NRS Giant XTC

[rosto67]

I've been having a great deal of trouble with the bushings for the main pivot on my NRS 2. Last fall I blew a bushing and had it replaced to the tune of 239 dolldars and 3 weeks away from riding. It appears that I could do the work myself if I could get a hold of the bushings. Any idea of how to do it without going through a local dealer. Is there a Giant dealer in Columbia who would have the parts or do I need to go to Charlotte or Atlanta.

[ted]

$239 Holy guacamole!!!
Sorry to hear that. At most it should have been $50-60 for parts and $40-60/hour for labor unless the shop you had it in had never done it before and used your bike as a learning experience.
For the most part, you MUST go through an authorized dealer to obtain parts.
As far as having them replaced; any knowledgeable mechanic should be able to do it in about an hour.
My advice:
1: Go to or call The Great Escape in Greenville (I used to work there), and ask for Ric, Randy, or Debbie. They are Giant dealer. Tell one of them what you need. It will probably take a week and a half to get the parts at most.
2: Choose your mechanic wisely.
3: Look for a bike next time with bearings instead of bushings.

Unless you haven't noticed, Giant has gone away from the NRS 4-bar linkage design to a more VPP (Maestro as it's called in this case) design like the Santa Cruz Blur which has......can you guess? If you said bearings, you are a winner!!!!

I hope this helps.

[crossrider]

I have a bunch of NRS bearings and bushings from when I rode one years ago. Some of it is new, some old. You are more than welcome to look through it. In fact another local shop has used this resource to fix a similiar situiation and I didn't charge them for the part. I will give the part also as long as I have it. If its a blown bearing stuck in the suspension piece(the outer shell only left), its quite difficult to remove but I have some tricks that work. Sometimes that kind of work takes extra time and skill compared to a simple replacement of a bearing/bushing. I think most mechanics would give up at that point. NATE 706.724.6777

[rosto67]

Thanks for all the help. Several calls to Giant and I got the parts manager who told me that the part is still in stock. A local Augusta BIKE Shop told me it was not made any more and I would have to buy a new bike. I'm in the process of getting it sent to a dealer in Columbia. My son lives in OKC and he stopped by the GIANT dealer there. They also have it in stock in the store.