Lower Leg Service Questions (Lyrik)

1) SRAM says I should do the lower legs on my Lyrik Ultimate every 50 hours. I’m going to start doing it myself. I like to tinker. How often do you do the lower legs on your fork (especially if you ride through the winter)? And are there any downsides, other than time and cost of oil and maybe foam rings, of servicing the lowers at intervals shorter than 50 hours?

2) Has anyone used WPL suspension oil instead of the Rockshox branded stuff? I like that it is local, they have free shipping on orders over $60 and that it is biodegradable. Those things won’t convince me to use it over the Rockshox stuff if actual performance of the WPL stuff is inferior though. Thoughts?

1, Download Pro Bike Garage and sync it with your strava. It automatically tracks your service intervals and tells you when they are due.

2, I am a maintenance fanatic and do mine every 100h

3, I have not tried WPL products. I use only OEM spec oils or high-end motocross suspension oils. Maxima, Motul, etc.

I use Bel-Ray 10wt motorcycle suspension oil to lubricate my Rockshox forks. Just happened to fall to hand at my local moto shop. I typically service the lowers every 6 months. That's longer than the advised interval. Although I don't track hours of riding precisely. I do have fenders on all my bikes and I don't wash them with a hose. When I open them up they are relatively clean inside and still have lubrication so I don't feel too bad. If I am riding a particular bike a lot and/or in harsh conditions I'll do an extra service.

Other than damaging the fork by being ham-fisted during the service I can't see a downside to servicing the lowers more often.

*I'm not a mechanic, I'm barely qualified to work on my own bike*

I space my intervals dependant on the weather, sometimes it's under 50 hours. After a particularly muddy ride I start getting itchy to clean it out.

No personal experience with alternatives, I've only used the RS oil. I've heard a laundry list of all kinds of oils people have used in their lower legs successfully though. Grease selection is more important I'd venture.

_____________________________

There were a couple of other threads on the procedure if you were interested:

Here's a usable vid and some notes for the lower leg service:

https://youtu.be/F0ji4sGcCrE

__________________________

PREP

•Need a good quality syringe (rubber sealed plunger) for putting in oil. Small diameter hose.

•‎Not necessary to remove fork or clamp bike in stand. *Hang by saddle when removing lowers, flip bike over when putting in oil.*

•Remove brake caliper and secure it as far away as possible. Small amounts of oil can get everywhere.

•‎Wear glasses, oil can sometimes spray out under residual pressure. Even with valve core removed.

______________________________

REMOVAL

•‎Do not remove any bolts completely at first. Unthread a bit then tap both bottom bolts. (Gently, with a plastic hammer). 

•‎Clean inside of lowers with dowel and rag, there's dirt in there. Special attention to channel behind foam rings. Take some time.

•‎Replace old foam rings with new ones. They're cheap. Old rings swelled on me when cleaned and tend to not reinstall perfectly.

(YMMV. Rockshox foam rings are available in bulk and cost less than <$2 a change. Fox rings come in a $30 kit, so maybe try and make do with alcohol on those gold nuggets).

__________________________________

REASSEMBLY

•Reassemby checklist: Travel indicator O ring on stanchion, foam rings installed, Slick Honey on seal.

Remove seal springs, slide lowers on, reinstall springs. Sometimes it's a faff, sometimes they pop right on.

•‎Slide lowers all the way on, then back 1 cm to leave space for oil.

•‎10ml 0W30 each side. (Or whatever your fork specific requires). This bit gives me the most trouble for some reason, sliding it up and down bit helps. In the end all of the oil needs to be in the leg.

•‎Don't fully compress (till bottom out) fork before reinstalling bolts.

•‎Torque bolts to 7.3Nm.

This is all super helpful. Thanks.

I have the same fork, and do the service once or twice a season. Depends on how much and in what conditions you ride. Its a very easy procedure, and much easier to do if you remove the fork from the bike. I use synthetic 0W30 motor oil for the lowers. It is only splash (lubricating) oil, so does not need any special damping properties like you would use in the charger. Ive been servicing all my forks using this oil for the past 10+ years with no issues.  If you have new foam rings, you can replace them. I have also had good success with isoprpanol cleaning and re-installation of the current ones if they arent too dirty.

Posted by: Hepcat

*I'm not a mechanic, I'm barely qualified to work on my own bike*

I space my intervals dependant on the weather, sometimes it's under 50 hours. After a particularly muddy ride I start getting itchy to clean it out.

No personal experience with alternatives, I've only used the RS oil. I've heard a laundry list of all kinds of oils people have used in their lower legs successfully though. Grease selection is more important I'd venture.

_____________________________

There were a couple of other threads on the procedure if you were interested:

Here's a usable vid and some notes for the lower leg service:

__________________________

PREP

•Need a good quality syringe (rubber sealed plunger) for putting in oil. Small diameter hose.

•‎Not necessary to remove fork or clamp bike in stand. *Hang by saddle when removing lowers, flip bike over when putting in oil.*

•Remove brake caliper and secure it as far away as possible. Small amounts of oil can get everywhere.

•‎Wear glasses, oil can sometimes spray out under residual pressure. Even with valve core removed.

______________________________

REMOVAL

•‎Do not remove any bolts completely at first. Unthread a bit then tap both bottom bolts. (Gently, with a plastic hammer). 

•‎Clean inside of lowers with dowel and rag, there's dirt in there. Special attention to channel behind foam rings. Take some time.

•‎Replace old foam rings with new ones. They're cheap. Old rings swelled on me when cleaned and tend to not reinstall perfectly.

(YMMV. Rockshox foam rings are available in bulk and cost less than <$2 a change. Fox rings come in a $30 kit, so maybe try and make do with alcohol on those gold nuggets).

__________________________________

REASSEMBLY

•Reassemby checklist: Travel indicator O ring on stanchion, foam rings installed, Slick Honey on seal.

Remove seal springs, slide lowers on, reinstall springs. Sometimes it's a faff, sometimes they pop right on.

•‎Slide lowers all the way on, then back 1 cm to leave space for oil.

•‎10ml 0W30 each side. (Or whatever your fork specific requires). This bit gives me the most trouble for some reason, sliding it up and down bit helps. In the end all of the oil needs to be in the leg.

•‎Don't fully compress (till bottom out) fork before reinstalling bolts.

•‎Torque bolts to 7.3Nm.

Good instructions. I would recommend *not* hitting the bottom bolts directly with a hammer. Loosen the nuts a few turns, put a socket on the nut, and gently hammer on the socket. 

You don't need fork oil for the lowers since it's just for lubrication. 0W30 synthetic is a good choice.

Posted by: skooks

Good instructions. I would recommend *not* hitting the bottom bolts directly with a hammer. Loosen the nuts a few turns, put a socket on the nut, and gently hammer on the socket. 

You don't need fork oil for the lowers since it's just for lubrication. 0W30 synthetic is a good choice.

Cheers 🍻 Was hoping someone better qualified would chime in. 

One correction, PTFE dynamic seal grease is what I'm using now since ran out of Slick Honey.

Shit, just saw I'm out of oil too. Maybe I'll see if I can find some WPL, I like their products.

Yeah go for it Bushpilot it's doable and gratifying. Getting the oil to go into the fork is the only hang up I occasionally run into, not sure what that's about.

I usually pull mine 3 times a year (twice in summer and once in winter).  All above sounds good and I’ve never needed a high quality syringe.  I just use the freebies that the pharmacy gives out for kid medicine.

Posted by: JBV

i learned to DIY fork oil service this summer and i've done it twice since. i use the WPL after contacting them and they said (perhaps not surprisingly?) that this is exactly what it's for. i also have a Lyrik sooper dooper ultimate extremo. foam rings are not all that cheap! 10 bucks a set if you can find them separately. i've been going between 2 sets and think i can get them fairly clean. 

i like the advice about getting the bolts off 'gently'. i haven't figured out how to use a hammer gently and it takes a sharp blow to release the lowers from the rods IME. sharper than i originally expected. 

it's not all that hard and just takes patience and willingness to try (and a few tools, and a bike stand and work space). i think this service is $50 at the LBS so i find it cost effective.

Nice info on the WPL. RS sells bulk packs of rings too if you can find them. Whole pack is about same price as two individually packaged sets.  https://www.jensonusa.com/Rockshox-Dual-Crown-Foam-Rings-20-Pack-35X6MM-PikeLyrik-B1YARIBOXXERDOMAIN

Posted by: heathen

1, Download Pro Bike Garage and sync it with your strava. It automatically tracks your service intervals and tells you when they are due.

This is amazing! Thanks.

I use Lucas Synthetic Fork Oil. It’s $7 at Lordco for a 16 oz (473 mL) bottle. I’ve never had any problems with it. I do my lowers once or twice a year depending on the bike and how much I’m riding.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: heathen

1, Download Pro Bike Garage and sync it with your strava. It automatically tracks your service intervals and tells you when they are due.

This is amazing! Thanks.

Delete strava, then go back to manual logging.

Posted by: Hepcat

Nice info on the WPL. RS sells bulk packs of rings too if you can find them. Whole pack is about same price as two individually packaged sets.  https://www.jensonusa.com/Rockshox-Dual-Crown-Foam-Rings-20-Pack-35X6MM-PikeLyrik-B1YARIBOXXERDOMAIN

I tried to buy those rings a while back, but Jenson won't ship any SRAM products to Canada. :-(