What is a typical cost for mtb pivot service?
 

Want to get a feedback on the typical cost for this type of job.

My bike has developed some creaking noise and the pivot and bearings will need to be serviced.

The LBS quoted $150 for labor of taking apart the rear of the bike and replaced the bearings if needed. Cost of parts extra.

I think it is reasonable but not sure if there is a standard. This is in Maryland.

If you have the time and a blind bearing puller, some wrenches, and a bearing press kit, DIY it. It's not *that* difficult a job

If you don't have the press kit or the blind bearing puller, then I'd say $150 in labor's a screaming deal

M

I'm CLE and some shops charge $100-200 minus parts/hardware. I charge $150 INCL the pivot parts (minus bearings/bushings). Honestly, it's not that hard of a service job. Usually about 45-60 minutes. Which is why I include the pivot hardware. But then again, I try not to bend people over without lube unlike other places.

FWIW, be sure it's the pivots. My bike was "creaking" under power and I went through checking all the pivots only to discover that it was the derailleur under power.

What is a typical cost for mtb pivot service?
 

Thanks for the input.

The shop called me back that after disassembly and check they find 6/8 bearings need to be replaced. The quote for labor and parts is $160. I think that is quite fair given the input here. They have to order the bearings since they don’t have the size in stock but the distributor has them.

Another reason I asked is that this is a new shop and I want to check how fair they are in case I have other issues. I plan to have them do front and rear shocks overhaul at the end of the season.

Yeah I don’t have any tools for bearing services so even if I do this once a season is not too bad of a deal.


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In the future, I'd recommend that you learn how to take the pivots apart, pry off the seals of the pivot bearings, and push in some fresh grease. Do this every 3-6 months, depending on riding conditions and how aggressive you wash your bike, and you can extend the life of the bearings by 3x-4x.

And look up DIY pivot bearing presses. Lots of good ideas using threaded rods, some washers and nuts, and some sockets. Will do the job nicely at much lower cost. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to press out and press back in bearings, probably even for the model of bike you have.

My first really good full suspension mountain bike was the original Santa Cruz Blur back in 2002. Incredible bike for the time, but it ate bearings at an incredible rate. I quickly learned how to keep them happy using the above service routing. I could service all eight pivot bearings, including disassembly and reassembly of all the pivots (and pulling the cranks) in about 30-40 minutes. It's really not that hard.

Good to hear you'll be back rolling with some new bearings, though!

Do the seals come off just by prying them? On my YT it looks like you need a hex wrench to get them off, which would mean theyre threaded.

Depends. Some can opened so you can repack them with grease. Others are sealed. The price on this job for parts and labour seems very fair to me. I pretty much do all my own wrenching, often with the exception of bearings. It's all very straightforward, but having the (good) proper tools is a huge advantage. Using some home made bearing presses etc can lead to frustration, hair pulling etc. And a lot of MTB suspension bearings are kind of awkward, and if carbon you do need to be extra careful on stays etc.

Thanks it seems like a good skill to learn. My neighbor does have the tools so I will check if I can borrow it to service bearings. The bike does use Torx+ bits so I need to get some of those.

I was told by the mechanic that spraying with the hose to wash the bike will significantly reduce the bearings' life. And he recommended that I just hand clean the bike using a wet rag.

i meant more like the seal that is separate from the bearing. i guess its more of a bearing cover. the bearings in my frame are regular sealed bearings besides the cover.

Many (most?) mountain bikes that use bearings for their pivots use something from Enduro, which have seals that can be pried off with a pick or a box cutter blade, which is what I do. Just take it slow so as not to leave a big dent in the seal as they are some kind of hard rubber.

Aggressively washing a bike with suspension pivots will certainly reduce the life of most bearings, depending on how well the pivots are sealed via the frame design. If you use a light spray and aim perpendicular to the pivots rather than head on, washing your bike is fine. Low pressure and fine, indirect spray is fine.

I bought the bearing press kit for my original Santa Cruz Blur many, many years ago and it has been close enough for several of my other full suspension bikes. The newer bikes and bearings do a much better job of keeping things out, but regular pivot maintenance and adding grease to the bearings will go a long way to saving on replacement costs. I've been able to go several years without having to replace bearings simply by repacking them every few months or so. And this is on a bike that gets ridden on trail 3-4 times a week, mostly year round, including the colder months here in the Inland Northwest (when there isn't snow on the ground).

We also charge $150 in labor for this. Sometimes it is a piece of cake; other times we are trying super hard to pry out bearings frozen in place.