Spares kits avaliable.

Spares kits are already, or will soon be, avaliable globally from dealers and distributors for all Banshee frames.

To see what kits there are check out the Freeborn website, where Jim has put up a complete list.

Virtual pivot maintenance

The Rampant, Rune, Pyre and Legend have virtual pivots which are very easy to maintain using the clever axle and grease port system

From time to time, its good maintenance practise to flush the grease through the bushings on the axles, to keep everything running 100% sweet.

The IGUS bushings are made from a self lubricating polymer but since mountain biking is a dirty, wet environment it makes sense to do a little preventative work from time to time

Its very simple to use, and you can re-grease your bushings in less than 5 minutes using simply a 2mm allen key, grease gun and a rag



Stage One - remove the plastic cover from each of the grease ports, as seen in the image above

I have labeled the main pivots 1,2,3 and the smaller pivots 4

The main pivots have the grease port flushing system as these pivots take most of the load and have axles running through the frame.

The smaller pivots 4 do not need a grease port but its probably a good idea to disassemble it from time to time to clean it up and check everything is 100%



Stage Two - remove the set screw. Each pivot has a small set screw which is removed using a 2mm allen key - in the image above I am using a Park AWS-10 multi tool but in the workshop I would normally use a seperate 2mm allen key as its easier to rotate in a confined space

Before you get the grease in there and make things messy, its worth checking the pivot bolts and axle head are tight, take your allen keys and snug them up just to be sure

Once the set screw is removed from the pivot, you are ready to use the grease gun



Stage Three- greasing the pivot. I am using a Dualco grease gun with high quality waterproof bicycle grease. Push the gun tube into the pivot and pump the gun a couple of times, until you meet resistance and grease starts backing up

Replace the set screw, wipe excess grease with a rag and replace the plastic cover

Repeat this procedure for each of the main pivots 1,2 and 3



After the procedure, you will see dirty / old grease working its way around the pivot axle edges, this is normal and means your new grease has flushed your pivots clean, give this dirty grease a wipe clean otherwise it might end up on your nice riding pants :(

happy trails!

Rob C

Bushings are they all the same?

So I was in visiting On Top Bike shop and the wrenches up there were having a look at the Legend. I informed them that the Legend was pegged to have all bushings rather then bearings at every pivot.
Now these guys have seen just about everything, and so their opinions really count because its knowledge from experience. They had some reservations considering they felt bushings wearout faster then bearings.
I have also spoken to a few other engineers and we do agree it is possible with a poorly designed system. It is however just as likely that a poorly designed pivot, using bearings, will also have a very short lifespan... I know of a few but won't mention any names.
I also know of a few poorly designed bushing systems and again will keep my mouth shut.
You'd be surprised to find out how many company's out there are making bikes and don't have a single engineer on staff... and again I won't mention any names.
So it basically boils down to the designer and if he has a clue what he's doing. Luckily our Masters of Mech. Keith knows a thing or two about engineering and something called tolerances.

Basically the bushing should not be able to be tightened beyond a certain point or else they will drag on the shoulder and prematurely wear. When a bushing prematurely wears, play develops and the rider tries to tighten the pivot further which only causes more wear. The way our axles were designed they will tighten to a certain point maintaining the correct tolerance for the bushing and you won't be able to overtighten them.
We've honestly been riding the same set of bushings on the Rampant, and Runes that we've had since early last spring, they've not been greased and have seen almost daily runs at whistler all summer, been to all our demo days, and have booked what must be thousands of miles by different riders. The pivots are as tight today as they were when we first got the bikes... I'll keep you updated on the exact date I notice play in any of them and how long it will be until we have to swap them for a new set.
So basically not all systems are created equally. I know its hard for the rider to wade through the BS, but I'm happy to report riders are so much more informed then they used to be and it will serve them well in their choice for their next ride.
Of course we welcome comments and the chance to discuss the principles of what makes a decent design.

VF4B Pivots

All the VF4B (Virtual Floating four bar) frames are equipped with entirely new pivot assemblies for 2008.

By reducing the complexity and part number I have made the pivots far easier to maintain, whist also reducing weight and increasing lateral stiffness.

For 2008 the Rune, Rampant and Pyre will all be using iglide polymer bearings. This decision has not been made lightly. We have considered all the pros and cons as well as done a substantial amount of field testing (actually I would say that hardcore BC trails are far better than fields for testing to the limits!)

what are the benefits?

• Increased lateral stiffness


• Reduced weight


• Reduced maintenance


• Cheaper for customers to replace


• Self lubricating

I realise that there are a lot of die hard bearing fans out there... but what you have to realise is that bearings are designed to take complete 360degree rotations like you get in bottom brackets, and not angular rotations (less than 90degrees) like you get in suspension pivots. This means that the whole load in bearings is constantly wearing out just 2 or 3 of the ball bearings in a conventional bearing, whereas the polymer bushings wear evenly due to the design.

You can find more information on the bearings here.. http://www.igus.com/show_iglide.asp and you can also order replacement bushings directly from them quickly and at a low price.

Axles:

The axles for the main pivots have been specifically designed for performance, simplicity, and ease of maintenance. This has been achieved by:

• Direct grease injection ports with set screw grease zerk


• Grease injection can be done in under 30 seconds, just unscrew the set screw, inject grease, screw in set screw. (obviously the area MUST be clean when you do this to stop grit getting in to the pivots)


• 3 parts to the axles... axle, bolt and zerk ... that's it, why over complicate things?


• Double helical groves on the axle surface to allow the grease to push under the bushings.


• Hard anodised finish to axle surface improves the life of both axles and pivots. (not seen in prototype above)

Basically the you inject the grease in through the end of the axle and it feeds through into the gap in the pivot between bushings due to the machined grease path. (you can see the grease paths in the following cross section picture).

Yes the bushings are self lubricating, so if they remain clean then there is no need to even grease the pivots, however if you suspect there is some grit in there then injecting grease can force out the grit without harming the bushings.

After spending months testing and abusing the prototypes that all had the new pivot assemblies we are very confident that they will help improve your riding experience.