Ventana bearing service

Winter is the perfect time of the year to bring that full suspension bike in for it's annual bearing overhaul/servicing or at the very least an inspection to make sure that those linkages are running smoothly. On a typical service it's very rare that every bearing is bad or seized but it is noticeable when one or a few have gone bad. Not detectable through the slow degradation of the bearing but VERY noticeable once replaced. So if you're one of those guys or gals that hasn't had your suspension checked at all for the last couple of years then there is a good possibility that one or more bearings need replacement. Plus it's winter and i need something to do.

a bearing candidate, my 04' Ventana La Bruja

remove brake caliper, chain, rear derailleur and rear der.cable

chainstay and seatstay removed which allows access to individual bearings for inspection and possible replacement

bearings ready for retirement

in my case six bearings were bad.....keep in mind that your typical 4 bar Ventana has 16 bearings in total.

ventana's super nice and easy to use bearing press

bearing press in action

the tool also captures the bearing

and presses the new bearing back in, we like to lightly grease the surfaces of both the bearing and the bore hole of the swingarm.

bearings pressed and swingarm attached

Breg......puttin' it all back together

while we had the frame stripped down this far we also decided to overhaul the Fox RP23 with a float air sleeve kit. Mine had been oozing sludge for a bit too long.....it's okay to ooze a little bit but it's not good once it's stops as additional damage can be done to the shock stanchion from high amounts of friction.

maintenence finished and ready for spring.