[kranest]

I bought this frame new 6 months ago and love the way it rides but the noises began two months ago and are seriously making me consider ditching it. By the way, I already had all the bearings replaced on the bike a week ago - $150 and didn't help with anything.

I have a clicking sound down by my bottom bracket. I replaced the 3 yr. old bottom bracket, tightened the chain ring bolts, front der., new pedals, and yada yada yada it's still there. Tightening the rear skewer helped some but now of course my disc rotor rubs and makes a whole new fun noise!!!

The worst noise is a creaking noise (sounds like an old door) coming from around the rear shock (Fox Rp3). It's loud and present any time the rear suspension is activated (almost constantly). I've already eliminated the seatpost and seat as possiblities and can definitely hear it coming from the shock area. When I let all the air out of my shock and compress it, there's no noise but as more and more air is put in the shock, the noise gets louder and more present.

I'm at my wits end. I don't care how nice this bike rides, nobody can put up with these noises. If my LBS (Santa Cruz dealer) can't figure it out, I'm ditching it. If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

 

[brodie_rider]

All I can think of is the pivots torqued to the proper specs?

 

[mtnbikej]

I bought this frame new 6 months ago and love the way it rides but the noises began two months ago and are seriously making me consider ditching it. By the way, I already had all the bearings replaced on the bike a week ago - $150 and didn't help with anything.

I have a clicking sound down by my bottom bracket. I replaced the 3 yr. old bottom bracket, tightened the chain ring bolts, front der., new pedals, and yada yada yada it's still there. Tightening the rear skewer helped some but now of course my disc rotor rubs and makes a whole new fun noise!!!

The worst noise is a creaking noise (sounds like an old door) coming from around the rear shock (Fox Rp3). It's loud and present any time the rear suspension is activated (almost constantly). I've already eliminated the seatpost and seat as possiblities and can definitely hear it coming from the shock area. When I let all the air out of my shock and compress it, there's no noise but as more and more air is put in the shock, the noise gets louder and more present.

I'm at my wits end. I don't care how nice this bike rides, nobody can put up with these noises. If my LBS (Santa Cruz dealer) can't figure it out, I'm ditching it. If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

How much do you weigh? From what I have been told, there is a weight limit on these bikes. I have been told 200 lbs.

mtnbikej

 

[BurkeVT]

The bearings aren't it...

Pull and grease the pivot shaft that connects the rear eyelet of the shock to the swinglink and rear triangle. This pivot is usually the culprit when my Blur gets squeaky/creaky. It can also become ovalized easily where it comes in contact with the spherical eyelet at the rear of the shock. If this is the case, Santa Cruz will send you a new one.
Good Luck.

 

[kranest]

I weigh 160 so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to the LBS today and I'll run by your suggestions then follow up here on this thread.

 

[TrailTiger]

Grease those pivot shafts, I bet that will be the end of your worries.:thumbsup:

 

[DRIDE]

Grease those pivot shafts, I bet that will be the end of your worries.:thumbsup:

amen..

I had the same noise you are describing but on my Heckler. Greased the pivot shaft and the noise is gone...

 

[kranest]

Got my bike back today from local Santa Cruz dealer. Turns out a mediocre wrench didn't grease the pivot shafts when he installed them. After they were greased, the creaking was gone! Great! Problem solved right? Nope.

New problem: The shop owner when taking off my rear skewer noticed that the distance between my seatstays/chainstay is 140mm instead of 135mm. Could a loose rear hub have caused this? I haven't crashed. How else could this have happened? When climbing steep hills or standing and pedaling, I have a loud creaking sound. Whenever I put torque on the frame and rock the bike side to side, there's a sound from the back - I'm assuming from the rear triangle being wider than it should be. I have to tighten with the rear skewer to have the right rear dropout fall flush with my cassette.

Here's my latest question in this saga of noises: If I have to get this warrantied by S.C. will I have to send in the rear triangle/frame to get a replacement? If I take pictures and they talk to my LBS will SC ship out the replacement triangle first and then get the faulty one from me or am I just being wishfully naive?

 

[indyfab25]

Wtf'nf??

Got my bike back today from local Santa Cruz dealer. Turns out a mediocre wrench didn't grease the pivot shafts when he installed them. After they were greased, they creaking was gone! Great! Problem solved right? Nope.

New problem: The shop owner when taking off my rear triangle noticed that the distance between my seatstays/chainstay is 140mm instead of 135mm. Could a loose rear hub have caused this? I haven't crashed. When climbing steep hills or standing and pedaling, I have a loud creaking sound. When ever I put torque and rock the bike up a hill, there's a sound from the back - I'm assuming from the frame wider than it should be. I have to skewer in place to have the right rear dropout fall flush with my cassette. How else could this have happened?

If I have to get this warrantied by S.C. will I have to send in the rear triangle/frame to get a replacement? If I take pictures and they talk to my LBS will SC ship out the replacement triangle first and then get the faulty one from me or am I just being wishfully naive?

You will likely have to send the whole frame back. Don't hold your breath on a timely inspection. It took them a week to look at my Heckler. They didn't fix it the first time around either. Make sure everything is right when you get it back. If it isn't, send it back immediately. SC has their heads up their @sses. I am still surprised at how many riders are still on their knees for this company. For all of you that read this and get offended...remember...if the shoe fits....

 

[Surfas]

Please listen this...

The problem is the RP3 connection with the VPP shaft. Dissemble the pivot in question, clean the shock reducers (no lube or grease), and grease the VPP pivot (like in Santacruz instructions), and it is done, no more creaking sound, until it needs another cleaning (mine take about 6 months for the creaking with a lot of winter rain). When the creaking comes again on some ride, spray it with WD or another lube just to end the creaking. Until you can dissemble all again.

 

[zeeke]

For the chain stay problem, did you replace the drop out recently? I bet you did. I read that there is a different dropout for the LT and the XC. If you have the wrong one, ie the LT, then it wont line up right.

No personal experience there, but I did read a post on here where someone had that same problem, do a search.

 

[kranest]

You're right I did have my rear dropout replaced recently. I went to SC's website/store and they sell a dropout kit that is the same for LT, XC, 4X and Classic. I did several searches and couldn't find the post you're referring to. Maybe you can point me in the right direction.

I left a message with SC today and hope to hear back from Willy so we can figure out what the hell's going on. I'll mention the dropout might not be the right one so we can at least see if there's a quick fix.

 

[KeithM]

I remember reading in an old post that there was a bad batch of rear dropouts. I bought a spare dropout a while ago and was told that all the Blurs use the same one.

 

[kranest]

I'm almost positive it isn't the dropout after looking at it. When I release my rear skewer the dropouts want to push outward. I was on vacation in Pisgah with some buddies riding up and down some gnarly mountains two weeks ago. When I brought my bike into my LBS they noticed I had a loose rear hub. It wasn't enough that I could feel it while riding that week but you could wiggle it with your hand and feel there was play. Could this cause my rear triangle at the dropouts to be pushed out?

 

[nacraman]

Rear Dropout

I had the dropout problem. I had my dealer send me a new one, but it was hard to install, and the rear tire was skewed after installation. I called the dealer back, and they said one dropout for all blurs. When challenged, they talked to the mechanics, who indicated that there were two different dropouts. When they sent me the new one, it had "BLUR XC written all over the order.

All I know is the replacement fit perfectly, with no additional issues. I would say if the dropout bolted right up without tweaking, you have the right one.

 

[extrafunky]

creaking

I had the creaking sound problem lately and like most people had mentioned, it's the rear shock pivot. In my case, the bolt was tightened down too much, so I just loosened it a bit and the creaking was gone.

Also had replaced the dropout awhile back and I never had an issue whatsoever except that removing the original dropout was a pain. The replacement dropout I got was supposed to be for all Blur models.

 

[glovemtb]

I hear creaky Blur complaints all the time. I've had mine for 2 years and have always dealt with creaks. Anymore, I never spray the bike with water that helped quite a bit. I did a lower bearing bra out of 2 lizard skin fork boots. (Now I never have to mess with the lower pivots.) The upper most small pivots are what occasionally creak now. If you spray lube in em it helps break the bond of the locktite on the caps and retaining compound that seat the bearings and if they move will cause wear on the boars. (bad ). Not to say I don't still try it on occasion when I'm not smart.
Anyway, I usually get my wife to push the suspension a little as I listen to try and find the creaks. Best done with a stethoscope. Like I said usually the smaller upper pivot or the one right below it are the culprits. So, sometime just moving the pivots shafts around by the caps or if the caps are too tight or loose and so adjusting torque solves the problem. Oh yea, I also had the pivot shafts thing a couple of times (front and back.)
Btw, the stethoscope method works pretty well for isolating the location of about any creaks on bicycles.

 

[kranest]

The stethescope method sounds like a good one. I'm afraid that with all the creaks, early bearing replacement and now having to send the rear triangle into Willy for warranty, I've lost confidence. My wife is quitting her job next year and I need a bike I can count on with little maintenance required. I got a Turner Flux on ebay a few days ago and the bushings seem easily servicable and dependable from what I read. If I like the way it rides, I'll keep it and sell my Blur XC w/ new rear triangle. I love the way the Blur XC rides but in just the first 6 months of owning it, the constant maintenance has driven me nuts.

 

[monolink]

I bought this frame new 6 months ago and love the way it rides but the noises began two months ago and are seriously making me consider ditching it. By the way, I already had all the bearings replaced on the bike a week ago - $150 and didn't help with anything.

I have a clicking sound down by my bottom bracket. I replaced the 3 yr. old bottom bracket, tightened the chain ring bolts, front der., new pedals, and yada yada yada it's still there. Tightening the rear skewer helped some but now of course my disc rotor rubs and makes a whole new fun noise!!!

The worst noise is a creaking noise (sounds like an old door) coming from around the rear shock (Fox Rp3). It's loud and present any time the rear suspension is activated (almost constantly). I've already eliminated the seatpost and seat as possiblities and can definitely hear it coming from the shock area. When I let all the air out of my shock and compress it, there's no noise but as more and more air is put in the shock, the noise gets louder and more present.

I'm at my wits end. I don't care how nice this bike rides, nobody can put up with these noises. If my LBS (Santa Cruz dealer) can't figure it out, I'm ditching it. If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

I have the same problem with my BLT. I described it in thread http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=202194
I spoke to one skilled engineer and he told me, that such connection between aluminium and titanium can not work well and when it loosens it creaks. Than you can grease pivot, it helps for a while and than starts again. At the end they decided in my LBS to have this alu parts done from bronze.

 

[glovemtb]

I never was a big fan of bushings till I owned a Top Fuel. No creaks, no maintenance even without the zerks.
I ride it allot. Blur is a wonderfully smooth riding bike rides like 5" and climbs like 3. But, it is a creaky little fella. I wonder what would happen if they came out with a carbon version !