Am getting the Horst link bearings from my Spesh Enduro replaced, my LBS has quoted £6 per bearing an £20 labour…I suspect that this is a pretty good deal all told, but is DIY replacement really as difficult as most people suggest?

Did mine DIY. Thirty five quid for a bikes worth of bearings. There are four hl bearings on there you know.

If you want a proper DIY bearing remova/fittingl tool then these are superb! They make the job so so simple. No bashing or smacking hell out of anything and when it comes to re-fitting your bearings they make it childs play.

I know that there are four bearings on the Horst link. I’ve repacked the bearings with grease a few times over the years, which is probably why I’ve got five years and about 3,000 miles out of the last set.

That bearing press is a brilliant idea, if I spread the cost over the three FS bikes in the household then it pays for itself after a very short space of time.

I don’t think the RRP will be much help for removing the Horst Link bearings on a Spesh though – you can’t push them straight through.

Other than the fiddle getting the HL bearings out, the rest is pretty easy – especially if you’ve some kit to do it such as the RRP or Kaesae’s kit

20 quid labour is well worth it imo, i do my own and that price would save a fair bit of hassle if you dont have bearing puller.

That price sounds like a bargin. I did mine on my 2004 enduro and it was an awful job as you can’t just push them out.

It’s just the Horst link bearings, all the others are fine. Plus I’ve fitted a new bolt kit in the last couple of weeks too.

If you’re lucky you might be able to pull them out with a hollow wall anchor, but they’ll probably fall apart. I had to hacksaw a couple of the outer shells out of mine. I’ll be paying someone when my Canyon needs doing.

Has any one done a step by step guide?

I’ve been quoted £150 for the job including all bearings and bolts.

I made a split collet extractor by following Kaesae’s vid on YouTube (thanks Kaesae!) and they came out without too much hassle despite the fact that they’d been in there untouched for 7 years (2005 Stumpy). The bearings are tiny on pre-2006 Specialized frames and the only tubing I could find to make the extractor was an old v-brake boss. Worked like a dream.

I use an old pedal axle to drift them out. It took me ages to find something that fits and I stumbled on the pedal axle by chance really, after trying everything else drift-like in the workshop. Now it’s just the price of four bearings to do the job.

But if you haven’t got a suitable tool, get the LBS to do it. It’s a rotten little job, thanks to Spesh’s design.