A Guide to Cleaning Fork Seals

If you’ve been putting your mountain bike through its paces on dirt trails, a thorough clean is needed after each ride. Not only does regular cleaning keep your bike looking its best, you’ll be able to prologue the use of your components and have longer periods in between servicing. Like with every component on your MTB, cleaning fork seals is essential to prolonging their use – by neglecting to do this, you’re likely to see a drop off in performance.

If your fork seals are damaged and require replacement, BETD stock a number of high-quality Enduro fork seals, which are suitable for a range of different MTB and gravel bikes. Here is our simple guide to maintaining and cleaning your fork seals:

Required Tools:

• A few clean cloths
• A syringe
• A flathead screwdriver
• Oil for fork lubrication (bicycle oil, WD-40, vegetable oil or even Vaseline).

1. Start by giving your bike a thorough wash with soapy water to remove any abrasive mud or debris build up. Take time to concentrate on the immediate areas around the fork.
2. Using a clean cloth dipped in water and mild detergent, wipe your bike’s fork down carefully. Follow this up by drying the area with a clean, dry rag.
3. With a flathead screwdriver or similar tool, put the wiper seal of the fork seal up and secure with a piece of clean cloth (preventing any dust or dirt from falling into the suspension). Slide the wiper seal up and down to make sure that all of the dirt is cleared away.
4. Beneath the dust wiper lies a foam ring: pull this up and out, and clean in the same manner as the wiper seal. Check the foam ring carefully for cracks or any splits in the material. If there is any visible damage, it’s time for replacement fork seals.
5. Fill the syringe with your choice of bicycle oil, and place a bead of oil at the top of each dust wiper along the seam where it meets the metal of the fork bar.
6. After cleaning each of your fork seals, use a fresh piece of cloth with oil to gently wipe down the stanchions (the smooth metal bars at the top of the forks).

Enduro Fork Seals

By following these steps after every ride, you’ll be able to prolong the use of your fork seals and ensure that any damage is prevented. If you spot any cracking on your bike’s fork seals, ensure that the part is replaced as quickly as possible before riding again. With a number of different sized dual lipped fork seal kits available, we provide replacements for brands including Marzocchi, Fox and Rockshox. Contact our team today for advice on finding the right kit for your bike.