Rydogg

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'll go to the Bearing Man and see what he can do for me. The bushings in the shock are really worn, so I'll definately be replacing them. There are no signs of any coating on the removable bushings, so I'll see if I can get replacements. The pins are still straight. I think I'll just machine them to get rid of all the burrs and scratches. I can't really see a down side of them being SLIGHTLY smaller than origional. I will definately get to the main pivot as well. I'm still busy trying to figure out how to remove the bearings from my "wishbone" part. There is a funny sleeve in the middle that is preventing me from getting to the back of the bearings...

Ok, new questions: I've removed my rear shock and all the linkages (semi successfully). As super_mil said, my bottom shock shaft and the bushings are overs!!! There are deep scrathes in the center of the shaft and the bushings are rusting??? Where can I get new ones from?

Sho, that would be cool, but I thought they were about R500 a set. Maybe they had a spare left side one lying around...

Already done , but I would never actually recommend that to anyone I didn't know.

On a semi side note, I remove my BB caps the other day and there was a lot of water in the "hollowtube", despite my bike standing for 3 weeks. Turns out that water gets into my seat tube, makes its way down and ends up in the BB, with nowhere to go (coz its sealed). It turns out that water degrades grease very well!!! (Unless you use marine grease

That's just rediculous! It's way easier and probably cheaper to buy a brand new chain. They're only like R200 anyway!

The bike is about 4 years old, but the shock is only about 2 years old. First the lockout stopped working all together. Then it started getting really "sticky". Then it started leaking oil and finally it lost all it's air. I know - I should have serviced it sooner, but this all happened within a month or so. I will be stripping it and servicing it soon, so we'll see. I'm not sure if I should bother with the pivot bearings. After I removed the shock, the pivots felt a little bit stiff and sticky, but I have never noticed a problem with them before.

Next question: I'm guessing my linkages have a similar setup with the bearings, bushings and the shafts, but - they have these tiny little screws in holes that run towards the ends of the bolts. What are these for?

Thanks guys, I managed to get them out, just like mr Super_mil said. It was a little stuck at first, but I managed to convince them out. All the bushings are fine. It's the shock that needs to be repaired (or replaced). It's a Monarch 4.2 - worst rear shock Ive ever ridden, but dirt cheap though. During a race it lost all its air and I started bottoming out. A lot! Now it doesn't want to hold more than 50 psi. I hope it's still salvagable. I'm busy stripping my whole bike and fixing / replacing a lot of stuff. My first time, so I am learning about all this stuff from scratch. Thanks for all your help guys.

Aaah, so there's another shaft within the shat that comes out?

Wow, this escalated quickly... And SHAFT was way before my time! Ok, here is my problem: the "shaft" looks like this (to me). It's like they bent the frame around the thing to get it in. I don't know how to get it out.

Does anyone know how to remove the rear shock from a Commencal? I undid the bolts, but can't get the shaft out of the frame.

I'm busy completely stripping my bike for the first time and Im looking for these seals at the moment. I was hoping that they would be easy to get, but I can't seem to find any. Otherwise I'll just have to leave the old ones in. The one is the thick rubber seals that fit between the cranks and the pedals. Mine are getting brittle and are a bit torn. The other ones are small steel washer things with a lipped O-ring type seal around them. They fit on the shaft between the bearings and the cranks.

Obviously hydraulic disk brakes are better, but Ive always believed that they are just "very-nice-to-haves" on a mountain bike. They make it much easier and nicer to brake. But your brakes aren't usually your limiting factor in slowing down. It's more often your tyres on the dirt (in my opinion).

OK.

Yip, they do actually work well, in my opinion. Ive had two of them on my bike for 2 years now. After ripping out all of my gear cables, the entry points that they protect are the only clean parts... But R200 for 8 of them is a bit steep. It only costs like R100 to replace everything else...

Not sure if they are worth the effort. Any thoughts?

Contents are EXACTLY the same!!!

Thanks to the guys at Action Cycling, I picked up my Avid Bleed Kit today for under R300. I know, I know, a home made one would have cost way less, but it's not nearly as cool. Plus this kit makes it way easier. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3225222613_ff408041a4.jpg Anyway, just thought I would post this up here so that you guys know where to get one. Also a bit of a rave for ACTION CYCLING in Cape Town. 021 425 6833

I am looking for the cable ferrules / end caps that have the extended rubber thingy at the entry / exit side. Normal ones look like this: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/Full/7463.jpg I am looking for these ones:

I rate trial and error is the best way for you to find a good seat position. I used to have the same thing, but only when I rode my road bike. The saddle was too far forward... Also, low cadence will do that to you sometimes. Try spinning a bit faster and avoid the slow cranking and see if that makes a difference.

I rate they actually look stupid without their helmets on. It's like they don't belong on a bike at all...

Hey, it's better than doing it backwards!!!

The epic is going to be cool> Gonna try go and catch some of the action. Also keen to lend a digging hand sometime...

This is all very very cool, but I sort of wish that Tygerberg would build some more trails for their members as well... (hint hint)