Anyone have any experience of the above?
Depends on what brand of bearings you spring for - genuine DT Swiss will be expensive but good, ditto SKF or similar, no-name bearings off eBay will be cheap but probably nasty and not last as long.
It's one of those how long is a piece of string questions. Kaesee's eBay bearings seem decent enough and reasonable value if you want a sort of halfway house.
I'm no mechanic but I'd have thought getting anything less than DT bearings would negate the benefits of using such top line hubs...?
I have absolutely no idea of the cost of hub bearings having never had to replace any.
I'm no mechanic but I'd have thought getting anything less than DT bearings would negate the benefits of using such top line hubs...?
Front hubs are mostly just a tube with spokes and a bearing at either end, nothing dramatically exciting. See:
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dt-swiss-240s-front-bearing-replacement ]
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dt-swiss-240s-front-bearing-replacement [/url]
SKF bearings in that size, assuming it's correct, will cost you around a tenner each on eBay. They're top notch bearings and will be pretty much the same sort of level as the ones DT Swiss use themselves. I have a couple of their rear hubs and both have been rebuilt with SKF and have been fine for ages since.
Ok cheers. Really am struggling to see how a 240 front hub can cost over £200. But people buy them still...
Replaced mine with Enduro brand ones from the LBS earlier this year. They were NOT the Max ones, just the regular ones and cost maybe $5 or $6 each IIRC. Once installed, the passed the "wheel spins real smooth in the hand" test with flying colors.
Ok cheers. Really am struggling to see how a 240 front hub can cost over £200. But people buy them still...
A pack of ten Ibuprofen tabs costs about eight quid in Zurich airport, which tells you something about Swiss (snd airport) pricing I guess.
I'm sure they're very nicely made from top spec materials, well sealed etc, but tbh, while I really like the star ratchet system in the rear hub (still mad expensive at around £300), I'm not sure why anyone would buy a DT front hub over, say, a Pro 2 unless having matching hubs is very important to you.
I had a set of wheels built a few years ago with a Pro 2 front, 240S rear hub for just that reason. I could see the advantage of the rear hub versus the Hope Pro 2, but not the front. Just my take on it.
Just go to your local bearing supplier with one of the old ones.
You'll be amazed at the markup placed on a standard 2RS bearing the minute it is branded as a "special, top notch, sealed cartridge" MTB bearing.
Expect to pay no more than £4-5 a piece max for something at least as good if not better, if you follow the bearing supplier route.
🙂
Thanks chaps 🙂