Focus First Expert Rear Suspension

[MikeyHebble]

Afternoon all!!

Has anybody encountered a problem with the rear suspension joints on chain stays of the Focus First??

I bought this bike of Wiggle about 6 weeks a go and from the first ride I could feel movement that felt like a loose headset. So I set about tightening the head set and making sure everything was at the correct torques that had a torque labelled on it (Which I'm very picky about, most of the torques were actually incorrect!)

I could still feel the same thing and I've been looking after every ride to try and source the problem which has been getting slightly worse, this weekend it was at the point I could feel it coming from the back end quiet clearly.

Flipping the bike over and moving the rear wheel side to side has revealed the play in the joints allowing the rear wheel to rock from side to side.

Having torqued it up after stripping them it has solved the problem but the aluminium bolt that slides through the frame looked a little worn, you would swear it had done 5,00 miles!

The book I got with the bike doesn't even mention the Focus First I own and there is no number to ring Wiggle on. I can't even get the correct torque for that joint off the Focus website!?

Help!? What do I do?!

I'm kind of thinking back to Wiggle and kick some a55, but if they don't accept the bike do you think its will be ok and any thoughts on where to get the correct torque from?!

Cheers

Mike

 

[Rip:30]

Afternoon all!!

Has anybody encountered a problem with the rear suspension joints on chain stays of the Focus First??

I bought this bike of Wiggle about 6 weeks a go and from the first ride I could feel movement that felt like a loose headset. So I set about tightening the head set and making sure everything was at the correct torques that had a torque labelled on it (Which I'm very picky about, most of the torques were actually incorrect!)

I could still feel the same thing and I've been looking after every ride to try and source the problem which has been getting slightly worse, this weekend it was at the point I could feel it coming from the back end quiet clearly.

Flipping the bike over and moving the rear wheel side to side has revealed the play in the joints allowing the rear wheel to rock from side to side.

Having torqued it up after stripping them it has solved the problem but the aluminium bolt that slides through the frame looked a little worn, you would swear it had done 5,00 miles!

The book I got with the bike doesn't even mention the Focus First I own and there is no number to ring Wiggle on. I can't even get the correct torque for that joint off the Focus website!?

Help!? What do I do?!

I'm kind of thinking back to Wiggle and kick some a55, but if they don't accept the bike do you think its will be ok and any thoughts on where to get the correct torque from?!

Cheers

Mike

Sorry, don't know where to get specifics on that, or even if I'd trust them if I did. I'd just call Focus or your shop (wiggle?). If anything is damaged due to poor assembly they should make it like new, no questions asked.

One thing I always do with suspension linkage is blue loctite the threads. I just adj torque by the old feel method and loctite in place.

 

[dsut4392]

Afternoon all!!

Has anybody encountered a problem with the rear suspension joints on chain stays of the Focus First??

I bought this bike of Wiggle about 6 weeks a go and from the first ride I could feel movement that felt like a loose headset. So I set about tightening the head set and making sure everything was at the correct torques that had a torque labelled on it (Which I'm very picky about, most of the torques were actually incorrect!)

I could still feel the same thing and I've been looking after every ride to try and source the problem which has been getting slightly worse, this weekend it was at the point I could feel it coming from the back end quiet clearly.

Flipping the bike over and moving the rear wheel side to side has revealed the play in the joints allowing the rear wheel to rock from side to side.

Having torqued it up after stripping them it has solved the problem but the aluminium bolt that slides through the frame looked a little worn, you would swear it had done 5,00 miles!

The book I got with the bike doesn't even mention the Focus First I own and there is no number to ring Wiggle on. I can't even get the correct torque for that joint off the Focus website!?

Help!? What do I do?!

I'm kind of thinking back to Wiggle and kick some a55, but if they don't accept the bike do you think its will be ok and any thoughts on where to get the correct torque from?!

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike,
Try contacting Wiggle before you have a panic attack. I've found their after-sales service pretty decent despite living on the opposite side of the world.
Their address and telephone number are completely top-secret, but (hush, hush) I hacked them out of the interwebs for you

Aaaaaargh, I can hear the black helicopters coming for me..

Apart from that, number one thing to check would be whether your rear wheel skewer is properly tight so that bearings are preloaded (and axle nuts if it's a loose-bearing hub). I have seen numerous bikes with "rear suspension play" that turns out to be in the hub (including my own, the first time)

Best of luck, be sure to post back with the outcome and feedback on the response you get from Wiggle if it's a genuine hardware problem.

 

[MikeyHebble]

Hi folks!

Thanks for your help!! Its much appreciated, thanks for your time!

The feedback/update so far is....

Well..... I contacted Wiggle via email, and they told me to return the bike for a check by their pro mechanics. "Fine" says I!

2 weeks later (Thankfully I'm a road cyclist by nature who does the odd MTB race for a laugh) my bike turns up with clearly new nuts in the joints (As they are a different colcor) and all is snug with no movement in the rear end! Wahaaaay I hear you all cry!!

WELL!! A few months later and a few more trail centre rides (Not over doing it as I'm not convinced the bike won't implode to be honest) and the exact same problem is happening all over again!!

Movement in the chain stay joints and not the wheel axle. Clear as day when you grab the wheel and give it a "wiggle" you can see the frame joint moving!

I'm starting to think warranty replacement!? What do you guys think??

I'm not a complainer unless I need to be but I'm not about to start banging out 2k plus on a bike I can't race safely! No way I'm going all out race pace on that bike at the moment!

Should I send it back again for another repair or just go for the full refund? Not sure what the norm is with this, I normally custom build and don't buy complete bikes!

Cheers!

Mikey

 

[dsut4392]

If it were my bike I would pull it apart to see what the cause of the play is before sending it back.

If you can actually see the movement at the joints then it must be moving a significant amount, suggesting either the bolts are loose (do them up again using some loctite to stop them coming undone by themselves) or the bushings are badly worn (in which case you need some new ones).

If it is prematurely worn bushings, maybe negotiate with Wiggle that they send you a lifetime supply up front? Certainly can understand your disappointment if it hasn't had many miles on it since they were replaced, but bushings do wear out by design, especially in climates like the UK. Alternatively you could see whether you can retrofit bearings instead of the bushings, which will be smoother and hopefully also last longer.

As far as safety, if it's wobbling due to worn bushings it's not likely to be a safety issue for some time. Several years ago I was riding with a tightwad friend of mine whose bike was making strange noises (not an uncommon occurrence as he was neither technically inclined, not keen on spending money to keep things running nicely). After listening to the clunking for the better part of 15 minutes, I made him stop so I could work out where the problem was. Turned out he had let the shock bushing wear so long that it split and the attachment bolt was rattling around in the shock eyelet supported only by one side. Even though he weighed about 100kg, amazingly nothing structural broke, and the bike (an old Giant NRS) was back in action a week later with just a new DU bushing and shock spacers.