum set up. Since starting in…