SC Blur - Loose rear triangle

**Jack Burton** · 05-17-2007, 09:56 AM

I bought a Blur XC last september that I really like. The rear triangle is pretty loose, not sure if I'm just noticing it now or if something broke on the ride before last. I checked all the pivot bolts/welds & they all look good, next try will be to pull triangle off & replace bushings ect. I guess?

Has anyone had problems in or around the pivot bolts on similar style bike?

Thx

**flowtron** · 05-17-2007, 10:03 AM

Your bearings died. Put a little bucket underneath your bike when you pull your pivot bolts. It happens to Blurs. Did you buy it used? I though they remedied this on the newer ones.

**brettf** · 05-17-2007, 10:41 AM

replace bearings. if you do it yourself, borrow the bearing tool from somewhere or a shop. or buy it from SC. if you are mechanically minded, it'll be a snap. if not, like me, it'll take you a little while the first time, but you'll get it. buy the bearings from SC and you'll get some instructions that were nice the first time I replaced my bearings.

also grind down the shafts a hair after pulling them out (the pivot shafts) and after cleaning them. it'll tighten things up nicely. just a hair.

edit: and yes - a bucket is a good idea

**kchri** · 05-17-2007, 11:01 AM

If you just bought this new last September it seems a bit premature to have to change the bearings. My Blur had loose bearings after 3-4 months. I took everything apart, regreased and reassembled and everything was tight again. If it older than the dates you provided it may need a bearing replacement.

**Arty50** · 05-17-2007, 11:01 AM

Isn't SC offering free bearings for life now?

**brettf** · 05-17-2007, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Arty50

Isn't SC offering free bearings for life now?

whaaaa? sounds awesome... but blur bearings still $32 on www.santacruzmtb.com website.

**brettf** · 05-17-2007, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by kchri

If you just bought this new last September it seems a bit premature to have to change the bearings. My Blur had loose bearings after 3-4 months. I took everything apart, regreased and reassembled and everything was tight again. If it older than the dates you provided it may need a bearing replacement.

ditto thoughts. i assumed you bought used. did you?

**Jack Burton** · 05-17-2007, 11:21 AM

Yeah it was last years model and new in Sept. I have the bushing/pivot kit less one nut which fell out before I realized I needed to locktite all the pivots. Will pull rear triangle off tomorrow and see if something looks out of whack compared to what's in the kit. Only into 6th month of riding so am a bit suprised that this is happening already as I try to treat it well aside from riding it a lot.

Thanks for the help.

**frorider** · 05-19-2007, 09:00 PM

yeah, the 'free bearing' program got a lot of publicity last year.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=pivot

Yes, Santa Cruz now guarantees all frame pivot bearings for life, on all
bike models, to the original owner. We will offer free replacements in
exchange for Proof of Purchase and the return of your old/damaged bearings.
If you ever need to take advantage of the bearing guarantee, just email -
bearings@santacruzbicycles.com and our Tech Dept can help sort you out from
there.

the santa cruz site on mtbr has a lot of threads on the 'creaky pivot' or 'premature wear on the bearings' type of issues w/ their VPP bikes. in fact, sc was getting so much negative publicity that they decided to do the 'free replacement' bearing program....which some feel is a band-aid 'solution' to a pain-in-the-ass issue.

**2turntables** · 05-20-2007, 10:11 PM

All my friends that ride Blurs have these problems on a regular basis. We have fun laughing at how much they bragged about their bikes at first, but now our cheaper bikes stand up longer and better.
Most of us looked at the design and knew that it was not one that would stand up and stay solid.
If you don't mind working on them, they do ride pretty nice, though. Good luck.
It's always a good idea when selecting a mtn bike to take a good look at the design, materials, stress points, etc. & realistically note how the bike will hold up. Just by looking at the design, one can see that the Blur is definitely not going stand the test of time under the forces that will be applied to that frame.

**Jack Burton** · 05-21-2007, 11:48 AM

Mine is getting new bearings now and should be hitting EBAY some time in July, hopefully the new bearings make it unitl then. It does ride nice, but I don't want to spend much time $ working on it.

**brettf** · 05-21-2007, 12:15 PM

can't believe this is an issue. minimal maintenance on mine with many many many miles and riding that the thing was not designed for... and I've replaced my bearings once and shortened up the axle shafts a different time. and it is great.

**Jack Burton** · 05-21-2007, 05:25 PM

Local shop did the work this time & I have a bearing press on order from Santa Cruz so I will do the work if the bearings go again while I still own the bike. It has somewhere north of 500 miles on it, no big jumps or serious downhilling, but I have ridden it pretty hard, training for cream puff now, so am hoping that it holds up through July.