[Gman086]

So most of you know by now that VPP creates a lot of rotation at the rear shock's rear eyelet. This, in turn, destroys the rear eyelet teflon DU bushing in very quick order (like... a month's worth of riding) which leads to the dreaded Santa Cruz "creak" when pedaling hard or uphill. Well you can either buy a boatload of DU bushings OR... replace with RWC's needle bearing. You only need to do the rear eyelet as the front does not go thru the same amount of rotation. SC's bikes (including the new Solo and Bronson) use kit no. NBKRWC2185. The only exception are the older Nomad's I believe. Here's the link:
RWC SHOCK EYE NEEDLE BEARING KITS
My Bronson is back to being stealth quiet PLUS it has better small bump compliance because there is less friction and the shock moves more freely (this is not imagined - it will even slightly affect the sag!). Hope this post can help some of you as I am a real believer in this product (used them for over 4 years now) and I'm not associated with them in any way. It's something I feel should come from SC to begin with as it really is a major problem solver!

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[ungod]

I used TFTuned's kit and it worked very well, haven't had to replace the bushings yet: Mount Kits and Bushings - TF Tuned Shox

 

[Pau11y]

Or...put on some ear buds and ride with music so you can't hear it

 

[Gman086]

The problem with that ^^ is you just end up trashing the reducers too and eventually oval out the shock eyelets themselves! Trust me, this isn't something to be taken lightly, it's a real problem with VPP designs.

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[MattMay]

Invaluable Gman, thank you! Two months on Solo and for the life of me could not isolate the creak...loosened, lubed and loctited (where applicable) every "usual suspect" bolt...now I know why I wasted my time. Looking forward to the sound of silence.

 

[Pau11y]

I was being a bit cheeky...I thought you had a BLTc and frequented the thread on that bike/frame...? The RWC's needle bearing has been beaten to death on that thread addressing your exact problem, but I guess it hasn't been pulled out into its own topic yet.

Anyway, just to add to your topic...
Cane Creek DBa's CAN'T use these bearings w/o some work done to bore out the rear shock eyelet. AND, Chris has updated his kits to include several tolerances of axles to eliminate play.

I've ran these on a Nomad MK1 (Nomads do have its own part number), Blur LTc, Tallboy LTc, and now the '14 Canfield Jedi. AND, Chris is SUPER helpful if you need support w/ the thing.

 

[Gman086]

No, I had a Blur and BLTa as well as an M3 and felt this would be of some help to a lot of new users that are jumping on the Solo and Bronson bandwagon that were unaware of this problem. Plus RWC does not list the Bronson nor Solo yet so I'm confirming the part number needed. And yes, Chris is the man! I guess the RWC bearings will eventually wear out too but I never did wear any of mine out over 3+ years riding each of those bikes. The best bang for buck upgrade I've ever done to any of my bikes and that's saying a lot considering I tinker with just about everything!

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[jgusta]

No, I had a Blur and BLTa as well as an M3 and felt this would be of some help to a lot of new users that are jumping on the Solo and Bronson bandwagon that were unaware of this problem. Plus RWC does not list the Bronson nor Solo yet so I'm confirming the part number needed. And yes, Chris is the man! I guess the RWC bearings will eventually wear out too but I never did wear any of mine out over 3+ years riding each of those bikes. The best bang for buck upgrade I've ever done to any of my bikes and that's saying a lot considering I tinker with just about everything!

Have FUN!

G MAN

Thanks G! My Bronson is set to arrive this week and have wore out many a DU on other dual link bikes in as little as two weeks before with lots of fast, rocky-tech riding (plastic, Enduro needle, metal). Happy to hear about this as alternative to when the Fox plastic dies.

 

[gfs69]

I have a Tallboy with the Kashima shock that has the fancy new bushings, not the old style DU bushing. Do you think that the needle bearing is still needed with this newer design?

 

[GeePhroh]

Perfect timing, G MAN -- just noticed some play in my lower shock DU. Thanks, buddy!

And when are you making it down to Seattle for a shred? Gimme a shout.

 

[Gman086]

Perfect timing, G MAN -- just noticed some play in my lower shock DU. Thanks, buddy!

And when are you making it down to Seattle for a shred? Gimme a shout.

When the weather dries up a bit we need to shred Duthie!

Cheers,

G

 

[Gman086]

I have a Tallboy with the Kashima shock that has the fancy new bushings, not the old style DU bushing. Do you think that the needle bearing is still needed with this newer design?

I think the needle bearings will wear longer with less friction but those are better than the standard DU bushings.

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[007]

So did RWC pay for the ad space here?

 

[saddle pimp]

would these work just as fine? a bit cheaper... Fox Shox Polymer DU Bushing Reducer Kit > F > Fox Racing Shox | Jenson USA Online Bike Shop

Fox DU bushings???

 

[sooner518]

would these work just as fine? a bit cheaper... Fox Shox Polymer DU Bushing Reducer Kit > F > Fox Racing Shox | Jenson USA Online Bike Shop

Fox DU bushings???

I have those on my Blur LTc. I never had creaking issues with my old reducers/DU bushings, but they were worn out and had some play. ive run these polymer ones for 9 months or so without issue....

 

[06HokieMTB]

Just put an RWC kit on my Remedy 9.9

Holy crap is it smooth. My R9.9's DRCV shock already has bearings on the upper shock mount, so adding the RWC kit on the lower/full floater shock mount made the shock completely supported by bearings (instead of bushings). I, too, had to increase PSI to adjust the sag. I've read you might want to adjust rebound as well.

Chris at RWC offered great support (my 2013 R9.9 carbon frame was an odd size and we had to do some back/forth to get it right).

 

[harradm]

Looks like a bushing removal/bearing install tool is required. What did you guys use?

 

[06HokieMTB]

Sockets and a vise. Piece of cake… Five minutes

 

[06HokieMTB]

You could do it with sockets and a C-clamp/threaded bolt, but vise makes it easier.

 

[Man from Utopia]

My RWC needle bearings have always had a slight bit of play in them from day one. Just enough to notice when picking the bike up from the seat post. Is this normal standard deviation?