Bearing removal/pressing tool for Santa Cruz linkages – cheap alternatives?

Any cheap options out there for removing & pressing Santa Cruz Bronson linkage bearings? They’re double blinds so tools like Superstar’s won’t work for removal, only pressing.

7900 bearings are 10 x 22 x 6mm
7902 bearings are 15 x 28 x 7mm

The first number is the inner diameter I believe, so the important ones to note.

Would a tool such as this work OK? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PROFESSIONAL-5PC-INNER-BEARING-PULLER-REMOVER-SET-BLIND-INTERNAL-SLIDE-HAMMER-/400806964402?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d51f4ecb2

Video of this type of tool in use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27YCUMzKcfE

Then either a cheap press or DIY vice bodge job to press in new bearings.

Cheers.

SC offer all the tools for doing it properly. A slide hammer system went out before the Ark even got off the drawing board (though it still is a functional method if you like hitting things)

http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/shop/tag/tallboy-mk1-2012-2013/44

Hope this works with a Bronson

You can make your own tool from a threaded bar and a few mins on a lathe.

I’ve just been charged £30 for fitting a new bearing set on my Tallboy LT if that helps.

SC offer all the tools for doing it properly.

Indeed. At £32 & £36 for the two removal tools. I’m looking for cheap alternatives.

Slide hammer like the eBay link above not likely to work?

You’ve a £4k plus bike and don’t want to shell out £68 for the proper tools? 🙄

I hope your penny pinching doesn’t end up costing you big

I’m with Carlos, I looked around for other alternatives but in the end went with the SC tools for both removal and pressing in.

So easy to use and can get the whole job done in minutes now.

Having bought the tools I would recommend just paying your LBS to do the job. Even though the tools are purpose made the job is a faff and the tools got burred in the process. The smaller bearings in the upper link tend to disintegrate even when using the tool …Jungle told me that this happens all the time and recommended that I heat the link up in the oven to get the outer race out.

Video

http://dualsportdiary.blogspot.dk/2014/06/how-to-replace-pivot-bearings-in-santa.html This guy prefers the blind puller method, and actually doesn’t rate the Santa Cruz tools at all.

I think I need to change my lower pivot bearings for the first time. Are people buying there bearings from Santa Cruz or elsewhere?

Santa Cruz do a lifetime bearing warranty. Pull them, send them back, get replacements foc. (assuming you are the original owner)

Using the correct tools its a doddle to do, did all mine a few weeks back.

Echo the “why would you?” sentiment.

Jungle do a free lifetime bearing replacement scheme, and I think most shops would charge you less the price of the tools to change them over for you.

You’ll be royally screwed if you knacker them with some half-arsed bodge

Santa Cruz offer lifetime warranty on the bearings, my LBS pulled them, sent them off to Jungle for replacements and re-fitted for cake 8) why spend money if you haven’t got to. Having said that, if I were doing the job myself, I’d get the right tools from Jungle.

Not the original owner, so got to buy them.

Going to strip the pivots tonight and investigate but I think the tools total £52 for the TRc as its the same bearings in both the upper and lower pivots. Plus the bearings them self look reasonable at £23, thought can’t workout if that’s for 4 or 8, assume 4.

Well worth the small asking price for those SC specific tools. Wish I could get a full set of these for all the different type I change as blind bearing pullers are shit in comparison

If its any consolation the Giant Maestro bearing tool set is 80 quid, so those Santa Cruz ones are decent value.

I have the proper tools for my Heckler. The inner races and balls all came out easily leaving the outer race stick in fast. It took me 2 hours with a hammer and different forms of persuasion to get the outer races out.

I’ve Just got my NOMAD back from LBS having had a FULL service, headset bearings, hub bearings, new ratchets and pawls, BB, and the Frame bearings which were replaced under SC’s bearings for life warranty.

Even if i spent the money on proper tools for the job i would still have NO idea on completing such an awkward job. Others obviously have the ability to do this but i’m affraid i dont………

Not only that, if it breaks its not my fault, and half way up a climb when i’m hanging out and trying to breath i cant hear it squeeking, if i did it then it would squeek, wobble, and probably snap something due to my ham fisted over tightening of everything with threads on it.

Why not spend £68 on Santa Cruz’s puller tools? Because I’m a tight bastard. Deal with it guys. The reason I can afford nice things is by being tight. Most people think I earn about double what I actually do; £68 is a lot of money to me if I can avoid spending it.

Anyway, I’ll try the cheap puller option first and probably just spend the £20 on the Santa Cruz pusher.

With you there its a lot of money for a basic tool that wont get much use

I have the proper tools for my Heckler. The inner races and balls all came out easily leaving the outer race stick in fast. It took me 2 hours with a hammer and different forms of persuasion to get the outer races out.

The exact same thing happened with my Superlight. The “proper” tool just knocked the inner races out. I had to Dremel the outer races out.

To be fair, I’d sooner buy new complete links for £79 (assuming those include bearings) than £88 on full Santa Cruz tools plus whatever bearings cost, should get 4 summers out of a set of bearings if I’m more careful with things than the previous owner was. Might end up just doing that instead of cheap tools anyway. Always nice to have options 🙂 .

The exact same thing happened with my Superlight. The “proper” tool just knocked the inner races out. I had to Dremel the outer races out.

So you didnt turn the end part of the tool the other way around to remove the outer race, like its designed to do?

I used a slide hammer bearing remover to remove the outer bearing races on mine with no drama at all.

Because I’m a tight bastard. Deal with it guys. The reason I can afford nice things is by being tight.

In the interest of saving money then are you 100% sure the bearings actually need replacing?

The tightness of the pivot axles needs fine adjustment from time to time to eliminate play without over tightening and interfering with the freedom of the bearing to rotate.

The bearings in the top link also needs occasionally need opening up and repacking with grease. The lower bearings are obviously looked after by the grease port but it helps to clear away the crap that accumulates around the bottom link. These frames seem to eat shock bushings as well.

I replaced the bearings in my Blur 2 years ago when I bought it second hand and since then it’s done nearly 9000km in all sorts of horrible conditions. With regular TLC I doubt I’ll need to change them in the next two years either.

So if there is money to be saved… are you completely sure they need replacing?

So you didnt turn the end part of the tool the other way around to remove the outer race, like its designed to do?

…mumbles

…goes off to look at tool

LOL

What do they say about reading the manual…

One of the bearings exploded when I tried to remove it- what do I do now?

Unfortunately angular contact bearings are not very strong when you side load them in the opposite direction they were designed to be loaded in. So, sometimes when removing them, they will come apart, leaving the outer race still in the link.
The Bearing Removal Tool 7900 can be flipped around to remove the stuck bearing race. Remove all of the seals and balls from the broken bearing, and clean out the grease so you can see what is going on. Use the removal tool as usual, but reverse the orientation of the removal jaws. The larger jaws will grab the bearing race.
Make sure the large flat face in the center of the removal jaws is flush on the bearing race. Once you have the removal driver installed, and all seems flush and flat, give the driver a couple of taps with a hammer. The race will come right out.

I took my lower link off last night to investigate.

Unfortunately due to not noticing earlier, I now need bearings (one of which has already exploded), an axle, a couple of the rubber caps and a couple of the alu caps. I’m now not looking forward to taking the upper link off.

Order placed for the bits and the tools. I don’t like bodging stuff, plus I’m really bad at it.

In the interest of saving money then are you 100% sure the bearings actually need replacing?

Fair point. I’m not with the frame at the moment so will have a better look to be sure before proceeding. It’s a second hand frame which I will probably ride for 2-3 years so if it’s a “maybe” at the moment then I want to sort them out then they should last the length of my use. Fathomer’s post above is what I want to avoid!

…or just ride it until something fails catastrophically and deal with it then 😉 .

Thanks for the help/discussion anyway everyone.

Just thought I’d ask again, when you lot have replaced the bearings what grease are you using?
I’ve got the Santa Cruz grease gun and the cartridge will run out soon and the newer Santa Cruz grease gun & grease is a different size.
I’ve seen a couple of ‘Marine Grease’ cartridges on Ebay, is marine grease pretty much all the same sort of stuff?

Lornholio if you dont mind me asking,how did you get on with that ebay blind puller set?i’m thinking of getting one to change my ropey top link bearings.

Good timing. As I feared but kind of predicted, one set of bearings in my upper link and one set in my lower link were seized when I was united with my new (used) frame so I ordered this eBay blind bearing puller for £16.50, doesn’t seem the most quality bit of kit but probably identical to a lot of more expensive ones on eBay and it’s very heavy and worked fine.

I couldn’t get the bearings started with the tool alone though. Maybe clamping the linkage well and using both hands on the slide hammer would have worked, but I tapped each bearing out from the opposite side a tiny bit with a bolt held against the inner race, carefully at a few points (like bodging a headset removal with a screwdriver & hammer). I could have probably just done this carefully and gotten them out all the way without the puller, but the puller after this point did a fine job of getting them out straight with no fear of damaging the linkage body.

I took the other larger pair of “good” bearings out too and replaced the lot with new ones from rullabearings.com[/url] (great service, great bearings) but the tool wouldn’t work on the smaller pair in the top link, not a big deal. Then to press the new ones in I dismantled one of the old bearings (ie. smacked it to pieces) and used an outer race to press the new ones in with a friend’s eBay headset press.

Job done for £16.50 worth of tools, and the bike is riding nicely.

Thanks for the reply thats really good info,going to order all the bits now.didn’t fancy the look of the santa cruz puller i just think you’ll get more use out of a full set for future bike frames and hubs,and its cheaper.thanks again.