I cracked the the chainstay in the rear linkage which I have removed but noticed the bearings have seen better days to say the least.

I got the front set out but the smaller set near at the rear are a bit of a mystery!

Is there a special tool or it is there a special technique I just don't know about?

When I had mine done at my LBS it apparently was a bit of a mare; it took the mechanic a fair while, and a lot of effort – he is a good mechanic too – but the bearings were 'welded' in…

Luckily they'd quoted for a supply-and-fit 😉

Crap, I was really hoping for…. Its really easy just do this and hey presto…….

Why is life never easy!

They're not welded in at all. They're pressed in one from each side, with a spacer in between; so they each need to be extracted by pulling from the inside edge, next to the spacer. The proper tool (which Specialized shops will carry) presses a ridge in between the spacer and the bearing and can then be withdrawn taking the bearing with it. There are numerous DIY tools for doing the job, but the risk of destroying/separating the bearing has always lead me to take the stay into my local shop who do that part for me, in what is really a five minute job. Fitting new bearings is simple and can be done with normal DIY presses.

just had the rear ones done got them done a specailized you need a bearing puller its not an easy job

OK as I need to ride on Sat think I'll just replace the front set and leave the rest as I will only have the bike for another few months

with the proper tools it's a pleasure to do. without, it's a sweaty nightmare job

Any idea where I can get the tools?

Specialized will (might) sell you their bearing toolkit, which covers all of their frames, for around £200. Otherwise, you'll get various bearing removing tools from tool suppliers.

They're not welded in at all. They're pressed in

The reason I put 'welded' in quotes was to emphasise the difficulty of extracting 4 year old knackered bearings, rather than state fact…