[Turtle-Dog]

Hey there, I'm one of those fairly ecstatic blur owners (really like the ride) who got the bike this year but has been working out various things with the bike since I've gotten it...pivot creak, broken pivot bolt, easton seatpost problem, rear hub loosened right up, trying to find a skinny tire so i can actually ride through mud etc....

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight as to these to details:

1. my rear wheel is noticeably closer one side of the stays. the wheel spins fine and the disk doesn't rub. might that be strictly a wheel dishing problem or could it be a frame issue? This is pretty apparent with a 2.00 roll-x, there is just such little room to spare.

2. if i lift the seat and feel a bit of topout (a clunk without the sound) is that necessarily indicative of pivot play? the one time my pivots loosened up i had that kind of action but it was more pronounced and i could wiggle my back end. i just had the shop deal with bad creaking pivots and since i've gotten it back and ridden it once i can feel the topout clunk when i lift up on the seat, though i cannot wiggle the back end at the moment....

thanks for any info.

 

[DMFT]

If it's a Gen 1 frame (with "BLUR" written on the top-tube) - they had some out of spec pivot shafts for the upper swing link, the lower of the two if I remember correctly.
To diagnose this prob. - hold your rear tire to the ground and grab your seatpost and pull up. If you feel a thunk, that's the prob.
If you don't feel a thunk I'd bet the DU bushing on the Fox shock is toast. You have a Fox on the back right?

The wheel sounds like dish to me. - Did the shop check allignment of the dropouts?

 

[slither]

DU Bushing etc.

Sounds like your DU bushing is worn out - mine went after about 500 km of riding on the FOX RL. If it is a DU bushing problem there will be a very small amount of top play. There are a few threads that discuss the do's and don'ts for replacing this bushing.

The creak is likely coming from the top pivot bolt of the rear shock - remove and grease and that should take care of the problem - this is mentioned in another thread if you search for it. And if that does no solve the problem have the shop pull the bottom bearings relubricate and locktite and that should do the trick.

With the wheel position it is likely a dish problem - but let me know if you have a drop out alignment problem because currently my rear wheel is dished too far to the non-drive side and my bike is new this year (04). B

 

[Turtle-Dog]

If it's a Gen 1 frame (with "BLUR" written on the top-tube) - they had some out of spec pivot shafts for the upper swing link, the lower of the two if I remember correctly.
To diagnose this prob. - hold your rear tire to the ground and grab your seatpost and pull up. If you feel a thunk, that's the prob.
If you don't feel a thunk I'd bet the DU bushing on the Fox shock is toast. You have a Fox on the back right?

The wheel sounds like dish to me. - Did the shop check allignment of the dropouts?

it's a newer style frame (04, blur written on triangle rather than toptube)

i'll check on that thanks

 

[Turtle-Dog]

Sounds like your DU bushing is worn out - mine went after about 500 km of riding on the FOX RL. If it is a DU bushing problem there will be a very small amount of top play. There are a few threads that discuss the do's and don'ts for replacing this bushing.

The creak is likely coming from the top pivot bolt of the rear shock - remove and grease and that should take care of the problem - this is mentioned in another thread if you search for it. And if that does no solve the problem have the shop pull the bottom bearings relubricate and locktite and that should do the trick.

With the wheel position it is likely a dish problem - but let me know if you have a drop out alignment problem because currently my rear wheel is dished too far to the non-drive side and my bike is new this year (04). B

Thanks for the reply! I'm riding an 04 with a fox float R (non propedal, ava-looking). The shop just did the top (an upper bolt had broken) and the lower (to replace bad creak), so actually the creak is gone. it's just that topout feel when i pull up on the seat. I was wondering if it's a bad thing, as the bike when it was unweighted had no topout feel when i lifted it when new.

yeah, the wheel seems dished too far to the non-drive side on my bike as well. i'll look into checking alignment (though it seems like dish since i've no shifting or braking issues?) and post again.

Glad there's a community for this sort of thing. coming off a no-maintenance hardtail to an expensive (though awesome) ride with little issues is stressful.

Cheers.

 

[DMFT]

- No prob bro, that's what this place is for.

- Sounds like a worn DU bushing to me.

 

[bigdrunk]

I have had the "thunk" from both a worn DU bushing and upper pivot bearings. With the worn DU bushing, the play was SIGNIFICANTLY less than with the worn pivot.

I also had the same problem with the rear wheel and it turned out to be a defective derailer hanger/drop out. To rule out that the problem was a poorly dished wheel, I simply mounted the wheel backwards. If the wheel is dished wrong, you would expect the tire to lean towards the opposite chainstay as before. If the tire leans towards the same chainstay after flipping the wheel around, you know its not a poorly dished wheel.

I ordered a new hanger/dropout from Santa Cruz and fixed my problem perfectly.

FYI - Mine was soo far out of alignment that a Python 2.0 was 2mm from rubbing.

 

[Turtle-Dog]

good idea on the wheeldish thing ("why didn't I think of that?" dept.). gonna check it all out tonight!

 

[EJ_92606]

2. if i lift the seat and feel a bit of topout (a clunk without the sound) is that necessarily indicative of pivot play? the one time my pivots loosened up i had that kind of action but it was more pronounced and i could wiggle my back end. i just had the shop deal with bad creaking pivots and since i've gotten it back and ridden it once i can feel the topout clunk when i lift up on the seat, though i cannot wiggle the back end at the moment....

thanks for any info.

I've just noticed the same thing with my new blur. Never noticed the play when lifting on the seat before. Is it not normal? How does one tighten the pivots? Wrench on both sides and how much torque? TIA

 

[alf333]

I was also wondering about tightening the pivot bolts. On the lower bolts, has anyone grinded their granny ring to get to the bolt with removing rings? (I'm talking about a small notch to make it easier to get an allen wrench in there). Are those bolts supposed to move at all, if you turn one side? What is a "DU" bushing?

Forgive my ignorance, I haven't taken my blur apart yet, and this is my first full suspension.

I'm just glad there is this place where I can find out so much info.

 

[Blue Shorts]

good idea on the wheeldish thing ("why didn't I think of that?" dept.). gonna check it all out tonight!

Flipping the wheel is the quick and easy way to check for dish.

Like others have said....that thunk is most likely the DU bushings and reducers. Fox is notorious for bushings that wear fast. It's no big deal.

Enjoy the ride!