Bicycle Mechanics - Rock Shox questions

So I bought a Schwinn used with Rock Shox and they seem grabby and not very smooth. I'm getting my bike ready for summer and am wondering what to do about the shocks. They sort of clunk over bumps rather than acting like a shock absorber.


Question: Do you have to rebuild them every once in a while or can they be adjusted?

Thanks

Is that something I could do or should I take it to a shop?

You need to determine what model Rock Shox fork you have, then go to rockshox.com to see if they have a service manual .pdf posted for it.

You might be able to overhaul it yourself, depending on your mechanical abilities.

I'm not an expert on shocks, but the ones that have the rubber concordian covers instead of the prefered dirt "squeegie" (or whatever you call the barrier) don't do well long-term from my experience. The Rock Shox that came on my Garry Fisher Marlin did something like what you're discribing after a year and a half. Once that started, it got worse and eventually locked up completely. I bought a Manitu Axel from Nashbar for only $100 and it's been so much better.

Again, I'm not an expert, but you might want to consider upgrading to something nice.

http://www.angryasian.com/

Check that site out, has tons of infor on rebuilding shocks.

So I bought a Schwinn used with Rock Shox and they seem grabby and not very smooth. I'm getting my bike ready for summer and am wondering what to do about the shocks. They sort of clunk over bumps rather than acting like a shock absorber.


Question: Do you have to rebuild them every once in a while or can they be adjusted?

Thanks


The low end rock shox that have no oil damping such as the later Judy simply work that way. They use the seals friction as dampining. Feels like clunking. The GT I have fork performance is gimmicky bad.

Depending on how old the fork is also makes a big difference as older rochshox forks 4+ years are harder to get parts for.

My Shox say Judy XC cartridge system on them. I couldn't find a model number.

Are these adjustable by any chance?