You’ve probably seen a fork slip test online where someone holds the shaft of a fork leg, slips a fork seal on it and holds the seal while the shaft glides through effortlessly.
That can look rather impressive for viewers, inferring the low friction of the seal. However, this doesn’t factor in two very important characteristics of fork seals in action:
- A fork seal must seal. Any seal company can produce a seal that can pass a visual slip-test, but of all the talk of low friction, does it actually seal oil in and dust out?
- Seals in action need to perform. The low friction slip test is not enough to prove that the seals will continue to seal over jumps and tricks.
Your best bet is to try the seals for yourself to see which feel you prefer on the track, and not to rely on the hype of a visual slip test alone.