[norbyson]

Hi all,

First post here, so be easy on me...LOL.

Not sure where to post this, so Admin, feel free to redirect it
to the appropriate category.

I been a very loyal Ibis rider. I recently bought a V1 Ripmo and am already
considering selling it because ibis bikes seem to be more maintenance and
am tired of it. I'm referring to the creaking, etc. They are very creaky bikes.

Having said that, which brands seem to be a little less maintenance? I recently
demo'd a Guerilla Gravity Smash and was impressed. I've heard they are pretty tough
bikes too.

I appreciate your input.

Thanks

 

[Jm_]

Hi all,

First post here, so be easy on me...LOL.

Not sure where to post this, so Admin, feel free to redirect it
to the appropriate category.

I been a very loyal Ibis rider. I recently bought a V1 Ripmo and am already
considering selling it because ibis bikes seem to be more maintenance and
am tired of it. I'm referring to the creaking, etc. They are very creaky bikes.

Having said that, which brands seem to be a little less maintenance? I recently
demo'd a Guerilla Gravity Smash and was impressed. I've heard they are pretty tough
bikes too.

I appreciate your input.

Thanks

You bought a used bike with worn out bearings in need of some routine maintenance? Yeah, that's what happens to all bikes. Bearings can be bought online from several suppliers. The bearings have the size printed on the dust covers. I would plan on buying all new bearings and getting shock/fork service for any used bike that you buy. Some companies offer a "bearing kit" for their bikes, but they are often low-quality bearings relatively. Still, that's better than old clapped out worn bearings, so it's usually a decent way to go about it. Don't buy a used bike if you aren't planning on doin this IMO.

Disregard if you've taken apart the BB, replaced all the bearings (in the BB and frame), shock bushings, etc., but a V1 is an older bike at this point and all bikes need some love and care.

Tracking down creaks can be a little annoying, but it's going to happen to any bike, probably not right away on a new bike, but it will eventually if you do nothing.

 

[canadmos]

Yeah all bikes will eventually creak and moan. Heck, depending on how you ride or maintain the bike, even new ones will.

For stout bikes, look at things like beefy bearings, correctly designed bolt/axle/pivots, BB type, headset type etc etc. And stout or not, make sure the bike is easy to work on, that'll make you more likely to actually maintain the thing. Some bikes you need to dissemble the linkage and whatnot to get to certain bolts. Or like new Santa Cruz's, cleaning the shock is a royal pain the buttocks.

 

[norbyson]

You bought a used bike with worn out bearings in need of some routine maintenance? Yeah, that's what happens to all bikes. Bearings can be bought online from several suppliers. The bearings have the size printed on the dust covers. I would plan on buying all new bearings and getting shock/fork service for any used bike that you buy. Some companies offer a "bearing kit" for their bikes, but they are often low-quality bearings relatively. Still, that's better than old clapped out worn bearings, so it's usually a decent way to go about it. Don't buy a used bike if you aren't planning on doin this IMO.

Disregard if you've taken apart the BB, replaced all the bearings (in the BB and frame), shock bushings, etc., but a V1 is an older bike at this point and all bikes need some love and care.

Tracking down creaks can be a little annoying, but it's going to happen to any bike, probably not right away on a new bike, but it will eventually if you do nothing.

Thanks for your response.

I actually bought it as a demo with very low miles (under 500) and I believe it. It looks new. I been riding it for about 6 months and haven't had any issues apart from the recent creaking. I took it to my LBS and they checked the BB and noticed it was bone dry. So they greased it. It is much better now, but notice it still creaks a bit. I have a feeling it could be the headset needs some grease.

My LBS mentioned if a shop knows a bike is going to be a demo, they don't put much care into building it, hence omitting grease.

 

[ebarker9]

Sounds pretty normal. 500 miles on a mountain bike is plenty of time to inflict abuse. Going over the headset, BB, and pivot bearings on a used bike is definitely warranted regardless of mileage and something that needs to get done regardless.

 

[Jm_]

Thanks for your response.

I actually bought it as a demo with very low miles (under 500) and I believe it. It looks new. I been riding it for about 6 months and haven't had any issues apart from the recent creaking. I took it to my LBS and they checked the BB and noticed it was bone dry. So they greased it. It is much better now, but notice it still creaks a bit. I have a feeling it could be the headset needs some grease.

My LBS mentioned if a shop knows a bike is going to be a demo, they don't put much care into building it, hence omitting grease.

What was bone dry? The BB bearings? If they were bone-dry, they should probably be replaced, being metal on metal with no lubrication. This creates little metal particles and means the surfaces of the balls/race have worn down. BB bearings are wear items and should be replaced, in my case, around every season due to mud and muck, especially if they are cheaper "enduro" bearings, like come on most bikes. If you are talking about grease around the BB cup, then yes, that can cut down on creaking. What tends to happen is gunk gets into your frame from the seatpost and some other entry points and it collects down there at the BB, the lowest point, so every once and a while, you gotta take it out, clean it out, re-grease, put it back in. Anti-seize grease is a good idea.

This applies to the headset too.

Also, many bearings come from the factory with minimal grease, allowing more water to get in and decreasing the bearing lifespan. Headset bearings are relatively inexpensive and most use the same sizes, with most shops carrying these sizes. They probably shouldn't be crapping out after 6 months though, that would be abnormally short and indicate an alignment problem.

Also, that's F-ed up that they wouldn't build a bike correctly. Also2, if a shop is selling a demo or rental-bike, bearings should have a once-over. Unfortunately, most shops probably don't go this extra mile, but going back to what I said about buying used bikes, you should count on replacing bearings and start out fresh.

I thought my bike made "noise" till I had a friend ride with me a few months ago on his YT, he basically ran it into the ground, owning it for several years and never replacing or servicing any of the bearings. Holy ****, words can't describe the noises coming from that thing. Again, unfortunately, this isn't a manufacturer-specific thing, all FS bikes and even hardtails, need some level of care taken. Just like suspension, if you never service it, you are going to run it into the ground and the damper is going to fail or the bushings will start eating into the stanchions, you'll make it self-destruct. Many people don't want to do this and many shops don't want to spend time with these necessary tasks. This is one reason why people have to "upgrade" all the time, as they run their bikes into the ground...and others never experience it because they "upgrade" before it becomes an issue...it just becomes someone else's problem...If you actually put a little work into it though, it can pay off in a bike that rides great year after year. I have encountered bikes that were not engineered to be serviced or last season after season, but that is definitely not the case with an Ibis like the Ripmo.

 

[norbyson]

I have encountered bikes that were not engineered to be serviced or last season after season, but that is definitely not the case with an Ibis like the Ripmo.

Thanks. I'd like to learn to work on them more. You appreciate them if you know how to work on them. But I don't want to F anything up!..LOL.

I'm not sure what you meant by that last part. Did you mean Ibis is more durable than other brands if cared for properly?

 

[Jm_]

Thanks. I'd like to learn to work on them more. You appreciate them if you know how to work on them. But I don't want to F anything up!..LOL.

I'm not sure what you meant by that last part. Did you mean Ibis is more durable than other brands if cared for properly?

It usually comes down to the bike, but like I said before, bikes have wear items on them, bushings, bearings, even the shock hardware (pins, spacers) sometimes, and then there's the suspension, it's got seals, pressurized oil, etc. These don't run forever and should be replaced/serviced. Some bikes have a proprietary shock or proprietary mounting parts that make it difficult to impossible to use aftermarket shocks and solutions and after a few years, they'll change the configuration and discontinue those parts. It's not a frame-warranty issue if the shock goes, they'll say to contact the shock manufacturer, but that shock was only available on your frame for those certain years and the shock manufacturer has no reason to keep producing it. Scott, Specialized and sometimes Cannondale and Trek are notorious for this kind of ****. Not all of their bikes, but enough. On one of my Specialized bikes I've owned, the rear horst-link bearings were non-removable, you had to order an entirely new frame member (seatstay) to get new bearings. That was ridiculous. Ibis and other brands really aren't more "durable", they just tend to be made without the shenanigan's that the bigger companies push. Often these design features are in the pursuit of "ultimate performance", but the performance gain is insignificant in the bigger picture or easily achieved by other more conventional means. Sometimes, these one-off and proprietary designs end up being a gimmick. Most newer bikes are decent and don't have these ridiculous features, but a few still do. IME, bikes from companies like Ibis are more geared towards the long run and working well season after season, this means the bearings are intended to be replaced, no goofy shock, etc. Not always the case, but more often than not.

 

[norbyson]

It usually comes down to the bike, but like I said before, bikes have wear items on them, bushings, bearings, even the shock hardware (pins, spacers) sometimes, and then there's the suspension, it's got seals, pressurized oil, etc. These don't run forever and should be replaced/serviced. Some bikes have a proprietary shock or proprietary mounting parts that make it difficult to impossible to use aftermarket shocks and solutions and after a few years, they'll change the configuration and discontinue those parts. It's not a frame-warranty issue if the shock goes, they'll say to contact the shock manufacturer, but that shock was only available on your frame for those certain years and the shock manufacturer has no reason to keep producing it. Scott, Specialized and sometimes Cannondale and Trek are notorious for this kind of ****. Not all of their bikes, but enough. On one of my Specialized bikes I've owned, the rear horst-link bearings were non-removable, you had to order an entirely new frame member (seatstay) to get new bearings. That was ridiculous. Ibis and other brands really aren't more "durable", they just tend to be made without the shenanigan's that the bigger companies push. Often these design features are in the pursuit of "ultimate performance", but the performance gain is insignificant in the bigger picture or easily achieved by other more conventional means. Sometimes, these one-off and proprietary designs end up being a gimmick. Most newer bikes are decent and don't have these ridiculous features, but a few still do. IME, bikes from companies like Ibis are more geared towards the long run and working well season after season, this means the bearings are intended to be replaced, no goofy shock, etc. Not always the case, but more often than not.

Interesting, I never heard of that proprietary BS from big box brands. That's F'ed up!

 

[englertracing]

Interesting, I never heard of that proprietary BS from big box brands. That's F'ed up!

Specal ed and their shock yolkes. And brain shocks (inertia valve remote res shocks)
Cannondale and their um Cannondales
Trek had some funny shock collaborations with fox

 

[slimshady]

Specal ed and their shock yolkes. And brain shocks (inertia valve remote res shocks)
Cannondale and their um Cannondales
Trek had some funny shock collaborations with fox

Trek brought us boost, metric shocks, 15mm front axles... The only reason I despise Specialized more is because I can put a name on it. AKA Mike Sinyard.