Dug out my old Thudbuster ST for the gravel bike whilst an angry S.I. joint calms down.
Certainly makes a difference and so long as I can get over my sub-10kg bike weight obsession it seems like a worthwhile addition.
But it rattles. After not much use and after always having been protected by a Thudglove. I'll buy the service kit but it has already been serviced once FOC as a warranty thing, don't know if I've just got a bad one or some sort of excessive clearance exists between the linkages. Could I just add extra shims to take out the slop?
Not sure, but my Thudbuster (donated FOC..) has transformed the ride on my Kona SS - makes it less of a pummelling. They're not light, but find it really good at easing out the sharp edges of a rigid bike.
I think the slop comes from worn bushings and they can be replaced
I have plenty of experience with thudbusters as I own 3 and have them on all my bikes ( LT version ) . Yes they do seem to get "wobbly" quite quickly as a result of the bushings wearing rather quickly ...in fact I was annoyed to find that recently ..even after fitting a new set they can show play at the pivots and I can't believe that's due to the pivots themselves ..must be poor bushing tolerance . I have replaced them perhaps half a dozen times in total now and I'm always frustrated by the cost of a few tiny parts and been meaning to try and source the bushings elsewhere . They do seem to last longer with occasional lubing . I don't use a cover but keep stuff clean . A guy came up with a modification to slow the wear rate but a cover must do the same I'd imagine . link to the modification
Thanks Kaiser.
I don't know much about suspension and linkages, but maybe this is one of those situations where if you let the bushings wear they then wear the pivots as well?
I stripped and rebuilt this morning with lots of Fenwick's Stealth lube on all surfaces, in the hope it will fill in a few gaps (it sets much like a wax) or even just 'damp' the rattling. I don't really care about the sensation of play I just don't like my bike sounding like a bag of spanners if I stand up for descents!
Weirdly neither the Thudglove/loops of innertube/bits of bartape wedged in between linkages seems to do anything to quieten the rattle.
Cane Creek do claim that the new ST has more travel AND harder bushings/pivots as well as being lighter, so maybe I'll save up for one of those for when the current one just gets too sloppy...
you could be right about the pivots but really they should be much harder so unless the bushes wear through you'd think they'd remain the same diameter . I shall measure them at the next rebuild . I'm like you ..I hate rattles, squeeks etc ..ruins my ride . My brother however couldn't care less and grinds along with all manner of creaks, squeaks and rattles!
If it's just the rattling that bothers you,hold it in tension with bits of old inner tube (cut in to bands).When the bushes get too worn in mine I will be making my own -->> I have access to a bloke with a lathe 👍😉🙃