Fairly specific question and irrelevant to 99.999999% of the population I should imagine.

But if you are a Liteville 301 owner with in in depth knowledge of the associated pivots then…..

….after ordering the bearing set from BikeWright and fitting all of the ones that matched why am I left with 2 of the smaller bearings unused and nothing that will fit in the top tube pivot.

Also why does this pivot not move freely without the leverage of the linkages – is it because it is in fact a bushing not a bearing and as I read somewhere.

Is this stiffness normal – does the pivot not need replacing?

…and why is Liteville using a bush instead of a bearing at this one point and nowhere else???

So many questions…
Anyone have any answers??

It may be a needle roller bearing

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/calling-301-owners-liteville-bearings

Strange – looks like you are probably right
From what I can make of the German discussion (via Google translate) the rocker bearings are meant to be super stiff and often go rusty??

What I don’ get is why BikeWright charged me £65 for an incomplete set with 2 extra unnecessary ones – and wont answer my questions to them 🙄

At the end of the day I suppose I have got rid of the play which was in the bearings near the BB

Ive had mine appart.

look here, any questions just ask.

The mk to 9 has a bushing. like a norglide. Its crap.

the mk10 onwards has a needle roller bearing. (see picture for part numbers) sealed either side. The problem was that this wasnt greased from the factory so it gets sticky (its easy with the leverage of the frame however) the MK11 onwards has a different bolt fitted so that if you have a long nose grease gun you can fill the top tube section with grease. I have fitted this and its ok ish.

The rest of the bearings are maxx enduro. Not a massive fan and ill be replacing mine with caged stainless ones shortly.

andybrad

Thanks for the info. Iv replaced all of the bearings except the top tube one. Mine is a Mk10 so Im guessing I have a seized up needle bearing. Can I get hold of this special bolt somehow?
What are the bearings? Did you mean to post a picture?

this is mine….

Neither of you appear to have posted a picture 🙂

Blast!
Oh well…imagine a picture of a very rusty bearing…and I will imagine a nice shiny one!

How easy is it to replace the bearings? I should do mine soon but do you need any special tools?

It’s easy to replace the bearings they tap straight out, it’s a lot more difficult to get the bearings and shaft, mine had seized solid , I have a contact number somewhere for a guy who can get the bearings , I’ll try my best to find it

All the other bearings I did fine without any special tools…just various different sized washers, sockets, clamps and some threaded bar. Rocker one I’m sure will be just fine too. Of course it takes longer this way as you have to cobble together a different bodge tool for each one

Please e mail me and I’ll give yiu the guys address

try this
https://goo.gl/photos/tNaN3trkd1NZwSx77

i got the bolt and bearing from syntace for 35 quid, its about 55 from them. But then you need a long nose grease gun. The other thing is you cant force the old grease out as you have a seal on the bearing and then a ptfe washer (this is actually a plumbing washer 🙂 ) so you may as well just pack it with some grease as part of your servicing.

I know michael can get stuff and may have some in stock but i tend to get them via syntace direct. They are a bit slow though.

In reality you can bring your old ones back to life with some wd40 and then grease them up. Ive done this and its worked well.

hope that helps.

na49002rs is the bearing

So I’ve been through this shenanigans with my MK10 (see thread above). The bearings are indeed needle bearings, and are passable. Once you’ve extracted them (there’s no bearing shoulder, so they press right through.) you can get replacements from any bearing shop. They are a standard size, that I forget at this point. However, if the pivot axle that the bearings run on is pitted, you will probably have to order this from Liteville in Germany. To their credit, they were very helpful and quick when I emailed them about it. It was fairly painless to order, but irritatingly expensive. Bah humbug.

just a note, they wouldnt supply me with the axle (recently) and the threads they use are custom 8×0.75 (i think) so youd have to switch the fixings as well.

Cheers guys. Not changed bearings before and had this bike a year so beginning to think I need to do some maintenance!

some folks have got years out of them. I haven’t.

Mine are three years old! You’ve all got me wondering now!

Another thing to note is that the pivot bearings ( near the bb) are the max fill type so feel a little rough in the hand anyway

nothing to add, except that I’ll be checking my bearings tonight!

The only reason I did mine was because I could rock the rear wheel side to side quite noticeably. Replaced all but the rocker bearings and the play is gone. If you have no play then they are fine I would say…A little notchyness it not noticeable with the shock connected

Yea that’s the thing. Everyone says their bearings are fine and if you move the linkages ( on any bike) without the shock they are. It’s only when it’s in bits you notice it. Probably why some folks get ” longer ” bearing life.

another thing from the world of syntace. You cant buy their bearing tools. They will happily send me a catalogue with prices but wont sell me them. Their advice is to send the frame back to Germany to have new bearings pressed in as there are NO authorized dealers in the UK!!!

They have some great ideas but there a joke to deal with sometimes.

I found the old bearings were the perfect tools for pressing new ones in 😀

Thanks Andy for confirming needle roller bearing number.
I haven’t changed that one yet but I’ve done the main pivot and the chainstay bearings.
.
So, for future reference, the bearings for the 301 frame are:
.
Main pivot – 2 off – 6902 LLU MAX-E 15x28x7/10, (extended inner race)
Chainstays – 4 off – 68012RS (aka 618012RS)
Seatstays – same as chainstays
Toptube needle roller – 2 off – na49002RS

Much obliged Ecky. I have been trying to put together a list like that from various posts but yours is the first I have seen with ALL the bearings listed. Cheers

ecky,

yours is a MK11 i believe does yours have the greasable main pivots? Im trying to buy these but am struggling.

Interestingly some places sell the 6801 as 8 off in the bearing kit for the 301. Im only aware of 6.

just might save you some brass.

My Saracen Ariel from their relaunch in 2012-ish? used Norglide bushings, they were fab and never needed attention like FS bikes with bearings I’ve owned.

Interestingly some places sell the 6801 as 8 off in the bearing kit for the 301

Yeah mine came with 8 form BikeWright…that’s what led to my confusion about the top tube pivot….why have I got 2 bearings left over and nothing that looks like it will fit in the top tube.

Still annoyed I payed £65 and didn’t receive a full set!!
Pretty sure it wasnt advertised as a nearly complete bearing kit 😐

My Genesis Grapil also had Norglide bushings. They would last 2 months tops. If you didn’t change them they would wear a groove in the axle whihc would also need changing.

how did you get on?

Ive just ordered the new greasable bolts so will see how things go with this.

(which means ive got spares if anyone needs any)

Well – what a mission this has been.
Finally got hold of 2 sets of needle bearings direct from a bearing supplier. Fitted them only to discover the bearing axle was also knackered! Liteville would only sell me the bearing/axle set and not just the axle. Finally found a German bike shop that would sell me just the axle. That’s all fitted now and the axle they sent me has the new greese port…

But

The greese port is nothing more than a tiny hole drilled right in the centre of the shaft…totally unaccessable and 2 small for any grease gun iv ever seen. I can only conclude that there must be new special greese port bolts through which to squert grease???

Of course I don’t have these which means my new bearings are open to the elements now

Right, I re did this at the weekend to get you some pictures. I made a bearing tool so if anyone needs one in the area they can use it. Ive got spare good axles and bolts now.

The new axle has the hole in it. The bolts are like this
https://goo.gl/photos/MyCNHHMrWYUexeo69
and the other is blank. it works ok.

Remove the axle and put you thumb over one end then fill it with grease fro the other. I did this and it basically fills the whole bit and lasts well. Id consider putting a plug in the bolts / axle.

i also popped the horst bearings out and put in the upgraded shaft and bolts in there. They are a pain to order from syntace. I’ve used enduro with the inner seals removed to fill with grease. Ill be using normal caged bearings in future.

Next is the main pivot bearing but this is ok at the moment.

let me know if you need any further information.

deviant – Member
My Saracen Ariel from their relaunch in 2012-ish? used Norglide bushings, they were fab and never needed attention like FS bikes with bearings I’ve owned.

The bushings on my Ariel were sh1te. Lasted about 6 weeks and for one of those the shock was at TF.

Ended up getting a refund on the frame.