Got it back from MC Cyclery in Sydney this afternoon, and they just replaced the seals.
Phew.
Came back feeling very plush again.. definitely need to readjust the pressures!
Giant Anthem X 29er - See first post for info
- Thread starter Jubas
- Start date
Phew.
Came back feeling very plush again.. definitely need to readjust the pressures!
tomacropod
Likes Dirt
Servicing the lowers on FIT series forks is super easy. Get some 15w fork oil, a 25cc syringe, a soft-faced hammer and a 10mm open spanner.
- Remove footnuts with spanner
- Tap out lower leg shaft things with hammer
- clean lowers inside and out, clean upper legs
- clean seals, use syringe of oil to soak foam rings in oil
- if you like, put some fork grease in between the foam ring and the seal
- re-fit uppers through the seal and first bushing
- inject 30-ish CCs of oil through holes in lowers, both sides
- push uppers the rest of the way home
- tighten footnuts to 5.5-ish Nm
20 minute job including fork removal and re-installation. Put it on your list of jobs to do every 1-2 months. Every 12 months, get someone to do (or do with your new-found mechanical confidence) a full seal replacement and replace compression oil.
There's no point saving money on a new Anthem if you're shelling out $900 for new forks in 12 months!
- Joel
- Remove footnuts with spanner
- Tap out lower leg shaft things with hammer
- clean lowers inside and out, clean upper legs
- clean seals, use syringe of oil to soak foam rings in oil
- if you like, put some fork grease in between the foam ring and the seal
- re-fit uppers through the seal and first bushing
- inject 30-ish CCs of oil through holes in lowers, both sides
- push uppers the rest of the way home
- tighten footnuts to 5.5-ish Nm
20 minute job including fork removal and re-installation. Put it on your list of jobs to do every 1-2 months. Every 12 months, get someone to do (or do with your new-found mechanical confidence) a full seal replacement and replace compression oil.
There's no point saving money on a new Anthem if you're shelling out $900 for new forks in 12 months!
- Joel
top_oz_bloke
Likes Dirt
FWIW these are some pics of my fork after I pulled it apart.
What I could see on the outside was the tip of the iceberg. Well and truely worn into the stanchion at three of the bushings.
All that was left of the fork fluid was a white emulsion. Seems to have ingested plenty of water.
I suspect once the stanchion coating wore through from dirt and lack of lubrication, corrosion started and it deteriorated rapidly from there. All around the bushings was a white gritty toothpaste like substance.
Have replaced the fork with a SID XX. Much different to the virtually rigid F29. The lockout is great but couldnt get it ideally placed as it doesn't really integrate 100% with my Shimano setup (my short sausage-like fingers could have something to do with that too).
What I could see on the outside was the tip of the iceberg. Well and truely worn into the stanchion at three of the bushings.
All that was left of the fork fluid was a white emulsion. Seems to have ingested plenty of water.
I suspect once the stanchion coating wore through from dirt and lack of lubrication, corrosion started and it deteriorated rapidly from there. All around the bushings was a white gritty toothpaste like substance.
Have replaced the fork with a SID XX. Much different to the virtually rigid F29. The lockout is great but couldnt get it ideally placed as it doesn't really integrate 100% with my Shimano setup (my short sausage-like fingers could have something to do with that too).
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silentbutdeadly
has some good things to say
Another one with the forks and shock out for a full service - with no local service agent they've gone across to TBSM in a box for a seeing to this week. Now the frame hangs forlornly in the shed, wheels on another hook.
The first wrinkle of the first annual teardown though has proven to be the lower shock mount bearings. There are four identical bearings located along the shaft - the two innermost in the front triangle and the other two outers in the bottom linkage. Unfortunately the inner two are knackered. They rotate in a step click fashion whereas the outer two rotate freely. Looks like the dust and the pressure on the seals facing into the shock pocket on the frame have done their thing after only 800km...
There's also some anodizing wear on the shafts on both sides of the bottom linkage and the dust has also got into the lower headset bearing cup and given that a little grind as well. I'm still to pull the upper linkage and while I don't expect to many additional dramas I still think it might be time for a full bearing swap and I'll keep the best of the current set as spares.
Never having had a full suss bike before I have to admit to being surprised how much metal on metal contact there appears to be in the Maestro linkage. I would've though that given the soft metals involved that there might have been more appropriate sacrificial wear components like plastic or composite washers and sleeves seperating the critical components rather than direct alloy on alloy contact. Perhaps it is just part of that compromise between weight, performance and price and the assumption that the owner will tear it down every three months for a clean out...either way it strikes me that in the coming decades that more than a few alloy full suss bikes will be found hanging in sheds around the country with corroded & seized up rear linkages and reduced to mere aluminium scrap despite still looking rather bling.
So...has anyone got any Maestro bearing recommendations?
The first wrinkle of the first annual teardown though has proven to be the lower shock mount bearings. There are four identical bearings located along the shaft - the two innermost in the front triangle and the other two outers in the bottom linkage. Unfortunately the inner two are knackered. They rotate in a step click fashion whereas the outer two rotate freely. Looks like the dust and the pressure on the seals facing into the shock pocket on the frame have done their thing after only 800km...
There's also some anodizing wear on the shafts on both sides of the bottom linkage and the dust has also got into the lower headset bearing cup and given that a little grind as well. I'm still to pull the upper linkage and while I don't expect to many additional dramas I still think it might be time for a full bearing swap and I'll keep the best of the current set as spares.
Never having had a full suss bike before I have to admit to being surprised how much metal on metal contact there appears to be in the Maestro linkage. I would've though that given the soft metals involved that there might have been more appropriate sacrificial wear components like plastic or composite washers and sleeves seperating the critical components rather than direct alloy on alloy contact. Perhaps it is just part of that compromise between weight, performance and price and the assumption that the owner will tear it down every three months for a clean out...either way it strikes me that in the coming decades that more than a few alloy full suss bikes will be found hanging in sheds around the country with corroded & seized up rear linkages and reduced to mere aluminium scrap despite still looking rather bling.
So...has anyone got any Maestro bearing recommendations?
willsy01
Eats Squid
I picked up a set of Enduro bearings for my Trance from diymtb.com.au. I can't remember the name of the chap there, but he was helpful and I had them the day after they came into stock. A+++ Will deal with again.
Flip the lever open and unscrew it. So much better than a 9mm QR.
Knopey
Likes Dirt
Those forks look very similar to how mine did. Yes, they were fixed by warranty (*) but it very likely depends on your shop & you, your circumstances and the history of your bike. In my case the bike had had a regular service without the early signs of the problem being properly picked up, hence they gave me some leeway. YMMV.
* The parts were all covered by warranty which is awesome, I had to pay for a full fork service which is more than fair enough, since I should have given them one earlier anyway.
The original forks always had a problem with leaving gunk (felt like rubber?) on the stanchion after almost every ride, but the "new" forks are perfect
* The parts were all covered by warranty which is awesome, I had to pay for a full fork service which is more than fair enough, since I should have given them one earlier anyway.
The original forks always had a problem with leaving gunk (felt like rubber?) on the stanchion after almost every ride, but the "new" forks are perfect
Markymark188
Likes Dirt
Just to build on what Willsy01 has just said, when you flip the lever it will just pivot around on it's own axis if you just do the normal unscrew action. If you look at the leading edge of the axle there is an indent that the lever will fit into. Now once it is in that indent use the leverage that the lever creates to unscrew the axle. If you don't pop it in the indent the lever just pivots within the axle and won't undoe the axle.
Hope that makes sense.
Interesting to see the Advanced version - saving of 185gms is nice, particularly given the swing arm is still an alloy. WTF is going on with the colour scheme though?
There's some serious builds coming for it as well:
Hrmm..
There's some serious builds coming for it as well:
Sub 10kg out of the box isn't shabby. I wonder what the frameset will set you back in Aus (if it makes it over)
Thanks. I knew there was a little more to it! Reading this makes me think of an analogous description of how to open a medicine bottle..
leftieant
Likes Bikes and Dirt
First ride report on the 2013 29er Advanced: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/c...nced-29er-0-12-46137?CPN=RSS&SOURCE=BRGENHOME
Our RRP is going to be $1400 less than the US? Must admit that I thought this was a little optimistic but just checked and for the current 26" Anthem X Advanced SL0 our RRP is $6999 while the US is getting stung $8600. That is an awesome price, shame about the colour.
No worries bud - trust me it took me a few good minutes to work it out too.
I hope we do get the frameset, however suspect again that we won't.