In the last month I have replaced;

1x XT bottom bracket

1x Headset – unable to get correct nukeproof bearings!

and now have to replace;

Rear hub bearings – probably freehub bearings too.

Pedal bearings for Vaults.

Is it unreasonable to expect any of this stuff to last more than a year? I just don’t know anymore.

Considering not washing my bike anymore, maybe that is what has killed them. Despite taking extra special care and never using a pressure washer…

Winge over.

Alex

Suppose bearing life is based on correct fitting, not overloading them, regular greasing and maintenance.

In theory, at least..

My xt bb is starting to go after a couple of months. And my rear hub seems to require new bearings regularly, possibly due to a slightly misaligned cup on the freehub side.

And bushes.. Don’t get me started on bushes! Really glad that I have gone hardtail now 🙂

Considering not washing my bike anymore, maybe that is what has killed them

I wash mine a couple of times/year, using a watering can.

Everything lasts ages

Just saying like

shimano bb’s are rubbish (or at least, they are not well sealed)

there are plenty of better alternatives for not much cash.

i keep banging on about the Gusset ext24; mine’s done over 10,000km on my commuter, it’s still in great nick, it cost me £25.

no doubt someone will tell you that you need a chris king BB if you want it to last 🙂

Strangely the XT bb was the longest lasting.

Durability of MTB stuff in general appears to be rubbish.

I know it is because it all has to be light-weight, so you won’t get moto-vehicle levels of durability, but still.

Chains, cassettes; rubbish.

Only the tyres and disc brakes seem to have a decent life-span, touch wood.

Am with you cdoc. Hardtail pride.

Alex

I can accept drivetrain wear as I live in a very sandy and gritty area, but four weeks for a set of formula pads, from start to finish is a bit silly!
Then I tried uberbike ones and they are coping fine 😕

Can’t work that out, as the original pads were twice the price..

So, yeah, some stuff seems to have a much shorter lifespan than other offerings (glances over to the never serviced and running perfectly mid 90’s xt hub)

I have a road bike with sora, the bb and headset are going a-OK after since 2002.

To be fair, less stress on the road, but ten times less?!?

Lots of bearings come “dry” from the factories that are turning out thousands at a time. Generally I have found shimano XT bb bearings ok for a year if carefully washed. Few bearings have really specific grease in them for bikes. On my full Suspension bikes i take the bearing covers off carefully when new and fill them with really sticky grease. I do that to headsets too. It makes a big difference. I was shocked years ago when I bought decent replacement bearings to find the odd one with no grease at all. The best idea is always to check new bearings before use. With shimano bbs that’s a fad and I don’t bother. My favourite bbs are hope and they seem to go on for ages, plus you can easily get new bearings. I agree re the hard tail! I ride one most of the time too…

http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/news/347

Stopping greasing the shit out of stuff now, only where something may seize..

I grease every part that goes on my bike, headsets, cartridge bearings, BB’s all of it, even the bearings in my Hope’s were lacking enough grease. It’s a PITA but most times they come from the makers under lubed and adding some takes a few minutes and helps them last for ages. Point in case, just put the 3rd set of bearings into my Kysirium es wheels, they have done 30,000 miles, so 10k per bearing set, not bad going for wheels that get jet washed every few weeks and abused as commuters and year round ride wheels.

Depends what you’ve been riding. One weekend last year in Morzine with just one day of biblical rain and mud = headset, BB, forks & pivots. All needed doing. Okay they hadn’t been done for a couple of years, but all were clearly shot after that one day. The weather plus post ride washing finished them off in one go. Have to admit the provided hoses were perhaps a bit strong, though I took care not to blast any bearing areas.

This year however, Morzine again but mostly dry as we avoided the shitty day and everything’s still running smooth.

Both times though, pads gone in about a day. This time only front pads. Ride round Surrey Hills, and they last for months. It’s not the conditions, just the level of braking. Big long fast steep descents in the alps just wears them out.

Keep my bikes in the house rather than a shed, since then everything lasts ages longer.

Four different bearings from four different manufacturers.
One common denominator.
Try golfing.

For those of you that are packing the bearings with grease, what are you using to lift the seals without damaging them?

I never got far past just smearing a bit around the outside of the occasional hub bearing during replacement.

With pedals, if you want a thin one you get tiny bearings or bushings, so longevity’s gone down since the days of inch thick slabs of metal. Likewise we demand bikes and parts be light and low resistance which means smaller bearings and less sealing.

Shimano BBs last pretty well these days but they’ve got practically no tolerance for overtightening, and since just about everyone overtorques HT2 cranks, that’s not a great combo.

Rorschach you just hit the nail on the head, everyone that chews through bearings claim to be the most careful owner in the world. reality is often quite the opposite.

To lift bearing seals use a pointed scalpel blade …with care!

Hooky dentist tool things for me. Scalpel works too though

Sounds fiddly, whats the failure rate like? Do I need to start ordering spare bearings?

Why yes, I do really like hammers.

Should be zero failure! Practice on an old bearing… If u don’t have any ask lbs or a disused skateboard 🙂

Hmmmn, not sure whether I am a crypto-bearing-jet-washer – I do take pretty good care when cleaning them.

I ride a lot in muddy conditions, through the winter, so suppose that it part of the mix.

Why should we have to take apart products from new to make them run right? *harrumph

My Hope stuff seems to have lasted a reasonable amount of time:

Front Hub – 3 years on original bearings still going strong
Rear Hub – 2 years and just replaced at a cost of £20, done whilst having a broken spoke replaced
Headset – 3 years on original bearings starting to feel like they need attention
Bottom bracket – 3 years on original bearings, took the BB out a week ago to service it and the bearings looked like new so just popped it back in!

A friends Shimano hub lasted 6 months and because he didn’t service it once it started making noise he managed to kill the races so needed a new hub!

I ride all year, all weathers and wash the bike with a bucket of soapy water, rinse with a low pressure hose once a month or so.

When I was using my Hope wheels in my trailbike I expected to replace at least some of the bearings every 3 or 4 months, not terrible but not that impressive tbh. Headsets no better than cheap Cane Creeks (interchangable bearings in fact)

To be fair, my DTs do far better but then they should do, they cost miles more.

Why should we have to take apart products from new to make them run right? *harrumph

Mostly because these bearings are not specially designed MTB bearings they are just whatever bearing they can get for a specific price point in that size, most are not particularly well sealed, and come off the production line with the merest hint of grease.

Bearings last aaaaaages on my bikes but I don’t jetwash them.

Let the filth dry and then just brush it off. Simples.