# Best full suspension with well thought out maintenance (mainly bearing replacement) and frame protection?



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

My current bike is a Bulls Wild Cup 3, I think it's a '16 or '17 model. It's been a good bike, esp. since I bought it for $900 as a barely used demo. I've put close to 2,000 miles on it.

When it came time to replace the frame bearings, O.M.G. I tried myself and got a few out. Then I gave up. Brought it to my LBS and they charged me $100 to take out 6 more. I don't really care about the price to do this, but it was pretty annoying that they scratched the heck out of my parts doing this...the bike was well used at this point but still. If they had problems, how the heck would I be able to do this?! I prefer to do most of my own maintenance because I have found that though I'm SLOW AS S***, I often times do as good of a job or better than the LBS.

I've seen posts where old Giant bikes sold customer bearing tools. It doesn't seem that any manufacturers doing this any more. Is bearing replacement a common pain point for every full suspension bike? 

Lastly, I do really like the bikes that have a decent amount of protection out of the factory (though I've never had a bike that has had that). I'm surprised that most bikes have maybe some chainstay protection and sometimes downtube protection (better than nothing). I'm not keen on the after market protection kits as they are kind of pricey and I'm sure a bit tricky to apply. Frame protection should be applied before components are put on.

This year I'm going to buy a new "good" full suspension bike (likely trail) with a budget of up to ~$6k. With the previous mindset, my top consideration right now is a Jeffsey Core 4. I also really like the Ripmo but it's definitely more $ and the protection is not as good as the Jeffsey.

I'd actually prefer a Shimano XT groupset but it seems the high end SRAM is lighter?! My biggest dislike is DOT fluid...

Would love to hear your thoughts and if I'm missing anything. TIA!


----------



## ocnLogan (Aug 15, 2018)

To be honest, I'm not familiar enough with each bike and brand to know which ones are easier/harder to service the bearings on.

However, I can say, after LOTS of looking around at companies and bikes, I'm only aware of two brands that actively protect the bearings more than just the standard bearing seals.

Raaw, and Propain both have secondary seals (around the bolts, trying to prevent the gunk from getting to the bearing seals in the first place). So if you're looking for longer bearing life, and a trail bike, then personally, I'd say check out the Raaw Jibb, or the Propain Hugine (both of which were in the recent Pinkbike field test actually).


----------



## dan l (Oct 16, 2015)

The Santa Cruz bikes are easy to maintain. There is a grease fitting on the lower link, to take care of those 4 bearings.


----------



## craftworks (Aug 24, 2004)

Don’t get a Yeti unless you love practicing bearing replacements yearly if not every 6 Months stuffing existing ones with grease


----------



## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

Santa Cruz works be high on my list as well.

But honestly for increased bearing life, so long as you can get to the bearings.. popping off the seals, cleaning and regressing with a good waterproof grease works wonders. Especially if done at least every year, or before and after the wet season if you ride a lot.


----------



## milehi (Nov 2, 1997)

Not trendy but with a cult following is Ventana. They stack two bearings on top of each other. I sent my shock to Cane Creek for service and cycled the rear and it was buttery smooth 15 years later. No crunchiness, notching or grinding. Their later generation of frames have a grease port at the main pivot.


----------



## drjos (Jan 25, 2004)

Lovespicyfood said:


> My current bike is a Bulls Wild Cup 3, I think it's a '16 or '17 model. It's been a good bike, esp. since I bought it for $900 as a barely used demo. I've put close to 2,000 miles on it.
> 
> When it came time to replace the frame bearings, O.M.G. I tried myself and got a few out. Then I gave up. Brought it to my LBS and they charged me $100 to take out 6 more. I don't really care about the price to do this, but it was pretty annoying that they scratched the heck out of my parts doing this...the bike was well used at this point but still. If they had problems, how the heck would I be able to do this?! I prefer to do most of my own maintenance because I have found that though I'm SLOW AS S***, I often times do as good of a job or better than the LBS.
> 
> ...


Trek has a lot of very custom hardware that is aluminum and prone to wear. Really hard to get parts also. They want you to take it to a dealer. I think the serviceability of non "full floater" bikes will be better as that system created tension in all the lower pivots.

+1 for ventana. 

Ibis seems good so far. Bushing and bearings. Feels like my old Turner.

I really like bike designs built around 1 bearing type. Makes it simple to get parts for a refresh.


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

How about maintaining and servicing your bearings over replacement?


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

This has been a great conversation, thank you to all for participating!

I waited way to long to replace the bearings the first time on my full suspension. Almost all the bearings were notchy and some were straight up frozen. It was bad. Once I replaced the bearings, it was like a new bike...I couldn't believe the difference.

IMO, bearings aren't that expensive and I'm not sure a bike needs high end bearings anyways, maybe decent seals being the priority. I don't mind replacing them once a year...but if they are a total challenge, even for a bike shop that has all sorts of high end bearing presses, that's concerning. 

Certainly, if I can service my bearings and make them last longer, that too is a big plus in my book. But aren't sealed bearings usually unserviceable?


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

drjos said:


> Trek has a lot of very custom hardware that is aluminum and prone to wear. Really hard to get parts also. They want you to take it to a dealer. I think the serviceability of non "full floater" bikes will be better as that system created tension in all the lower pivots.


Good to know! I am never getting a Trek now, that is annoying.


----------



## dan l (Oct 16, 2015)

Lovespicyfood said:


> This has been a great conversation, thank you to all for participating!
> 
> I waited way to long to replace the bearings the first time on my full suspension. Almost all the bearings were notchy and some were straight up frozen. It was bad. Once I replaced the bearings, it was like a new bike...I couldn't believe the difference.
> 
> ...


I would argue that sealed bearings are not serviceable due to damage done to the seal upon removal. Removing the bearings for repacking also can lead to damage. There are vocal critics who disagree with this. It is not possible to have a scientific discussion on the topic of bearings here.

There are bikes that need no fancy bearing service practices and they go decades on a set of bearings. Other bikes and certain quality bearings do not last as long. Think about that.


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

If you need to remove a bearing in order to service it, then just replace it. Most bearings can be serviced without removal.

Scientific discussion?


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

Cleared2land said:


> If you need to remove a bearing in order to service it, then just replace it. Most bearings can be serviced without removal.
> 
> Scientific discussion?


I don’t agree that sealed bearings can be serviced…at least easily. I have pulled seals off rc car bearings but it was really tricky to do and I usually messed up the seal.

I am curious, does Santa Cruz use open bearings? Seems to me that they might if they have a grease fitting.


----------



## BadgerOne (Jul 17, 2015)

If you want a bike with easy/sensible maintenance, you want something that uses bushings instead of bearings, at least in the areas of greatest load bearing. Ibis comes to mind. If Santa Cruz has a grease zerk, they are probably using bushings also. Bearings are frankly kind of a dumb compromise and really aren't the right component for the job, but since they are easy to source and design around that's what we're stuck with. Some do a good enough job with them, others not so much.


----------



## prj71 (Dec 29, 2014)

I went the route of choosing a bike with less bearings. The leaf spring design takes a few bearings out of the equation. 









Bikes


Spot Bikes | mountain bikes, gravel bikes, city bikes, belt drive bikes. Located in Golden, Colorado. Demo our flagship models Mayhem 130, Ryve 115, Ryve 110, Rollik 150, Rocker SS, Acme, & more.




spotbikes.com













Living Link


Spot Bikes | mountain bikes, gravel bikes, city bikes, belt drive bikes. Located in Golden, Colorado. Demo our flagship models Mayhem 130, Ryve 115, Ryve 110, Rollik 150, Rocker SS, Acme, & more.




spotbikes.com





Also not a fan of any bike with bearings on the chainstay near the rear hub...such as the Jeffsey you are looking at. To me that's a big wear area with how much the flame flexes in that area.


----------



## EatsDirt (Jan 20, 2014)

dan l said:


> I would argue that sealed bearings are not serviceable due to damage done to the seal upon removal.


If they are damaged, you're doing it wrong.


----------



## ocnLogan (Aug 15, 2018)

My Anecdotal experience, is that carefully picking the seals out, and re-greasing the bearings with some good waterproof grease, seems to extend the life of said bearings. Although I see how you could damage the seals with the pick if you are not careful.

For the record, here are the secondary seals that Propain, and Raaw use. I'd love it if more brands did this... it just makes sense to protect them more.


----------



## LVLBTY (Jul 15, 2020)

All of the suspension bearings on my Pivot Switchblade get replaced yearly. Some definitely need replacement, some seem okay but get replaced for good measure anyway. I've made my own bearing removal tool with nothing more then some long bolts, washers, nuts and the correct size socket.


----------



## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

The reality is that most bikes bearings are a pain in the arse to remove/replace bearings once they are packed with 3 to 4 years if grit and grime. 

I don't think you should spec a bike on bearing maintenance. Get the bike that best suits your riding style and terrain then set about a maintenance schedule to check, clean, maintain and replace those bearings before they are seized in there with plenty of years grit and grime. Maybe even pull the suspension down when the bike is new and grease more parts for easy removal later. Its usually the lack of grease and the build up of grime that make the bearings a c#$t and a half to remove.

I have sworn and cursed at multiple different brands of suspension bearing access and removal, then I grease and clean thd appropriate areas and next time I go to remove that part... easy peasy. It was jus the factory over tightness/lack of grease/lack of maintenance that cause the freaken difficult to access/replace. 

Also slowly build a tool kit of various bearing pulling, pressing tools, soft jaw clamping tools. I made a blind bearing puller out of a dynabolt once to get a bearing out of a shock eye.... 

PS If you lbs scratched the shut out of your bike to remove the bearings they did a piss poor job. Don't take it back to them.


----------



## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

You're doing this to ride first. The best performing bike for your terrain would be my choice. Bearing remova/servicel tools for that bike figured into the purchase. And do the maintenence. Every time it gets easier. If you need to be there to watch the service guys do it the first time. Use your phone to get the steps down.


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

prj71 said:


> Also not a fan of any bike with bearings on the chainstay near the rear hub...such as the Jeffsey you are looking at. To me that's a big wear area with how much the flame flexes in that area.


Nice looking bike. If you don't have a pivot at the rear of the triangle, won't braking affect the suspension?

I understand your concerns, but if they spec the right bearing, I assume it is ok.


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

Appreciate the continued conversation. Definitely not making this bearing maintenance issue the sole criteria for a new bike...but it seems most of the full suspension bikes out there are pretty solid these days so if I can get one that makes bearing replacement easier, why not?

I did have a setup of long bolts/washers and nuts to try to take out my bearings but it didn't work well. I'm perfectly willing to buy some presses too. It's not rocket science to replace them, but at least on my Bulls, there are uneven surfaces which compounds the issue of getting presses aligned. Not making excuses for the bike shop, I'm not going to go there with any new bike for sure since they were terrible.


----------



## Thustlewhumber (Nov 25, 2011)

Transition also does double bearings with bearing covers. They have well thought out frame protection built in also, but a full ride wrap is only $90... literally the cost of a tire, so why not?


----------



## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

I think the OP should just have all of his service performed by his LBS.


----------



## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Cleared2land said:


> I think the OP should just have all of his service performed by his LBS.


The problem is a lot of bike shops don’t have the actual tools for this or general mechanical knowledge with rotating mechanics and how fast inventory/models change.

unfortunately, this is still largely a DIY thing and most manufacturers don’t do you many favors with the design serviceability. It’s generally not hard, but requires blind bearing pullers, presses, adapters, etc…


----------



## Notthatbryan (Aug 7, 2021)

I haven't replaced the bearings in my Giant Trance X yet (just got it in July) but the quality of them is questionable. They are all still smooth, but the outer bearing race is visibility rusted already. 
This is the case with every bearing I've pulled the bike apart far enough to inspect. 
The races on the headset (both upper and lower) and the upper and lower shock mounts are all rusted badly. They all still spin smoothly, but are rusted completely.

It does look like the bearings won't be too hard to remove from the frame because there are clearances for a bearing puller or a punch from the backside. We'll see when they need to be replaced. 

As a side note, where do you guys find replacement bearings?


----------



## Lovespicyfood (Aug 4, 2012)

I got my bearings on Amazon. I don’t think you need anything better than ABEC3. Some of my OEM bearings were metal shielded so I went with rubber sealed on all.


----------



## mlx john (Mar 22, 2010)

Santa Cruz sells bearing replacement tools for their specific models. The inside of the lower link bearings are open.

Specialized bikes come with a manual listing all of the bearings for their bikes. I have bearing extracting and press tools and I was/am a bike mechanic for the last 25 years, so It's not too difficult for me. Definitely a learning curve involved.


----------



## prj71 (Dec 29, 2014)

Lovespicyfood said:


> Nice looking bike. If you don't have a pivot at the rear of the triangle, won't braking affect the suspension?


No clue. I pull the brake lever and bike stops and slows as needed. 

It's a spin off of the DW Link which most prefer. I won't buy a FS bike with suspension bearings near the rear axle.









DW-link - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org













Why Dave Weagle's MTB suspension designs are so prolific


You may not realize it, but Dave Weagle is probably on your mountain bike right now.




www.velonews.com


----------

