How to Change Forks on a Mountain Bike

The mountain bike is an extreme off road vehicle that can carry you pretty much anywhere and build your fitness at the same time. The mountain bike is built for speed and toughness on the trail, and in recent years has been employing suspension forks to make the ride smoother and less painful. One difficulty that faces suspension fork riders though is the maintenance required to keep the forks in working order. Sometimes there is such a problem with the fork that it will need to be replaced, and while all reputable bike shops should be willing to perform this job, you can easily perform a fork swap with simple tools in your garage. Follow these steps and get back to riding today.

Things You'll Need

• New fork
• Allen wrenches
• Bike stand
• Helper
• Bike bearing grease
• Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Mount the bike securely in the bike stand and clamp the seat post firmly down with the holding clamp. Find the appropriate sized Allen wrench for the stem cap (the flat cap on top of the stem) and loosen and remove the cap.

2. Remove the front wheel by opening the quick release and sliding the wheel free. Afterward, take the brakes off of the front fork by removing the mounting screws with the Allen wrench and letting the brakes hang from the brake cable.

3. Unscrew and remove the stem clamp bolts with the Allen wrench and then slide the stem free from the top of the fork tube. Let the handlebars and stem hang free from the cables. Use the screwdriver to pry the bearing wedge out of the bearing cup and the fork should slide out of the head tube.

4. Slide the ball bearings off of the old fork and onto the new fork tube, then slide the new fork into the head tube. Grease the bearing cups and then slide the bearing wedge into place, tapping tight with the hammer and screwdriver. Slide the stem back onto the fork tube, line up the handlebars so that they are straight and then screw the stem cap into place.

5. Tighten the stem mounting bolts with the Allen wrench and tighten the stem cap as well. Mount the brakes onto the new fork by sliding them onto the mounting rods and tightening down the mounting bolts with the Allen wrench. Slide the wheel into the fork, close the quick release, and take the bike out of the stand for a test ride.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to have a towel for the fork to land on or a helper to catch the fork as it falls out when you remove the bearing wedge.

• Use bicycle bearing grease only because car bearing grease takes too long to warm up before it begins to protect the bearings. Bicycle bearings never get hot enough.