Stuck double chain stay bearings

2020 Rocky Mountain Altitude.
It’s got double chain stay (rear mech area) bearings, but with a slim frame divide between them. Just like so many other frames.
We’ve got two blind bearing pullers, one cheap one pretty good quality.
Because of the slim divider there’s just no real lip to get a grip on.

We’ve soaked in penetrating oil.
I’ve just googled boiled the kettle to get it heated suddenly.

Other suggestions?

(And why, why are frames made this way? Maybe brant, cy or Jameseo can explain the benefits)

I found it very difficult to get the 2nd side one out in this kind of setup. Hammering the puller was no good, ended up having to use some socket and threaded bar arrangement to force it out. Obviously you need to get one side out first. As a general observation from that experience, applying force is more effective than applying shock, if you can find a way of doing so.

Mine were double 6800 (10x19x5mm), it seemed to me that it’d be better to have a single bigger one like 6902 (15x28x7) which RAAW does.

(And why, why are frames made this way? Maybe brant, cy or Jameseo can explain the benefits)

or benpinnick

I did those on mine with a screwdriver & hammer, it wasnt too bad. Freeze spray or CS in freezer will help

Had similar problem recently. Trying to use a blind puller the inner race came out along with the rusted up balls and the remains of the ball carrier. In the end I was forced to use a Dremel on the outer race.

Use some bread? Reminded me of this

Bu also, worth checking if there is a circlip anywhere making matters worse. Had a cheeky one hiding in a rear triangle of an old epic, and more recently holding the inner bearing of a two bearing freehub. Stripped the thread on puller rod thinking both bearings would pull out together before having to buy a blind puller to remove the first one, and then seeing the circlip hiding behind it

Use bread- well, every day’s a school day. Brilliant.

The reason why is that you can clamp a pair of bearings (with a spacer) from both sides and so they’re held in the frame by without needing any other retention, so its very compact and ideal for horst links. Basically the same as the larger, wider bearing pairs.

But yep it is a pain in the arse and a nightmare if they break up. Normal bearing pullers arent ideal once they get small, bearingprotools has a tool that works better than most- grips the bearing rather than needing to find a “lip” and very strong

On bikes where I’ve seen it, the bearing is in the seatstay part which slots between the two ends of the “U” in the chainstay part. How does having a lip between the bearings help with retention here?

I used the BTP puller.

Having done my Camber last year I am hoping / expecting that the bearings will now outlast the remaining service life of the frame for all the reasons in the OP!

For the OP persistence (in the end mine came out with a slide hammer puller) and insulting the bearings personally in the style of the French knights in The Holy Grail are about the only guidance I can offer.

Because they can be squeezed together into the stay without any additional parts. A single bearing can only be held on one side. It can’t fall out, because it’s in the fork of one stay, but without extra parts the outer race isn’t held into the other stay by anything but the friction fit (because the stays can’t be in contact). Single bearing generally works just as well on day one and allows a bigger bearing which is great but as the bike ages you can have wear/looseness issues in the seats. (my old frame was right on the limits of what bearing goop could fix by the end)

Definitely benefits to both designs though.

View post on imgur.com

I have 2 bikes in the garage with that setup and I use boiling water and a paralell punch to knock them out. I wrap the rear triangle inner tube and rags to protect it, put it in the vice and knock them out with the punch. It is fiddly and frustrating but just take it slow and give it a few knocks at 12 o clock, then 6, then 9, then 3 etc. Once the first one is out it gives a slightly bigger lip to knock the other one out.

I used the bearing pro tools pullers for mine (why do we call them pullers, when you hit them hard from the back?)

I got lucky that they came out OK but did need the thing tightened up a lot to stop it coming out and I had to hit it harder than what feels comfortable!

Other suggestions?

Take it to the bike shop, and run away before they have at it with the hammer and punch of doom, and then go and collect it later when it’s all done, and never think about what they might have done to accomplish it.

Had similar with my 2020 Slayer. Took it to the LBS and let them get on with it.

I think LBS is going to be the answer. One more go tonight, I particularly like the offending the bearing in french part, but after that it’s a call to LBS…

Bearing Pro Tools now do blind bearing pullers that really do work as pullers/extractors without having to hit them!

Perfect for Specialized Horst link bearings (older type) and the like.

BPT – Wind-Out Bearing Puller

Just done my Kenevo – had at least half a dozen double siders was a nightmare. Hammer and screwdriver, ended up smashing some of them to bits.

Did an S-Works Enduro with a similar set up some years ago and it wasn’t half as bad

What is the frame made of?

If its alloy then heat it up (boiling water, heat gun, wifes hair dryer etc). The alloy expands more than the steel bearing and the removal force is massively reduced. Also if the bearing has been installed with a retaining compound the heat should soften it. (there was a manufacturer who made the bearings a slip fit in the frame and bonded them in with a low temp retained).

Alloy conducts heat well, depending on your heat source it can be fiddly to get the bearing housing hot, just dont use a burning torch.

And it’s with the LBS….

The Roots Cycles Workshop: Your bike, our passion

I couldn’t make that wind out bearing tool work. It doesn’t really grip hard enough and just slips out if the bearing is properly stuck in the frame

Every seized HL bearing I’ve ever removed has been too stuck for bearing pullers on the ID of the inner race. I’ve always ended up breaking out the inner race and bearings and using the lip of the outer race to fit a bigger bearing puller – the bigger they are the better they seem to work.

YMMV.

The reason why is that you can clamp a pair of bearings (with a spacer) from both sides and so they’re held in the frame by without needing any other retention, so its very compact and ideal for horst links. Basically the same as the larger, wider bearing pairs.

Because they can be squeezed together into the stay without any additional parts. A single bearing can only be held on one side. It can’t fall out, because it’s in the fork of one stay, but without extra parts the outer race isn’t held into the other stay by anything but the friction fit (because the stays can’t be in contact). Single bearing generally works just as well on day one and allows a bigger bearing which is great but as the bike ages you can have wear/looseness issues in the seats. (my old frame was right on the limits of what bearing goop could fix by the end)

Definitely benefits to both designs though.

Cheers both.

It does seem though that the design could be refined to offer more of a lip on the bearing edge between the bearings, or indeed a clamp system (see Orange main pivot) or collet system (see cannondales of old) which would make changing them so, so much easier.

I bought the tool Steel4real posted from BPT & used it on my old Levo successfully