Oil versus Air forks

[ulladulla]

Hi,

I am New to mountain bike riding and recently purchased a Yukon SX. ?? (it was on sale...perhaps a sign) After riding 3 times, the cap for the lockout, on the right fork,fell off - on an extremly tame fire trail...??

Took bike to where purchased from, and they said it will be taken care of - fixed etc... However a week later, they apparently also found a problem with the entire fork!!

I was given a choice of replacing the forks, until the identical forks came in - another 2 weeks, and then they would put original forks back on.

OR - they would replace the forks with air forks, and the lockout is on the fork.. rather than on the handlebar..

Sorry bit vague on detail, with brands etc... however does this sound a fair deal? and what is the differnece between oil and air... (Have read alot about coil and air....not much on oil and air...!) ... or perhaps I off on a tangent here....!
Any advice - comments grateful!!

I have googled, and searched high and low for an answer. Please point me to the right direction to another post if you know where it is....... however I couldnt find any previous posts.....

Thanks.....:confused:

[terry_toughnuts]

Ok so all forks use oil to some degree. The oil is there to either lubricate the stanchion or to provide damping (oil gives resistance to a piston as it passes through it)

The air you are referring to is what used as the spring for the fork. Generally fork can have two types of springs, either a metal coil spring or an pressurized air cartridge. Generally the air cartridge is a better option due to it being lighter and can be adjusted easily with a shock pump. The advantages of using coils are the forks cheaper than its air counterpart and needs less maintenance.

I'm guessing you current have a coil sprung fork and the local bike shop (LBS) is offering to upgrade to an air fork. Without knowing the exact forks you’re upgrading from and to its hard to tell with certainty if you’re doing the right thing. Generally though, an air fork is a better more expensive fork than its coil counterpart.

Hope that helps.

[ulladulla]

Great thank you...

I have a feeling the forks areMarzocchi ?? and all I know is they are white...

So guess I had a coil fork - did talk to some people - who didnt think coil
existed anymore???? hard to get good advice.. So should change the title of this thread...

Will let you know exactly what the change is.!! and the problem, if they know?
I trust the guy at the bike shop, I am pretty sure he is not ripping me off - and is looking after me with good customer service..

thanks for the comments.

[AngoXC]

Ok so all forks use oil to some degree. The oil is there to either lubricate the stanchion or to provide damping (oil gives resistance to a piston as it passes through it)

The air you are referring to is what used as the spring for the fork. Generally fork can have two types of springs, either a metal coil spring or an pressurized air cartridge. Generally the air cartridge is a better option due to it being lighter and can be adjusted easily with a shock pump. The advantages of using coils are the forks cheaper than its air counterpart and needs less maintenance.

I'm guessing you current have a coil sprung fork and the local bike shop (LBS) is offering to upgrade to an air fork. Without knowing the exact forks you’re upgrading from and to its hard to tell with certainty if you’re doing the right thing. Generally though, an air fork is a better more expensive fork than its coil counterpart.

Hope that helps.

Possibly the best description I have read yet!

The Yukons has Rock Shox Tora Coil fork so my guess would be that they would be hooking you up with an air equivalent of the same fork.

Yes, coil still exists. It provides a much plusher ride compared with their air counterparts though with that in mind, air technology is catching up. I run coil forks in both my bikes and there are still a handful of coil forks still on the market. But with air, you are getting a lighter, more tunable package which makes it better in the long run.

[ulladulla]

Thanks for all the assistance.

I got my bike back today..forks replaced with Rock Shox Recon Tora - air forks....

Havent had a chance to test them out yet.. however looking forward to it this weekend....if it is not snowing..!!?

[stingray5]

I've got Marzocchi forks. a couple of weeks ago I lost the cap on the ETA (travel adjustment) on a nice tame fire trail. Spent an hour looking for it! If you find anywhere you can get replacements, let me know!!

[nigelh]

I have tora forks on my bike and they have been great. Last time they were serviced the travel was increased from 100 to 130mm by removing an internal spacer. This may be an option for you in the future.