Silverback Stratos CF rear triangle confusion

[The expat cyclist]

Good morning from a Saffer in a cloudy overcast Germany.

I have a tech question and I hope someone here can help me with this.
I ordered a pivot replacemnt kit from Silverback - after three years I felt it was time to replace this stuff.
This is what you order and this is also what will arrive in the post.

 

I asked them if they have a diagram that goes with this and they said sure and send me the below:

And the parts list/description from the bottom right hand corner:

Lovely isn't it.
However, this is where I got stuck.
The picture and list show 6 top hat bushings.
Only 4 is in the order. See first picture. ( queried this and currently waiting for their response)
(Also the numbering is all wrong but let's ignore that for now.)

There are also 6x8mm metal washers that comes with the order. I assume these are thrust washers? These are not mentioned anywhere on the diagram or on the parts list on the diagram but they come with the order.
There are however two plastic 8mm (internal diameter) thrust washers but they have a much larger outer diameter than the metal ones.

As I said, I have queried this with them and I am wating for their reply but I am just curious if anyone has ever dealt with this?



 

[Prince Albert Cycles]

There is/was a guy at Cyclelab Durbanville that is knowledgeable .

cant remember his name

[Dogs]

Daniel Amos?  

[Prince Albert Cycles]

51 minutes ago, Dogs said:

Daniel Amos?  

Yes

[Famous Amos]

9 hours ago, The expat cyclist said:

Good morning from a Saffer in a cloudy overcast Germany.

I have a tech question and I hope someone here can help me with this.
I ordered a pivot replacemnt kit from Silverback - after three years I felt it was time to replace this stuff.
This is what you order and this is also what will arrive in the post.

 

I asked them if they have a diagram that goes with this and they said sure and send me the below:

And the parts list/description from the bottom right hand corner:

Lovely isn't it.
However, this is where I got stuck.
The picture and list show 6 top hat bushings.
Only 4 is in the order. See first picture. ( queried this and currently waiting for their response)
(Also the numbering is all wrong but let's ignore that for now.)

There are also 6x8mm metal washers that comes with the order. I assume these are thrust washers? These are not mentioned anywhere on the diagram or on the parts list on the diagram but they come with the order.
There are however two plastic 8mm (internal diameter) thrust washers but they have a much larger outer diameter than the metal ones.

As I said, I have queried this with them and I am wating for their reply but I am just curious if anyone has ever dealt with this?



 

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

[Prince Albert Cycles]

19 minutes ago, Famous Amos said:

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

Told you this guy knows his stuff 😇

[Famous Amos]

8 minutes ago, Prince Albert Cycles said:

Told you this guy knows his stuff 😇

Always happy to help

[The expat cyclist]

14 hours ago, Famous Amos said:

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

Thanks for the great explanation.
I asked the same question to Silverback directly and still have not gotten a response after more than a week.
When I send a follow-up mail, all I got was: Sorry we are busy. We will get back to you.

I will try and get them to send me two more top hat bushings. 
Would really like to get my MTB together again.

Thanks again for the great response!

Edited Tuesday at 08:53 AM by The expat cyclist

[Martin PJ]

Sort of related, my Silverback Sido 1 bushings were worn, couldn't find any kits, so I measured the plastic bushings and replaced them with Aliexpress self lubricating brass bushings about a year ago, so far they have worked very well.

[Famous Amos]

4 minutes ago, Martin PJ said:

Sort of related, my Silverback Sido 1 bushings were worn, couldn't find any kits, so I measured the plastic bushings and replaced them with Aliexpress self lubricating brass bushings about a year ago, so far they have worked very well.

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

[Martin PJ]

4 minutes ago, Famous Amos said:

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

I paid a lot less. About R250 for 20. The Silverback Sido all the bushings are the same size. I remember I had to take out some washers because the top hat rim thickness was 1.2 mm instead of 1 mm. 

[Famous Amos]

2 hours ago, The expat cyclist said:

Thanks for the great explanation.
I asked the same question to Silverback directly and still have not gotten a response after more than a week.
When I send a follow-up mail, all I got was: Sorry we are busy. We will get back to you.

I will try and get them to send me two more top hat bushings. 
Would really like to get my MTB together again.

Thanks again for the great response!

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