[Closed] Thoughts and Opinion pls: Sun RIngle Black Flag Pros [issue]

I've got these wheels and so far they have been fine...my only experience of bearings wearing that quickly have been down to me not installing them properly...not suggesting you are as ham-fisted as I am, but are you certain the bearings were fitted correctly? 60 miles sounds like a very small amount of usage (obviously depending on conditions) and I'd be thinking it was my installation rather than failure of the actual unit.

Saying that, I suspect even a 1-handed blind man would be more competent at fitting bearings than I am so I'm afraid my standards are rather low in regard to this particular topic.

I'd like to think my install was ok. Got a few spare sets so will try again and see how it goes. If it fails again then there is something majorly wrong I reckon

I have these wheels too. Overall very happy with them but the rear bearings have gone a bit grindy after one very wet ride. They are poorly sealed which I think was highlighted on here at the time. I coated the surface of the bearing and the internal face of the end cap with a think layer of high quality waterproof grease in anticipation of this problem (probably made bugger-all difference!). If CRC sent you some bearings then I think I may contact them as well, was it straightforward getting them to send some out?

Having said all this, I'm surprised you only got 60 miles out of the new ones....

They said they would send bearings out 'on this occasion'. Worth a go

I have mine same time as Taff and my bearings are smooth as smooth.

I've got the experts and got in touch with Hotlines directly after CRC never responded to my questions re: the front bearings going after two months. I asked about the rear at the same time and they came back really quickly and said that they'll replace all bearings in the rears and post them back for £40 if the wheel went via CRC. Not sure if the hubs are the same but it might be worth a punt.

They also said that there's a special tool for removing the freehub which is needed to replace the bearings so interested to know how it can be taken off.

If you want to get some better sealed bearings the Bearing Shop in Exeter can get all sorts and you can buy online (never used the website though as I'm in Exeter).

Special tool for removing the freehub or removing freehub bearings? Freehub just pulls off

I would also recommend getting new bearings from a bearing shop. You can get good quality branded bearings for less than the price of the rebadged crap that a lot of bike companies will supply you with.

I think they said freehub - mine's ok at the mo' so haven't taken it apart in case I break it in the process!

Mines are fine so far. Oly got about 200KMs on them though.

Going to strip it down fully tomorrow. Will inspect all bearings and put it back together. Got some proper bearings which were only a few quid in comparison to the CRC sun Ringle ones which are about £15each!

Get decent replacements from somewhere - I use kaesae on here.

Sun Ringle are renowned for their rubbish bearings in their hubs. I had a set fail in a Dirty Flea hub in no time at all.
Replaced with kaesae premium bearings and they were still going strong 18 months later when I sold them.

I've got a set of Black Flag Pro which are fine 6 months on although they are not used all the time. Tend to use another set more frequently.

Just replaced the freehub bearings and I believe that the other 2 bearings in the rear wheel are knackered. Can you tell me the bearing codes for these 2 bearings?

If the hubs are the same as the experts I've been told by hotlines they're 6001.

After the twentyfour12 last weekend I've just had to strip down the hub again as the inside of the hub body was full of gunk. I replaced a problem bearing on the disc side with a RS sealed bearing as opposed to the RUs supplied by Sun Ringle and this is the only one that has survived. Getting a bit annoyed with this whole rebuilding and have got in contact with Hotlines but waiting on a response. Need to order some bearings sharpish. Been looking at [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-X-6902-2RS-61902-stainless-sealed-BEARING-15x28x7-/261052855810?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item3cc7f67602 ]THESE[/url]on ebay, as they're cheaper than the Hope ones on ebay. Anyone got any other suggestions? SKF ones at a tenner a bearing are out of the question.

Only advice on bearings would be buy the best you can i.e. go to a bearing specialist and buy from there, they are likely to be significantly cheaper (or vastly better for the same price). They should then last a lot longer and you will save time replacing them so often. Saying that, the picture suggests they look 'fine' and at 2 quid a pop, it'll only be 2 quid you have lost if it fails in the next 4 weeks...

I had been told that a new freehub body was about £140 for the Black Flag Pro wheels...but I've discovered that the Dirty Flea freehub body fits and costs 'only' £100...if my freehub ever dies, then I'll stick the Dirty Flea hub on and save some cash.

Mine are still going strong, however, they have done about 15 miles in total in the last 6 weeks due to illness and work, so they aren't getting heavily used!

Thanks DickBarton, I've contacted a local bearing manufacturer too so will wait for some prices. Would rather fit and forget but with a lack of sealing to the hubs I'm still getting mud and crap in the hub body.

I've been told that hope freehubs also fit black flag hubs. Look similar but don't know

pre-fill is your friend.

pre-fill?

fill the bearing with grease before use.

I'm definately going to put more in and try and seal the bearings against the hub body. Going to have a look to see why the freehub /hub body isn't sealing though

Nearly bought a set of these myself but I must admit I was treating it as a pair of nice rims with 2 disposable hubs attached.

Use 2rs bearings as they have deals on both sides. Maybe some thick marine grease on the outside to fill the space?

If Hope does for that is down to around 45 quid, but I'd be amazed if that was true...might contact my lbs to enquire.

I had a set of Dirty Flea hubs that are almost the same and the bearings went after only a few months. Replaced with decent bearings from kaesae on here and they performed faultlessly for another 2 years until I sold them. I think Sun Ringle use cheap bearings.

Now also got a set of Black Flag Pro's and not had any problem with them in the 7 months of ownership (although they are my spare wheels so haven't been used as much as my Pro2/Arch wheelset).

I'd email kaesae with the bearing numbers.

I've used a set hope pro 2 hubs for 4 years, after which the bearings were as smooth as new.
I just bought the Black Flag Pro 29 wheelset, and noticed that the front bearing number is 6804RU. After some research, it appears that the RU suffix designates a non-contact seal, which has a small gap to reduce seal friction. The hope front bearings are 6804-2RS. The RS means a contact seal, which should provide better sealing to water, dust & grit associated with wet mtb conditions.
Ignoring bearing quality for a minute, this could be a reason why the BFP bearings are failing prematurely whereas hopes keep going longer.
Perhaps this is why hopes feel a little sticky when the axel is rotated in your fingers. Personally Ill take better sealing over 1 or 2 watts of seal friction loss for longevity. Interesting to note the end caps are almost identical between the two hubs, eg no external seals.

So your hubs fail because of poor quality bearings.......so you replace them with more poor quality bearings.And you're suprised when the same thing happens again.Mmmmmmmmmkkkkkkkkk.