Shock Covers

**wanghoeby** · 09-15-2005, 10:06 AM

I have a medium grade Rock Shock fork, not sure of the exact name. Anyway it has those crappy rubber sheaths running where the piston are exposed. On my last excursion one side of the sheath got ripped in half. Is it safe to rip both of them completely off? I know on one of my MX bikes I was discouraged not to, what's the deal with bicycles?

**trainnvain** · 09-15-2005, 10:21 AM

Just about any fork will have dust seals to wipe grit where the stanchion (piston) meets the lower. If the cover is ripped then it will more likely collect debris in the inside of the sleeve thus doing more harm than good. Just take them off. If you ride in high grime areas then Lizard Skins makes fork boots.
BTW, where in WI are you? I have to go out there in 2 weeks and I'll be doing some riding. Any sugg?

**bagtagley** · 09-15-2005, 10:48 AM

Fork manufacturers quit using fork boots for a reason. Even when fully intact and properly sealed they still collect dirt and grime and increase the wear on the stanchions and the fork seals. Take 'em both off.

**Spats** · 09-15-2005, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by bagtagley

Fork manufacturers quit using fork boots for a reason. Even when fully intact and properly sealed they still collect dirt and grime and increase the wear on the stanchions and the fork seals. Take 'em both off.

Are you sure about that? My un-booted fork collects lots of dirt on the seals every time I ride: my old, booted 2000 Judy Race collects zero dirt and the stanchions still look new.

I agree that the Lizard Skins style of tight neoprene boot is probably bad for the fork, because if you get a speck of grit in there the neoprene will rub it up and down the shaft and scratch the stanchion. I'm talking about the regular style of loose rubber accordion boot like Marzocchi and Rock Shox used to use.

My opinion is that fork manufacturers took the boots off because:
1) It looks cooler. (This is the main reason.)
2) It causes people to have to buy new seals and forks more often. How many people have dinged or scratched their stanchions with rubber boots on?

**Arty50** · 09-15-2005, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Spats

Are you sure about that? My un-booted fork collects lots of dirt on the seals every time I ride: my old, booted 2000 Judy Race collects zero dirt and the stanchions still look new.

I agree that the Lizard Skins style of tight neoprene boot is probably bad for the fork, because if you get a speck of grit in there the neoprene will rub it up and down the shaft and scratch the stanchion. I'm talking about the regular style of loose rubber accordion boot like Marzocchi and Rock Shox used to use.

My opinion is that fork manufacturers took the boots off because:
1) It looks cooler. (This is the main reason.)
2) It causes people to have to buy new seals and forks more often. How many people have dinged or scratched their stanchions with rubber boots on?

Look at the baja off road folks or the hard core 4 wheelers. Do most of them use shock boots? Nope. Most off roaders ditched boots long ago. The biggest problem is they collect water and don't let it out. Even if you cut holes in the bottom of the boot, it's still hard to get every last drop of water out of there. Plus when the boot fails, then you're adding dirt into the mix. Or worse, rocks which get caught in there and scratch up the fork tubes. It's better to just let rocks and dirt bounce off them and have the seals keep the rest out.

**chaka** · 09-15-2005, 11:45 AM

My understanding is there was a design change with forks around 2000 that allowed manufacturers to not need the boots. This had to do with triple barrier seals rather than single and dual, which eliminated the need for the boot protection. So, if you have an older fork, I would keep using some kind of boot, esp in WI (if I read that right), which is going to get wet/muddy I imagine.

**snow_slider** · 09-15-2005, 12:40 PM

I vote for taking the booties off and if your seals go bad, replace them with enduro fork seals:
http://www.enduroforkseals.com/

**m1e448** · 09-15-2005, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by snow_slider

I vote for taking the booties off and if your seals go bad, replace them with enduro fork seals:
http://www.enduroforkseals.com/

Snow Slider beat me to it! As I was reading this thread, enduro seals were running though my mind the whole time.

**Dromond** · 09-15-2005, 07:03 PM

Seals definitely have gotten better.

That said, I'm pretty sure manufacturers ditched the seals to make the product look cooler and be easier to sell.

**wanghoeby** · 09-15-2005, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by trainnvain

Just about any fork will have dust seals to wipe grit where the stanchion (piston) meets the lower. If the cover is ripped then it will more likely collect debris in the inside of the sleeve thus doing more harm than good. Just take them off. If you ride in high grime areas then Lizard Skins makes fork boots.
BTW, where in WI are you? I have to go out there in 2 weeks and I'll be doing some riding. Any sugg?

Where you going to be in the state? The Kettle Moraine Trails are a classic, if you're near them.

Originally Posted by snowslider

I vote for taking the booties off and if your seals go bad, replace them with enduro fork seals:
<http://www.enduroforkseals.com/>

I checked the shocks, they're Jetts... ever hear of them? They're not really that old, only a few years or so, but when I went to check the above site, I could not find them. BTW the tubes are black, pure dark black. My frame is solid aluminum, exluding the forks. Looks kind of wierd... yet exotic

.