Famous Amos

Found a guide I made back in 2020 for the Stratos AL. Stratos AL used the same bolts, bushings and washers with the only difference being that tit doesnt use top hat bushings on the seat stays but uses another washer IGUS bushing install.pdf

Likely considerably cheaper as well. Igus bushings can get stupidly expensive when buying small quantities. R92ea when buying less than 10pcs Heres the bushings used on Sido: https://www.igus.co.za/product?artNr=WFM-1012-06

Always happy to help

Glad to offer some guidance here. The kit should come with 6 of those top hat bushings. You need 4 for the linkage and 2 for the seat stays. The metal washers act as spacers between the linkage and the shock. Only some bikes required this to prevent side to side slop. Silverback includes it in the kit to cater for all bikes. The large diameter thrust washers go between the top of the linkage and the frame indicated by number 26 in this image. I see Silverbacks numbering does not line up with the diagram. I'll be sure to let them know. There are 3 bolt types that came with that frame. M4 bolts - don't tighten this more than 2nm M5 bolts - safe up to 6nm M8 bolts - This is the latest variant and can be torqued considerably, but 8nm is sufficient. On the main pivot, considering you're replacing it, the threads tend to seize up over time, causing the tear drop to spin when loosening and crunching into the frame. A Parktool BBT-22 fits quite nicely in the tear drop side of the main pivot (hammered in) and will prevent it from spinning. Bit of a hack but it works. Lastly, Igus bushings are self lubricating. Adding grease will only attract dirt and accelerate wear on, so try keep grease off of them. Hope the above helps

For a moment I thought that was a premium adjustment notification

Check out the Marvel line up from Cycle Lab, they also just got some new colours in, I dont think its on their site yet. They also have a program where you get 2 free services and can trade the bike in and get the next size up when its time to upgrade. The bikes are also spec'd quite well. 1 x 7 Tourney if I'm not mistaken and hydraulic brakes, also nice 2.6" tyres. We're going to put our niece on one of their 20" bikes soon, she's had the 16". https://www.cyclelab.com/marvel-kids-club

Having never ridden a 3spd, I cant really comment. @ChrisF perhaps you can comment in your experience?

Sprocket is a sub brand of Titan. Good bike and backed by the awesome Titan team. Only thing I have against it is Im not a fan of internal gearing components as these can be expensive to maintain, if I recall correctly, I stand to be corrected.

So on Scott, the bulk of the money you're paying is going to that name on the downtube and that the frame is a lightweight design. Other brands that are good options are Silverback, Marvel, Titan, Zini and Avalanche, at least those I have experience with. Silverback and Marvel are backed by Cycle Lab as they're the importers. Zini is an in house brand of Omnico and locally backed, and Avalanche is also local through Dragons. On all of these 'cheapie' brands, you cant really go wrong Personally, I prefer Marvel due to spec and price point, the frame is however heavier. Silverback and Titan are slightly lower spec in terms of brakes, but the frames are flippen cool. Check the new Titan Players that recently hit South Africa. Silverback has also started to push a planet earth pledge where they are going eco-friendly which I know is a deciding factor for many people. Zini's new bikes also look nice and premium, with the bikes being designed with kids in mind. Check the 16" that has different colour brake levers purely to help teach the little ones what brakes to pull.

Cant go wrong with Scott, really solid bike and solid brand. Scott does carry a premium for its name which is why its more expensive than most kiddies bikes currently available. If I'm not mistaken, their kiddies frames are also more geared towards being lightweight which lends to the higher price

On the kids range, have a look at the Marvel offering from Cycle Lab. They come with a Shimano drivetrain with trigger shift, and hydraulic brakes, plus they have a buy back program when your kids grow up, offering a large discount on a bigger bike plus free services. https://www.cyclelab.com/marvel-kids-club Silverback is also a really good option, most of their bikes are now coming out with Shimano drivetrains while most other brands are sticking with Microshift.

I've only seen 1 cracked Stride frame, and I handled their warranties, local and internationally, for a few years. Anything above 120mm travel will void the frames warranty. The frame was designed for ideally 100mm travel, but can take up to 120mm.

It unfortunately happens fairly often in the customer service industry, whether a restaurant, clothing store or any retail outlet for that matter. I've personally been on the receiving end of screaming, belittling, and sometimes even threats. A rule thats good to apply when you're about to lose it is "would I want to be treated like this?" or "would I want my son or my daughter to be treated like this?".

On the insurance topic, as many have said, a good broker is a game changer. My bike, cycling computer, etc, is all through my house insurance under all risk with Renasa. I have never had a single issue claiming from them from my carrier that got damaged when a taxi rear ended me, to my Elemnt Roam that failed outside warranty, they covered in full each time (less the excess, which was very little). I've dealt numerous times with bike specific brokers, insurers and assessors, and it scares me how these people lie to their customers and get away with it. More recently, a well known assessor and repairer told a customer that they are an authorized repairer for the brand (they were not) and that the repair (a complete cracked through chain and seat stay) will have no impact on their life time warranty of the frame. This failure is typically an entire write off of the frame. Further to the above, the chaps rear wheel took a hard knock in the accident, which caused some noticeable delamination of the carbon layers. You could pop the carbon in and out. The repairer said this is perfectly safe to continue riding on, and redid the decals. A couple weeks later, the chaps Di2 shifters started to fail because said repairer quoted to replace, but never did, instead did some MacGyvering to repair the chaps shifters.

10/10 would recommend the Orbea. I ride an Orca and its amazing. After-sales is also great from Orbea. Their warranty is also world wide and not region locked like some other brands, you would just need to go to an Orbea retailer.