Some people say that if you have €100 to spend on your bike, then spend €99 of it on suspension. I’m not sure I agree with the 99:1 ratio, but definitely 50:50 .. your suspension is the most important part of your bike IMO.
Like all aspects of your bike, if you look after it, it will look after you. We can’t completely eliminate the chances of a failure happening, but we can lessen the risks by employing a little preventative maintenance. If you want to keep that smooth plush feeling as you cross difficult terrain, then it’s important that you clean and re-grease your swingarm and shock / linkage bearings regularly.
As a general rule of thumb, if you ignore your bearings, then after a year or so, maybe 18 months, you’ll find that they’re seized and require replacing. If you spend 30 mins every 4 – 6 months cleaning and re-greasing them, they’ll last you years.
Sidenote – if you’ve ever had to change seized bearings, then you know it’s worth taking the effort to clean and grease them.
