I was recently in a good quality bike shop and when I enquired into the maintenance issues surrounding pivot bearings on a Lapierre Zesty the guy siad after you've washed the bike down spray some GT85 in them.

Now I can see that GT85 is a water displacer, but doesn't it also have a degreasing agent within it? Hence possibly causing more harm than good when sparayed into areas which need to be well greased?

MM

Dont do it!! it will thin the grease and wash it out I only advise doing this when bearings are fuc$$d as a emergency repair.

Thats what I thought, it could potentially loosen the bearings and thin the grease. Any tip on how to look after the pivot bearings. I'm hoping to get a Zesty later this year (if there's any left!!)

Is it straight forward to take the covers off and pump more grease in?

Thanks

MM

Is it straight forward to take the covers off and pump more grease in?

For the main pivot it isn't difficult (if you have a workstand), however you have to remove the cranks and the front mech (well you do on my 2008 model).

just remove the pivot axle at the bottom of the seat tube on each side(there is a single small retaining allen screw which holds the pivot axles in place).

You can then get to the outside of each of the bearings (there is a small cover over the race which you can remove with small screw driver or tip of a blade.

If there is crap in there clear out as much as you can then add more grease.

Todays bearings are a lot better sealed than they were years ago – but GT85 is a penetrating fluid so it will get in somehow!

It will thin the grease over time – but water is probably going to do more damage on its own.

Id spray them carefully – just enough to clear the water, then regually replace them. If you find a local bearing company, they are a qtr of the price of OE.

Here's a question……….

Car hub bearings last ages (in comparison) and have an oil seal (or at least some do). Its what looks like another bearing that sits next to it on the outside of the system (no point on the inside being sealed really is there). But its usualy either a rubber U section which you fill with oil and install to it keeps the bearing smeared with oil. Or a wool packing material soaked in oil insde a metal case so it smears the oil out onto the bearing.

Why don't pivots have an oil seal?

But its usualy either a rubber U section which you fill with oil and install to it keeps the bearing smeared with oil. Or a wool packing material soaked in oil insde a metal case so it smears the oil out onto the bearing.

No oil in your wheel bearings, they're all grease. Why don't pivots have them – they should ideally but they take up room and cost more to service, manufacturers rely on you replacing the uber-cheap and easy to replace bearings frequently.

Just don't wash the bike down so often. If you've been out in slop and rain, just remove the pivot bolts and wipe the bearing seals with a cloth. You could even use a tyre pump to blow surface water out, but spraying any kind of displacement oil is, in my opinion, creating more problems than it solves.