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03 NRS Shock Bushing "play"?

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  RedRocker 
#1 ·
I have an 03 NRS and have some play in the bushings at the shock mount. I am currently running a Cloud 9 and it got to the point where I called Cane Creek who nicely and promptly sent me a new set free of charge. Unfortunately that didn't seem to solve the problem. I also put my stock SID on and still noticed it, although maybe to a lesser extent. The bolt (the play is at the top mount) seems totally fine. I've had the issue for a while and it doesn't seem to affect the suspension much/if at all since it only moves a small fraction of an inch. It is kinda annoying though and I imagine that the bolt will eventually fatigue and snap. I seem to remember reading posts regarding this a while ago. Was it a bushing issue? A bolt issue? Since I have experienced it with two shocks and three bushing sets it seems to be my bolt. I'm going to give my LBS a ring and ask about it since they suggested I call CC to begin with.

Thx,
RR
 
#2 ·
Funny - I noticed the same problem last week. The bike had developed a clunk, which was obviously coming from the top shock bushings. I called cane creek, they sent me all four pieces; the spacer that fits inside the shock eyelet, the bolt, (tube thingy the spacers fit on) and the spacers. This solved my problem completely. The spacer and the bolt were the problem, both had deformed slightly under the stress of two years of riding, the play between the two caused the clunk on my bike. Beware, the little spacer that fits in the shock eyelet is a royal PIA to replace.

CC charged me for the parts though...
 
#4 ·
Not for CC but with the RS SID

On my NRS with the SID shock I had the same problem with shock play. Well after it being sent to RS and it coming back it seems like the problem with the shock play is gone. Its been a year since they did the fix, and its been fine. Took it apart a month ago and I noticed they had fixed a bolt in the eyelet of the top shock. Different then what I was expecting when I took it apart.

I took a pic of it and this is with out the bushing that just slides over it.
 

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#5 ·
Similar problems cropped up with my 6 month old Stumpjumper with a Fox FLOAT. The aluminum reducers and sleeve bushings had worn out severely on the bottom eyelet. I ordered the parts from FOX racing, they are not warrantable.

But while I was waiting I decided to try a different approach to the sleeve bushing. I ordered 2 pairs of sleeves from a company called IGUS. They make all kinds of bearings out of different polymers (plastic). Some of these polymers are more wear resistant than bronze. GIANT uses a version of these on the rear dropouts of the NRS frame in previous years.

I am currently running two sleeves made of G300 in the eyelets, instead of the bronze sleeves. I will evaluate the wear in the Spring. I won't be wiping the eyelets or hosing them off. No lube either. I just pressed out the old worn ones with a socket, and pressed the plastic ones in with a vise. They are very quiet, no more clunk at all, which is how I knew they were worn in the first place.

Show in the first picture are a polymer called L280, this is what GIANT bushings most closely resemble. I tried the G300 first because it has a slightly higher PV value (resists wall pressure). The L280 has superior wear characteristics for dirty enviroments, IGUS actually reccomends ROUGHENING any shaft they run on if they make noise and it won't affect lifespan. Amazing stuff. Time will tell.
 

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