[erichwic]

Anyone have a problem withe the hose running from their rear shock to the brain rubbing the rear tire? I'm assuming a zip tie will cure this but wanted to know if anyone else has an issue.

 

[goneskiian]

Not rubbing the rear tire but it's rubbing the seat tube enough to have worn off the outer coat of rubber on the hose.

I've let my shop know and took pictures. Still waiting on a response from Specialized.

2011 S-Works Epic 29er in case you didn't know what bike I have. You've got one too don't you?

 

[erichwic]

Yeah, figured it out last night. Found a small routing guide in my bag of small parts. Yes, I too have the S-Works Epic 29er too. Just picked up my wheels on Friday and installed the cassette and tires. My buddy ordered an Evo 29er and is going to give me his rear brake adapters then my build will be complete. Just waiting for the snow to melt now.

 

[JoshS]

Yeah I'm having the seatube issue, I put for protective film on the seat tube, but I'm sure the hose might have an issue in the future

 

[erichwic]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll put some protective tape on the seat tube prior to riding it.

 

[norty_mtb]

Here is a shot of my sworks and an evo 29er. My sworks brain hose is very tight against the seat tube. My sister's evo has plenty of clearance. I tried getting protective tape in there but it is too tight. Still waiting on a few parts for it so I'll take the brain off and get some 3m tip tape on the seat tube.

 

[GTR2ebike]

Not sure if you noticed this or not but it's because the mounting of the line is different. The s-works has a guide bolted into the connection of the seat stays(closer to the middle of the bike which is why it rubs) the evo has a wire tire to the seat stay. This was probably in an effort to make the s-works look cleaner.

I'd suggest putting a piece of protective tape around the seat tube, unbolting the mount and wire tire the hose to the seat stay.

 

[WR304]

Not sure if you noticed this or not but it's because the mounting of the line is different. The s-works has a guide bolted into the connection of the seat stays(closer to the middle of the bike which is why it rubs) the evo has a wire tire to the seat stay. This was probably in an effort to make the s-works look cleaner.

I'd suggest putting a piece of protective tape around the seat tube, unbolting the mount and wire tire the hose to the seat stay.

The alloy and carbon fibre rear swingarms on the Epics always seem to have slightly different designs. The differences are more than just the material they're made from. The 2009 Epic had lots of design revisions to its rear swing arm in order to address small issues.

It looks like the carbon fibre seat stay is maybe too close to the seat tube on the 2011 S-Works Epic. When you look at norty_mtb's picture of the evo 29er with its alloy rear swingarm there's clear space between the hose and seat tube.

Even if you were to change the hose mounting on the carbon fibre swing arm it looks like the hose would still rub as there's substantially less space between the seat stay and seat tube on the 2011 S-Works Epic. It might just be the camera angle though?

 

[GTR2ebike]

EDIT now that I'm looking at the pictures again you really can't tell because of the different angles.

But it's worth a shot, if it doesn't fix the problem u can just cut the wire tie and bolt the hose back to it's original location.,

 

[JoshS]

I could move the metal hose piece coming out of the shock and it gave ma a little extra room. the only way i can see to rectify the issue is to run the hose on top of the swing arm, but that is something that specialized would have to do.

 

[norty_mtb]

WR304 is correct. No camera tricks. It is so tight that I can't even squeeze the protective tape in. The hose does not have enough slack to move over and use a zip tie(the evo has a zip tie hose mount on the seat stay). Like WR stated, even if the hose had the slack to move it still has to fit between the rear triangle and the seat tube.

Fixes...
1. smaller diameter brain hose
2. longer hose routed outside the seat stay
3. redesign the rear triangle to provide more space like the aluminum version
4. ???
I'll leave it to the experts to figure a fix. Until then I'll keep an eye on mine.

 

[JoshS]

I had to remove my shock to get the protective tape in there

 

[goneskiian]

I guess I'll try to get some tape in there too. Thanks for the idea. That'll protect the frame but the hose is still wearing through.

Cheers!

 

[GTR2ebike]

I guess I'll try to get some tape in there too. Thanks for the idea. That'll protect the frame but the hose is still wearing through.

Cheers!

http://www.crankskins.com/20mu20.html Try a piece of that 20 mill tape on the seat tube and on the hose, should take a while to wear through.

Maybe even put a little bit of grease between the hose and seat tube.

 

[WR304]

WR304 is correct. No camera tricks. It is so tight that I can't even squeeze the protective tape in. The hose does not have enough slack to move over and use a zip tie(the evo has a zip tie hose mount on the seat stay). Like WR stated, even if the hose had the slack to move it still has to fit between the rear triangle and the seat tube.

Fixes...
1. smaller diameter brain hose
2. longer hose routed outside the seat stay
3. redesign the rear triangle to provide more space like the aluminum version
4. ???
I'll leave it to the experts to figure a fix. Until then I'll keep an eye on mine.!

Is the brain hose always directly touching the seat tube, or just at particular sections of the travel? It might be that the prototype brain hose was thinner than the hose used on production shocks.

It could also be that the S-Works frame was designed with *just* enough clearance for the brain hose in a static position but doesn't take into account any flex in the hose which would cause it to rub.

On the 2009- 2010 Epic the brain hose bends and changes alignment as the suspension compresses. On your 2011 Epic does the brain hose position change as much when the suspension compresses?

http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=5801886&postcount=190

Along with the cosmetic wear I'm wondering if there's any danger of this hose rub damaging the rear shock. If the brain hose bows inwards towards the seat tube when compressed then it will increase friction between the hose and frame. This could pass strain onto the metal connector where the hose connects to the shock perhaps? It might not happen straight away (or at all) but over the course of a year may cause an issue. The hose connector was a weak point on the older shocks. If it failed then you lost brain patform.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=5794106&postcount=184

 

[TheBikeMechanic]

WR304 is correct. No camera tricks. It is so tight that I can't even squeeze the protective tape in. The hose does not have enough slack to move over and use a zip tie(the evo has a zip tie hose mount on the seat stay). Like WR stated, even if the hose had the slack to move it still has to fit between the rear triangle and the seat tube.

Fixes...
1. smaller diameter brain hose
2. longer hose routed outside the seat stay
3. redesign the rear triangle to provide more space like the aluminum version
4. ???
I'll leave it to the experts to figure a fix. Until then I'll keep an eye on mine.

#4: Take a hammer (preferably a 4lbs "engineer's") and 'make' yourself some space!!

 

[erichwic]

Looks like I'll ride it the way it is. If something 'fails' I'll contact the warranty department.

 

[Trond]

Just use a ziptie around the seatstay and secure the hose. I've had no problems after that.

 

[norty_mtb]

hose routing

Here is a shot of how the hose should be routed according to Specialized. You need to loosen the bridge clamp and brain bolt to put some movement in the hose. Then make sure the link pivot bolt has the flat part running parallel to the hose. Run the hose in the recess and snug everything back up. It's still tight in there but this should help.

Nort

 

[erichwic]

I'm going to have to disassemble the rear to rotate the pivot bolt but its worth a try to prevent my frame from being "hosed". I'm also considering putting a piece of metal tape from the hardware store on the seattube to prevent anymore wear. Has anybody had any significant wear issues and contacted the warranty department?