I've just got back from a few days in the lakes, and on the last day realised there is about 4mm of play in the rear wheel at the tyre.
After closer inspection it looked as though it was the whole rear triangle causing this play so i've stripped it down and removed all the bearings. A couple were seized and the rest are all pretty rough so i'm guessing i was right in what i thought was causing the wobble. The codes on the bearings are 6901 and 6001 and i need four of each- the question is, are cheap ones off ebay (about a quid each) significantly worse than an 'SKF' or similar branded bearing from an online retailer such as simplybearings (about a tenner each)?

Maybe i need to ask kaesae (sp?) for advice 😆

BETD, do sets of enduro bearings fr about thirty quidseem t last better than owt else. Even better it you pop the outer seal off before you install an top up the grease in em.

I got mine from Eriks, its an engineering distributor. I also got them to price match, so there is definately room for negotiation. It's not much fun getting the bearings back in.
http://www.eriks.co.uk/branchfinder/

Jammy111, the codes will relate to size and not quality of bearing so be careful buying cheap as the bearings are what make the bike work. When I had my 5.5 I made sure they were well maintained as when they go dry the whole VPP just doesn't work very well at all. For replacements I know we have different ones at BETD but engineers also sell them too.

I think these are the best compromise between price & quality but they will take about 10 days to come from the states.

i may go for the cheaper ones and just accept that i will have to replace them more frequently. at a tenner for the lot, they would only have to last for a 1/4 of the time the BETD ones do to be worthwhile. Is this likely to happen, or a false economy?
Also, to re-insert the bearings i presume some sort of press/vice would do the trick, along with coppergrease on the inner and outer surfaces.

You can get SKF INA bearing on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Intense-5-5-Bearing-kit-set-KaTec-Bikes-Intense-5-5-kit-/130412494481?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item1e5d30be91

fully pregreased.

If you run the cheepo crap and you have to strip your bike 2 ot 3 times more you'll end up spending just as much.

The bearings on ebay are mostly chinnese which means rubbish material and useless seals. They will rust pretty quickly and lose shape.

kaesae is a nutter for sure but SKF INA bearing that are fully pregreased will out last any other bearing kits you will find for the money.

Although I'm not sure about the brands I think emailing and asking some questions could be a good idea.

Let us know how you get on with the bearings off ebay 😀 should take about 6 to 10 months for you to find out how bad an idea it is 🙄

Makes me smile just thinking about it, a lovely frame like an intense 5.5 and cheapo chinese bearings. Class!