After years of suffering with a hardtail I finally got myself a secondhand intense spider off the forum. So, now that the frame has moving bits, what do I need to do with it to keep it nice, and how often?
I asked intense for the manuals, but they haven't sent anything yet...
Thanks!
Dont think theres much you can do, just keep it cleaner than your hardtail to make the bushings and bearings last longer. They do wear out though (thats the idea) then you have to replace them
Tip for the pivot bearings is to VERY carefully remove seals with a fine knife and push in fresh grease. This helps prolong bearing life enormously. Many new supplied bearings are almost dry and not suitable for wet mucky bike application.
And when the bearings wear out don't go to Intense - save 2/3rds the cost by going to a local bearing supplier or may be try BETD.
And if your taking the frame apart, get a good quality torque wrench & make sure its all done up correctly. Intense should be able to supply torque values.
Thanks for the advice, yeah bike companies do like to put several hundred perceent markup on bearings, I'll look out for somewhere near me.
Best bet if you're worried about maintenance is to give the bike to me: then you never have to worry again.