[zinger-uk]

Hi
Back in September 13 While on holiday in usa I had to buy a Bronson frame to replace my Ellsworth Epiphany frame which developed a crack.

The bike Is great, but on last few rides it started to make a nasty Creaking noise when peddling hard up hill while sat down

I originally though it was my seat post causing the noise as the seat kept moving along its rails no matter how tight I had the clamp

But today I switched post and saddle and I still had the noise

So I had a browse on web and found posts about vpp and wortn bushings for other sc bikes

So tonight I started to break the bike down and have found that the lower bushing for the fox shock is loose and worn it waggles from left to right if I undo the top shock bolt

Has any one else with a Bronson had them wear out so soon ?

Asides from 6 days of riding in USA just after I bought it , I'd say as the weather was so bad in UK I have only ridden the bike about 30 times

Any suggestions as what to replace them with I see tftuned do heavy duty Bush's

Thx

 

[Darkstar187]

Welcome to owning a Santa Cruz bike! lol this is a very common problem for VPP bikes. Do you have the most up to date bushings from Fox the plastic looking ones? If not i would start by upgrading those. a lot of people upgrade to the needle bearing system.

 

[fuenstock]

Its common with vpp bikes. I would have to replace my lower bushing several times a year. It's not a big deal and is just normal wear. The bushing only cost around $2 each and is a 10 minute job to change out. Like Dark posted the newer style fox polymer bushings last much longer and are pretty cheap.

 

[kidtrailboss]

Try these:

RWC SHOCK EYE NEEDLE BEARING KITS

 

[gfs69]

Check out this recent thread: http://forums.mtbr.com/santa-cruz/g...ur-creaking-issues;-scs-vpp-bikes-904449.html

 

[Steve.E]

I think mine wore out after about 3 months, UK riding, washing the bike with probably too much water and high pressure on the hose. Get a stainless steel mount pin then just replace the polymer bushing when play develops, this is mucher cheaper than getting a new kit which is what you'll be doing if you replace it with a Fox low-friction kit.

Also check that you never ride your bike with any axle play in the back end, this will wear out the mounting hardware within the course of a ride.

 

[zinger-uk]

Welcome to owning a Santa Cruz bike! lol this is a very common problem for VPP bikes. Do you have the most up to date bushings from Fox the plastic looking ones? If not i would start by upgrading those. a lot of people upgrade to the needle bearing system.

Yep I have the plastic ones - as I'm in england i couldnt get the needle bearings ones quick enough from usa so i've order a heavy duty mounting kit from here Heavy Duty Mount Kits, 12.7mm - for Fox etc - TF Tuned Shox + spare polymer eyelet bushing

Going to have to slum it and ride my old 26'er tonight - will the trail still feel alive :lol:

 

[zinger-uk]

Thanks for all the reply's I'll get used to replacing the polymer eyelet bushing on a regular basis from now on

 

[zinger-uk]

Also check that you never ride your bike with any axle play in the back end, this will wear out the mounting hardware within the course of a ride.

Just an update I found that my lower vpp pivot was loose - thats what had caused the shock bush to wear out

I took everything apart last night - regreased and reassembled - then went for a ride and the creaking noise's have now gone away

I'll be tipping my bike upside down and checking for loose pivot points after every ride now

 

[zoro]

Don't forget to put blue locktight on those pivots... I've had mine loosen up several times during long/epic rides. With locktite, it's all good. My fault really, because the official santa cruz vid for servicing the pivots is pretty clear in putting locktite in the pivots...

SCB Tech Support - VPP Lower Axle Maintenance on Vimeo

 

[Gman086]

The rear shock eyelet bushing will wear out rapidly no matter how tight your pivots are (from the rotation it sees by the VPP link movement), trust me. Get the needle bearing kit and be done with it!

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[zinger-uk]

I'll get some on my next trip to USA in September, until then I will replace the poly bush's on a regular basis

 

[zinger-uk]

Used up all my lock tight hopefully it will lock in those pivot bolts

 

[brotheronwheel]

How do you guys know if your lower du bushing is already worn out? Is feeling a vertical play when you lift the bike a sign that it has to be replaced or can you still ride it wait for it to worsen without any issues? Considering all the linkages are torqued to spec.

 

[brotheronwheel]

The reason I ask is my bronson has some vertical play when I lift the bike and can feel some movement when i touch the rear du bushings. No creak or click. No side to side play too. Is that fine and can i continue to ride it do not change the du bushings yet? Bike is 3months old in california riding conditions. Have not bike washed it yet.

 

[HighFivenWhiteGuy]

The reason I ask is my bronson has some vertical play when I lift the bike and can feel some movement when i touch the rear du bushings. No creak or click. No side to side play too. Is that fine and can i continue to ride it do not change the du bushings yet? Bike is 3months old in california riding conditions. Have not bike washed it yet.

I am also curious about this. I recently installed a new shock and bushings but noticed a little vertical play in the frame when I lifted and set it back down. I traced part of it to the upper pivot (larger of the two) and part of it to the monarch I have installed. I removed the upper pivot, cleaned and regreased it, then rotated the bearings and axles (so they sit at different rotational positions than before) and put it back together. That took care of the play for now.

More important is the question brotheronwheel asked, how long can you let it go before you should look at replacing the bearings and pivot axles? Replacing shock bushings isn't too expensive but bearings and axles are a bit spendy. Thanks for the help!

 

[dap70]

This is a common problem for many bikes, and has been for years. Loose shock bushings will clunk at the top of the stroke and often mimic loose headsets or loose fork bushings. It is easy to diagnose. Put the bike on the ground, unweighted, lock the front brake, and weight the fork a bit. if you put your fingers on the bushings you can easily feel any slop. They are easy to replace and pretty cheap.