I had read on the forum that on some mkIII there is noticeable play on the rear suspension, How was this problem solved. I have a MKIII comp W/ Rock Shock Areo(2005) with all original parts, After riding the bike for about 6 months I have noticed that I have that problem although its is only noticeable when I lift the seat.
Sure it's not a Mk3 but when my 7Point gets a bit of play in the pivots I need to loc-tite them up good and thoroughly. This might help....
Lift Up On Seat Knock: Probably loose shock bushing bolt. You can diagnose it by tightening them down too much, as in enough to bind a bit, and you'll notice it goes away. Re-torque to a tightness that will stop the clunk but not cause binding.
Hand on Rear Wheel Lateral Knock/Movement: Seems ot usually be a loose pivot on the lower link where the linkage plate connects to the front triangle (i.e. by the bottom bracket). Pull out bolts and loc-tite the threads, reassemble, torque til it stops having play in it, then leave it alone.
Let your loc-tite cure!! I use the loc-tite stick (like a glue stick) and it definitely needs 24 hours.
I have a 2005 Comp as well - after only 2 and a half months I began to notice a wee bit of play in rear end set up. After carefully isolating each pivot and checking for play narrowed it down to about a mm at most slop in the the area where top of shock is secured by bolt through to front of top rocker arm. Tightening the allenbolts does not seem to have made any difference - it feels to me like the slop / movement is in the interface between eye of top shock hole (Ario), and the bolt that runs through it. Haven't pulled it apart to see what is going on as does not feel to be affecting ride - and I'm just so much enjoying riding the damn thing, not twiddling with it.
edit; forgot to mention it is a "lift up on seat knock" - though I moved to lifting on the frame / seatpost area to eliminate any movement within seat as cause. I put toes on wheel, lift and lower in seatpost area and click, click, click ..... by placing fingers around top of shock eye can feel the movement within that location.
I just purchased, '06 MKIII expert and it came with a little play in the fifth element shock mount, makes a chattering noise. Have emailed IH a couple of days ago requesting the "tight tolerance kit". No word back yet though. Think IH is a pretty good company so not worried. Check out this previous thread "Help please, Mark III clunk noise" about four weeks ago. It may have some useful info.
I just purchased, '06 MKIII expert and it came with a little play in the fifth element shock mount, makes a chattering noise. Have emailed IH a couple of days ago requesting the "tight tolerance kit". No word back yet though. Think IH is a pretty good company so not worried. Check out this previous thread "Help please, Mark III clunk noise" about four weeks ago. It may have some useful info.
There is no "tight tolerance kit" for an 06 MKIII, as a matter of fact, there never has been to my knowledge. There were some issues with the Progressive shocks themselves and their Heim joints. You should contact Progressive ASAP and see what they can do for you. The shock kardware that is supplied with the bike is super tight tolerance, so thats almost certainly not the issue that you are having.
Hot Butter Topping
I have tried to tighten the shock bolts they are probably already loc-tite. Should I back them out first and then try to adjust as you described?
dlmack67
There is a "tight tolerance kit" available for your '05 bike though. Click on westins link and see news.
Hot Butter Topping
I have tried to tighten the shock bolts they are probably already loc-tite. Should I back them out first and then try to adjust as you described?
DW
It is not in the shock! I can see the play and it is the mounting hardware. More precisely the hardware has no play but the shock is loose on the hardware. Visible when lifting the bike up by the saddle. I would think IH should have the solution for that problem if in fact it can't be corrected by tightening the heck out of it.
dlmack67
There is a "tight tolerance kit" available for your '05 bike though. Click on westins link and see news.
Your shock bushings (that come with your shock from Progressive) should have an ID of 8.00mm. I can with almost 100% certainty say that your shock pivots (as supplied be Iron Horse) have a diameter of 7.97mm. I have measured literally hundreds of these parts and I have never once measured one that is smalller than 7.97mm.
If you have play in your shock bushing, then this is a Progressive issue, not an Iron Horse issue. "Tightneing the heck out of it" is not an acceptable solution. You still will have play in your bushings under load, you just wont notice it when you are not moving. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise.
Contact Progressive and explain to them that you need bushings with the 8.00 mm ID.
Check out the search function on this topic also, this has been discussed for the 2005 bikes. Perhaps you have a 2005 model shock? (they did not change for 05 and 06, but the 06s are not supposed to have the too large ID bushings from Progressive)
To reinforce what dw is saying, this is entirely in the shock. It very well maybe freeplay/movement in the heim joint on the shock. I would suggest contacting Progressive directly and getting replacement heims.
I had to replace my 5th element the other day( was leaking oil). I used the exact same mounting hardware on the new shock as I did on the old shock. Old shock had zero play.
After mounting the new 5th element shock, I now have play.
At the end of the day this is very frustrating to the customer. In my opinion this issue has turned off many potential MKIII buyers. When people feel play in the rear end of the bike, they don't want to hear reasons, they just get turned off .
I had to replace my 5th element the other day( was leaking oil). I used the exact same mounting hardware on the new shock as I did on the old shock. Old shock had zero play.
After mounting the new 5th element shock, I now have play.
At the end of the day this is very frustrating to the customer. In my opinion this issue has turned off many potential MKIII buyers. When people feel play in the rear end of the bike, they don't want to hear reasons, they just get turned off .
In reference to my 05 comp - to your knowledge are there tolerance issues to do with the top end of the Ario shock ? Considering my geographical situation, and typical kiwi do-it-yourself mentality I'd been planning to identify and solve problem myself, but it would be useful to know - for myself an dother 05 comp ario owners - if there is in fact a tolerance problem, or if what I'm experiencing is solvable by torquing up the bolts, etc.
Just to be really clear, I am way happy and content with my bike :thumbsup: , but seeking some clarity about how pervasive this problem might be. I'll do a search for tips and pointers.
Considering that it's snowing in Christchurch as I type this, and the trails will be best left alone for a week or so at very least, this weekend might be a good time to do some tinkering.
Sounds right Dave Thanks for your help / I still see this as an IH issue though. It's not like I built a custom bike and selected the shock. If this problem existed in '05 then it should have been resolved along time ago and not pop back up a year later. '06 buyers shouldn't have to deal with the same annoying little problem on their own. But I called progressive anyway line was busy go figure.
I can 100% assure you that Iron Horse has done everything in its power to ask Progressive to fix this problem. The fault is with the shock and Progressive parts. It has nothing to do with anything at all the Iron Horse has manufactured, or has manufacturing control or input on. Iron Horse can only ask suppliers for improved quality. It is up to the supplier to respond...
Its frustrating for Iron Horse also, but they are not the only ones by a longshot. Talk to some Specialized owners about it.
I got the heim joints from Progressive. I had already received the sleeves from IH a week ago and took the shock off prior to find that all the play was in the heim joint and to put the sleeves in would have made no difference at that point anyway so I waited for the heim joints. Got the heim joints and installed them with the new sleeves from IH. All play is gone chatter is also gone. Now it feels like a solid bike...
Thanks for your help!
On my 05 MkIII, I installed both the TT kit and new Heims from Progressive. The TT kit got rid of a little bit of the free play. The new Heims got rid of some more. Overall, it's maybe half of what it originally was. It bugged me at first, but now I don't even think about it anymore.
It also bugged me that the OEM Shimano FD didn't work well, and that I had replace it with a Sram FD to get it to work right. It also bugged me that the OEM Sram cassette gouged into the splines of the freehub.
I'd still be bugged but almost every bike I've owned (or friend's have owned) has had its share of issues that had to be resolved. This sort of poor quality control or inadequate product testing or whatever you want to call it seems to be standard for the industry. Imagine if we didn't have these forums to share information about how to sort this stuff out. Imagine you've got yourself a 05 MkIII that you bought from Performance. Imagine that Performance doesn't have a clue about what to do about the issues with your bike, which, based on my experience with them, is an entirely plausible scenario. Imagine that you don't know about the IH forum MTBR. Imagine that IH isn't responding to your emails, which I know from experience can happen. Imagine your answer to the question: would you ever buy an IH again?
But like I said, IH isn't unique regarding this. Bottom line- with any bike- you'd better be willing to do the research and tackle stuff yourself, or buy from an LBS that offers excellent service after the sale. Because you're probably going to need it.
Appendage
Heard that. The ideal bike would be one you don't have to think about except when you're riding it. Question: How did you install the heims? Are they pressed in / any special tools needed if so? Thanks in advance!
Appendage
Heard that. The ideal bike would be one you don't have to think about except when you're riding it. Question: How did you install the heims? Are they pressed in / any special tools needed if so? Thanks in advance!
I gotta ask the question.
Yeah, I have an 06 MKIII Expert with a 5th. It has a little play that's noticeable when you lift the bike... However, I don't notice any problems when I'm in the saddle...and I've put a couple hundred hard miles on this bike.
I'm watching this issue closely having read these posts and seeing the condition on my bike...and I'm wondering if it's really something to be concerned about??
Will this condition lead to a catastrophic failure??
Harky, this "play" you're seeing is in the heim joint of the Progressive shock. This is EXACTLY what _dw, myself, and others are trying to stress here. If you take the shock out you will see the amount of movement in the heim joint. I have ridden a ton with this "play" and never had a problem. I've seen other people ride with this play and then later down the road have the heim joint break, but never a catastrophic failure of the links or of the shock.
ska Todd...thanks for the reply...
Yes, just like many others, I've traced the play to the heim joints.
I was not overly concerned as the movement is very small adn the mechanicals look robust.
If I'm reading you correctly, this condition may or may not get worse, depending??.
In any case, watching it closely for any increase in play would be prudent.
Theyre pretty easy to remove. You need a socket (as in from a socket set) with a diameter of the outside of the heim joint (but small enough to fit through the hole in the shock) and a socket with a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the heim joint but small enough to support the shock. (if that makes sense?). Put one socket on one side of the heim joint, the other on the other side of the joint, put the whole lot in a vice and push the heim joint out -it'll com out easy. Same thing to put the new one in. If you dont have a vice, you can use a large bolt/nut and appropriatley sized washers to push the heim joint out, but this is a bit fiddlier.
Theyre pretty easy to remove. You need a socket (as in from a socket set) with a diameter of the outside of the heim joint (but small enough to fit through the hole in the shock) and a socket with a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the heim joint but small enough to support the shock. (if that makes sense?). Put one socket on one side of the heim joint, the other on the other side of the joint, put the whole lot in a vice and push the heim joint out -it'll com out easy. Same thing to put the new one in. If you dont have a vice, you can use a large bolt/nut and appropriatley sized washers to push the heim joint out, but this is a bit fiddlier.
If this is solely an issue with the 5th element then why do riders with ario's complain of the same thing? The slop doesn't bother me as much as the rest of the minor kinks with the bike (POS WTB rear hub mainly). But with progressive leaning away from the MTB market I think we all need to call and get this issue corrected asap, or stock up on joints (never a bad idea)
Appendage never gets bothered by the clunking sound because the wind whistling past his ears drowns everything out!!!!
I've had my 05 mk3 expert for over a year and my clunking is really bad.
DU bushings do wear out over time sometimes as soon as three months. The "play" issue from the progressive shock is technically similar but starts from brand new due to improper fitting.
I agree with your assesment of the WTB rear hub. It stinks. Knowing this dump it and build yourself a better wheel. The hub being a stinker is not a kink in the bike but a weak component on the bike. Iron Horse has a pricepoint to achieve and could not do this with Hadley or King hubs.
Many people I know have purchased MKIII's stripped off the components they did not like from the start, sold them, and built their bikes the way they wanted.
On a side note your klunking could be from the lower chainstay pivot. Remove the bolts take out the thru axle bolt clean everything grease everything and reasemble. Be careful of the thin spacers.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
15.4M posts
515.2K members
Since 1990
A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bike parts, components, deals, performance, modifications, classifieds, trails, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!