First of all, the new rear tire, Larsen TT I mentioned in my post yesterday, is a slam dunk it would seem already in just three rides. First of all, I had record speeds, record stops (or lack thereof) and a record time coming home yesterday! Fluke? Maybe, we’ll see… But I did make it up the final hill at Rose Hill for the first time yet this season! I only made this climb maybe 3 or 4 times last year, so that is huge! And the tire gripped nicely all the way up, allowing me to focus on my direction and energy and not worry about traction. So that was sweet! And I beat my times and speeds by some decent margins, so that’s cool! This morning, again I was impressed. Although no records were beat this morning for time or speeds, it was my first time making the entire trip with NO STOPS! The one stop that I kept making was trying to climb out of Peterson’s Creek up the rocky, tricky west bank. This morning, I climbed right out with no issues. Again, the new tire hooked up and didn’t spin out on the rocks or roots, even though it was wet from just coming through the creek. Nice!
Ok, but what I really wanted to post about was front shock maintenance. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. I know, most of you reading this will most likely go, yeah duh, Scott… But all I have to say to you is, where were you to give me this info before? Exactly. So leave me alone. 
Anyways, when I got the bike, I asked the owner at Taboo what I needed to do for fork maintenance. He told me just to add a bit of oil along the top of the seals now and then. Ok, not sure why, but whatever, I can do that! My bike just came with your run-of-the-mill fork, an RST Gila. In fact, I can’t even find my exact fork online, so that link is to the fork a step above mine (I don’t have any lockout ability). At first, it was a fine fork I thought. A bit “clangy” over slight drops, or if I lifted the front wheel when it became fully extended. But other than that, no big deal. Eventually, near the end of the season, it started to lose it’s “compressibility” as I call it. It took all I had just to get the dumb thing to compress more than an inch. Brutal! I started thinking I was lugging around a 6 pound fork for nothing, and that a rigid fork might suit me better…
Then, this weekend, I put some oil on the seals again. Something I hadn’t done in quite some time. Well, on my ride home, suddenly I had a full three inches of travel! I was actually wondering if I might bottom this thing out!!!
So, yeah, turns out that oil trick is needed. It makes sense, now that I think about it. The rubber seals are rubbing on the aluminum stanchions, so the friction (especially with dust and heat in the mix) needs to be well lubricated. Before, when I would oil this frequently, I often wiped off the oil later because of the black rings it would leave! Hah! I guess better to learn about these things on a cheap fork, right?
Those oil lines are a GOOD thing, don’t wipe them off! 
Well, there you have it. If you have a suspension fork, oil the seals!!! And don’t wipe off the oil from the fork, leave it there! 
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