Mountain Biking - Specialied FSR rear shock bushing failure

i have a 2002 Specialized FSR XC Comp that i bought last March 2002. i ride a lot and it has about 4500km and 70,000 meters climbing on it...

anyway, in the beginning (April/May last year) i had some trouble with the Fox fork (it leaked) and got that fixed. then just after the rear bushing that hold the bottom side of the rear shock to the frame were somehow worn. i thought it was weird, but had the LBS order and replace them for me.

anyhow, they are worn out AGAIN! anyone know if this is a common problem or what could be causing this?

to be more clear there are 2 little metal bushings, one for each side, where the rear fork mounts to the frame on the bottom. they are thicker on the outside and then thinner where they fit into the hole in the shock. since they are worn or bent they are loose so they is play.

i can feel it by holding the bike with the front brake on and rocking the bike and it "clicks" as the bike weight is loaded or unloaed and the joint moves from one side to the other of the loose bushing.

i ride hard and relatively extreme, but i don't do any huge drops (i'm kind of still working on my wheelie-drops, so nothing more than 3 feet) and i only weigh 165lbs.

anyone have any idea why this is wearing so quickly? i mean i think for a full suspension should be designed and built to hold up to this kind of use.

otherwise i am quite satisfied with my FSR.

Your seatstay may not be straight or the pivot tabs on the frame, causing the link to be misaligned and causing premature wear on the shock pivot. It sounds like a warranty issue to me. Is there a Specialized Dealer in Germany that will handle your claim?

L8R

hmm... well i guess i never thought of that.

so you think if i just replace them again then it will just happen again soon so i should get it checked out?

there are at least 2 LBSs with Specialized stuff here in Munich - the one where i bought my bike and the one where i should have bought my bike but they were out and i didn't want to wait 3 months... unfortunately i moved recently so the good shop is not so easy to get to (i'm riding tonight and on the weekend, so Thursday would be the only option)

actually one other possibility -- about 2 weeks ago a Taxi driver did an illegal u-turn in front of me and i stopped and did a track-stand behind and to the side of him and he just kept on turning and hit his bumper into the side of my bike knocking me to the ground. it broke the rear fender but i didn't see anything else. do you think this side impat could have caused a problem? it was a very slow-speed thing, but then a taxi has a lot of force behind it. i have the guy's telephone number but i was too lazy to call and since it was only a $15 fender...

Well, if you've had a similar problem before, it's probably not the cause of the Taxi Driver.

You should replace the spacers, and after you do check the frame alignment. a quick and easy way to do this is to use a piece of nylon string. Remove your rear wheel and take out the quick release. Tuck the string between the quick release and the frame and wrap it across the head tube back to the other side of the quick release. Pull taut and lock the QR.

Now, measure from side to side the distance from the string to each part of the frame. If the distance is consistantly shorter on one side, your frame is tweaked!

This is good for frame alignment, but will not be indicative of a poorly aligned tab or seat stay. I would take the bike in to the dealer, have them look at it, and then replace the shock bushings. If the same thing happens again w/in 6 mos. I'd ask them to warranty the frame!