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Intense Tracer linkage bearing life

In May of 2015 I bought a 2015 Intense Tracer 275 Alloy Pro.

In December of 2015 I took it in for annual servicing, nothing noticeable.

In annual servicing December of 2016 it wanted some suspension linkage bearings, so I had them replaced.

Last Saturday I rode, noticed some clunking going on, one or more linkage bearings want replacement.

I'm thinking I'm going to ask the shop to replace all the bearings this time - I don't like things croaking when I'm riding.

For others who have the same model, how long do your bearings tend to last?
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,160
2,685
The bunker at parliament
For those things that's actually a better than the average I see with the ones down here.
With the way frame design these days is creating stronger and stronger and more capable frames, the forces going into the frames is way more than you used to get on the old slower less capable bikes. That's a generalization of bike design of course, there will always be outliers to this.

But because the frames are stronger the suspension bearings, shock hardware, and lower headset bearing seem to now be the weakest points in the jigsaw of parts, so those are the bits that seem to give out first these days.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,077
9,781
I have no idea where I am
It's usually best to replace all the bearings at the same time. Lifespan can vary depending on how much wet you ride in. But a year is pretty decent for someone who rides regularly.

Also replace the shock pins if you can feel any play.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
My Ibis had three different bearing sizes. One pair in the bottom link would last 6 months, another pair of dual row bearings would last a year, and the upper link bearings were fine for 2+ seasons. What a PITA that bike was to service. My Canfield didn't need any bearing love after two seasons of hard riding.
 

Jozz

Joe Dalton
Apr 18, 2002
5,752
7,214
SADL
I've always had good luck with Intense bearings. They always lasted longer than the actual frame...