Marin East Peak - wear in rear suspension pivots

[Graham]

I bought this East Peak back in 1999, so it is getting on a bit now.

It gets a bit creaky, clicky, squeeky from time to time, so I dismantle the rear suspension, clean, lube and reassemble.

This time I put my foot on the bottom bracket area and pushed whilst holding the rest of the bike steady.
There is a lot of play in the rear suspension pivots.
There is a main pivot and second one which is connected to the shock absorber.

Replacement components of the pivots are / used-to-be available, but if there is significant wear on the bush of the shock absorber the whole lot may become uneconomic to repair.

Has anyone encountered this dilemma before. Your experiences may help my decision. Thanks

[jb]

I'm just replacing the bearings on my 1999 Marin Wolf Ridge at this very moment, I think they may be the same. The bearings are KP6AX IJK. They are the very devil of a thing to get hold of and my local bearing supplier has given up. but they are still used in the latest Marin frames so I'm going to let a Marin stockist get me some. One shop said they would replace them for free if I still had the receipt as the frames were garanteed for life, not sure if this would extend to the shock bushes but they are simple things to replace and should not cost to much. Is the shock itself in good order? as that might probably kill it.

I removed the bearings from the swinging arm by heating it with a hot air gun and then knocked them out using a drift and supporting the arm on a block of wood.

[Graham]

Thanks for that JB.

I have just had a discussion on the phone with the Workshop Manager of my nearest Marin dealer.

He suggested a complete change of :-
- Main pivot and shock absorber pivot components ( £25 approx. )
- Gas shock bush replacements ( £25 - £30 approx. )

He thinks I should be able to DIY disassemble and reassemble without the "special" tools.
e.g. drift bearings out carefully : press bearings in with a bench vice . . . . .

He invited me to bring the bike in for a quick appraisal before ordering anything.

[Graham]

Well the nearest Marin dealer has probably done me a favour by ignoring a waiting customer . . . . . .

Another customer wandered up to the sales counter as I entered the door. He bought some small item then asked about buying some new wheels. Out came the brochures . . . .

< Methinks - is this going to take as long as I think it might . . . . . . . minutes pass . . . . YES it is. >

At least two other shoplads see me waiting, but continue with their <sarcastic> obviously urgent </sarcastic> tasks.

After about seven minute I walk out.

Back at Mission Control my researches find that the shock bushes are designed to take the wear ( rather than surrounding metalwork ).
Mojo Suspension are the main Fox importer/distributor. I can buy the bushes/reducers online.

If I find later that I need to replace other Marin parts I will try to get them elsewhere. Possibly a different Marin dealership.

Sorry lads I know that attending to customers is less fun than riding bikes, but I won't be paying your wages.

[squeaker]

One shop said they would replace them for free if I still had the receipt as the frames were garanteed for life.

I still have the receipt for my '99 East Peak And yes, the shock bushes are relatively easy to change (with a bit of workshop know how).

[Graham]

One shop said they would replace them for free if I still had the receipt as the frames were garanteed for life.

I still have the receipt for my '99 East Peak And yes, the shock bushes are relatively easy to change (with a bit of workshop know how).

I would not get jb's hopes to high. The guarantee is against manufacturing defects. The main pivot bearings are likely to be deemed "normal wear" ??

As to the shock bushes - thanks for the hint. As I can service my Ergopower shifters ( . . . on a different bike ) I would hope I can replace the shock bushes on the Marin.

[jb]

One shop said they would replace them for free if I still had the receipt as the frames were garanteed for life.

I still have the receipt for my '99 East Peak And yes, the shock bushes are relatively easy to change (with a bit of workshop know how).

I would not get jb's hopes to high. The guarantee is against manufacturing defects. The main pivot bearings are likely to be deemed "normal wear" ??

As to the shock bushes - thanks for the hint. As I can service my Ergopower shifters ( . . . on a different bike ) I would hope I can replace the shock bushes on the Marin.

Actually the guy at J E James said that as long as I produced the reciept or some other proof of original ownership then the bearings would be supplied free of charge for me to fit as they are special aircraft bearings guaranteed for life. Personally at 12 yrs old and the abuse of normal riding in that time I wouldn't hold them to it, but if their offering......
Only problem is I found the receipt scanned into my computer, but its hand written, I could have forged it yesterday for all they know aaargh.

[Graham]

Actually the guy at J E James said that as long as I produced the reciept or some other proof of original ownership then the bearings would be supplied free of charge for me to fit as they are special aircraft bearings guaranteed for life. Personally at 12 yrs old and the abuse of normal riding in that time I wouldn't hold them to it, but if their offering......
Only problem is I found the receipt scanned into my computer, but its hand written, I could have forged it yesterday for all they know aaargh.

Yes, I certainly remember the hype about the main pivot bearings being the same ones used in the ailerons / control surfaces of F-16 fighter jets.
. . ..and having hyped them up, Marin should feel duty-bound to include them under the frame guarantee.

Good luck with that receipt.

[Graham]

. . .I meant to add that Marin have already honoured the frame guarantee on my East Peak.

Not long after purchase the frame started to creak and click. I thought I had bought a real duffer !

I discovered, after a couple of years that the pivot bearings were not sitting square in their locating holes.
Those main pivot holes had never been drilled-out cleanly and the bearings could only ever fit in squint.
The resulting speedy and asymmetric wear on the pivot axle became clear.

Marin took the rear triangle, reamed out the dodgy drillings and replaced the bearings.

The bike was a lot better after that.

[squeaker]

Yes, I certainly remember the hype about the main pivot bearings being the same ones used in the ailerons / control surfaces of F-16 fighter jets.

As attached

[Graham]

Wow squeaker, thanks for that.

I begin to question whether I should have spent money on the couple of pivot axle kits, for the East Peak, over the years !

. . .and because we are so confident of our technology we are offering a unique lifetime guarantee on our patented bearing package.

One of the pictures is labelled "a typical multi-link bearing package". It looks like most/all of the rear suspension joint components.
The top one is labelled as " ???? pivot package" . . . . . I cannot read the first word.

If you have a photo/copy with better definition I would be most grateful. If I can see what is implicity covered by the guarantee then I could try arguing the case with Marin.

What was the source of that photo/advert please ? What date ?

[squeaker]

It was a 1999 catalogue for Marin FRS bikes. I'll put some higher res images up later this w/e.

[Graham]

Thanks very much Squeaker.

I have all of my East Peak purchase documentation, manuals, etc. but this is a missing link.

( I expect that Marin will not be too happy that it is still accessible to old customers like me. )

[jb]

I like the way they home in on F1 fighter jets - to impress the socks off us plebs, they could just have easily said they are used on sewage sludge pump agitators
but it doesn't have the same ring about it. All they are is a normal bearings with the cage removed so they can fit more balls in.

Whats more important to mountain bikers is the quality of the seal the failure of which will destroy the bearing regardless of the load.They goofed up on that by not putting a cheap plastic cap on the out side thus eliminating one point of entry for dirt.

[squeaker]

Hope the attached is of some use!