After a measly 6 months of not particularly hard use and no pressure washers, the bearings in my HT2 SLX bb are shot. I got more life out of by old Deore DX cup and cone / Tioga Revolvers (am I showing my age?).

I’m not going to buy some poncey over priced bb when the cups are fine and all I really need are bearings with decent seals. What are the options for replacing the bearings? Anyone tried these?

+1 for the Enduro ones. I only replaced the non drive side bearing and a wipe of fresh grease behind the outer red seal once every six months has kept the BB running for two years now.

My Enduro ones lasted less time than a Deore BB and cost more. Won’t waste money there again.

theres no point in replacing bearings when a new set of xtr is only £17

Thanks for the link Klunk. Are the seals any better on the XTR units or will I have the same problem in another 6 months? I just begrudge paying £17 when all I need is a £5 set of bearings.

+1 for the XTR on rose bikes

any bearings have a short lifespan (6 months) in my experience, the xtr still feel like new after 6 minths

I fail to see how the XTR BBs are any better than SLX/XT, they look identical. I’ve certainly had more luck with mine though.

The Enduro bearing kits are quite expensive, I’d expect to pay £2 per bearing from eBay. If you take the BB apart you can get a bearing number, stick that into eBay and you’ll find numerous retailers selling bearings cheap. I’m not saying they’ll be great, mind.

The XTR BBs are slightly different inside… But tbh I can’t say as I can tell any difference in use.

I guess it’s the idea that 6 months is deemed ok and that perfectly fine kit should be binned because the manufacturer makes bearing replacement hard that really grates. If bearings really only last 6 months (which I don’t believe) then make them easy to swap over / sell a tool for doing so.

jruk – Member

then make them easy to swap over / sell a tool for doing so.

Still wouldn’t be financially viable though, you’ll pay about as much for a set of quality (ie, not Enduro) bearings than you will for a new XT BB.

race face used to make a great tool for removing bearings easily. can’t find it on crc any more though.

however i’ve spotted that hope now make one, and its about half the price.

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/38/htt178/hope-external-bottom-bracket-bearing-tool.html

will work with HT2 BB’s as we’ve tested the race face tool on shimano, hope and even race face so far without any issues.

then buy the cheapo ebay bearings, pack em with a bit extra grease and replace as often as you require!

Thanks peachos, might give that a go or make my own – I reckon a bit of threaded rod and a mix of bolts and washers from B&Q should so the trick. I’ve ordered a new bb so will practice on the old one knowing I might get 6 months out of it – there’s gotta be some decent sealed bearings out there.

Northwind, I get your point, I just hate the idea of all the waste of making/packaging/shipping complete units when all that’s needed is a new set of bearings and an easy way of replacing them.

Aye, I get that… But then you’ll probably go through more bearings this way since you’ll lose the outer shield.

I’ve removed worn bearings from XT cups and replaced them with cheap ones from ebay in the past using a hardwood “press” device I turned. The only problem I found was the plastic “top hats” which fit into the outside of the bearings had become worn and brittle. They don’t seem to be available as a spare part so without these you’re knackered.
The other trick I tried is, as soon as you think the bearings are getting rough, remove them from the frame, remove the internal seals then clean and degrease the bearing. A compressor and airline can help clean out the bearing if you have one. I then re-pack the bearing with marine grease and replace the seals etc. I find the marine grease lasts much longer than the stuff they pack the bearings with as standard.(I use this technique in bearings from new with my kite buggy wheels and recon I get 2 or 3 times more use from a set of bearings)

superstar components sell spare top hats for there bb’s, worked for me in various other bbs, think they are £4 for 2

Thanks peachos just ordered a Hope tool and swampi too for the superstar heads up.

IIRC – this kit fits Shimano BBs too & has spare top hats & bearings in or the same top hats are available separately. Not tried it myself though, but I’ve been getting good results from fitting cheapo 68052RS bearings into BBs – repacked with grease before fitting.

Thanks for the info about “top hats” now being available as spares. I couldn’t find anything but it was a couple of years ago since I was looking.