Do all full sussers do this..?

mr_alkan

afternoon.

Not having anybody roundabout to ask, here goes..

Having had my first full-susser for about 3 months I've noticed something I need to know if something is loose or is it 'thats what they all do'..

If I gently lift the seat with my hand, it lifts about 8th of an inch before the bike lifts off the ground. Yet, when I go round the bolts everything seems tight. Huh..?

I have a GIANT VT2 with the 3 pivot Manitou Swinger Air SPV 3-Way rear shock

ta.

T

panzer8

Sounds like the shock is shagged mate

supersonic

The bushings or bearings could be worn if it clunks.

MountainMonster

Would it not just be that you are completing unweighting the bike, and it just extends a bit.

lostboysaint

MountainMonster wrote:

Would it not just be that you are completing unweighting the bike, and it just extends a bit.

Wot he said. especially as it's such a tiny amount of movement.

lostboysaint

MountainMonster wrote:

Would it not just be that you are completing unweighting the bike, and it just extends a bit.

Wot he said. especially as it's such a tiny amount of movement.

njee20

Sounds like worn shock bush to me.

Daz555

1/8th of an inch?

Could this not just be a bit of sag?

Flip the bike over onto its seat and put some up and down pressure on the rear wheel and see how it feels.

EnglishChris

On my Commencal Meta, what you describe happening is a clear sign that the shock bushing have started to wear. It does sound a bit soon for that to be happening but I guess it depends how much you've ridden it in those three months, and in what kind of conditions. You can probably get replacement bushings, or at least you local bike shop will be able to. My shock was due for a service anyway and they get replaced as part of that as a matter of course.

tofu21

Daft question, if the rear wheel in correctly?

Sounds to me like warn bushes or loose bolts. As you lift the bike try and hold your finger against one end of the shock and the bike frame that it connects to. As you lift the bike if you feel movement between the shock and the frame it looks like the bush or bolt is loose. Then repeat on the other end of the shock.

If you do feel movement, check that the bolts aren't loose. If they aren't pull the shock out, making sure you catch all of the bits that back it in place and try to move the bush with your fingers. If it's proper warn it will come out!

Time to get it re-bushed either at your LBS if they are good or send it off.

benp1

I know nothing about MTBs, but to a layman it sounds fine

On my motorbike the weight of the motorbike loads the suspension up. Same as a car

If you jack up a car then the chassis rises but the wheels stay in contact with the ground for a short amount of time.

You want a bit of travel at the top so it has a bit of give i.e. when you're weight is moving up (top of a bump) the wheels are still in contact with the ground

tofu21

benp1 wrote:

I know nothing about MTBs, but to a layman it sounds fine

On my motorbike the weight of the motorbike loads the suspension up. Same as a car

If you jack up a car then the chassis rises but the wheels stay in contact with the ground for a short amount of time.

You want a bit of travel at the top so it has a bit of give i.e. when you're weight is moving up (top of a bump) the wheels are still in contact with the ground

A bike is much lighter than a car and will not compress the front or rear suspension under it's own weight.

When you sit on a bike, the suspension will sag (the bike will go down) by about 10% (depending on how you've set it up) of the travel of the shock.

andy46

never really thought about this so i've just checked mine, mine doesn't do it.

mr_alkan

OK, thanks people.

When I said I've had it 3 months - 2nd hand, that is.. I'll take it into my LBS as the front suss dial thing seems to go round without making any difference to the actually sponginess of my fork no matter how hard I set the pressure too.. It has seen its fair whack of black-routed Hamsterley Forest though in that 3 weeks..

thanks again..

T

tofu21

My old Spesh XC could get through bushes in 6 months.

Mccraque

Rear shock bush!!

Has happened to two of my mates in the last few months....you can feel very slight play when gently lifting the saddle.

andyrm

Yup - DU bush.

Go to a bearing supplier rather than a bike shop - you'll pay 10p rather than a couple of quid.......

nick1962

As as already been said definitely sounds like the bush needs replacing.Had exactly the same issue on my "new to me" full sus.
Got bushes and bush removal tool from here.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Manitou-Shock-Bus ... 19c42ee79c

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fox-Shock-Bush-Re ... 19c42ee73d

Not sure if this Fox tool will work on your set up but as it says at the bottom of the ad. contact the seller

One of the easiest MTB jobs I've managed-took less than 15 mins and I'm usually hopeless!

milfredo

It's the bush.

Buy a bush removal tool, get a bush from a bearing supplier and change it yourself. It takes less than 5 minutes including removing and installing the shock and you only need to use a hammer or vice. It's so simple.

dan shard

Definately sounds like a ...

captainfly

On my teocali, if the rear shock is locked there is no movement, unlocked there is a tiny amount of sag that gets taken up picking up the bike. Seeing as you have an air shock, pump it up to it's maximum rated amount and see if it sti happens.

Reckless

I have a VT2. Had all the rear suspension bearings replaced. And it clunked a few weeks later. The bottom suspension bush may be worn (when you lift the rear, keep your finger on the bush and you'll feel if there is any slack in there). But strangely, although my bush mount was tight, I tightened it up a little more and the knocking disappeared! And theres no stickiness either.

So maybe worth cranking up the allen key a smidge and seeing what happens.

btw if you have Manitou Nlacks, the dial on the left should be the adjustable travel. Wind it down clockwise (with weight on the forks) and the travel will reduce to 80/90mm. Turn it anti-clockwise and the travel will increase to 120/130mm. Can't remember the exact travel.

Red air valve on the top of the right fork leg: should run at 75-150psi (depending on your weight) for spv damping. And the lever at the bottom of the rh fork leg adjusts the rebound damping. I find it only really does much near the extreme of "less" when it does slow the rebound quite a bit.

If none of this is happening, then you need a service.

Sorry if all of this is obvious, but just thought I'd mention it!

Nice bike.

Superfli

Get used to owning a FS. It can be a lot more upkeep than a HT. Bushing wear and wear farily quickly for a reason, they protect the frame from wearing - you'd rather the small bit of replaceable metal to wear and replace than the frame.
As above, hold your finger on the bottom of the shock and lift the bike slightly, if you feel movement, then its that bushing. Move fingers to other pivots too. It could be just a loose pivot that might need tightening.

paramart

i have a vt2 the old bush was a metal one in the shock bottom, they changed it to a type of ceramic stuff, dont last to long on the 5.5 setting swinnos on the chase do them for about £5, dont overtighten the bolt it wont stop it happening, dead easy to change undo bolt flip shock out of the arms pull off the spacer push pin out then push bush out, it,s not in the shock that tight, then push in new bush and reassemble in reverse order.
there is a owners manual on line that has exploded views of it all, just type in vt owners manual it came up for me any probs and i,ll send you a link to it

Shaggy_Dog

benp1 wrote:

I know nothing about MTBs, but to a layman it sounds fine

On my motorbike the weight of the motorbike loads the suspension up. Same as a car

If you jack up a car then the chassis rises but the wheels stay in contact with the ground for a short amount of time.

You want a bit of travel at the top so it has a bit of give i.e. when you're weight is moving up (top of a bump) the wheels are still in contact with the ground

That only happens on uber-heavy (45lb+) DH bikes. The sprung weight of the bike is a tiny proportion of the total weight (unlike a motorbike where the engine is nearly as heavy or even heavier than the rider) that the shock has to support. Any movement without the rider is usually shock bushing or pivot wear.

cavegiant

+1 on rear shock bush. They can wear VERY fast, but only cost a couple of quid to replace.

If you replace with the TF tuned high strength bushing kit the need to replace every three months goes (I am on about 18 months on mine, used to swap every 3 months).

Northwind

Does it clonk down, or does it move smoothly? When you reweight it, likewise does it clonk or does it just feel like it's moving into the travel?

concorde

Sounds pretty knackered. The bike weighs hardly anything. It should not be making the suspension compress at all. And it don't sounds like it compressed under weight either, it's just 'sagging' down so something is not quite right.