Clicking Shock on a Stumpy

timberjack

false alarm i have put my shock back in greased the pin and the noise is still there it must be inside the shock dont know wether just to put up with it or send ot back to mojo whilst it is still under warranty

bowestev

lbs said the peddles were sound when i've mentioned changing them but has its one of the few things left i have not changed i might has well.

thedktor

Old thread yes, but after using my bike enough to properly bed in the shock I took it back to the lbs yet again!

They are taking the bike to Specialized UK for further diagnostics.....

The clicking is not loud I will not deny, but is very noticeable in certain situations.

My GT i-drive makes no noise when compressing the suspension, nor do my motorbikes (which may or not be relevant!)

Ah well we will see what the lbs say later this week

TD

clanton

Just came across this thread - very interesting! My giirlfriends 07 Spesh Stumpy clicks and cracks too! This only started after about a year of fairly hard use and I think its been fixed when we had the shock serviced (by Mojo) - but maybe it was the mounting adjacent to the shock? Will wait and see if it returns.

gingerbloke

Glad to find this thread. May be able to help after my problems over the last few weeks.

I have a Stumpy FSR Pro Carbon that I have been riding since July. I noticed quite a loud cracking noise which only materialized when I was out of the saddle climbing hard.

I took it into my LBS (Total Fitness in Bath) where just about every conceivable part was changed. BB, wheels, shock, chainset, headset, bearings all the main pivot bolts to no avail.

The bike was then boxed up and sent back to Spesh. Two days later got a call from my LBS and was told a new frame is on its way, they weren't happy with a couple of things.

Two days after that I collected my bike, went out for a ride, 5 miles in there was the crack again. Now bearing in mind this is a new frame and shock the crack was slightly different (sounded exactly the same) just didn't happen in the same way. Could only get it to make the noise by putting pressure on the left hand side pedal.

Called my LBS, he nearly had a fit and told me to get it to him asap. In the meantime my rear hub had become a little noisy so Spesh had agreed to replace the DT hub with a Hope one. This was done and the crack disappeared........ But only for the first ride.

Back it went to the shop. 1 day later I get the bike returned to me. Since then I have done approx 220 miles on various surfaces and it has not come back.

The verdict of the last trip to the shop....

The pivot bolts at the rear of the lower chain stay were removed had a fraction shaved off them then were greased and re-fitted. It appeared they were bottoming out rather than going fully tight.

Hope this may be of help as I know how annoying the noises are.

thedktor

Well, I am now the proud owner .......of ......






er........ my original bike :roll:


Specialized said nothing's wrong with it, my LBS said they won't refund me as there is nothing wrong with it .... so that is where we are.

So don't really know what to do now, but have been offered the choice to take it personally back to Specialized UK in Chessington for them to look at it in my presence. 'Bit of a hike but not impossible.

Thing is that in the busy town centre of Basingrad at the LBS you can't really hear the noise, but in my garage or out on a grassy track its quite clear. I know I'm being fussy but when a bike is worth 1800 pounds I think I'm entitled to be.

I've currently given up - I don't want to get in a big legal fight with the LBS nor do I want the bike as it is. ...... :roll: :?

Fed-up!

TD

hamboman

timberjack wrote:

i took my bike in to edinburgh cycle in newcastle for the above problem they more or less laughed at the shock diagnosis i got from you chaps, they told me it was loose rear cones was the problem and sent me on my way feeling slightly embarassed, so i took it to my mates bike shop and they tightened the cones and the problem was still there but i have decided to try and put up with the noise rather than take it back i wish it was a year old then i never have to go back to the above shop

people in bike shops can be complete knobs sometimes. they like to bolster and bluff when they don't actually know what the problem is. you dont have to take that sh1t.

stumpyjon

I too had a period this year when my new stumpy Elite seemed to be clicking / cracking / creaking whatever. In fact it was this thread that got me into this forum in the first place.

It too started happening after a couple of months of use, could not work out what it was or where it was coming from. Even thought for a while it might be stones flicking up and hitting my front crud catcher as it seemed to be happening a lot on hard bumpy surfaces. After getting paranoid about it (reading this thread hadn't helped) it stopped, only thing I can think that I may have done to cure it was clean all the crap away from around the bottom pivot. I've also had the shock out it's mountings a couple of times and once taken the rear triangle apart completely (although that was more a having a fiddle with my bike session rather than a serious service).

Two things strike me from reading this thread and others:

1 Stumpy FSRs definitely do exhibit some form of clicking / cracking / creaking noise generally emanating from the rear suspension. (Your not alone or going mad).

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=14647773

2 It can cure itself and on the balance of things appears to be pivot related rather than the shock IMHO.

Just a question, how do you guys clean your stumpys, I'm a bit OCD and tend to clean it thorougly after every ride with muck off and a washing up brush so crap and debris doesn't have much of a chance to build up. If you are the same then this comment is bit pointless.

timberjack

I dont know if i'm repeating myself but i narrowed the clicking on my stumpy down to the rear shock. What i did was borrow a mates shock and i fitted it and the noise disappeared, i put my shock back in and the noise came back. The next day i rang Mojo and explained this to a very helpful chap, who said it was just the washers inside the shock and not to worry, he said if i sent it to them they would sort it and as it was due its 12 months service i sent it to them. I Have done 3 rides since i got it back and the noise is gone so fingers crossed this has cured it

Red Baron

Hi Guys,

Interesting thread, jumping in late.

I don't own a Stumpjumper (would love to) but I've the model down, the FSR XC. I think the rear suspension design is pretty similar though (it's a 2006 model), but less travel.

Like your Stumpies, my bike has been plagued with irritating clicks and creaks. I think that you are either the sort of person who notices these noises or not - unfortunately I do and a recurrent clicking sound as I pedal can ruin a day out. That's the main one at present but there have been others; I've done my best to chase it down, greased all the bearings etc, replaced bottom bracket, greased crank bolts etc etc - all to no avail. It's definitely related to the rear suspension link somewhere but I just can't work out where.

Funnily enough, if you gently tip the bike from side to side when resting (while off the bike) you get a faint creaking sound. Anyone else's bike do that? Very odd.

Anyway, I am trying to ignore it and just enjoy the bike.

However, I have been struck by the fact that most of you haven't had much service from bike shops and can sympathise - I avoid the places as much as possible and buy all parts and tools online. There must be a market for a friendly and helpful LBS where the staff actually know something and treat their customers with a degree of courtesy rather than sneering.

It's most definitely not acceptable to spend a small fortune and end up with a bike that sounds like an old wreck. If / when I change my bike I probably would go for a hardtail again and not a full-sus because of all this - there's just too many bits to go wrong as well as the expected creaks you get with any bike.

Well, good luck to us all

thedktor

Thanks for the replies and comments.

I am 99.99% sure it is the shock because the noise went when it was replaced. But came back again after an hour or so riding as already mentioned....

Red Baron you are spot-on with both these comments: "I think that you are either the sort of person who notices these noises or not - unfortunately I do and a recurrent clicking sound as I pedal can ruin a day out."

I definitely am this sort of person and funnily enough have thought several times that I should just give up on suspension and go back to a hard-tail! :?

Problem is that a good suspension bike is so much more comfortable and ultimately less tiring to ride, or that is what I find anyway.

I am taking the bike to Specialized UK on Monday (fortunately I need to travel in roughly that direction for work), so we will see what they say. The only "problem" is that I noticed after being in my warm car the shock is much quieter, so will have to wear a thick coat and keep the windows open or something!!!! :shock:

Crazy

TD

grommet

it could just be the oil flowing through the damper, my friends Dirtjumper 2's do it...

hope this helps

bowestev

given up on the stumpy. bag of shit springs to mind. just ordered a yeti 575. if this makes a noise i'm getting a road bike!

jimmy6flats

My LBS have just changed their mind on my creaking Stumpy - from being a fractured frame :shock: it is now a set of bushes that need replacing in the pivot by the bottom bracket. Off to the Spesh dealer we go...............

thedktor

Took the bike to Specialized UK who confirmed the noise was present.

They swapped the shock for a new one, and not surprisingly the noise went, bearing in mind that the shock has already been replaced once before and the noise went then as well.

I will not be surprised if the noise returns after a few hours riding - the guy at Specialized said it was "the shims" in the shock, and if the noise returns it will be "one of those things" that you just have to live with.

The question then will be what to do, the only option seems to be to sell the bike as it will annoy me I know....

TD

bowestev

well i've fixed the prob. frame sold on e bay,all the parts on a p7 for winter and a brand new yeti 575 in the lock up for summer. i will never buy a specalized bike again or go to the shop that sold it to me . these bikes cost a shit load and are surposed to make you smile and not go round the bend ,cracking like a 25 year old grifter. i hope somebody from spesh reads these comments and does something about the way we have all been treated by them and their bike shops. but i cann't see it