They’re supposed to help protect the stanchions from dirt/water. What usually happens instead is that water gets trapped and rust destroys the stanchions.
You can cut them off – just make sure your seals are good.
morrison666 on
Ancient technology that some bikes still come with. It’s supposed to stop water and dust and debris and what not. It usually does the complete opposite and actually helps keep water and moisture inside the stanchions and rusts them out. Cutting them out will most likely help your fork last longer and make it easier to service.
Spare-Bus5314 on
I would get rid of them, no body rides with those anymore on modern bikes with suspension for a reason. Especially mountain bikes
playhandminton on
I always did as a kid, make sure seal where stanchion goes in is okay…
BTVthrowaway442 on
A lot of old forks are missing them by now. The fork is old enough it’s probably clapped anyway. The seals, and elastomers are probably degraded. They technically keep the stanchions clean. And technically no you should not cut them off. Use your judgement because it’s an old clapped out fork and you’re probably not going to ride that fork out in the desert.
IvanGoBike on
Sure. The fork is ancient anyhow, and those boots are prone to causing water logging.
Willing-Bowl-675 on
There are some forks where they are absolutely needed like the Headshock from Cannondale, but on them they are soft and get sealed on both sides in some kind of joint.
In this case they are just generic and don’t prevent any dirt from getting there, so you can just cut them off and clean the area with fork oil whenever needed.
8 Comments
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They’re supposed to help protect the stanchions from dirt/water. What usually happens instead is that water gets trapped and rust destroys the stanchions.
You can cut them off – just make sure your seals are good.
Ancient technology that some bikes still come with. It’s supposed to stop water and dust and debris and what not. It usually does the complete opposite and actually helps keep water and moisture inside the stanchions and rusts them out. Cutting them out will most likely help your fork last longer and make it easier to service.
I would get rid of them, no body rides with those anymore on modern bikes with suspension for a reason. Especially mountain bikes
I always did as a kid, make sure seal where stanchion goes in is okay…
A lot of old forks are missing them by now. The fork is old enough it’s probably clapped anyway. The seals, and elastomers are probably degraded. They technically keep the stanchions clean. And technically no you should not cut them off. Use your judgement because it’s an old clapped out fork and you’re probably not going to ride that fork out in the desert.
Sure. The fork is ancient anyhow, and those boots are prone to causing water logging.
There are some forks where they are absolutely needed like the Headshock from Cannondale, but on them they are soft and get sealed on both sides in some kind of joint.
In this case they are just generic and don’t prevent any dirt from getting there, so you can just cut them off and clean the area with fork oil whenever needed.