Can aftermarket 32mm Dust Seals and Foam Rings be used on my Rockshox Recon?

Question

My Rockshox Recon TK Silver 29 (2017) is long overdue a dust seal and foam ring replacement. It's been very difficult trying to find a Rockshox 32mm Recon Service kit, but I did manage to find some aftermarket dust seals and foam rings. The seller claims it's compatible with most Rockshox models, it's 32mm, it looks quite similar to my original dust seal and foam ring except for the Rockshox branding of course. My question is, how do I ascertain if it fits my fork? Do I only have to check if it's 32mm? Would you guys recommend me purchasing aftermarket ones or wait it out until I get authentic Rockshox ones?
Attached is a screenshot of the products in question.

DWGKNZ · Accepted Answer

Yes, aftermarket seals will work on your fork and may give you a performance improvement. All Rockshox seal kits now ship with "upgraded low friction SKF seals" rather than stock OEM models. If replacing seals you should only use well-known and trusted brands such as SKF, Racing Bros, Enduro or PUSH.
As @maplepanda correctly points out you've got to find out if you need flanged or flawless seals. 2017 a difficult time period, I think RS were using flanged on none-boost 32mm forks and flangeless on boost 32mm forks. The RockShox Spare Parts manual will answer this.
Getting the right weight and volume of suspension fluid is also important. The RockShox Recon Service Guides have this detail in them.
If you can't get seals then you can carefully remove your foam rings and clean them. They tear easily when being removed so take care. After cleaning the dirt off them in water, let them dry completely and then soak them in suspension oil before replacing them.
In terms of tools and equipment, replacing dust seals is extremely difficult without the right tool to re-seat them.
There's plenty of examples available online. As mentioned you'll need the correct weight suspension fluid and suspension grease such as Slickoleum, SRAM Butter or Slick Honey.
After you get your head around the process, a lower leg service is not difficult and can be very rewarding. I've replaced both Fox and RockShox seals with SKF dust wipers and non-OEM fluids and found the forks to perform much better. I did a 2019 Sektor RL and found it felt closer to a higher level RS fork afterwards.

MaplePanda · Answer

You need to check whether your fork uses flanged or flangeless seals. Both are available for 32mm stanchions, and it’s specific to each model which version is needed.
I’d just perform a service without changing the seals. If you insist, the foam rings should be fine (it’s just a open-cell foam ring, duh), but I wouldn’t want to use the third-party seals long-term. There’s no guarantee they seal as well as the real deal or that they have similarly low friction levels. It’s not worth it saving a few bucks while risking expensive fork damage, and your existing seals will survive another few months or however long it takes to track down the right kit.

Can aftermarket 32mm Dust Seals and Foam Rings be used on my Rockshox Recon?

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