Shock service near northern NJ?

racerxnyc

New Member
I have 2020 Giant Trance 3 with RockShox front/rear.

Unfortunately the local shop where I bought my bike doesn't sell a lot of MTB's, so they don't do shock service in-house (they send it out someplace).

Q1) Does anyone know any NJ shops that do in-house shock maintenance service? (I live in the northeast / hudson county)

Q2) The 2020 RockShox PDF manual calls for:
35 Fork: every 50 hours / lower leg service
Deluxe Select Rear Shock: every 50 hours / air can service
I mostly ride gravel/dirt trails with some rocks / roots here and there, but I don't do all-day sessions climbing & descending thru rock gardens.
How seriously should I be about doing that service every 50 hours?
I'm thinking since I do mostly 'easy' riding, I can extend it to every 100 hours? 150 hours?

Thanks

MY20Trance3_ColorB.jpg
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Others should be able to chime in with shop recommendations in that area, but most decent shops that sell mountain bikes will be capable of doing suspension service. There's also the option of doing the service yourself if you're someone who is inclined to work on your own stuff. Fork lower leg service and shock air can service are both fairly straightforward with not a lot of tools required.

There's also this shop which is a NYC based suspension service place:

 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Wyckoff does lower leg and air can service.
Both are not too difficult to do if inclined to go DIY.

Personally... 50hr is too much
I opened mine up after a year and it was still fairly clean.
 

goldsbar

Well-Known Member
How seriously should I be about doing that service every 50 hours?
50 hours is a little crazy. There are plenty of people that ride their MTBs 10 hours a week on this board. Doubt they're doing a service every five weeks. For your style of riding, once/year sounds fine. I have 1,500 nearly all off-road miles on one bike that I've never serviced. That's far above 50 hours. I'm sure the fork would be significantly better if I serviced it, but it still functions fine.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i do the annual service every year (well duh) but that is also listed as 120hr service, last year i was WAY over 120hr on the service (more like 2k miles, probalby double :O) by that point. as for the in between service, i dont worry too much about it
 

a.s.

Mr. Chainring
I do my suspension once a year at about 150 hours. Definitely don’t need to do it sooner than that unless you ride in wet/muddy conditions. Piermont Cycles in NY will definitely be able to help you. Tenafly Bicycle Workshop in NJ is also a great shop that can service your suspension.
 

trener1

Well-Known Member
I am wondering if anyone has used the Gearwork guy that @eabarker posted above? my fork is in a bad way and needs some service.
I live in Brooklyn so none of the shops near me do any suspension work
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I am wondering if anyone has used the Gearwork guy that @eabarker posted above? my fork is in a bad way and needs some service.
I live in Brooklyn so none of the shops near me do any suspension work
I keep seeing sponsored IG posts from them... They're on Long Island, so easy enough for you to physically get to instead of shipping, if you prefer.
I have not used them....
 

Id_rather_be_skiing

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
I am wondering if anyone has used the Gearwork guy that @eabarker posted above? my fork is in a bad way and needs some service.
I live in Brooklyn so none of the shops near me do any suspension work
I have ridden with him a few times at creek. He is a good guy, 1 day turn around. Havnt heard anything negative about his work
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
What suspension are you looking to have serviced? Fox is currently showing 30+ days for service. Being a local rider, it would be pretty hard to hide if he was doing terrible work...I wouldn't have any reservations about using them.
 

trener1

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys.
So I found a (fairly) local shop that will do it.
The shops price is half of what that guy charges, I am leaning towards the shop.
Can his service be worth double?
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys.
So I found a (fairly) local shop that will do it.
The shops price is half of what that guy charges, I am leaning towards the shop.
Can his service be worth double?

What are you specifically having done? Gearwork looks like $100 for fork lowers service and $175-$185 for full service including damper. I wouldn't trust someone that would do either of those for half price. Just the parts cost for the lowers service is going to be like $40. My guess is that you're not comparing equivalent work. Similar story for shock service.
 
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trener1

Well-Known Member
@ebarker I am not even sure, just whatever is required for maintenance, I haven't touched the fork (and shock) since I bought my bike.
So new seals/wipers etc... I called the shop and they said that they brake the fork down clean and replace them for $85, and the shock $65.

Turnaround is 1 week, so a bit slower then Gearworks but not bad, the owner of the shop is a mountainbiker so I kind of trust them (I think).
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
That makes sense. So they're just talking about the basic seal/wiper/air can service. So for the fork is $85 vs $100 and $65 vs $100 for the shock. Anyone can do those types of services. I guess one of the advantages with going with an experienced suspension place is that they'd be better able to do the damper service if they open it up and find that it's necessary based on condition.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i just did the full service on my rockshox pike, including the damper, not hard if you take your time and follow the instructions. Just saying. . . .
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Pike 100hr kit is expensive... $80?

idk i did the 200hr service, kit was $65(then the fluids were like $15 more, but you get several sevices out of them, and you can find em cheaper if you look around)
 

jvrock

Active Member
I am wondering if anyone has used the Gearwork guy that @eabarker posted above? my fork is in a bad way and needs some service.
I live in Brooklyn so none of the shops near me do any suspension work
I've used him. Guy's name is Erik. Full service including damper for $175 for a Fox Factory 36. You pay to ship to him, he ships back free. I sent it to him on a Friday and had it back in my hands by Tuesday. Great service and the fork feels brand new.
 
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