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k9 <3 fork bearings!

Tomasis

Tomasis

Monkey
Feb 26, 2003
681
0
Scotland
man i love it..

nice idea include screw in reducer cup so it holds firmly. I hope it is easier to remove and add cups then.

What do fork and shock bearings exactly, im curious? does spring move at rotations?

Go, K9

i love adjustable handlebars,.. many adjustable products :P
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,375
1,610
Warsaw :/
captainspauldin said:
A bunch of /interesting stuff coming from K9 soon..
http://k9industries.lixao.com/pdf/product_specs.pdf

Pretty in depth interview as well over @ PB:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/luis-arraiz-interview-2011.html

Fork bearings, rear shock spring bearings, new cups, adjustable handlebars. Plenty of interesting stuff.
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I think I saw you comment on that yesterday. I'm quite curious about the pedals.


As for shock/fork bushings - is there really a benefit? Any tech guru will comment? Socket? Udi?
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
norbar said:
I think I saw you comment on that yesterday. I'm quite curious about the pedals.


As for shock/fork bushings - is there really a benefit? Any tech guru will comment? Socket? Udi?
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Theoretically it'd reduce friction, but realistically due to the fact that the whole spring is literally bending and twisting the whole time, it's not going to provide you with a significant difference in most cases. The effect is greatest on springs with long stroke and very few coils, such as some titanium rear coils. Personally it's not something I'd bother with, but it may help reduce creaking and whatnot moreso than helping actual bump absorption.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
The thrust bearing on the spring is pretty much standard in motorsports, but I haven't seen any actual test data about how much they reduce friction.

I ordered one from McMaster and put it on my rear shock...didn't really notice a difference, but I also didn't do an actual back to back test.
 
Lelandjt

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,522
850
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
mtg said:
I ordered one from McMaster and put it on my rear shock...didn't really notice a difference, but I also didn't do an actual back to back test.
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Which is funny cuz the people who pay $40 or whatever for one always claim an immediate noticeable improvement. I think it's safe to say that the more you spend for something like this, the bigger the placebo effect.
 
D

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
IH8Rice said:
holy chit those Ti springs are haaawt!
saying the spring bearings increase grip is a bit funny though
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You do realize that the computer generated rendering that you think is so 'haaawt' is actually the exact spring that you bitch about in other threads?

I will give you some hints:
Who built 1/5" ID springs
who actually built Ti springs in the US?
Who brought spring thrust washers to the MTB market?
 
buckoW

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,787
4,733
Champery, Switzerland
I ran thrust bearings on the spring and needle bearings on the eyelets for a couple months last year and didn't notice much improvement. But then again, I run a lot of compression which maybe hides the small gains?
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
davep said:
You do realize that the computer generated rendering that you think is so 'haaawt' is actually the exact spring that you bitch about in other threads?
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i was referring to the color/coating on them that i havent seen anywhere else. and the company youre hinting at doesnt make a spring in that color
bitching huh? cant seem to remember that but i see youve come for your monthly troll again. :thumb:
 
M

mullet_dew

Monkey
Mar 22, 2009
224
0
Bellingham WA
I'm digging the data logging setup, would be pretty cool to see the real effects of all the adjustments on your suspension, to compare to how they feel. Also light weight steel springs in 25 lbs. increments that are true to their rating would be awesome.
 
Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
norbar said:
As for shock/fork bushings - is there really a benefit? Any tech guru will comment? Socket? Udi?
Click to expand...
I think it's a wank personally, especially if you're going to spend $$ on Ti to save weight, then an extra hunk of delrin and thrust bearing is counteracting your efforts. The extra resistance from the spring twisting probably translates into a small increase in spring rate rather than any increase in stiction. The only benefit I see is if you're getting spring rub (and if the bearing stops it).

Needle bearing eyelets on the other hand are pretty cool, I noticed a difference running a BOS shock without vs with them. They wear a little fast though, I wonder if buckoW had issues with that?
 
buckoW

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,787
4,733
Champery, Switzerland
Udi said:
I think it's a wank personally, especially if you're going to spend $$ on Ti to save weight, then an extra hunk of delrin and thrust bearing is counteracting your efforts. The extra resistance from the spring twisting probably translates into a small increase in spring rate rather than any increase in stiction. The only benefit I see is if you're getting spring rub (and if the bearing stops it).

Needle bearing eyelets on the other hand are pretty cool, I noticed a difference running a BOS shock without vs with them. They wear a little fast though, I wonder if buckoW had issues with that?
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Do yours have a little play that you don't feel when riding but do feel when pulling up on the seat? The rear one was rusted and dead after 2 weeks and the front one is still going strong. I run lots of compression so maybe I don't notice the benefits as much.

How long do yours last?

The thrust bearings did stop a 300 lb. DSP spring from rubbing on an RC4, by the way.
 
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Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
No play that I can feel yet, but they seem to wear a little groove in the shaft (inner race) after 2-3 weeks. It would probably be worse if I rode anywhere near as much as you do. Rotating the shaft to a new position would help a bit but I'm lazy. :)

Any real benefit I can feel is just pushing on it (less stiction), I'm sure it would be very difficult to tell the difference riding. I actually run a needle bearing on the end with heavy rotation, and a normal bushing on the other end. On my bike at least, one end barely rotates so a bearing is no good there.

Are you running enduro ones or did S/C set you up with something custom?
 
buckoW

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,787
4,733
Champery, Switzerland
Udi said:
No play that I can feel yet, but they seem to wear a little groove in the shaft (inner race) after 2-3 weeks. It would probably be worse if I rode anywhere near as much as you do. Rotating the shaft to a new position would help a bit but I'm lazy. :)

Any real benefit I can feel is just pushing on it (less stiction), I'm sure it would be very difficult to tell the difference riding. I actually run a needle bearing on the end with heavy rotation, and a normal bushing on the other end. On my bike at least, one end barely rotates so a bearing is no good there.

Are you running enduro ones or did S/C set you up with something custom?
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Custom Enduro ones made for the DH team. Do your needles fall out if they get dry from wet riding? I might give them another shot...
 
D

Dwdrums00

Monkey
Mar 31, 2007
224
0
Has anyone ever run the needle thrust bearing without the washers? I already have a difficult time getting a spring collar on my CCDB.
 
karpi

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
any one run the needle bearings on their fork? since the springs are longer, wouldnt the rotation have more turns? sounds like a stupid questions, but then if it were true, the bearings would make more sense on the fork.
 
W

Welshy.

Chimp
Jul 14, 2009
85
0
Wherever the Justice Team need me....
buckoW said:
Custom Enduro ones made for the DH team. Do your needles fall out if they get dry from wet riding? I might give them another shot...
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I ran Enduro eyelet bearings in one end of my Morewood for just shy of a year. I have to say, if it wasn't for the case my bushing was gone I'd have regretted the purchase. You really notice the difference pushing the bike in the workshop, but whilst on the trail there's SFA difference that I could feel.

Mine were also a bitch for falling out. Every time I pulled the shaft out, and reinserted I'd have to do so with something in the other end, to stop the needles falling out.

On the subject of bearings, my thrust bearings in the spring did make a difference, but it was hardly a viable one. All it did was lower the spring weight a marginal amount. Increased sensitivity was a complete load.
 
baca262

baca262

Monkey
Aug 16, 2011
392
0
bull****. i just made a thrust bearing for my '05 888: took a cheap ass 9mm cup and cone hub apart, knocked out the cups, cleaned everything and shoved cups, balls and cones on top of the springs, removed the preload spring retainers and put a 95 mm long (this length determines the preload now) 8mm id pipe to hold everything down.

couldn't feel much of a difference except that the fork is much more linear but this is mostly due to increased volume since the spring retainers are out. will test further tomorrow, also i'll post some pics when i get my hands on a camera.

btw all this cost me 0$ straight. :D
 
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