[Phoenix864]

Hi all,

I recently had my DVO Topaz fully rebuild (damper and air can). Everything has predominantly been fine since the service - the only minor problem that came up right away was that the bladder was not seated fully. This was quickly fixed by slightly over-inflating the bladder to get it to pop back into place.

However, recently the shock has begun squeaking upon any minor compression. I have heard suspension make some minor squishing on compression before, but that required really listening for it. I can hear the Topaz even over i9 hubs while just coasting along. It most definitely was not this loud before, even right after the service. The noise sounds similar to if I was sitting on a rubber duck while riding. The shock is leaving the usual small amount of oil on the stanchion after cycling, so I don't think lubrication is the issue.

I've spoken to DVO regarding this issue, they felt that without seeing the shock in person it would be very hard to diagnose the issue (a very reasonable disposition), but guessed that the rebound circuit might have some air in it, causing the noise. Unfortunately the mechanic that performed the work has recently moved away, leaving nobody at the shop knowing what should be done until they can contact the mechanic.

This has kind of left me in a bad spot, I'm not entirely sure what to do at this point. Has anyone experienced squeaking from a Topaz (or any rear shock) before and found a way to solve it? If I have specific steps to follow I might be able to get the shop to do something. I've continued to ride the shock as normal, but the squeaking is getting pretty annoying. I would hope I'm not doing any additional damage by continuing to ride it.

Thanks for any help.

 

[EatsDirt]

You sure it's not the bushings making the noise?

 

[Phoenix864]

You sure it's not the bushings making the noise?

Not 100%, but I've never heard IGUS bushing squeak (at least not like this). I'll try to hone in further on the noise to ensure it's not the bushings.

 

[Phoenix864]

I've bounced around on the shock some more, and am pretty sure that the noise is coming from somewhere around the air can/damper body. The bushings on either side seem dead quiet and don't rotate much due to my frame's design (Canfield Riot). I know it could be a variety of things, but I would appreciate hearing any accounts of silencing squeaky shocks before in order to get an idea of where to start.

Thanks.

 

[Doug]

I've bounced around on the shock some more, and am pretty sure that the noise is coming from somewhere around the air can/damper body. The bushings on either side seem dead quiet and don't rotate much due to my frame's design (Canfield Riot). I know it could be a variety of things, but I would appreciate hearing any accounts of silencing squeaky shocks before in order to get an idea of where to start.

Thanks.

Did you ever solve this?

 

[Phoenix864]

Did you ever solve this?

No, unfortunately I haven't really had time to leave the bike with the shop that did the service for them to sort it out. My schedule has temporarily slowed recently and the weather and trails are the best they've been all year, so I've been riding as much as I can.

The squeaking has toned down a bit since I originally heard it - now it only occurs after relatively extended use when conditions are pretty hot, resulting in it only squeaking for the later parts of my rides. Once things get busy again and I don't have as much time to ride I'll hand the bike back to the shop and see what they come up with.

 

[blackbart]

No, unfortunately I haven't really had time to leave the bike with the shop that did the service for them to sort it out. My schedule has temporarily slowed recently and the weather and trails are the best they've been all year, so I've been riding as much as I can.

The squeaking has toned down a bit since I originally heard it - now it only occurs after relatively extended use when conditions are pretty hot, resulting in it only squeaking for the later parts of my rides. Once things get busy again and I don't have as much time to ride I'll hand the bike back to the shop and see what they come up with.

Phoenix - my topaz just started to do the same thing (2 months since last full service). Did you find the cause and resolve to the squeaking issue?

 

[Phoenix864]

Unfortunately I still have not been able to look into it much. To be honest, shortly after I posted my last reply I took a trip to see family (leaving my bike at home) and broke my collarbone during the trip (while riding a rental bike - I guess the fuel ex is really not for me). As such, I haven't been able to ride much in order to test different fixes for the shock. I really just need to take the bike in and let the shop work on it.

However, I would start with checking the wiper seals. A basic wiper seal cleanup is super easy on the Topaz - I wouldn't necessary replace anything, just dissemble the air can, clean up, and give everything a good helping of slick honey. If the squeaking continues, you might try bleeding the damper to ensure that no air is in the rebound circuit.

Don't quote me on this, but from what I've heard bleeding is pretty simple as well - just empty out all the air, set the compression and rebound adjusters to full open, attach the bleed syringe, and shake/compress the shock until satisfied with the bleed. Again, don't quote me on exactly that procedure, but it should be pretty similar. If you give DVO a ring they should be able to confirm exactly what you need to do.

Those are the two things I want to do, but haven't gotten around to. If something works, I would appreciate you letting me know what did the trick.