Suspension fork has maybe lost air?
Hi community, I think the suspension fork on my Ghost Kato FS 3.7 has lost a bit of air.
So in front of the bike park I could press the spring in about two or three centimeters when I stood next to the bike and pushed the handlebars down.
After that, it didn't improve much, maybe 1-2 cm more, but it was much lighter. It was similar with the shock absorber.
I always run around 75 psi front and rear.
Is this because the bike has been ridden and the spring is perhaps warm?
And if not, how can I find out if the spring is leaking?
Thanks for your answers
(2 votes)
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Whether pressure has been lost can easily be determined. Hang on damper pump and look at the pressure gauge.
But yes, warming also plays a role. Not for spring hardness, but for damping. This basically works in such a way that oil flows through thin channels, which is not infinitely fast and thereby slows the spring movement. This results in friction heat, which naturally heats the damping oil. And as a result, its viscosity is lowered, i.e. it becomes thinner – thus flows faster through the channels and slows the spring movement less.
The fact that with the same spring hardness (=same air pressure in the air spring) the fork is less damped in the warm state than cold is therefore completely normal. However, this should not affect the depth of how far the spring finally dips at a given pressure. Just the speed of the spring movement.
However, in the case of the damper pump you have to be careful not to lose air when screwing off, but it can be good that it loses about 10-20 psi when put on.
I’d go by a little free workshop and ask. If it’s okay, it won’t cost you anything, and if it’s not okay, you can still decide if you can do it or not.