Mountain Biking - fork boots?

Being new to mtn. biking I have a question. MY 2003 Tassajara did not come with fork boots, and so far most of the riding has been on bicycle paths and slightly off road. When I start going through the really muddy stuff, do you recommend that I put on fork boots to protect the seals from grit etc. from getting through to the internal seals, or are the boots unneccessary??? The bike came with the new Rock Shox Pilot xc......Thanx

The fork does have boots, they just don't cover the entire sliders. It wouldn't hurt to put some Lizard Skins fork boots on.

Guys, maybe I'm off-side here, but I read somewhere that fork boots are fitted to low-end products as a ploy used by manufacturers to conceal the 'low' quality of those forks? I guess the writer was being cynical perhaps, but I started to look at cheaper bikes and complared to more expensive models, the cheaper ones invariably have boots fitted. Opinions?

Originally posted by Bokkie
Guys, maybe I'm off-side here, but I read somewhere that fork boots are fitted to low-end products as a ploy used by manufacturers to conceal the 'low' quality of those forks? I guess the writer was being cynical perhaps, but I started to look at cheaper bikes and complared to more expensive models, the cheaper ones invariably have boots fitted. Opinions?

While that may be the case, I think it's more that the full-sized boots are just not in vogue anymore. My '98 SID came with (and still sports!) full-sized boots. :)

While that may be the case, I think it's more that the full-sized boots are just not in vogue anymore. My '98 SID came with

I'm sure not knocking the SID. I saw an ad in a US magazine that had the new SID World Cup fork (carbon fibre?, in a sexy green colour) with lock-out. It looks like it is a beautiful shock indeed. You would not want boots on something as special as that, eh? You just want to show the world what you have.
:)

All of the cheaper forks use boots because the seals aren't as good as the high end forks, so this protects them from dust and dirt. I believe the SIDs have "XXX" seals which are good enough to not require boots. You can always add fork boots for extra protection, but I think most people prefer not to because it looks better without. :)

If your fork came without boots, you probably don't need them. But it might be a good idea to put some on anyway- could help the fork last longer and save you some trouble down the road.

Thanks people,...Think I'll just do without em'.