Factory fresh: Visiting Silverfish UK’s Fox Service Centre

BikeBiz visits Silverfish UK’s Fox Service Centre in South Wales

This piece first appeared in the November edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here

Wales is home to some of the best bike parks and trails that the UK has to offer.

Tucked away in the valleys of Risca, South Wales is Silverfish UK’s fully authorised Fox Service Centre.

The Centre, right next to the infamous Risca trail network and just down the road from Bike Park Wales, is trusted by dealers, elite riders and weekend warriors from across the country – and for good reason.

It offers one of the most experienced teams of Fox suspension technicians in the country, with more than 100 years of combined service and tuning expertise.

Leading that team is operations manager Tim Williams.

Williams is an ex-national downhill racer and a lifelong cycling enthusiast who has built up more than 20 years’ Fox servicing experience.

“The level of knowledge embedded in the Risca team is priceless,” he explained.

“Their technical expertise is well-known and unrivalled but also it is the care and passion that they put into supporting riders and retailers because, as riders themselves they know how nobody wants to be without their bike for too long and just how important great suspension is to the enjoyment of mountain biking.”

A normal day can see the technicians get through 50 to 60 jobs collectively.

This includes updating decals, set up advice, seatpost servicing, full fork and shock rebuilds and factory tuning upgrades – such as the one offered most recently on the Grip2 VVC fork – on a multitude of Fox and Marzocchi models.

“Fox suspension is technical kit, so set up and servicing support are essential to get the very best performance and to ensure product longevity,” said Williams.

“So, it is great that Fox retailers and riders have the very best back-up available to them based here in the market, in the case of Risca, right on the doorstep of the trails, with local experts who understand the UK’s unique and challenging riding conditions.

As the UK distributor for Fox, Silverfish have direct access to the latest Fox spare parts and service procedures.

This relationship also sees them only use genuine Fox parts when servicing, ensuring that the Fox warranty remains intact where applicable.

And there’s more.

As well as being equipped to handle the latest and greatest – including Live Valve – the Centre has the knowhow and parts to handle many older models.

For example, on the visit there was an OEM fork in Yeti blue from the mid-noughties which the centre had kept on the rack “just in case”.

So with many people looking to rebuild the bikes they loved from years gone by, just like those on show at the Malvern Classic, a hub of knowledge like the Fox Service Centre is priceless.

You can also be pretty sure that they have the illusive shim or spring missing from that prized project build.

The future

Just like the brand’s they represent in Fox and Marzocchi, Williams and his team are always working to find marginal gains that make the process more efficient and provide better value for both dealers and riders alike.

“We certainly have no intention of resting on our laurels,” said Williams.

“In the past few months we have introduced an online calendar booking system to allow customers to reserve a specific time and date for any service work they require – a real benefit when you have an important race or trip coming up and really need to minimise time off the bike.

As South Wales and the area around Risca continues to grow in popularity as an MTB destination, the Centre have introduced Fox Set Up Fridays where customers can drop in, free of charge, and have their Fox suspension fine-tuned by the expert technicians at the Silverfish Service Centre.

“Not unsurprisingly these have been really well received and are a great way to get ‘pro’ level attention for your bike and your riding,” said Williams.

“We have also re-introduced our Fox Technical Training Days for retailers and their staff to take their servicing skills to the next level and to empower them to seize the incredible service and parts revenue opportunities in our market.

“We tailor the curriculum to fit each specific dealer’s requirements, but these training sessions allow our experienced technical team to share their knowledge and give attendees the latest information on maintenance, servicing and tuning of the Fox ranges.”

As a business Silverfish has also started to make more use of the fantastic facilities at Risca, and the access to great riding.

Williams added: “So, for example in October we held our first Yeti Dealer Summit at the Silverfish Service Centre, allowing Yeti retailers from across the UK to see and ride the latest Yeti 160E models and updated muscle bike range.”

Whatever the future holds for the industry, services like these provided by a passionate team in a humble Risca industrial unit will always be in demand. Long may that continue.