Air Pressure in forks?

hey, you doods. When I changed the fork seals, it said to air up my front shocks to 0-6psi. Is that hot, cold, somewhere between?

and how do you "air it up" to 0psi?

 

You have to blow into the end of them before you put them on:biggrin:

 

.....:tongue:.....

 

Progressive makes a hand pump and you can buy a low range gauge, but you shouldn't really need air in your forks. If you choose to add air, you shouldn't use a compressor unless you can regulate it way down and just touch the schrader for a fraction of a second.

 

I did that :tongue:



thanks for the info longerfellow

 

the actual volume of air small, and temp doesn't factor in.
unless you're a heavyweigt ,riding with luggage or a passenger you probably don't need air.....
it's not practical anyway unless you have a small pump and accurate low pressure gauge.

a hand operated bicycle pump can be used, but air will be lost getting it off filler valve......

 

I'm a fatty...240 pounds...

but I'm going to upgrade my springs to a .9 kg/mm here in the spring...

guess I'll just leave the air pressure alone.

 

Hand pump only when adjusting air in your forks. Compressors are definately not a good idea due to a myriad of potential problems. Just a couple that come to mind - potentially blown fork seals from over pressurization and condensation/moisture from the compressor operation contaminating the oil.. Remember that air expands when it gets hot, doesn't mix well with oil and provides inconsistent dampening :wink:. Component adjusters, dampening rates, shim stacks, oil weight, spring rates and preload are all things that can be toyed with that offer advantages over air. Just my $.02..........

 

welllllllllll, at 240# i think some air would definately be good to try!

i don't use air pressure, but when i've tried it the ride changes very noticabaly

 

Stiffer springs and change to a heavier weight fluid, but no air pressure and that should take care of it. Seals will last longer that way.

 

Yep, what he said ^