How often should I do a lower-leg service on my fork?

Roughly every 50 ride hours for most brands (FOX, RockShox, Öhlins, EXT). It's a cheap 30-minute job (fresh bath oil and clean foam rings) that protects the expensive parts: bushings and stanchion coating.

What is the difference between a lowers service and a full service?

A lowers (lower-leg) service replaces splash oil and cleans foam rings without opening the damper. A full service also rebuilds the damper and air spring with new seals and oil, typically every 100–200 hours or annually, and it usually requires brand-specific tools or a service center.

Suspension

Fork service intervals, by brand

Q: Does a lowers service reset the full-service clock?

No. They are independent clocks. Doing lowers at 50 hours does not extend the damper interval, a common reason forks feel worse in year two. Track both separately.

Two clocks run inside every fork: a cheap, frequent one (lower legs) and an expensive, rare one (damper and air spring). Mixing them up is how a flagship fork gets ruined by a cheap oil change that never happened.

The two services, explained

Lower-leg service (~50 ride hours)

Drop the lowers, clean the foam rings, fresh splash oil, new dust-wiper grease. No damper opened, ~30 minutes with basic tools. This is the interval most riders blow past, and it's the one that protects bushings and the stanchion coating.

Full service (100–200 hours or annually)

Damper rebuild and air-spring reseal: all seals, all oil, factory-spec bleed. Needs brand-specific tooling, so most riders send the fork (or just the damper) to a service center once a season.

Manufacturer intervals

Brand	Lower legs	Full service	Notes
FOX	50 h	125 h / 1 yr	Same schedule across 32–40; Factory/Performance identical internals schedule.
RockShox	50 h	100–200 h	Damper/spring interval varies by model (Charger ~200 h); check the service manual for yours.
Öhlins	50 h	100 h / 1 yr	RXF & DH38: air spring service tracked with lowers.
Marzocchi	75 h	125 h / 1 yr	Deliberately relaxed schedule; shares FOX internals.
DVO	50–75 h	100–150 h	Bladder dampers tolerate neglect poorly; don't stretch the full service.
Cane Creek	50 h	100 h / 1 yr	Helm: air spring reseal recommended with full service.
Manitou	50 h	100–200 h	Semi-bath design keeps lowers happier between services.
EXT	50 h	100 h / 1 yr	Era: factory service only for the damper cartridge.

Conditions move these numbers. Bike park laps, mud, dust and pressure-washing all shorten intervals; some manufacturers say by half. A season in the Alps is not a season in Arizona. Your model's service manual is the authority; this table reflects published guidance for average trail use.

Why nobody actually hits 50 hours

Because nobody counts. Fifty ride hours is ~25 typical weekend rides: roughly every 3–4 months for a regular rider, every 5 weeks for a park rat. Calendar reminders fail because they don't know whether you rode. The fix is counting real ride hours: a logbook, or an app that pulls moving time from Strava or a Bosch eBike and runs the lowers clock and the full-service clock independently, so servicing one never silently "resets" the other.

FAQ

Does a lowers service reset the full-service clock?

No. Independent clocks. This is the most common tracking mistake and the reason forks feel worse in their second year despite "being serviced".

Can I do a lowers service myself?

Yes: basic tools, a torque wrench, the right bath oil, ~30 minutes. Full service is damper surgery; most riders send it in once a season.

What are the signs I'm overdue?

Stiction after sitting, brown oil weeping past wipers, harshness off the top, oil rings on the stanchions that smell burnt. By the time you feel it, you're late.

Loam counts the hours so you don't

Separate clocks for lowers and full service, fed by real ride time from Strava, Bosch eBike or your odometer. Reset only the work you actually did. Free, no ads, private.

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