All second-hand forks are overpriced and, therefore, all second-hand bikes are overpriced as well. It is your money. Do not rip yourself off.
If it seems like I never stop talking about buyer beware, the things that are wrong with your bike (or any used bike), and being a good bicycle expert when your friends’ are looking to buy used, it is for a good reason. I am genuinely empathetic to folks who end up buying used slag thinking they are getting a good deal on a mountain bike.
I love seeing folks getting into mountain biking. I hate seeing adults in tears after essentially lighting a huge stack of their hard-earned cash on fire. I have actually found myself in the sobbing embrace of more than one purchaser of a cracked bicycle frame, never mind all the bikes with destroyed forks, shocks, and wheels, worn out brake rotors, and seized bearings.
Today, I am specifically focusing on forks. If it is helpful I may do a piece on rear shocks in the future.
Step #1: The Basic Research
I cannot speak for every suspension service business but in my experience working with SuspensionWerx, we would much rather receive a quick e-mail asking “do you service this fork I am thinking of purchasing?” than have to break your heart explaining post-purchase why that legacy-Marzocchi or anything made by BOS, etc is destined for the recycling bin.
Looking at a used bike with a pre-Fox Marzocchi or BOS suspension product? First, determine that they can be easily replaced – i.e. not a 1-1/8″ steerer-only situation – then work out a minimum replacement price for new entry-level suspension products and then offer the seller a price based on the fact those suspension products will absolutely need to be replaced. A good-enough replacement suspension fork is going to run around $700 for a fresh Yari RC so that is a solid starting point for negotiations.
The person selling this bike, or fork, either does not know that the suspension is not serviceable, in which case you are doing them a favour letting them know, or they are looking for a sucker in which case that should not be you. One of the most disheartening examples of ‘who is the asshole?‘ is when I get an inquiry about servicing the suspension on a bike and then get the same inquiry a few weeks later from the new owner of the same dumpster fire.
Step #2: The Physical Checkover
Alright, so Fluid Function has confirmed they will service that Totem, or SmithTech has confirmed they will service that Sherman, or SWerx has confirmed they will service that TALAS, and now it is time to physically make certain that the specific fork is not a piece of sh*t. This is not necessarily easier with a fork-only sale, depending on your access to tools, but either way, you need to move way beyond handing over an envelope of cash and the seller handing you a bike or fork.
First, an in-depth eyeballing is in order. In addition to an overview consider these three key points:
- Stanchions: check for discolouration at the seals or any vertical wear marks. These are signs of poor routine maintenance and probably indicate that bushings will need to be replaced – if they are replaceable.
- Drop-Outs: pull the axle and check carefully for pitting or flaking of the drop-outs. Fork lowers are magnesium and that porosity is asking for an expensive service replacing lowers or a preventable accident.
- Steerer Tube: pull the fork out of the bike – this is also a great chance to check that the forks disc brake posts still have all their threads – and check the steerer tube for corrosion. I have seen more than a few forks where the aluminum steerer tube was rotting in the headtube.
Next up, it is time to test for creaking. Creaking crown steerer units (CSUs) on single crown forks are a huge issue to watch for and going back to that $700 Yari RC, replacing a CSU on most forks will run you at least half the price of the Yari just in the parts.
With the fork on or off the bike, with the wheel and axle removed, the first test is to squeeze the fork legs together. If it clicks then there is most likely cryo-creak in the stanchion-crown interface. This does not have the injurious potential of a creaking steerer tube but in addition to being annoying, if it gets worse at some point it will not be serviceable – for liability reasons – without replacing the CSU.
No clicking? Great. Next, we have to check the steerer tube to crown interface. The easiest first test with a fork installed on the bike is just to grab the front brake and push-about on the handlebar. If the seller says anything like “I am pretty sure that is just the headset” then take absolutely anything they say about the bike with a salad-spoon of salt because they are either ignorant or a snake. I mean, occasionally it is the headset but that would have been a very easy fix before selling the bike.
The best practice here is to clamp the fork, in a steerer tube block or maybe an old stem, in a vice and give it a twist but an imaginative complete-bike buyer will be able to come up with a way to make a fork click or creak. Smart suspension service places will not touch a fork with a creaking steerer tube as the potential failure mode is fairly horrendous, and also liability.
Step #3: The Advanced Research
Alright, the fork does not creak yet so the only question remaining is what level of support still exists for it. Can you buy a new CSU if it starts creaking? What about an air system if it wears out? Or a coil spring guide. Outside of a couple of years, there is no guarantee that a company is still supporting a suspension product if something is wrong under the hood.
Remember, a used fork has no transferable warranty or crash-replacement so if this unit has an issue that cannot be fixed you are starting again at the $700 Yari. A quick Google search will illuminate any substantial issues – for example, the dearth of parts for TALAS forks and the cost of updating to retro air systems – but again if you have doubts then touching base with whichever shop is going to service the fork is a great idea.
Unless if you are being presented with a receipt for a recent full service of the fork the first thing you are going to want to do to protect your new-to-you investment in offroad bicycle fun is get the fork, and shock if applicable, serviced. Do note that “I get my bike tuned up every year at my local shop” does not mean the same thing as “my suspension gets a full service, including the dampers, every year.”
Step #4: The Negotiation
Buying a complete bike? You have covered your three steps for the fork (and shock) and it is quality stuff that is still supported. It is going to run you about $400 to have a 100hr/yearly service done on the fork and shock and unless if the seller has receipts showing that work has recently been complete you are going to want to spend that money right upfront.
The bike probably also needs brake bleeds, front & rear, and if it also needs pads and rotors that is another $200 you can pull off the sale price. How do the cassette, chain, and tires look? Even if the tires are good do not forget they probably have a case of Schroedinger’s tire sealant. Most used bikes – even from recent model years – are worth at least $600 less than the seller’s base price.
Buying the fork on its own? Never forget that you can ride any trail, anywhere, throwing 700 Canuck-bucks down on a Yari RC. Does it feel as sophisticated as a Lyirk Ultimate, Fox RC2, Ohlins 36 RXF, DVO Onyx SC, Manitou Mezzer, and etc? No, no it does not. But compared to used slag it is a World Cup-level DH fork with an excellent chassis and a full manufacturer’s warranty.
Contrary to things I have heard said, the seller owning a pile of high-end bikes, or being a pro rider, or an industry hack, or a brand ambassador, or bike mechanic themselves, does not create any additional value. The fork is solid or it is not, and it has been serviced, or it has not. And if it has not been very recently serviced just knock $200 off the sale price right now. Put another way, a $500 used fork and a $200 service buys you a brand new Yari.
It is your hard-earned cash. It is entirely okay to be an ‘asshole’ and lead with: “I can buy a pretty excellent fork, brand new, for $700.”