Service Intervals

Dedicated Racers -20 hours

Weekend Play Riders -30 hours

Dedicated Racers - 20 hour service interval

Suggested service interval for a dedicated racer should be 20 hours. That would be for the person who rides and practices during the week and races on the weekend. Racing and dedicated practice sessions subject your suspension to prolonged amounts of movement and heat. Both of those wear out oil, shims, coatings, bushings, and seals at a very fast rate. Much faster than a casual trail ride or 10 minute session at the track.

In racing, consistency is key and as suspension wears out so does its predictability. Predictability can mean the difference between winning and losing, or worse, ending up on the ground. Nothing is worse than showing up to a race and the bike doesn’t feel quite right due to it having worn out suspension.

Aside from on the bike, nothing is worse than driving a long distance to a race only to find out something is either internally broken or leaking due to lack of maintenance, causing a panic. One thing that is often overlooked is sometimes in racing we are subjected to riding in poor and abnormal conditions. Rain, mud, water, and sand adds a whole new level of fatigue and contamination to your suspension. Sure the weekend could go well and everything gets cleaned off that mud, water, and sand that worked its way into the seals and oil dries. You wont know there is a problem until the next time you ride and the seals begin to leak and the bike feels off. If you take care of your suspension it will take care of you.

Weekend Play Riders - 30 hour service interval

The same ideas are applied to service intervals for the average play rider but the time span can be a bit more relaxed. In most play riding situations riders really do not put themselves and their bikes through extended periods of abuse and heat that would normally be experienced in racing (unless you are that type or rider) so components do not wear out a quick. Regardless, oil, shims, coatings, bushings, and seals are still exposed to heat and wear so it is still important to keep up on service. The consistency still equals predictability and that is important anytime you get on the bike.

Just like racing, nothing can ruin a nice vacation weekend like driving a long distance to your favorite riding spot only to find out something is either internally broken or leaking due to lack of maintenance. If you take care of your suspension it will take care of you.