OK, there’s Orange, with two bearings that can be changed with an allen key and a hammer in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea. But what other bikes/designs are there that make bearing changes a relatively simple process?

Giant Maestro are straightforward enough (the axles come out easily) and seem to last a long time (although there is a lot of them) as all but 2 are in the linkages.You can do it without removing the rear triangle/cables etc if needs be.

Not difficult to change the bearings in my Yeti ASR.
I often (perhaps not that often) strip it down to clean and re-grease.

I dunno, as much depends on mechanical skill etc?

I changed all the bearings in my Socom in the car park at inners and only missed one uplift once – some people take that time for a cup of tea?

I guess although a VPP has lots of pivots/bearings it was quite quick cos it’s just cranks off, then one pivot at a time, no need to totally disassemble.

On others the right tool makes all the difference, popping out a bearing is just ratcheting up a bolt on a nut…

I find the main source of variance/time is if the bearings are totally knackered and split apart taking them out…

…bearings that can be changed with an allen key and a hammer

pfft

My Cannondale’s bearing are glued in place with Loctite 638 the mrs best hairdryer removes them in seconds

Takes 24 hrs for the new Loctite to cure though

Tbf on most of the Intense’s I’ve worked on most of the bearings fell out on their own 😉

This, a set of 4mm and 5mm allen keys and about 6 minutes to change all the bearings and bushings 😀

Sorry to hijack this thread but its not worth me starting a new topic for such a dumb question which is: how exactly do bearings wear given that the main symptom is side to side play?

What I mean is its accepted that bearings will deteriorate over time what with jet wash and general wear and tear so I’d have thought you’d just get a gritty and ratchetty movement of the swingarm as it moves thru its curve. But what happens is there’s side play – does this mean the actual wear is nothing to do with the state of the ball bearings and lube but really an infinitesimal widening of the inner bore, caused by worn ball bearings or something

Therefore am I right in saying that bearing play is just movement developing in the inner bore of the bearing which allows the pin to move about a tiny amount? Or am I miles off

But then this doesn’t tie in with the fact that bearings deteriorate in shitty conditions faster

I’d have thought you’d just get a gritty and ratchetty movement of the swingarm as it moves thru its curve

That is what you get, but there’s a lot of leverage and some high forces going through rear sus so you might not notice it, especially without taking the shock off and cycling the links by hand.

Knocking etc. is normally wear in bushings, usually the shock but could be at a frame pivot.

If you don’t replace bearings at the gritty stage, the next stage is something wears when they stick. If you’re lucky it’s the bearing itself (races/balls wear). If you leave it longer, the bearing can seize and the race moves in the frame/link, then you have to replace whatever the bearing’s pressed into.

Or whatever rotates in the inner race can wear too…

finger bang.
http://www.ntn-snr.com/group/fr/en-en/index.cfm?page=/group/home/technique_roulement/vocabulaire/type_roulements

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/4830/when-do-bearings-need-to-be-replaced

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/bearing3.htm

Basically ball bearings as used on bikes are not the best design.

Rocky Mountain are using tapered bushes. I’ll let you know if they last as long as the bearings on my old Kona. AKIK my lbs guy has had no bother with his pivots, winner of the first SES Enduro at Inners 😀

‘Sealed’ ball bearings used on many current designs are not the best, but are a good compromise in that they work well enough, are easy to package into a design, are cheap, easy to replace and typically capture all the wear and tear into an easily replaced unit, unless you’ve left it too long and damaged the axles or bearing socket in the frame

bushings? sounds like a great idea, I worked for Freeborn when we had all the problems with the previous Banshee’s running bushings pivots and it almost ruined the brand both from a reputation POV and financially. The new Banshees with ball bearings have been good as gold, from what I have heard!

Bikes with easy to change pivot bearings

A hardtail?

bushings? sounds like a great idea, I worked for Freeborn when we had all the problems with the previous Banshee’s running bushings pivots and it almost ruined the brand both from a reputation POV

Aye, remember the first Trek fs bikes! The Y bikes also used a fibre bush for a main pivot 🙄
Hopefully material technology has evolved 💡

Orange 5 is piss easy
All my VPP bikes have required various degrees of persuassion

Anyone have any experience of bikes with grease ports for the pivot bearings? Mine have this and after a couple of years they still feel like new even with the shock off…. even though I haven’t added any grease yet 😳

I’m guessing they cannot be sealed bearings inside otherwise how would the grease get in – perhaps more similar to Shimano cup and cone bearings??

Whatever they are they could potentially be a low maintenance option based on my experiences so far

Coming up to 2 years on the Santa Cruz and no play in the bearings. Any time penalty for changing doesn’t really seem to be a problem.

I’ve had a year on my new frame and there is some side play, which isn’t DU bushings or rear hub so has to be pivot bearings.

thing is, the bearings are a long way from being seized and there is no affect on riding so I don’t see there being any time pressure to get them changed.

unless the slight side play is likely to damage the pivot pins or swingarm or linkages themselves? I doubt it though

Thanks. It doesn’t sound as though it’s that big a deal for many people. But given that it’s a job that will have to be done sooner or later on any full suss I’m surprised that manufacturers never seem to talk about how easy (or not) it might be or even seem to consider it when designing a suspension system.

Also, if the traditional Orange system is so easy, why have Orange changed it ?

Trek Remedy is hardly rocket science..if you have a basic grasp of engineering….

my Santa Cruz Tallboy needed new bearings at about 7,000km. Not a bad service interval but changing them is a MISSION. It is by far the best bike I’ve ever had but the day I spent changing these had me almost considering divorce…

And for those considering it, use a blind bearing extractor and some heat/cold to try and loosen them, and if the bearings come apart, leaving the outer race in, you aren’t alone, thats what the blind bearing puller should sort for you.