Stiction on elastomer forks - a solution...

TOMAS

Senior Retro Guru
Just thought I'd share my findings after half an hour to myself in the workshop the other day & thought i'd give my prev recon'd Pace RC35MXCs a quick service.

They've always suffered from stiction, I think the fork is generally reknowned for this... however I thought i'd switch up lubes & after cleaning the internals down I used some Whistler Premium Lubes (WPL) 'Absolute Grease' - marketed as a totally bio-lube, i'm guessing it's going to be friendly to both the carbon legs and elastomers... https://us.wplbike.com/collections/lubricate/products/absolute-bike-grease 20220422_183505.jpg

The difference it's made is incredible, plush, small bump compliance etc... really has drastically improved it!

I've been experimenting with lots of greases over the last few years in different applications on the bike. This stuff very much has the consistancy of butter, it's quite a thin grease - not one that I'd generally use in harsh weather situations or particularly unsealed hubs/headsets etc as it washes out much easier than other greases i've tried, but in terms of slipperiness - it's mega!
 
A great result. Just a word of caution re bio greases. In my experience if left for prolonged amount of time I've found these greases can solidify & become a real pain to clean away or remove. Just don't let it sit in your forks for years on end.
My usual (free from work degreaser) doesn't even touch the stuff when hardened.
 
A great result. Just a word of caution re bio greases. In my experience if left for prolonged amount of time I've found these greases can solidify & become a real pain to clean away or remove. Just don't let it sit in your forks for years on end.
My usual (free from work degreaser) doesn't even touch the stuff when hardened.
cheers for the heads up - i've seen some old Shimano and Raleigh greases turn to wax after 20-25yrs but not with any others but i'll keep my eyes on it. TBH this grease is really wierd stuff, resembles food more than grease (however i'm not gonna eat it haha)... i've noticed it does separate out in the tub if left a while - you get a little puddle of oil in the middle of it.
 
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