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Needle bearing shock bushings! Very smooth

tuumbaq

Monkey
Jul 5, 2006
725
0
Squamish BC
Alright I feel dumb for saying this but I would love to give those a try but its not clear to me of what I need to buy.

Say I have an Elka shock, Im assuming I need a different axle at least right? Is there a site where I could order the whole thing, press fit the new bearing in , use the new hardware and then be ready to go ride???
 

cableguy

Monkey
Jun 23, 2007
463
1
Southern California
Alright I feel dumb for saying this but I would love to give those a try but its not clear to me of what I need to buy.
Right now the kit is only available for 22mm spacing (like on Turners) on your shock mount. Do you know the width for your bike at both ends? I want to try them too, but won't fit my bikes, until they make more sizes available.
 

SPDR

Monkey
Apr 21, 2006
180
0
Engerland
I just tried to get to the needle roller page from the general Enduro website and I couldn't find it. It's fine as there's a link on the first page of this thread but there is no way I would have known this product exists if it wasn't for that.

Please Enduro sort your rubbish website out. Bin the flashy Flash and bump up the html with some proper navigation and you might be able to sell something out of it. Whoever designed that needs a slap. Rant over.

Hoping they'll ship to the UK
 

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
LOL yeah it was kind of a pian under bearings then needle bearings than shock option when it should be a stand alone product as its a kit not a random bearing!

If they dont Alan will and hes selling them cheaper than the website as well.
His site is limited but hes more of a high end street xc shop thats a best kept secret.
 
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SPDR

Monkey
Apr 21, 2006
180
0
Engerland
Ah I see what I did now - I googled enduro bearings and it took me to the enduro bearing site which is all flash and awful when I should have been looking on the pretty reasonable enduro fork seals site. I'm confused. Why 2 sites?
 

p11hlf

Chimp
Mar 14, 2010
1
0
hey guys

im interested in doing this, does anyone know the measurements for the bearings. or have a part number for them? im guessing its 10mmX15mmX12MM but i cant find anything.

cheers
phil
 

YnotG

Chimp
Jan 15, 2009
1
0
It's a shame the system's not compatible for bikes with 10mm hardware.

New shock eyelet standard anyone?
If you have manitou air or coil shock or any other shock (e.g. older RS) that uses 14mm eyelet diameter you can press in a HK1015 or HK1014-2RS needle bearing and use with 10mm hardware directly. They both have 10mm internal diameter. Just add a couple of O-rings (outside each other) on both sides to cover the bearings and space out the width with 10mm i.D. spacers (available from any hardware store)
t
 

spinner

Monkey
Jun 15, 2006
111
0
Australia
I picked one up from Enduro a few months ago and used it on the swingarm end of my 224. Installation was a breeze and it worked beautifully for one day of DH. After that , there was noticeable movement from the new setup. I checked everything was tight and inspected the needle rollers. All appeared to be fine.

I removed it and fitted a new DU (which is still in there). I always was a bit skeptical about the needle roller setup but was willing to be proven wrong. The $20 experiment satisfied my curiosity anyway. :)
 

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
It's supposed to have some play.. else the needle bearings would be crushed by the steel axle. My needle bearing, as long as many from other local riders, have play.
 

spinner

Monkey
Jun 15, 2006
111
0
Australia
mmmm..... I don't like the play. It's like having a worn DU. I'm a bit particular about little things like that , once I know it's there I'll focus on it all the way down the trail and then get all worked up abouit how it annoys me.

Ironically all the other metallic clanging noises from the 224 don't bother me at all. :p
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
What is the reason behind them having play exactly? Look at the needle bearings in a DHR linkage for example. No play. The steel shaft should NOT be greater Rockwell hardness than the bearing needles - if so, that's a fairly poor design. Anyone know what kind of gap the interface is designed with?

I've seen numerous home-made needle bearing eyelet setups and a precise fit should have no play at all, and they have performed beautifully and not worn out unexpectedly soon.

I'm considering just picking these up for my new frame from Enduro, but not sure if it will be worth it to have the back end feeling clapped out. That doesn't sound like much of an upgrade. I could probably just make new shafts for them that fit properly I guess.
 

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
What is the reason behind them having play exactly? Look at the needle bearings in a DHR linkage for example. No play. The steel shaft should NOT be greater Rockwell hardness than the bearing needles - if so, that's a fairly poor design. Anyone know what kind of gap the interface is designed with?

I've seen numerous home-made needle bearing eyelet setups and a precise fit should have no play at all, and they have performed beautifully and not worn out unexpectedly soon.

I'm considering just picking these up for my new frame from Enduro, but not sure if it will be worth it to have the back end feeling clapped out. That doesn't sound like much of an upgrade. I could probably just make new shafts for them that fit properly I guess.
Almost all the needle bearings I've fidgeted with have a veeeeeery small amount of play. Manufacturers tell me this is normal and it is the way it should be to avoid flattening and seizing the needles.

I can say that the play is very noticeable when picking up the bike, but riding you can't feel it at all. All you feel is increased shock smoothness and less stiction.

If you don't want this little play, I know a tip to make it disappear. When you remove the DU bushing, clean the surface of the shock eyelet and put a couple of drops of red loctite. Then smudge it so it makes an even layer over the eyelet surface. Let it dry and then install the needle bearing. The smaaaaaal decrease in eyelet diameter will compress a bit more the needle bearing and remove the play. I don't know how the durability will be affected.
 
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bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Why not? Eyelet is not 0.5"?
I tried and the hole is too small, The DU is specific for that shock. It fits the bolt but the OD is different on the DU than a typical.... The tolerances or void between the rebound adjuster and the DU hole are minimal, Craig worked every little detail to the last bit on the shocks... DUs are great but the performance of the avy over other offerings is enough in itself. Id love DU but Im not parting from an AVY over it LOL :thumb:
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I have a BOS Stoy with needle bearings and there is no play. There is no need for play for a needle bearing setup to work, play would indicate either wear or poor tolerances somewhere.
 

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
I tried and the hole is too small, The DU is specific for that shock. It fits the bolt but the OD is different on the DU than a typical.... The tolerances or void between the rebound adjuster and the DU hole are minimal, Craig worked every little detail to the last bit on the shocks... DUs are great but the performance of the avy over other offerings is enough in itself. Id love DU but Im not parting from an AVY over it LOL :thumb:
Bummer.
 

ridiculous

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2005
2,907
1
MD / NoVA
has anyone purchased one of the enduro kits. The span on my m6 is 34mm which means I need a crap load of shims for the 30mm kit. Ide much prefer to buy the 35mm kit and shave it down 1mm. Can some one provide an opinion on whether thats advisable/feasible?

Alternately I could just press in the bearings and re use the stock hardware...hm
 

MrPlow

Monkey
Sep 9, 2004
628
0
Toowoomba Queensland
I have a BOS Stoy with needle bearings and there is no play. There is no need for play for a needle bearing setup to work, play would indicate either wear or poor tolerances somewhere.
What he said. I have needle rollers in my Roco , machined myself a titanium pin to suit. Works beautiful. no play.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
What he said. I have needle rollers in my Roco , machined myself a titanium pin to suit. Works beautiful. no play.
Which needle bearings?

Does the Ti get impacted by the needles at all? Not that I'm considering Ti, since it can be a PITA to machine and I don't feel like buying it haha. Just curious.
 

MrPlow

Monkey
Sep 9, 2004
628
0
Toowoomba Queensland
bought the bearings from a bearing store. 15mm ID.
my bearings are in the rocker of my bike, and the ti axle is a press fit replacement for the DU.
Ti will hold up fine, but you are right PITA to machine!
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
Any update on these? I'm thinking about getting an upper set from rwc in place of the new fox bushes. 36 vs 15, is it worth the upcharge?
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Any update on these? I'm thinking about getting an upper set from rwc in place of the new fox bushes. 36 vs 15, is it worth the upcharge?
The 5pc Fox setup is pretty good (much better than the old red DU bushing system), no need to change unless that end of the shock has a lot of rotation over the travel and simultaneously doesn't use external bearings concentric to the shock hardware.

I'm guessing that does describe your bike though if you're considering it, in which case the needle bearing does help, only problem is it develops play eventually (depends how much you ride), as it's undersized for the applied load. If you service it semi-regularly you'll probably get a good run, particularly if you use a high-load grease - they're not created equal, see last paragraph in post here for a list of exceptional options.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes


This is it, the upper mount looks like a good candidate, no? Maybe borderline but if the stock hardware is good enough I'll just stick with that.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Like Using said, the newer Fox hardware is actually quite good. That upper mount does rotate a lot though. I'd see how you go with the stock setup and consider a needle bearing if you're eating bushings.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
I stuck a bearing in the top eyelet of my patrol shock last year. It does make a difference.
I put one in my DW DHR, and yeah, you could tell. That had the old, crappier red DU bushing setup prior to going needle though, so it presumably made a bigger difference.