Morning all,
Having taken advantage of the Trailvision Bearings bonfire sale I find myself in need of a means to remove my old frame and wheel bearings and refit my shiny new ones. With this in mind I'm rather hoping the collective can steer me clear of the made of cheese tools and 500 superfluous gubbins that you'll never use kits and point me instead towards something sensible,
TIA
Most bearings don't need a puller at all (and pullers are hit and miss) Generally you can just tap them out with a punch. Not always though, it's basically worth asking owners.
BearingProTools are a good resource, they do bike specific kits (though don't assume that just because they make a pullr for a bearing, that you absolutely need it- like, I have a Bird AM9 and their kit for that is 3 pullers but there's only one location I'd use it. But tbh it's not expensive for what it is anyway.
I have the RRP kit. You then just add in presses for the specific bearing sizes you have. No issues with it except for the occasional need for a blind bearing puller but then you can just buy a single size to suit.
I have some bearing pro tools drifts and pullers/ blind pullers. An rrp press/drift and some bsc handles.
As Northwind says, a lot will knock out with a punch
As above - punch or metal rod for knocking out
bearing pro specific bearing puller for blind and other tricky ones
and I treated myself to one of these for fitting (shop around for sales other suppliers) and make sure it covers bearings you use)
Interested too.
Im a little nervous of punching out bearings from thin carbon seat stays - whether I should be nervous though ?
I’ve got various presses and extractors - some eBay, some bearing pro (recommended).
what I don’t have is a punch - recommendations? I’ve seen people using things in videos but not found them to buy.
I’ve got varying sizes of the pro bearing presses and find them to be excellent. I just add different drifts if I ever get a different frame. Getting a variety of sizes now so hopefully will have all potential sizes covered soon.
In terms of removal I also have a blind bearing puller and every time I use it I get filled with uncontrollable rage because it never works. I always just end up pulling the puller back through the centre of the bearing, it never ever ever manages to shift the bearing. I always just end up with a hammer and a small flat screwdriver and just have to take my time and careful smash the sodding things out.
what I don’t have is a punch - recommendations? I’ve seen people using things in videos but not found them to buy.
I just use a socket set, find the socket that seems about the right size and use it to tap out the bearing. have some blind bearing pullers but they never get used.
Have the same bearing press as Towzer above. You can also use this to "pull" bearings out in conjunction with socket set (Set it up with a large socket on the outside of the frame and use the set to "pull" the bearing into the socket).
In terms of removal I also have a blind bearing puller and every time I use it I get filled with uncontrollable rage because it never works. I always just end up pulling the puller back through the centre of the bearing, it never ever ever manages to shift the bearing.
I had little success with the Bearing pro blind pullers but they've now changed the design so they have a small lip on the inside. However, you're still trying to brace the frame and hit them with a hammer from the other side which is awkward.
I've got an eBay set with a slide hammer and had much more success with that, despite the pullers being for a range of bearing sizes. It's much easier to brace your leg against the frame and use the slide as your body and work are on the same side of the bike.
The eBay kits can be found for around 50% less on AliExpress.
I have a cheap chinese set, RRP and BearingPro Tools bit. Ill be buying the RRO fitting when I need them, and random useful stuff (spesh double blind bearing pullers) from BearingPro, so happy to recommend both.
PS: you can use sockets quite successfully, to pull out frame bearings, but it tend to be a faff & you can damage you frame easily, so I prefer proper tools knowaday (that I'm not skint)
Thumbs up for winding out , but suggest if using a socket etc on frame get and old inner tube, bit of thick rubber, wood, etc as a layer between socket and frame to protect frame
What frame is it you'll be working on? Well designed frames are pretty easy to do the bearings on, I've had a few Santa Cruz frames and all the bearings are in the alloy linkages and simple to tap out with a drift and press back in. I now have a Raaw Madonna, a few more bearings, but again really easy to work on. I also have a Kenevo SL, that's a lot of bearings, and I'm less looking forward to having to do that.
One tip is that when installing the new bearings, keep them in your freezer beforehand, makes the install a bit easier. Getting tools that a fine for the home mechanic is a lot cheaper and easier these days (it only takes one bearing change and you've covered the cost vs getting a workshop to do it). I've got one of those blue alloy press kits, works a treat. I've not needed a puller since I had a 2014 Lapierre, but I'd probably buy one of those slide hammer kits if I did.
I had similar questions a couple of years ago when i was pondering what bearing set I needed. Settled on the RRP kit as I didn’t fancy any of the home brew type devices that people like showing on YouTube, or getting a kit that had stuff I’d never use. I highly recommend the RRP kit, but also check out BSC Tools….their bearing press is maybe a tad more expensive at about £48, and then you’ll need the specific drifts to extract/install.
what I don’t have is a punch - recommendations? I’ve seen people using things in videos but not found them to buy.
I just use a socket set, find the socket that seems about the right size and use it to tap out the bearing. have some blind bearing pullers but they never get used.
there’s something I’ve seen used that looks like a screwdriver with a flat end - to reach through the frame and tap out the edges of the bearings. That’s what I’m looking to add to the toolbox
I've used a punch before to slip through the bearing and whack from behind ... Simple and gets the bearing out
I have a punch set similar to above.