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Switch pivot bearings

43K views 141 replies 46 participants last post by  mypuppynow 
#1 ·
Mine are toast after 2.5 months.
 

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#16 ·
I got my SB66 last week and during the build i noticed that the pivot pin was a bit chewed
and a few scuffs on the paintwork around the pin. So i checked the torque and it was in excess
of 90-95 in/lb maximum (10.5 Nm in real money).
I dont know exactly how much by but it took some real force to undo it and i done it up to
the correct torque of 10.5Nm - i tried it and it took little effort to undo it at 10.5Nm.

All the others were well under the 10.5Nm as stated int he SB66 Yeti manual so i done
them all up to the correct Torque.

Also i took out the dogbone link pins and found them difficult to remove because they were
not greased and were bone dry.. so i applied a small bit of grease as stated in the manual.

So it's a possibility that your bearing issue could have been a result of over or under Torque.
Personally i don't really blame Yeti as i'd say it's our responsibility to check and Torque correctly
as it's part of your build and riding maintenance to check these things IMO... but those early
adopters didn't have manual available with the correct torque values???

Chewed bolts, paint chips and not greasing the pivot pins aren't on though ;(.

Really really impressed with how the bike rides and handles.. really surpassed my
expectations... certainly better than my 575 over most terrain... awesome bike
and a joy to ride.
 
#17 ·
So it's a possibility that your bearing issue could have been a result of over or under Torque.
Personally i don't really blame Yeti as i'd say it's our responsibility to check and Torque correctly
as it's part of your build and riding maintenance to check these things IMO... but those early
adopters didn't have manual available with the correct torque values???

Chewed bolts, paint chips and not greasing the pivot pins aren't on though ;(.

Really really impressed with how the bike rides and handles.. really surpassed my
expectations... certainly better than my 575 over most terrain... awesome bike
and a joy to ride.
Both my local shop and Jenson (who sold me the frame) have told me that Yeti used low quality bearings in my frame. I have received replacement bearings of the same quality, but Jenson said Yeti wouldn't have the better quality bearings for at least 2 weeks. This makes me think that Yeti rushed to get this frame out and as a result settled for crappy bearings. At this point it doesn't really matter, but I would expect high quality bearings in a frame costing $2200.

And I agree with you about the torque specs and greasing the axels... I did that first thing when I got the frame.
 
#27 ·
Sb66 d.o.a.

Having read this post prior to my new SB66 frame arriving I thought I would strip it down and check which bearings were fitted and sure enough I had the suspect single row bearings. But worse than that they were already bust with a distinct notchy movement to both bearings. Zero miles, zero ride time, been waiting over two weeks for replacements via distributor, not very impressed that there is no way of getting this issue sorted direct with Yeti.
The state of these bearings makes me think there is an assembly issue associated with the single row bearings also and it would go some way to explaining the early failures other people have reported.
Have to confess I am starting to think I should have stuck with Turner and got the 5 Spot..
 
#28 ·
Have to confess I am starting to think I should have stuck with Turner and got the 5 Spot..
I appreciate your frustration, but production issues on a new assembly are kind-of to be expected, no?

Also, depending on how much rotation the linkage actually goes through isn't it pretty unavoidable that any bearings in there will eventually be notchy?

Not having complete rotation to keep lubricant spread evenly is a problem. One of the reasons, IIRC, that Turner uses a different solution.

I'm hoping that once we get my next bike ordered and it comes in that things will have settled (it'll be an SB), but I look forward to some early quiet time with the bike in my "shop" scoping it out and tuning things.

I don't know about you but I'm fanatical about my main ride and want to *know* it's AOK for whatever it is going to have to deal with.

Even factoring my virtual "hourly rate" - as if I were paid to work on my bikes - I still can't afford to pay someone else to be that nutty about my bike before they hand it over to me. I'm expecting 3-6 hours of checking things out after the LBS hands it over.

Which of course my wife will JUST not understand.
 
#29 ·
Its all about customer service at this point..

I'm a partner in small product design consultancy and have worked in manufcturing for the past 20yrs so find myself quite tolerant of the odd manufacturing/production faux pas what is non negotiable on any high end product is customer service.
This is a known issue and should take at most a couple of days to close out after all how long does it take to put a couple of bearings in an envelope and put it in the post out tray ?
Personaly if I'm paying £2000 for a bicycle frame I 'expect' it to turn up on my doorstep correctly assembled and ready for me just to fit my choice of components, if I feel I that I have to double check that every every nut bolt and washer has been assembled/manufactured correctly then I have bought from the wrong manufacturer.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I'm a partner in small product design consultancy and have worked in manufcturing for the past 20yrs so find myself quite tolerant of the odd manufacturing/production faux pas what is non negotiable on any high end product is customer service.
This is a known issue and should take at most a couple of days to close out after all how long does it take to put a couple of bearings in an envelope and put it in the post out tray ?
Personaly if I'm paying £2000 for a bicycle frame I 'expect' it to turn up on my doorstep correctly assembled and ready for me just to fit my choice of components, if I feel I that I have to double check that every every nut bolt and washer has been assembled/manufactured correctly then I have bought from the wrong manufacturer.
And the question that begs an answer....why are the frames with the incorrect bearings not being recalled before they get sent out to the consumer?????

I can understand the fact that some frames are no longer in Yeti headquarters but out to the lbs's. Still, why can they not confine and control the issue? Seems like they are waiting for the end user to bring it to their attention. Seems like it should be the other way around. If the bikes are serialized and they have production dates of the wrong bearings being used then they should have record of suspect bikes and what shop's have bought them. With that knowledge they could send out replacement bearings to the shops, who in turn can fix their stock before sale, or contact existing customers. Sounds like a lot of work but I don't think it really is. Especially on a very very expensive frame purchase such as the 66.
 
#32 ·
Ya, I realize Yeti is not some major corporation with divisions set aside to handle 'recall' issues and the like. They are a small company of 8 or 10 or 12 people I presume. Still, when offering such a high dollar item a certain level of accountability should be expected. I do realize they are absolutely willing to make things right, nobody is questioning that, they are a stand up company that I have no problems buying from again and again. I just feel they could go a step further with this situation, that's all. This is a top of the line bike frame that is demanding top of the line dollars. People who don't frequent MTBR or search the net looking for issues with their new frame should not be in the dark on this one, imho.
 
#40 ·
The bike is easy to pull apart if you are looking to swap bearings. It took me about 5-10 minutes once I had all the components stripped off.
I had the old bearings initially, but my dealer happily got me the correct ones.
Pretty easy...
 

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#43 ·
Again, this is not a recall so it shouldn't be treated as one. For any non-safety related issue it is common practice in any industry to replace only the defective units. Just because the bearings are not to specification doesn't mean they won't work just find (as John P has stated). In cases like this there normally would be a service bulletin sent out to alert dealers to the issue and to direct them on the repair. Internet purchases definitely make this harder to work out but it is still possible.

I have one of the first frames around and my bearings have been fine even after fall and winter in rainy, muddy Vancouver with many hose washings. At 230 lbs I'm hardly easy on my suspension. I will be checking mine soon but there is nothing to worry about now.
 
#50 ·
I contacted my Internet LBS (JensonUSA) -- they were well aware of the Yeti replacements and sent them out straightaway -- no charge, of course. Both Yeti (JP) and the folks at JensonUSA were very responsive and great to work with.

BTW, I did find some BOLU bearing equivalents (about $5 or so) by doing a few Google searches, but why not get them for free from your LBS Yeti dealer -- hope this helps.

73 ES GOD BLESS U ES URS :thumbsup:
 
#53 ·
Correct Bearings ?

Sight word of caution based on my experience. I ended up having to wait 4 weeks to get a set of Yeti replacement bearings through the distributor and got a bit fustrated waiting so bought a set of industry standard double row bearings (sealed, caged bearing). When I fitted these I followed Yeti's instructions and torqued the pivot shaft to 90in/lb and notched/indexed the bearings quite badly. In retrospect the recommended torque seems high to me as all you are effectively looking to do is pre load the bearing slightly, holding the shaft in place is done by the pich bolts at each end. Can't vouch for the quality of the bearings I used either ?.
Luckily by this time I had recieved the bearings from Yeti so instaled these but used only about a third of the recommended torque and they seem OK.
My second point is that the bearings I recieved as replacement form Yeti were Enduro bearings NOT Bolu ones. Their number is the same as that which appears in the current owners manual (downloadable from Yeti website) BEARING 3802 2RS MAX. These are not caged bearings but are full compliment bearings (mores balls, no cage) and are better for higher loaded slow rotation applications. They have higher radial and axial loading capacities.
 
#109 ·
Sight word of caution based on my experience. I ended up having to wait 4 weeks to get a set of Yeti replacement bearings through the distributor and got a bit fustrated waiting so bought a set of industry standard double row bearings (sealed, caged bearing). When I fitted these I followed Yeti's instructions and torqued the pivot shaft to 90in/lb and notched/indexed the bearings quite badly. In retrospect the recommended torque seems high to me as all you are effectively looking to do is pre load the bearing slightly, holding the shaft in place is done by the pich bolts at each end. Can't vouch for the quality of the bearings I used either ?.
Luckily by this time I had recieved the bearings from Yeti so instaled these but used only about a third of the recommended torque and they seem OK.
My second point is that the bearings I recieved as replacement form Yeti were Enduro bearings NOT Bolu ones. Their number is the same as that which appears in the current owners manual (downloadable from Yeti website) BEARING 3802 2RS MAX. These are not caged bearings but are full compliment bearings (mores balls, no cage) and are better for higher loaded slow rotation applications. They have higher radial and axial loading capacities.
I definitely agree that Yeti's recommended torque is far too high. As long as the axles are snug then everything should be held together nicely and last longer. I took my pivots apart after a while because I noticed quite a bit of friction in the system when I cycled it without my shock in place. The lower bearing pivot in the upper link was torqued so tight that the link would hardly rotate with quite a bit of force on it. This goes for the lower Switch bearing axle as well.

One correction on MAX bearings though - they have lower axial load capacities because the outer race usually has a filling slot to get more balls in the bearing during assembly. This slot reduces the axial load capacity because the bearings have to roll over the very bottom of the slot when under high axial loads.
 
#60 ·
Any advice on how to get the main (i.e. non-drive side) switch pivot out of the frame? mine's completely stuck. and not looking too happy on the inside.
Now that's a properly [ab]used bike!

Any reason NOT to flush it with penetrating oil, like WD-40?

Would need to be cleaned out afterwards, but seems to help get press-fit bearings out of things well enough to me.

Probably take a couple "shots" and some "soaking."
 
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