FS pivot lubrication

[Greg]

Any recommended products for lubing pivot points on a full suspension bike? Is there disassembly involved? Or is simply cleaning the pivot area and applying some form of lubrication externally a good practice? Perhaps the lube can work in somehow or at least keep dirt out? Thoughts?

 

[bvibert]

This is just my fairly uninformed opinion/understanding, I'm pretty new to FS myself...

I think it depends on the design of the suspension and if you have seal bearing pivots or not. AFAIK if you have sealed bearings there's nothing you can do to lube them, unless you're willing to try and take them apart. As the name implies; their meant to be a sealed assembly and are meant to be replaced if there's a problem with them. Keeping the pivot free of dirt and crud is about all you can do. If you have bushings as part of the design I'd think you'd want to take it apart and clean everything really well. Then put everything back together using whatever kind of lube is recommended. Be careful not to use so much that it's oozing out of the pivots though, that'll just attract dirt. I've seen that Specialized recommends using regular motor oil on some of their bushings. I've tried using a general bike grease that said it was good for suspensions, it didn't work too well. Last time I just used some chain lube, which has kept me pretty squeak free for a while now.

My bike uses bushings around the shock mounts and sealed bearings on the main pivots and on the pivots at the chain stay/rear drop out.

 

[gorgonzola]

http://www.triflowlubricants.com/Superior_Drip/superior_drip.html

 

[marcski]

Other than superficially wiping down my pivots with a rag, I've never done a thing in 3 years. But, I do believe my bearings are sealed as bvibert mentioned.

But would you expect anything more from me?

 

[bvibert]

http://www.triflowlubricants.com/Superior_Drip/superior_drip.html

I actually have some of that stuff, I should probably use it on something...

 

[Greg]

Bump. I never got a clear answer here. Does anyone (Oz maybe?) know if the pivot bearings on the Treks (Fuel, Remedy) are sealed bearing type? Is there any maintenance needed on them?

 

[bvibert]

One way to know would be to take it apart and see what's in there. If you see a sealed cartridge bearing then there's really not much maintenance to do to it. If you find any of the pivots use bushings then you'll want to keep those lubricated. I very much doubt that any of the suspension pivots use loose ball bearing in a cup and cone arrangement, so you shouldn't have to worry about servicing those like you do your hubs..

 

[MR. evil]

Bump. I never got a clear answer here. Does anyone (Oz maybe?) know if the pivot bearings on the Treks (Fuel, Remedy) are sealed bearing type? Is there any maintenance needed on them?

You could always call up a local shop that sells Trek and ask them. Another good source would be the Trek forum on MTBR.

My bike uses self cleaning bushings and is designed to be lubed without taking anything apart. As I add new grease through the zerk fittings the new grease pushes the old grease and dirt out. Its a pretty cool setup.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

you had me at Lube..

 

[big oz]

Whatever you do, don't use WD 40 anywhere near the pivots....That stuff works like a degreaser and will wreak havok on the grease. I am pretty sure that all of the Treks made within the last 5-6 years use a form of a cartridge bearing. You can actually service a majority of these bearings, but it is often easier and less of a headache to just replace them. Unless you plan on riding that frame for ten years, you will probably never have to mess with them. The biggest thing to remember is not to power wash them or use a penetrant like WD 40. Just be a little cautious if you bucket wash and lightly mist off the bike. ....you should never power wash a bike at all.
Realize that suspension bearings just rock back and forth rather than spin like a wheel or bottom bracket bearing, so they wear in different ways (side to side play from drivetrain flex/torque)......This is why headset manufacturers like Race Face & Chris King can give a crazy warranty, cuz headsets don't spin in constant circles. On the other hand, you can have issues if your pivot bolts/pins come loose. Check those with an allen key ever so often and re-torque any that come loose. Also, squeeks and creeks are normal...especially if you wash your bike or ride a lot of wet conditions. If you get a noise it is usually because the interface between the bearing and/or the pivot bolt has become dry. You can pop out the bearings/pivot and put a light coat of grease or oil on them to quiet them up....a quick fix is something thin like Tri-Flow or Pro Link. I usuall pull mine out and use something a little more resistant to water like Ice Wax or even rub a thin coat of candle wax on them.

 

[Greg]

Whatever you do, don't use WD 40 anywhere near the pivots....That stuff works like a degreaser and will wreak havok on the grease. I am pretty sure that all of the Treks made within the last 5-6 years use a form of a cartridge bearing. You can actually service a majority of these bearings, but it is often easier and less of a headache to just replace them. Unless you plan on riding that frame for ten years, you will probably never have to mess with them. The biggest thing to remember is not to power wash them or use a penetrant like WD 40. Just be a little cautious if you bucket wash and lightly mist off the bike. ....you should never power wash a bike at all.
Realize that suspension bearings just rock back and forth rather than spin like a wheel or bottom bracket bearing, so they wear in different ways (side to side play from drivetrain flex/torque)......This is why headset manufacturers like Race Face & Chris King can give a crazy warranty, cuz headsets don't spin in constant circles. On the other hand, you can have issues if your pivot bolts/pins come loose. Check those with an allen key ever so often and re-torque any that come loose. Also, squeeks and creeks are normal...especially if you wash your bike or ride a lot of wet conditions. If you get a noise it is usually because the interface between the bearing and/or the pivot bolt has become dry. You can pop out the bearings/pivot and put a light coat of grease or oil on them to quiet them up....a quick fix is something thin like Tri-Flow or Pro Link. I usuall pull mine out and use something a little more resistant to water like Ice Wax or even rub a thin coat of candle wax on them.

Great detail. Thanks so much for that.

 

[bvibert]

Thanks for the in depth explanation Oz, much better than my half-assed attempts to help.

IMHO (not that anyone cares) WD-40 has no business being anywhere near a bike for any reason.

Seems like it'd be a pain in the ass to pull the seals off a cartridge bearing (without damaging them) to service it, that's why I said there really wasn't much maintenance to do to them. The bearings that I've dealt with were pretty cheap (a few bucks), so it made sense to just replace them when they failed.