suspension scare

[MR. evil]

So for the past couple of rides my bikes suspension has felt like crap. I thought that the pivots might need to be lubed, but neither my usual shop or I had the correct grease gun / Zerk fitting tool to lube the pivots. I gave a call to a shop the next town over and they had the tool and said they could lube the pivots for me. So I dropped off the bike on Friday and asked to give the bike a once over in addition to the lube job. I also explained that the suspension had felt off recently. I got the bike back on Saturday, and went for a ride after work on Monday. The suspension felt even worse than before I brought it to the shop. But I just dealt with it and finished my ride.

Tonight I decided to clean my bike, and while cleaning the rear shock area something didn’t look right. Then it hit me, where is the nut for the upper shock mounting bolt? Wait a minute, where is the rest of the bolt? The bolt had sheared off in the middle of the shaft, and only ½ a bolt was still remaining.

With any luck I will have some replacement bolts before the weekend and will be able to ride. I just hope there is no damage to my frame.

 

[o3jeff]

That sucks, hopefully they come thru and get you the bolt soon, if not you'll be rockin the MRGisevil pink hard tail for Fridays ride!

 

[Greg]

Kinda like my bolt that popped out of the rocker earlier this season. After that, I told myself I would do a thorough once over each week or two. Still don't do that... :razz:

Good luck getting it back in action.

 

[bvibert]

Damn, that sucks Tim! Hopefully you can get a bolt soon and be back in action.

 

[Trekchick]

Ugh, glad this didn't cause a crash, or worse yet, injury...
Hope you get it fixed in time to have some fun.

 

[Highway Star]

ooooops......lol.

 

[bvibert]

I'd be weary about taking the bike back to the shop that lubed your pivots for you, especially since you asked them to give the bike a once over. Seems like something they should have spotted.

 

[MR. evil]

Talked with a guy at Turner Bikes this morning. He is sending me out 2 new bolts free of charge. I did pay an extra $10 to get over night shipping so I could ride this weekend. It would have been free shipping otherwise. Beside performance, one of the big reasons I got a Turner was becuase of the reputation they have for great C.S. After talking with them this morning I would have to agree. I told the guy that the upper shock mounting bolt sheared and he didn't even ask any questions. The first words out of his mouth were "I will have 2 new bolts sent out to you today and I am really sorry this happened".

I'd be weary about taking the bike back to the shop that lubed your pivots for you, especially since you asked them to give the bike a once over. Seems like something they should have spotted.

I am concearned by the possibility they could have missed this. There is always the chance it was fine when they looked at it, and it happened during my ride. But the rear suspension was acting up before I brought it into the shop. This all leads me to belive this bolt was the cause of my suspension problems and they missed. Even before this I had made my mind up to never go back. The place was run by teenangers and all the mech's were teenagers. Lesson learned!

 

[Marc]

A grease gun is something everybody should have. How else does one lubricate one's tractor and implements?

 

[bvibert]

A grease gun is something everybody should have. How else does one lubricate one's tractor and implements?

From the sounds of it his bike has something other than the standard zerk fitting. If not and he doesn't have a standard grease gun then shame on him!

 

[MR. evil]

From the sounds of it his bike has something other than the standard zerk fitting. If not and he doesn't have a standard grease gun then shame on him!

Brian nailed it, the zerk fittings on my bikes pivots are smaller than standard ane require a special gun. I picked up one pf my own along with the recomeded grease directly from Turner when I ordered the replacement bolts.

 

[bvibert]

Brian nailed it, the zerk fittings on my bikes pivots are smaller than standard ane require a special gun. I picked up one pf my own along with the recomeded grease directly from Turner when I ordered the replacement bolts.

Smart move!

I always love to have the right tool to do the job myself.