Ask the experts

[Dantheman]

Use whatever oil you want in your forks, but if you ask for advice and get it, arguing with those who offer it might not be the best way to get them to answer your questions in the future.

Oil threads are notorious for ballooning into monstrosities on moto sites. Let's not let that happen here.

I'm just 1) trying to understand what the actual product that is spec'ed is and why; and 2) trying to avoid paying an exorbitant price for something that is actually just a rebranded common product that is available in a more generic form for pennies on the dollar, which seems to be a common thing in MTB suspension.

Plus, I learned something. I'm not a moto guy and had no idea motos use one common oil volume for the motor, tranny and clutch. That's kinda cool.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeti switch infinity grease fittings.....wtf.

Cannot get grease into them. Have taken them out and cleaned etc. WTF aren't these just regular zerks?

[evasive_MT]

I would imagine motor oil has all kinds of shit in it that you wouldn't want in your fork. Or is it just gasoline that has cleaners and stabilizers and stuff?

Gasoline is a petroleum distillate. It’s all volatile compounds, largely benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). Motor oil is a lot heavier. Some “raw” petroleum was basically motor oil- like the first stuff pumped out of Pennsylvania. Now it has to be refined from crude. Such is my limited understanding as a non-oil-industry geologist.

[Beaver]

Use whatever oil you want in your forks, but if you ask for advice and get it, arguing with those who offer it might not be the best way to get them to answer your questions in the future.

Oil threads are notorious for ballooning into monstrosities on moto sites. Let's not let that happen here.

We can't move on to shock oil, I still haven't hot waxed my chain.

[EWG]

We can't move on to shock oil, I still haven't hot waxed my chain.

Shock queso?

[jm2e]

I'm just 1) trying to understand what the actual product that is spec'ed is and why; and.

I suspect the answer you’re looking for is; No, it’s not that big a deal. It’s not like brake fluid where you’ll ruin everything if you use the wrong thing. More likely, it’ll change the action by 3-4%. People switch oil all the time to affect tuning. Think cold weather vs hot weather.


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[toast2266]

If it's just the oil floating around in the lowers, it's there to keep things lubed up and that's it. Any shock oil is realistically gonna be fine. Somewhat heavier weights will be a bit better because the oil won't all just immediately settle at the bottom, although once you're riding that probably doesn't even matter.

Motor oil potentially has chemicals / solvents in it that could eat at your seals. This is gonna vary from oil to oil. Although if manitou is recommending motor oil, that would mean they either 1) have spec'd seals that work with motor oil, or 2) the specific motor oil they're recommending doesn't have problematic chemicals in it. Tough to say.

If it were me, I'd dump in a little bit of whatever the heaviest suspension oil I had lying around and call it good.

[Roxtar]

The only caveat I'd add was touched on slightly but should be stressed. Some dampers are not fully sealed. The Grip 2 Foxes, for instance.
You have to use the PFTE infused Fox oil in the damper side lowers.

[XXX-er]

forks all look pretty fucking expensive to me, i would use the right stuff

[cydwhit]

Crank recommendations?

Been fine with the stock GX alloy cranks on my last five bikes, but am open to other recs if there's a better bang for my buck I'm not aware of.

[HAB]

Crank recommendations?

Been fine with the stock GX alloy cranks on my last five bikes, but am open to other recs if there's a better bang for my buck I'm not aware of.

Only real downside to GX is that your options are limited for a Shimano 12 speed compatible chainring if you want to go that route later. I think Wolftooth and probably some other companies do make them, but they're harder to find and spendy.

Race Face Turbine is solid, and a lot more flexible in terms of chainring types and spindle options if you want to put them on a superboost bike or fat bike or whatever, but also a little more expensive than GX. Up to you whether that flexibility is worth much.

[jackstraw]

Crank recommendations?

Been fine with the stock GX alloy cranks on my last five bikes, but am open to other recs if there's a better bang for my buck I'm not aware of.

I ordered something from Jenson and they sent me the new mag called Beta. So flipping thru it they listed the best drivetrain value pieces...in their opinion. The Sram GX cranks were listed as the best bang for the buck. They listed Shimano separately, so it wasn't a Sram vs Shimano deal. They listed the best value for both brands.

It's a magazine, so take it for what its worth.

[RootSkier]

I'm finding myself in between gears a lot with the new bike. Just some quick use of the calculator and 30 51 is lower than the 22 36 low gear on my hardtail.
Do I just need to get used to the new gearing and wider range cassette? I really feel like I could use a tooth or 2 on the crank. 32 51 is not quite as low as 22 36, but it's lower than the 24 36 that a lot of people ran in 2x.
I'm pretty sure I need the 32, especially if I get faster tires, but the question is: round or oval? And why?

I would definitely wait until you do some extended climbing before you switch to a bigger chainring. I can think of one place around here (within 2 hours) that I have ever felt like I wanted a bigger chainring descending, and that is on the road out of Warm Springs down by Lost Trail.

[toast2266]

I would definitely wait until you do some extended climbing before you switch to a bigger chainring. I can think of one place around here (within 2 hours) that I have ever felt like I wanted a bigger chainring descending, and that is on the road out of Warm Springs down by Lost Trail.

Agreed with this. I can't think of anything in Missoula where a 30 x 51 would be maxed out, aside from maybe riding road back to town from the Rattlesnake. I can, however, think of plenty of climbs where a 30 x 51 would be nice (up sheep, for example).

[HankScorpio]

Only real downside to GX is that your options are limited for a Shimano 12 speed compatible chainring if you want to go that route later. I think Wolftooth and probably some other companies do make them, but they're harder to find and spendy.

Race Face Turbine is solid, and a lot more flexible in terms of chainring types and spindle options if you want to put them on a superboost bike or fat bike or whatever, but also a little more expensive than GX. Up to you whether that flexibility is worth much.

x2 on the RF Turbines cranks. I run them on 2 bikes and they just work - straightforward installation and I never have to worry about them coming loose.

[Roxtar]

Anyone running a hotdog roller in their shop? Seems more practical than cheese fondue.

[SchralphMacchio]

Turbines are also some of the lightest alloy cranks out there ... I looked into carbon at one point and decided to stick with my Turbines. But I’m also a light mofo who doesn’t destroy gear ...

[Sandbox]

Yeti switch infinity grease fittings.....wtf.

Cannot get grease into them. Have taken them out and cleaned etc. WTF aren't these just regular zerks?

I’d ask Yeti, wouldn’t surprise me if it was something slightly different. But good reminder that I should grease up my bearings as well


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[XXX-er]

Zerks were used in the front ends of cars back in the day before the front ends were all sealed,

Switch infinity does not use zerks

i borrow a grease gun with a pointy nozzle from the yeti shop bro, I do it once a year

https://www.parktool.com/product/grease-gun-gg-1

this one^^ i think, I used to have one for greasing the clutches on typewriters but can't find it

I could probably use the grease gun tip I got for greasing a manitou exvert

[Roxtar]

Zerks were used in the front ends of cars back in the day before the front ends were all sealed,

Switch infinity does not use zerks

i borrow a grease gun with a pointy nozzle from the yeti shop bro, I do it once a year

https://www.parktool.com/product/grease-gun-gg-1

this one^^ i think, I used to have one for greasing the clutches on typewriters but can't find it

I could probably use the grease gun tip I got for greasing a manitou exvert

Any auto parts dealer will have that grease gun.

[XXX-er]

not really a common grease gun in and auto store, i pulled up 28 grease guns and 1 needle nose adapter for your gun, i just borrow the Park gun from the yeti guy once a year

[Roxtar]

I got that exact Park one (minus the logo) and the tip adapter from Autozone.

[HankScorpio]

I had RF carbon cranks on for about a month before they developed play in on one side. Right back to Turbines after that.


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[Dantheman]

In my never-ending quest to be a moron, I realized I forgot that I know the guy at Manitou that writes their service manuals. For any Manitou owners reading this thread, I can confirm that Manitou semi bath oil is indeed the exact same Motorex motorcycle engine oil I linked to yesterday.

[Boissal]

Bash guards. Seems like the weight penalty is essentially non existent and I don't see the downside. I've been riding a lot of techy uphill this season and I'm trying to be more playful and adopt a climb-on-and-jump-off-everything style of riding instead of hauling ass. The big squishy bike seems to have a dangerously low BB at times and I'd not super keen on mangling chain rings. I took a couple of solid hits already and am wondering if I wouldn't be better off having something to glide on.
Anyone running one on a trail bike? What's good what's bad?