A-Arm question

[elchankoblanko]

Hey everybody, im looking at getting some new a-arms for chirstmas and was lookin at those fullflight a-arms on ebay. Does anyone know how they are? There resionably priced and look to be pretty well made and i like the fact that they have the heim joints too. I know you get what you pay for but sometimes i think you pay more for the name than the acutally prduct.

[TheFontMaster]

I would go with burgard over the full flight a arms, Burgard is a more well known and reputable company and thier stuff is priced pretty good. And thier new a arms are using a better style ball joint then thier older a arms.

[robyone]

burgard a arms.... I've heard to many complaints about their stuff.

[elchankoblanko]

Anyone have any opinion on what kinda a-arms i should get?

[BLACKeR]

they are all pretty descent. i would stay away from the arms that have all heim fittings. heim joints wear out much quicker. personally i would look on ebay for some used arms. seems like a lot of people are getting rid of standard travel set ups for long travel. which means a lot of really nice arms and shocks are going for really cheap!

[robyone]

Heims may wear faster & cost more, but IMO they perform much better. So the choice is between performance or longevity.

[wilkin250r]

How can a ball joint perform "much better"?

Unless you have a rather expensive suspension setup that allows you to exceed the the range of motion of the stock arms balljoints, they don't do any good at the spindles. If they hold the spindle, balljoints work just as well as heim joints.

I feel the stock caster is just fine as well. How many people really have the knowledge and expertise to evaluate and feel a performance difference in a caster change? If I don't need to adjust the caster, then I don't need heims at the a-arm pivot points, either.

So, again I ask you, how does the heim perform "much better"?

[robyone]

I don't have a super educated answer for you, just my opinion that my heim joint a arms SEEM to perform much better than my a arms that use ball joints and poly bushings.
I've also heard that once bushings wear they can restrict suspension travel by binding. I also think heims are able to twist in directions that bushings can not, meaning the a arms can flex instead of sending a jolt to the handle bars.
I also like having the option of setting castor and camber if I want to.
Your probably right about the spindal, ball joint or heim doesn't matter, but having heims at the frame are a plus IMO.

[BLACKeR]

heims are smoother, and do allow more movement. however like wilkins said. for the most part you dont have enough travel to overextend the balljoint at the spindle. one benefite to heims at the frame is that if you tweek an a-arm you can adjust it out. the most i can see you needing is heims on the uppers. but i dont see tweeking an a-arm being that common.

[robyone]

Could probably help with a slightly bent frame too.