26
votes
Accepted
Inside of my full suspension bike pivots is cracked!
Are you sure those hex bolts are cracked?
They could instead just have peeling chrome. Hex bolts tend to accumulate water and grime and thus corrosion. It could just be surface peeling of the ...
- 29.1k
22
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons of front and rear suspension?
Specific answers to your questions:
Does suspension reduce acceleration?
Yes, for two reasons. Suspension causes bob, where some of your pedal power goes into flexing the suspension with each ...
- 121k
18
votes
Do carbon MTB frames crack easily?
First of all, carbon is stronger than aluminium. It's mechanically on par with steel, while being much lighter. That's why it's the go-to material in aerospace and race cars, and it's also why it is ...
- 3,483
15
votes
What are the pros and cons of front and rear suspension?
Even if you're regularly riding up and down kerbs you don't need rear suspension. If you did, people wouldn't ride hardtail mountain bikes on the trails, where drop-offs considerably higher than ...
- 57.2k
14
votes
What are the differences between a horizontal suspension and vertical suspension MTB?
The position of shock mounts is only one variable of many of the rear linkage design. It does not play an isolated role but really is tied to everything else.
You might have missed that there are many ...
- 14.4k
13
votes
Inside of my full suspension bike pivots is cracked!
The good news is those bolts aren't load bearing parts directly. The bad news is those are holding the load-bearing parts in place, so a failure of the bolt will allow the pivots to fail very quickly....
- 121k
12
votes
What are the pros and cons of front and rear suspension?
You definitely don't need rear suspension: that's for serious off-road riding. For riding on the road and the very mild hardly-off-road-at-all riding you're proposing, rear suspension just adds a lot ...
- 17k
12
votes
What are the differences between a horizontal suspension and vertical suspension MTB?
Manufacturers design the bike suspension with specific characteristics in mind. For example, should the bike be more poppy or plusher and ground hugging to ride. One parameter in this process is the ...
- 2,340
8
votes
Do carbon MTB frames crack easily?
Carbon frames are just fine. As with any other frame materials they are designed to take the loading and stress of normal riding for their intended purpose.
That isn't to say they can't be damaged if ...
- 705
7
votes
Accepted
What are the effects of different types of rear shock installation on full-suspension bikes?
The good folks at Bike Radar have already covered this in pretty good detail in a two part article:
Part 1 and Part 2
There's also a chunky thread on the Pinkbike forums that has pictures and ...
- 18.3k
7
votes
Accepted
When to replace FS bearings?
First, not all full suspension bikes use bearing for all pivot points, and some bikes don't use them for any. They use bushings instead.
That said, assuming you have bearings at all points on your ...
- 29.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Is Megavalanche suitable for beginners?
The Mega is not a single mass-start race. There are qualification stages on the days preceding the main event.
You might get an entry into the Mega, but if you don't qualify, that's a very expensive ...
- 3,906
6
votes
Accepted
Bushings vs bearings - maintenance difficulty
Bushings and bearings are nearly identical in terms of the replacement procedure. Personally I think bearings are the better option because bushings typically are manufactured and supported only by ...
- 1,175
6
votes
Accepted
Striking pedals on a full suspension bike
Yes, while it is a common enough problem for people moving from hardtail to softtail, it can also happen when people change bikes of the same type but different geometries. The lowering of the BB when ...
- 49k
6
votes
MTB rear triangle specs for given frame / e-bike build
There are no standards for full suspension rear ends. It's all carefully designed together, and there are many different design variations. The small linkage hardware, rocker arm(s), shock mounting ...
- 81.8k
5
votes
Pedal kickback on an mtb, what is it?
On a full-suspension bike, the rear chain- and seat-stays are attached using pivot points. However, what attaches to the dropouts on the chainstay? The wheels. The chain's route is constantly changing ...
- 1,033
5
votes
Inside of my full suspension bike pivots is cracked!
Take them out and check if they are hollow, it might be that those are only the burrs from machining the hex.
- 59
5
votes
Accepted
Difference between thick vs thin front suspension?
Fork-leg diameter is not really how you would classify suspension forks. Or more exactly, it is a way, but not really the most relevant.
Suspension forks could be classified by how much travel they ...
- 29.2k
5
votes
Do suspension seatposts work as well as a full suspension MTB?
Suspension seat posts and full suspension have different jobs and can't be compared.
The primary goal of a suspension seat post is to provide rider comfort.
The primary goal of bicycle suspension is ...
- 18.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Will suspension pivots freeze in very cold conditions
Rear pivots are just bearings or bushings. If they freeze, then other bushings and bearings on the bike will freeze simultaneously.
Some other places on a bike where there are bearings: wheel hubs, ...
- 14.4k
4
votes
First Cyclocross Race - Riding a Mountain Bike
CX is often about carrying your bicycle as much as your bicycle carrying you.
When carrying a bicycle on one's axle, its aero properties do not play any role, I would guess, while its weight does.
CX ...
- 14.4k
4
votes
What are the effects of different types of rear shock installation on full-suspension bikes?
I would say that the position of the shock doesn't really matter.
What matter is :
The path of the wheel axis
The shock dynamic (How the shock is compressed regarding the position of wheel)
1) The ...
- 231
4
votes
Accepted
How often should rear suspension frame linkages be serviced?
No, it's not typical maintenance, but you do have to take it apart to either replace or perhaps just service (degrease and relubricate) the bearings once in a while. Which you do may depend on what ...
- 81.8k
4
votes
Rear Bike Rack for Full Suspension?
You can get racks, what you get will largely depend on the load. The two styles that work are a seat post mount rack or once that clamps to the seat stay. Seatposts often have a low load limit, and ...
- 49k
4
votes
Accepted
Does shorter shock stroke limit rear travel better than higher shock pressure?
The stroke really makes no difference here.
You set the pressure in the shock such that a certain sized hit causes a certain amount of travel. The only difference is where a shorter travel shock will ...
- 49k
4
votes
What is this black residue remaining on damper body of rear shock after rides?
Hard to tell, as suggested in the comments, I suspect is rubber from deteriorating O Rings. Whatever it is, the shock needs a service. I would not delay getting this done as if the shock is out of oil/...
- 49k
4
votes
Cube Stereo 150: Loose fitting bolt makes the entire ride wobbly and dangerous
Unfortunately Cube doesn't supply exploded suspension diagrams online or repair/maintenance manuals like some other manufacturers. Maybe those are exclusively for dealers?
In any case I was able to ...
- 976
4
votes
Accepted
Cube Stereo 150: Loose fitting bolt makes the entire ride wobbly and dangerous
As pointed out in the comments, that you could replace the bearings by hand when installing the kit isn't a good sign, but it could offer some clues what to do next.
If they're a slip fit, install ...
- 81.8k
4
votes
Cube Stereo 150: Loose fitting bolt makes the entire ride wobbly and dangerous
I think you're missing some kind of spacer, washer, or bushing between the threaded ice cream cone-looking piece and the frame bearing. I'm not very familiar with Cube, but there are some tell-tale ...
- 15.5k
3
votes
Inside of my full suspension bike pivots is cracked!
Those are artifacts or chips resulting from broaching the hex into the bolt head. Should be nothing to worry about but ask a mechanic if you want to be sure.
- 31
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