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Blur Pivots

5K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Num Perineum 
#1 ·
On my last ride the pivots were squeeking like crazy, I stopped and added a drop of lube to each and teh squeek went away. I've had the bike for a little over a year and I think it's about time to really go over the pivots, clean and lube all the bearings.

I've never actually done something like this before, is there anything I should watch out for?

I can maintain a bike, rebuild hubs, build a wheel, adjust everything else but I've just never messed with pivots.

george
 
#2 ·
SC has a great technical paper online for that very issue. You can also buy a rebuild kit that includes all bearing and has replacement axles. If you can't find one somewhere, drop us an email and we can get one for you if we don't have one in stock.

The technical article is well written and has plenty of pictures as well.

Here's a link....
http://www.santacruzmtb.com/bicycles/blur/2003_tech_sheet.pdf
 
#5 ·
If you do get to the bearings....

When Installing the bearings into the chainstay bores and/or the BB shell/frame bores at the lower pivot, note that you MUST have the link in place, between the bearings BEFORE they are pressed into the bores all the way. Just thread the bolt/press/bearings through the link and press away. I learned this the hard way by pressing the bearings all the way into the back of the bores (like the other well-machined frames I've done this on before...) and subsequently found that the dang link would not fit between the two center races as the back of the bores were a tad too close together..... SOOOO, I had to back the bearings out and reinstall 'em with the link in place to "bottom out" the pressing of the bearings.

Funny note, despite having followed these specific directions from SC, when my frame went back with a crack and bearing failure, they said "the bearings were not pressed in correctly..." supposedly meaning they were not all the way back in the bores! Argh. As I stated, when pressed all the way into the bores, the link would not fit. When pressed against the link, there was a few thousandth's of an inch space between the back of the outer race and the bottom of the bore. I'm still not clear how it was that my press job was incorrect.

How many bearings have I destroyed at the lower pivot you wonder? 5 and counting.... in 6 months/2600 miles.
 
#7 ·
No need to hurt a goat!

It sounds like you are already blessed by the Blur Bearing gods...... spare the goat and just disassemble, clean, & lube the pivots at the shock and clean the other areas you can.... it'll help plenty w/out touching bearings at all.... but you WILL be able to poke at 'em, spin 'em with your fingertip and see if they still feel OK.... If they are overtly crunchy, consider pulling them as once the bearing disintegrates, it's nasty to get that pressed outer race out of the bore.... I think the tech sheet says something about a punch and drift hammer! Ouch.....
 
#8 ·
My pivot experience

FYI, I have had my Blur for 6 months (since July) and have no pivot or bearing problems. I live on the West coast but have done stream crossings, and mud rides. I likely have 1000 miles on the bike with no special care. I know a number of other Blur owners without any pivot or bearing problems, but do not know their habits or mileage.

Geoff
 
#9 ·
great!

Again, I expect my Blur malaise to be the exception, not the norm. And as I've stated, I've logged closer to 2,900 miles now!

Good luck with yours, and keep them pivots clean!
 
#11 ·
Basenji?

No, not even sure what that may be! She's a Northern NM mutt, boxer, shepard, heeler and some ridgeback..... all energy and a little "whiny", but she is only a year old!
 
#12 ·
gstahl said:
FYI, I have had my Blur for 6 months (since July) and have no pivot or bearing problems. I live on the West coast but have done stream crossings, and mud rides.

Geoff
I'm not having problems per se, I've had the blur for over a year. And it started sqeeking about 6 months ago, drippled some tri flow into the pivots, it went away. On my last dirt ride a couple weeks ago, it started squeeking again. Triflow.. squeak gone.

It's all apart now and it looks good, I just need to finish cleaning it and put it back together.

george
 
#14 ·
3 frozen bearings

george_da_trog said:
It's all apart now and it looks good, I just need to finish cleaning it and put it back together.
Well, I guess I have to take back what I said, as I started going over the bearings, I found 3 frozen bearings. After some work I got them working again, clean and relubed everything, and I'm putting it back together now.

george
 
#15 ·
I'd suggest changing the frozen bearings out as soon as possible.

I've been able to get frozen bearings on my Bullit working again, but it doesn't take long before they freeze up again.

Edit: What do you ask for when you order a bearing kit? Does it have a part number? Are there any other spare Blur frame parts worth ordering with a new frame?
 
#16 ·
CraigH said:
Edit: What do you ask for when you order a bearing kit? Does it have a part number? Are there any other spare Blur frame parts worth ordering with a new frame?
I just asked my LBS to look up the price on one, he happend to be online so I AIMed him. He's online at work often and we chat. He gave me a price and told me the approx. shipping time. He never mentioned part numbers.

george
 
#17 ·
About those Blur pivots

I'm pretty all hotted up about the Blur but as I'm finding it to be a pretty steep purchase for me, i'm concerned about longevity and upkeep. I'm pretty convinced about the bike in general as being a great ride, but am wondering how much the exception the linkage/pivot issues might be. I want to ride this bike a lot and would love to not be plagued by too much upkeep/additional expenses. I don't trust the reviews section as much as the forums.... Any objective informed opinions about how much extra attention these bikes are needing? Any knowledge on inherent design facts regarding bearing stress? Someone stated somewhere that not having a linkage between the main triangle and chainstays makes for better reliability....

Thx
 
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