Intense Cycles

Manitou Shock Hardware Kit

Described herein is the Intense Shock Hardware Kit designed to work with Intense frames and Manitou rear shocks.

Rear shocks are isolated on pivot bolts. These links take plenty of stress. Not only do the bolts in particular take stress in the directions suspension is designed to work with, but stress in other directions as well. This linkage is rather small and the stress can be rather high, so it is inevitable that there will be wear on the links, wear that will eventually break down the parts. Luckily, the wear doesn't usually affect the shock itself. That's because bushings and washers take the abuse. And it is in these small parts that the abuse is manifest. The result is most often seen in worn out or broken bushings.

Be thankful these parts are wearing out. If not for them, the shocks would be wearing or breaking at the eyelets, something that could be at the very least expensive and at worst dangerous. The bushings, if the bike is used, will definitely wear out sometime. When, we can't say, nor can we predict a single event or series of events that will lead to the unacceptable wear. Once every other year, once a year, twice a year, we can't say because we aren't there riding with you at all times.

The impact of worn or broken bushings is slop at the pivots. There might be some extra noise, there might not. Vertical slop might be hard to detect, but horizontal or torsional slop might not. This is when you feel the shock sliding sideways on the pivot bolt.

When you feel this, the bushing is most likely either worn out or broken. Since taking the thing apart for inspection can be time consuming, it's often a good idea to order this kit when you think the bushing needs replacement. Replacing the bushing starts by removing the shock pivot bolts. These too can be purchased from us, and probably should be replaced now and again.

Start by putting the bike in a stand and removing the rear wheel. The pivots take a 5 or 6mm Allen key on one side. If it's the kind threaded into the frame, you just need an Allen. Otherwise, you need a 10mm socket. Back out the bolt slowly, catching the washers and noting the order they came off. Do it to one side, then the other. Now it is time to take the bushings out of the eyelets. Ideally, you have a vise for this, but if not, a rubber mallet can help. Place a 10mm socket flush against the bushing on one side and then put a 16mm socket on the other side, with the open end facing the bushing. Use the vise to slowly clamp down on the sockets. This will push the bushing out.

Installation is easier. Just use the vise to push in the bushing against the eyelet. Once the bushing is in, press in the reducer washers with the same method. Once the reducers are in, it's time to put the shock back on the bike, reversing the process used to take it off. When the pivot bolt has a nylock nut at one end, you want to tighten it down so there's no slop (which indicates too loose) but also no binding (which indicates too tight). If the bolt threads into the frame, use no more than 15 newton-meters of torque to tighten the bolt.

There are several different Intense Shock Hardware kits, so make sure you order the one appropriate for your frame from the pull-down menu.