MTB soft tail Maint?
 

HI,
Rather new to Biking, I have seen a few post about problems with some MTB that devolope problems after many miles is there any type of maint or checks for bolt fatigue on shock to the frame, I noticed there's a few bolts here and there holding the entire contraption together.They look OK on the out side but they could be getting a little wear on the in side..I do hop off curbs to the road and I am a CD...
I would hate to sheer a bolt while peddling a we bit fast.
Doug
I have over 1,000 miles on it since July.
Here's a pic of the model...I would think the bolts to the shock above and below are critical to the frame support??.The front shocks have never bottomed out and the frame shock seems adequate for me, I did try tightening the threads to stiffin the ride but the vibration seemed to increase should have bought a hard tail.. dang nab it..
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...st6500_500.jpg

Quit messing with your shock mount bolts. They won't break if you leave them alone.
Don't worry about maintenance on the pivots or shock until they develop enough slop in the bushings to be noticeable.
Just oil the chain, pump up the tires, and clean your bike once in awhile.

It's not a soft tail, that term refers to a very specific design that has a small, short travel "shock" on the upper part of the seatstays, usually of the elastomer type I believe. Several manufacturers made them, although with the advancements in rear suspension I wouldn't be surprised if they're extinct.

I'm nitpicking, I know, but as far as the terminology goes, what you have is a full suspension mountain bike. I'm not going to comment on any maintenance, etc. that you should do to the bike's suspension, there are too many designs and products out there, so I don't know.

And I agree, you should have bought a hardtail. In the lower price range, a good, new, full suspension mountain bike doesn't exist. To make a good one, it costs more-

EDIT: Moots still makes their soft tail. Here's what I'm talking about, notice the small suspension device on the upper seatstays:
http://www.moots.com/#/product/bicycles/mtb/ybb/

Thanks for the info Learned something today
 

HI,
the shock that you can adjust is the one on the frame the handle bar shocks are not adjustable.
the frame shock has a screw in for looser and out for harder ride I tried it both ways, and prefer the down the middle.
This bike frame does flex allittle at times if feels alittle weird like its bending mostly when hitting a pothole .
Its really been a good bike so far, it just started to feel broke in to me. I disked the nobbies and went with a smoother tire I really needed a hybred not a mtn. But hey it was a small investment. I have the centurian for touring with the roadies after I build more speed.. takes a long time at my age but I ve come so far in a few months..
Doug

I wouldn't exactly call that bike an investment. The low end full suspension (not soft-tail as wellbiked pointed out) bikes aren't worth much, and really aren't worth buying. The shock and fork on that bike are very low end and barely functional for serious off-road riding. If you're just riding it on the street, it's probably fine. As far as being worried about the bolts, don't just "tighten" them, you might break the heads off if you get carried away. If you're really worried, take the shock bolts out, inspect them, and then regrease and reinstall them, torquing them to specification (hopefully Windsor provides this kind of info).